A gold bar found in a lake over six months ago has not been claimed. Therefore, the rule of finders keepers is applied. The teenager, who discovered the $20,000 gold bar, will get to keep it.
Here is an extra reason to go vacationing in Germany, you might find a very expensive gold bar in a lake.
Over the summer, a student along with her family were vacationing at the Königssee lake, which is a natural lake located in the southeast of Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria when she went for a swim. The German teenager found a lost treasure in the shape of a 500-gram (17.6-ounce) bar of gold.
The young woman made the wise decision to turn over the pricey bar to the police in Berchtesgaden. On Thursday, about six months after the discovery, authorities confirmed that they have not been able to find the owner of the bar. That means that finders keepers rule applies and the 16-year-old girl, who found the gold bar, gets to keep it. According to experts, the bar is worth about $20,000. Local media revealed:
“The girl, who hasn’t been identified, was on vacation at the Koenigssee lake in Germany’s southeastern corner at the time of the find in August. She found it around 2 meters (6½ feet) under the surface. The bar’s identity number had been defaced but officials managed to restore it, but could not identify the owner.”
It is still not clear how the bar ended up in the lake, but the police have confirmed that after a six-month investigation they can say that despite the rumors it was not connected to the Nazi era. Adolf Hitler used to live in the area along with many infamous Nazi leaders:
“Adolf Hitler had been vacationing in the Berchtesgaden area since the 1920s. He purchased a home in the Obersalzberg above the town on the flank of the Hoher Goll and began extensive renovations on his Berghof in the following years. As other top Nazi Party leaders such as Herman Goering, Joseph Goebbels, and Albert Speer began to frequent the area the Party began to purchase and requisition land in the Obersalzberg.”