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Growing up as a Boy Scout, I remember sitting around the campfire and listening to ghost stories. Why we as a species actually enjoy the sensation of being terrified out of our wits is beyond me. Nonetheless, the ghost story I’m about to tell starts off like all good ghost stories, in that this tale is completely true…
Tucked away in a forgotten field in Kaufdorf, Switzerland once sat a peaceful junkyard, holding over 500 classic cars from nearly all brands ranging from the 1930s through the 1960s. Legend has it that Walter Messerli, a car dealer buying several cars for parts, couldn’t bring himself to scrap the remaining classic cars and began storing them in his private yard. The dealer retired back in the 1970s, passing the business on to his son, who left the cars untouched.
Due to the nation’s political climate, the cemetery was earmarked for forced closure thanks to the vocal “green” councilors and employees of the government, citing that the cars “contaminated the environment” via oil seepage, and rubber and plastic decomposition. While the Swiss government wanted it paved over, locals fought to preserve the sitting history.
Despite petitions and signatures, the Swiss government forced the field’s closure, threatening that any cars not sold off the property would be confiscated, crushed and eventually melted down to usable scrap. The younger Messerli fought the action until the very last, where the remains of the cemetery were quickly sold off to willing buyers. Unfortunately, the slapdash auction left many of these cars unsold, leaving them to be destroyed.
The cemetery is closed. Thankfully, most of the cars had been auctioned and sold. Leaving this video as a sad reminder of history now…
