The city of Neuchatel, with a view of the lake. There are 4,500 tonnes of munitions lying beneath the surface. Tweet Facebook Mail The picturesque lakes of Lucerne, Thun or Neuchatel are iconic tourist attractions in the Swiss Alps known for their beauty.
But hidden below the glimmering surface of those pristine waters lie the discarded remnants of Switzerland's military past. For almost five decades, from 1918 and 1964, the lakes served as the dumping ground for the Swiss military. READ MORE: Dingo found tangled paw to jaw in gang hooks on K'gari Lake Lucerne, where an estimated 3,300 tonnes of munition lie beneath the surface.
(iStock) Thousands of tonnes of unwanted munitions were discarded in the lakes - which are now proving problematic to remove. In Lake Lucerne, there are an estimated 3300 tonnes of munition, in the waters of Neuchatel, which the Swiss air force used for bombing practice until 2021, there are 4500 tonnes, the BBC reports. Most of the submerged munitions lies deep beneath the surfaces of Lake Thun, Lake Brienz and Lake Lucerne - at a depth of between 150 and 220 metres.
Now, the Swiss defence department has announced that it is holding a competition, calling on academics and industry experts for the best ideas on how to get the munitions out. Those submitting the top three ideas will share in a total prize of 50,000 francs (A$95,000). READ MORE: Pub patron clinches 'one in a billion' spherical egg at auction The legendary fashion designer who was a N.