Can you Metal Detect in Germany?

[AZWIP]

Howdy... anyone (from Germany?) know what the laws say about using a metal detector in Germany? Do you need a permit/license? If so, are they difficult to obtain? I have a friend who lives around the Munich area who thinks it may be very difficult to get into the hobby in Germany, but he gives no specifics other than it was based off of what he read on one of the websites there. Anyways, figured I'd post this and see what ya'll know.

Thanks!

[sectshun8]

Hmm, don't know the specifics, but I do know you can. We've had a couple users in Germany and I believe a US service member who metal detects while stationed there.

[Rudy]

One of our members by the name of "Vito" lives in Germany and hunts there all the time. Why don't you send him a PM with your questions?

[Vito]

Thanks for the flowers, Rudy.

Originally Posted by Rudy

One of our members by the name of "Vito" lives in Germany and hunts there all the time. Why don't you send him a PM with your questions?

[Rudy]

Originally Posted by Vito

Thanks for the flowers, Rudy.

You are welcome Vito. Next time I'm in the neighborhood, we'll have to go out for some Paulaner. "Gut, besser, Paulaner".

[Kolby72]

Hello!!! Where are you wanting to detect?. I live in Germany near Trier. Your welcome to come with us. I have never had a problem while detecting in Germany but the Belgian laws are extremely strict!!!!

[Vito]

Originally Posted by Rudy

You are welcome Vito. Next time I'm in the neighborhood, we'll have to go out for some Paulaner. "Gut, besser, Paulaner".

Now, that would be nice.

[AZWIP]

Howdy again, thanks for all the replies... seems like it may be based on where you live etc... this would be for someone who lives in or around Munich. I will point my friend to this forum and these replies.

Thanks again folks. Vielen Dank.

[Vito]

Good day.

My name is Vito "ThE kRAuT" and yes, I am a german (kraut).

The rules about detecting and digging are very different here in germany, as every federal state has it's own laws. Even the most of the german hunters do not know them for sure. (there are some/a lot of archies not knowing them, too. )

One thing is for all: You have to have permission from the lands owner to search and dig his property; and finds which seem to be historical are to announce to the public authority. There it will be decided to give it back to the property owner or to pay the value in cash.

Munich depends to the state Bavaria and the laws there are very hard. Here you have also to get permission from the Bayerisches Landesamt fuer Denkmalpflege http://www.blfd.bayern.de/ .
And this permission is ONLY for one small area they will direct to you.

One better way should be to know a TH'er in the area you're going to hunt ,who has a license, and you can help him doing some historical work.

All I can say is: If you're in doubt about the laws, let it be, as the fee can be up to 500.000,00 Euros. And they'll claim all the equipment; even the car.

Best of Luck & HH

Originally Posted by AZWIP

Howdy... anyone (from Germany?) know what the laws say about using a metal detector in Germany? Do you need a permit/license? If so, are they difficult to obtain? I have a friend who lives around the Munich area who thinks it may be very difficult to get into the hobby in Germany, but he gives no specifics other than it was based off of what he read on one of the websites there. Anyways, figured I'd post this and see what ya'll know.

Thanks!

[KMA]

I grew up in Munich in the '80s. We detected back in the late '70s even, and we went everywhere. My buddy and I went straight through the Englischer Garten, no problem. No one knew what metal detecting was. All these old people walking in the woods would tell us about the war. One guy told me where old flak positions were, one person showed us where an American bomber crashed (and where it dumped all it's bombs, which explained the line of bomb craters through the woods), one person told me where he'd been on a detail at the end of the war, burying milk cannisters of gold items. I never pursued that one. Would have been too deep to detect and wouldn't know what to do with it if I did find it. One of the first finds was a British 30-pound incendiary bomb that hadn't burned. My buddy set a towel an fire and slightly burned his hand when he tried to clean a piece of the fuze that had phosphorus crust on it. I can't tell you how many stick incendiaries I found. I also found a roman coin and some interesting nazi items but I passed up a huge rough signal under a tree root that my newbie detecting partner then dug up: three different Nazi belt buckles and some K98 rifle ammo clips. The brass was still shiny. It must have been someone's collection even during the war and they buried it when the Allies took over. I rue that day. Overall, I didn't do very well, especially considering the possibilities. Even here in the US it's that way. My wife found a "US" belt plate in the creek behind our house in VA and she just left it on the bank. Someone took it of course. I'd be surprised if anyone in Germany objected to metal detecting, but you definitely can't detect on or near historical sites, even back then.