A historical analysis of hazardous events in the Alps – the case of Hindelang (Bavaria, Germany)

Abstract. A historical analysis of natural hazards for the Hindelang area in the Bavarian Alps is done by researching and assessing data from different archives. The focus is on an evaluation of historical hazards on a local scale by working with written documents only. Data is compiled from the archives of governmental departments, local authorities, private collections and state archives. The bandwidth of the assessed hazards includes floods, mass movements and snow avalanches. So far we have collected more than 400 references for events in the Hindelang area, some of which at times or in places where natural hazards used to be thought of as unlikely or unknown. Our aim was to collect all written data for this area and to deduce as much information on the hazardous effects on the environment as possible, thereby enhancing our knowledge about past climatic and geomorphic dynamics in the Alps.