The Bergwacht is an organisation that is part of the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services within ...

(DRK-Bergwacht), whose primary functions are

mountain rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

and nature conservation. The

voluntary organisation A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to ac ...

provides over 90% of the emergency services in the impassable terrain of the German

Central Upland The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...

and

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

regions. By contrast the Austrian ''Berg- und Naturwachten Österreichs'' purely looks after nature conservation and the environment, leaving Alpine rescue in the hands of the Austrian Mountain Rescue Service (''Österreichischer Bergrettungsdienst'').

Objectives

The objectives of the Bergwacht are multi-faceted: Save life: * Rescue (and recovery of those fatally injured) from

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and impassable terrain * rescue from heights * Medical treatment of casualties * Searching for missing persons (see also

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

) * Rescue from

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

s and

caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

* Care and support of relatives (including the mountain crisis intervention service (KID Berg)) * Support for the DRK in overseas operations * Support of the ground-based

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

and

Emergency management Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

Nature conservation: * Management of

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s and nature reserve projects * Support to the ''Naturschutzwacht'' and the ''Naturschutzbeiräte'' * Support of the required nature reserve projects (e. g. wild animals and skiing in the mountains) * Public and youth work in the conservation of nature and the environment (e. g. nature youth camps)

History

Pinzgauer Bergwacht Mittenwald (cropped)

The first German mountain rescue service existed in Saxony as early as 1912. It consisted of the Samaritan department of the Saxon Mountaineering Association. In 1920, Munich men founded a German mountain rescue service with the aim of restoring order, custom and decency in the mountains. The rather desolate conditions in the mountains after the First World War, with poaching, theft of huts, cattle and wood, prompted the founders to join forces to "protect the mountain from the people". A short time later, the Red Cross founded the Mountain Accident Service (GUD), an association of Red Cross paramedics. By 1923, the mountain rescue service, or Bergwacht, already comprised three departments, Munich, Allgäu and Chiemgau. The Bergwacht was entrusted with the task of providing "on the spot help for alpine rescue services". With the annexation of Austria in 1938, the Austrian rescue organisations also merged into the German Bergwacht. In 1939, the Bergwacht was also entrusted with nature conservation. In the further course of the Second World War the mountain rescue men were sworn in as auxiliary policemen. In 1944, the Bergwacht was placed under military authority. After the end of the Second World War, the Bergwacht was disbanded in the US occupation zone. The departments joined the respective regional associations of the German Red Cross. In the French occupation zone, the authorities approved the establishment of the independent Black Forest Bergwacht. In 1955, the Bergwacht state associations joined forces at federal level to form a working group. From this the Federal Committee for Mountain Rescue of the German Red Cross (DRK) emerged. The Black Forest Bergwacht was represented on this committee as a corporate member. Today the mountain rescue service is a member of the International Commission for Alpine Mountain Rescue or IKAR.

Organisation and state associations

The organisation of the Bergwacht is aligned to that of the German Red Cross. For example, the Bergwacht operates as part of the eleven DRK state associations. The Black Forest Mountain Rescue Service (Bergwacht Schwarzwald or BWS) has a special status. The BWS is a corporate member of the DRK State Association of the Baden Red Cross and at the same time an independent association and looks after mountain rescue on the territory of the Baden Red Cross (Black Forest). The state associations: * Bergwacht Bayern * Bergwacht Harz (in the DRK state associations of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt) *

Bergwacht Hessen The Bergwacht is an organisation that is part of the German Red Cross (DRK-Bergwacht), whose primary functions are mountain rescue and nature conservation. The voluntary organisation provides over 90% of the emergency services in the impassable t ...

* Bergwacht Nordrhein * Bergwacht Rheinland-Pfalz *

Bergwacht Sachsen The Bergwacht is an organisation that is part of the German Red Cross (DRK-Bergwacht), whose primary functions are mountain rescue and nature conservation. The voluntary organisation provides over 90% of the emergency services in the impassable t ...

Bergwacht Schwarzwald The Bergwacht is an organisation that is part of the German Red Cross (DRK-Bergwacht), whose primary functions are mountain rescue and nature conservation. The voluntary organisation provides over 90% of the emergency services in the impassable t ...

* Bergwacht Thüringen * Bergwacht Westfalen-Lippe *

Bergwacht Württemberg The Bergwacht is an organisation that is part of the German Red Cross (DRK-Bergwacht), whose primary functions are mountain rescue and nature conservation. The voluntary organisation provides over 90% of the emergency services in the impassable t ...

External links

Start page of the DRK Bergwacht (federal level)

Photographs of training in mountain air rescue
{{Authority control Charities based in Germany Mountain rescue agencies Emergency medical services in Germany German Red Cross

Objectives

History

Organisation and state associations

See also

External links