Memories of Mirek Kierepka - Part II

Unwillingly, we started by exploring the whole complex of fortifications in order to choose at least 2 wells to penetrate. Contrary to appearances, the matter was not at all simple. The choice fell on the wells in the Donjon (obviously, the main well – the legend of the thaler of Frederick the Great). When a huge mountain fortress was built on the hills of Silver Mountain by order of Frederick the Great, it had to be supplied with water. For this purpose seven wells were dug in individual bastions and forts. The deepest of them measures 84 metres. The digging of these wells proved to be extremely expensive, as they had to be made in very hard gneiss rock.

Legend has it that the most important well drilled at the Donjon was supposed to be the most expensive of all the wells in Silver Mountain, and its construction cost was to be 999 999 thalers. When the king found out about this, he went to the well, took one thaler from his pocket and threw it into the well for an equal account. The coin probably lies at the bottom of the well to this day. – Prepared on the basis of T. Przerwa ” Tales of srebrnogórskie”.

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The second well we chose was the so-called “student” well, in the southern part of the complex. The name originates from an unfortunate accident in 1983 (a fatal one), which the student suffered when falling into this well during the penetration of the underground.

First we had to prepare the ground. To do this, we had to find a ventilation shaft located underground above a well. We placed a tripod above it to prepare the mountaineering station and the electric winch.

In the meantime others of us were preparing and tidying up the access to the wells in the casemates. Luckily for us, the wells had water intakes and this way we had electricity to light the place, where we installed a street lamp and an electric winch. For the duration of the dives, an ambulance was waiting in front of the Fort. As for that time everything was prepared perfectly.

The problem of penetration was complicated by the fact that the water table in the “student’s” well was 10m from the top and in the donjon it was 20m, so for both we had to prepare a mountaineering descent and positions above the water table where a rescue diver was to wait. This took us several days. We started with the “student” because our measurements showed that it was shallower.

When we assessed that we were ready and everything had been checked the second phase began, i.e. preparation for the dive. The water temperature of 4-6°C suggested that it would not be too warm. We had the equipment from that time, i.e. P-21,31 Mors, PR-27 Kajman, Leszek Nowicz’s helmet with communication, PW-2 (wetsuit) and wetsuits.

In each of the wells there were so called gypsies, i.e. drainage of individual levels. So by counting them we should determine how many levels the fort has. With considerable impatience I started preparing for the dive. I checked the equipment ten times, fixed in my head the dive plan and so on. Finally Marek gives the order. My head is full of thoughts, what will we find, what will be on the bottom, etc.

I put on my wetsuit, take my knife and depth gauge, ABC equipment, a harness and, ready as I am, I stand near the well. Now my fellow climbers take me in their hands – they put me on the bench, fasten the “strings” and, equipped like that, I’m lowered into the well. The ride down the well didn’t take long and I was already on a platform above the water. Here I change and put on the Kajman set, take the torch and get into the water. Brrr, it’s a bit chilly – the water is cold as hell, but I can do it. I waited for my partner and headed down. Somewhere up to two thirds of the well was made of bricks, the rest was hollowed in the rock.

Visibility is sensational. We are descending quite fast – treasures – treasures are whirling around in our heads. Suddenly the bottom emerges! (about 35 m) oh my God how many treasures – and here the reality, we landed on – a pile of bricks. We looked at the bottom centimetre by centimetre and there was nothing – brick by brick. The whole elaborate plan to get the treasure went to hell …… We begin to ascend. At a depth of about 30 metres, we noticed an exit to a side corridor and, remembering this detail, we surfaced. Of course, no one had heard of the safety stop at that time.

At the top there was only “so what”, “so what”, “tell me” – and g***o wanted to answer, but understanding the curiosity of the rest of the team we told what we found at the bottom. I don’t have to say how disappointed everyone was. The remaining pairs dived for art’s sake and that’s how the penetration of the first well ended.

On the surface, during the evening Polish conversations and analysis of our dives and thoughts, we came to the conclusion that the reason for such a large number of bricks at the bottom of the well could have been and certainly was the visit of many people searching the fort area. Of course, we also wanted to check it out and threw a brick from the surface. To our surprise and delight, the brick flying down the well emitted a peculiar whistling sound and then the reverberating echo amplified the sound of the brick coming into contact with the water. An unforgettable acoustic effect.

Convinced and supporting each other, we decided that the second well would be clean, as access to it was definitely difficult and the casemate with the well was closed by a padlocked door. Encouraged again, we prepared the exploration of the well in Donjon. Mindful of the organisational experience of the first well, we were much quicker to set up the site and prepare the equipment for diving. On the next day, ready and ripe, we started the dive.

This time, we change the order of diving and Zbyszek Byrski, wearing Leszek’s helmet, is to dive first and report live on what he finds in the well. Zbyszek, equipped with a PW-2, helmet and P-31, starts the dive.

It’s been quiet in the casemate – everyone wants to hear on the radio what will happen on the way and at the bottom. It has begun – Zbyszek says that the visibility is great and starts diving. As I mentioned earlier, the descent is about 20m and our measurement shows 50m to the bottom. I took over the “leadership” on the surface – Marek had to leave us because he was “called” by the training in Jastarnia. Returning to Zbyszek, he too, like us, was excited about finding treasure.

After a while the reports started – about visibility, about temperature, about giants – we listened to them unintentionally, but all the time we were waiting for the most important thing, what’s on the bottom? Suddenly, all of us were electrified with information – wait, I’ve got something…. oh crap, some spar …. wait, I’ll dig it out – we’ve got a HALABARDA and a second and a third one, laughter, joy coming from the bottom and the description starts: beautifully forged, hand-made, a bit rusty but great – so we set fire to it – Zbyszek hook it up to the rope and we pull it out.

A moment of heavier breathing, some fastening and finally the command – pull out. A couple of our “musclemen” grabbed the rope and let’s go. The contraption weighed a bit. Everyone was hanging over the well to see the exhibits as soon as possible, and what else could we extract? Maybe Frederick’s thaler? Suddenly, the silence in the casemate was shattered by the laughter that echoed throughout the chamber. Some of us landed on the underside of the pit and just howled!!!

It turned out that these beautifully described underwater halberds are ordinary (although oak) spars with a metal hook attached to the end, which at one time served the Russian troops (who for about 8 years were stationed in this region – including the described fortress – what they were looking for and what they found we will probably never know) to develop telephone lines and to support them with just such poles.

The laughter was a reaction to what Zbyszek described so vividly – and reality. As you can see, this is a classic example of nitrogen narcosis. Of course, when Zbyszek emerged, he was appointed the main Halabard of our camp and for some time he was nicknamed “HALABARDNIK”.

Of course, there was no end to the fun at the evening campfire. At the same campfire we decided that we should come back and undertake a review and exploration of the underwater channel from the “Student” well, which remained in our memories from the initial dives. We spent the end of the camp exploring a nearby silver mine and swimming in a nearby lake.

Indeed, after a few years we returned to this project and together with Jerzy Owsiak, TVP2 and the PCK Special Rescue Group we organised a return to the Forts, but that’s another story.

A sequel may follow…

The following people were part of the team (at the camp):

Instructor staff:

Krystyna Paw – Strzelichowska
Marek Strzelichowski
Zbigniew Byrski
Mirosław Kierepka

Participants:

Wiktoria B, Halina Z, Urszula P, Iwona S, Tadek W, Krzysiek W, Olek W, Mariusz Ś, Marek P, Bogdan S, Piotr G, Darek P, Piotr B, Bogusław B, Irek R, Sławek N, Adam W, Jacek W, Jacek Wiercigroch,

The order is random.

Mirek Kierepka – Diving instructor since 1980. For over 35 years associated with recreational and professional diving: M3KDP/CMAS Diving Instructor since 2004 with a wide range of additional specialisations.

Source: Text and photos courtesy of the author and KDP CMAS