Salzburg scans streets for wartime ordnance before utility works

Salzburg is searching two streets for possible wartime ordnance ahead of planned sewer and utility works, using a non-invasive scanning method, the city said, according to ORF.

The surveys are under way in Steingasse and Arenbergstraße. The method, known as geo-screening, uses a sensor to detect underground anomalies without drilling. Military archaeologist Manfred Macek compared it to a computed tomography scan of the ground and said it can be used in places including slopes and wooded areas, reaching depths of up to 12 metres.

Florian Gleitsmann of the city’s sewer and waterways department said the method is faster and cheaper than the test drilling previously used to check for wartime hazards. Those drills could also disrupt traffic.

More than two million kilograms of bombs were dropped over Salzburg by American bombers before the end of the war, ORF reported. The Old Town and Kaiviertel district were hit particularly hard, and wartime items are still suspected at depths of up to eight metres.

Macek said the search must account for material deposited in bomb craters by Allied forces through 1955, including tank parts and disc mines. Five years ago, a 50-kilogram American bomb was found and defused during construction work near a kindergarten and primary school in Guggenthal, in Flachgau.

Investigators can also uncover items unrelated to the war, including wooden water pipes dating from the 17th century. The sewer and utility works in Salzburg are due to begin in 2028.