Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – Third Chapter: Pripyat

April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 CarloRLeave a comment

Among all oddities populating the extensive area of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – the immense cordoned area surrounding the ill-fated nuclear power-plant – Pripyat does not need any further presentation.

Pripyat was founded anew in 1970, and mainly intended for workers of the immense ‘Lenin’ power-plant, where the nuclear reactors started operations in the mid 1970s, and which went on being continuously expanded over the years. When tragedy struck on April 26th, 1986, four reactors were active, two were under construction – what remains of the ‘ghost construction works’ can still be seen (have a look to this chapter) – but about as many reactor cores were on the drawing board as the number of those already running.

Such a big and relevant industrial asset was managed and operated by a massive workforce of technicians. As a matter of fact, with a population of slightly less than 50’000 at the time of the accident, Pripyat turned out to be the largest village in an extensive and otherwise eminently rural region around the power-plant. An area with an extension comparable to the metro area of Chicago, IL, was cordoned out and totally evacuated in the days following the accident, forming the ‘Chernobyl Exclusion Zone’, which is still today off-limits without a guide, and where people carrying out technical work around the former power-plant, and related labs and businesses, live under a special regulation. Besides Pripyat, this extensive region includes also the nuclear power-plant, the town of Chernobyl, dozens of smaller villages (see Chapter 2), as well as a one-of-a-kind soviet military installation (see Chapter 1).

Being intended mainly for highly-skilled workers – like engineers and physicists in charge of the power-plant processes – Pripyat was built according to relatively high-level soviet standards. The town had five so-called residential ‘microdistricts’, made of high-rise apartment buildings, and each with a school and some other public services, like a small market, a library, sporting facilities, possibly a small theater, etc.

The geographic center of the town was another multi-functional district, with a kind of community center with a community hall for social meetings, a big hotel, a central market, a post office, a travel agency, a sporting center with a stadium, an amusement park – with the now iconic Ferris wheel… – a green urban park, and of course the local presidium of the Communist Party.

The town also featured a large hospital – ‘Medical Center 126’ – covering alone the size of another microdistrict.

All these services, the above-standard quality of the buildings and urban decor, and the setting in the nice countryside of northern Ukraine, in an area rich of rivers and creeks – Pripyat was built close to the right bank of the homonym and nice ‘river Pripyat’ – and not far from Kiev, made Pripyat a nice place to live. Even the workplace of many, the ‘Lenin’ nuclear power-plant, could be conveniently reached less than 3 miles away… The perfect worker’s life in this prototypical socialist village went on for some thousands workers and their families day by day without any major event for about 15 years.

Suddenly, Pripyat was evacuated in a few hours in the early afternoon of April 27th, 1986, about 36 hours after the explosion of reactor N.4, which had taken place in the first hours of April 26th. Notice of the evacuation was given to the citizens about three hours before the operation started. They were told they would have been taken away for precaution for just three days. The combined effect of the hurry and of the presumed short term of the quarantine was that basically everything was left behind by those leaving the town. As an effect of the cordoning-off and the spread of nuclear radiation, contaminating everything in the area, and making any items unattractive except for the most brave metal-looters, the mid-1980s life of Pripyat soviet citizens was crystallized like in a magic life-size 3D picture that you can even walk in! – the incredible ghost town that today everybody knows.

All villages and installations in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone were evacuated too (more than 100’000 were relocated in total), creating as many incredible time capsules from the Cold War era (see Chapter 1 and Chapter 2). What is unique to Pripyat is the overall size of the town, of the buildings in it, and the ensuing concentration of soviet relics around. Furthermore, being directly struck by radiation, due to the direction of the wind on the night of the explosion, together with the power-plant Pripyat is in the innermost, highly contaminated zone where nobody is allowed to live – unlike Chernobyl town, to the south of the power-plant, where some form of business is still going on this day, and where you are likely to spend the night on a multi-day tour. As a result, it is totally uninhabited – at least at night…

Actually, the successful HBO series of 2019 has increased the interest of the western public for this place even further, making Pripyat a de-facto tourist attraction, with tens of thousands visitors per year. Most of them take the ‘typical’ one-day trip from Kiev, where you spend a few hours in the Exclusion Zone, mostly in Pripyat. The ‘Soviet ghost aura’ around this town is so intense you will surely get impressed even by a visit so short. However, the ‘highlights’ in town may turn crowded to an almost paradoxical extent for a ghost town, so that enjoying the unreal silence and loneliness you would expect in a creepy soviet village contaminated by radiation may turn possible only in less known spots, where you will be taken only by private guides, on tours typically lasting two days or more, and purpose-designed to allow you also to take good pictures.

The latter was my option. You can see in this chapter several unusual photographs of Pripyat, taken during a stay of many hours in this ghost town, during a visit to the Exclusion Zone lasting two (freezing) days in late autumn 2019. Practical info about the visit are provided in a section at the end of another chapter (and links therein).

Sights

Photographs will follow the course of our visit. We started early in the morning from nearby Chernobyl, where we had spent the night. We were in Pripyat before one-day visitors from Kiev came in – possibly the most impressive part of the visit in terms of ‘ghost aura’, thanks to the silence and loneliness of the place at that time.

You may see the light changing over the day, until we finally left in the afternoon for another part of the Zone. You won’t see people in my pics, but this is the result of the ability of our guide, as well as of some effort on my side especially in the central hours of the day and around the central district.

Red Forest, Bridge of Death and Pripyat Access

One of the most severely contaminated areas in the zone, the ‘red forest’ used to cover the area between the power-plant and the town of Pripyat. Exposed to an unprecedented level of radiation, the trees in the forest changed color to an unnatural red soon after the explosion. As a matter of fact, all those trees have been wiped out and buried underground. A completely new blanket of younger trees now covers the area.

The route coming from the power-plant and going north to Pripyat, only less than 3 miles away, is usually covered by car/bus on visits to this sector – a route likely covered every day by workers living in town and working at the nuclear plant. The road goes through the former area of the red forest, where many radiation danger and warning signals can be seen, and where you are unlikely to stop.

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Red Forest Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Reactor Funnel Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The same road finally points straight into Pripyat, and goes over a railway track. The bridge is a vantage point from where the power-plant could be observed, especially the ill-fated reactor N.4, which lies next to it. On the day of the accident people from nearby Pripyat came to this bridge out of curiosity, to check out the emergency operations taking place around the reactor. Similar to the red forest just ahead of it, the bridge was invested by a massive flow of invisible radioactive debris, also due to the wind direction on the day of the accident. The name ‘Bridge of Death’ given afterwards to this site suggests the epilogue of the story for the most unlucky among those who ventured on the bridge on that fateful day.

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

From the bridge you can spot the tall buildings of Pripyat, and soon reach the entry checkpoint.

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

‘Azure’ Swimming Pool and School (Microdistrict 3)

Accessing in the early morning, despite the very cold temperature, we could enjoy a few hours of a really evoking, silent and lonely visit. Venturing in Pripyat, you soon meet an array of many bulky multi-storey apartment buildings close by each other.

Leaving the car close to a major crossing, and walking between microdistrict 3 and 4 to the first highlight on our visit – the sporting center called ‘Lazurnyy’ – or ‘Azure’ in English – we could appreciate the size of some of these builidings. The silence was really striking! Old road signs can be seen along the road.

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

From the outside, the sporting center must have looked really nice in its heyday. A decorated metal fence can be seen around the complex, which lies in front off School N.3. A giant clock hangs on top of the building. Some soviet decoration can be found in the entrance hall of the complex.

Ghost Town Pool Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Pool Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Upstairs, a first hall hosts a gym, with a basketball court. The pool is in an adjoining hall. It is modernly designed, with a large window looking on to the next buildings, some hundreds feet away. The roof is inclined, making this hall look somewhat roomier than it actually is.

Ghost Town Pool Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

A clock and a ‘coat of arms’ of a swimming team (?) adorn the wall. The springboard is also still in place.

Ghost Town Pool Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Unfortunately, some total idiot writer felt and urge to add his signature on the side of the pool. Luckily, similar accidents are not typical to Pripyat, which is still today heavily guarded.

Next door, you can find School N.3. A rather big building with an inner courtyard, you can find here many interesting sights, including tons of science-themed posters, a full physics lab with experiments – and items looking like models of heat-exchangers of a power-plant… – and more usual classrooms.

Ghost Town School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

There is also a room where the floor is covered with gas masks. This is an example of a staged post-apocalyptic scenery, which have been prepared for tourists, and is actually not totally original – sure the masks were already stored there for civil protection, but they have been apocryphally scattered on the ground only for photographers.

Ghost Town School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Panoramic View from Rooftop (Microdistrict 5)

Walking from microdistrict 3 to the northwestern corner of microdistrict 5, you get past entire blocks of multi-storey buildings. The tallest in Pripyat are a couple of 16-storeys ‘twin towers’ on two sides of a street on the northern edge of the town – i.e. the farthest from the power-plant.

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Climbing to the roof terrace on top of one of the twins – a nice workout with a heavy full complement of photographic gear, especially useful to warm up on a freezing autumn morning! – you get the chance to enjoy a great panorama view over the entire town of Pripyat. From there you may better appreciate the concentration of high-rise buildings in town, as well as the sharp border between the settlement and the wilderness all around – like many industrial towns in the USSR, Pripyat was built basically in the middle of nowhere!

Ghost Town Rooftop Panorama Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The proximity to the power-plant – with the colossal hangar-like sarcophagus containing what remains of reactor N.4 – is really striking. While convenient for commuting workers, in the event it turned deadly for Pripyat. See Chapter 2 for more on the power-plant.

Ghost Town Rooftop Panorama Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The colossal Duga anti-ICBM early-warning over-the-horizon detection antennas can be clearly spotted from here too, despite being some 7 miles away – they are really big! See Chapter 1 for more on this incredible, one-of-a-kind Cold War relic.

Ghost Town Rooftop Panorama Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Considering the buildings have been in total disrepair from some decades now, they are pretty well conserved, testifying about the overall not-so-bad quality – better than expected especially for soviet standard. Traces of architectural decorations are also to be found on the balconies, definitely unusual for industrial towns (see for instance the depressing northern suburbs of the large port of Murmansk in this post).

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Amusement Park

Likely the most photographed spot in Pripyat, the Ferris wheel is to be found in an amusement park in the central district of the town, close by administrative and service buildings.

Ghost Town Amusement Park Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Considering its age and disrepair, it is not in so bad a shape. The Ferris wheel is not the only item in this small amusement park. There are a bumper car track, a big swing, what appears to be the skeleton of a chairoplane, and a smaller indoor shooting range.

Ghost Town Amusement Park Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The deer painted on the wall of the shooting range appear very well preserved, and it is hard to tell whether they are from the time.

Ghost Town Amusement Park Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Post Office

Again part of the central district, the central post office is home to one of the finest murals in the whole Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. A true protagonist in the iconography of the USSR, a cosmonaut occupies the central scene of the mural, which is centered on the idea of writing, language and communication in history.

Ghost Town Post Office Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

While often kitschy and of poor artistic value, in some cases Soviet murals are more interesting, featuring a unique mix of ingenuity, rhetoric and design skill which most suitably adorn public offices, military halls or front facades.

Ghost Town Post Office Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

This is also the case for the external ceramic frieze on the side the southern side of the same post office. Traces of public phone booths, an original mailbox and the opening timetable of the post office are still there to see!

Central Square

The central square of Pripyat is one of the most crowded places in the whole Exclusion Zone. Not only tourists can be found everywhere in the adjoining buildings, but buses of every size are parked ahead of it, making it look possibly more jammed than in the years before 1986.

Despite that, some highlights of Pripyat are to be found around the square, so it is of course worth a stop. To the west of the square you can find a large restaurant, with its big banner still on top of the building. In an adjoining building, the central shopping mall is an impressive sight, with indications like ‘Fruit’, ‘Vegetables’ and so on still there.

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town City Center Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town City Center Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

One block away still to the west, a big, tall building has the coat of arms of the USSR on top.

To the north of the square, a massive civic center (‘Palace of Culture’) can be found, once hosting a hall for social events, and an adjoining indoor sporting facility.

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town City Center Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The hall features another interesting soviet fresco, and what appears to be a large ballroom.

The sporting facility includes a very big basketball/soccer court, a very small pool, and a boxing ring.

Ghost Town Gym Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Gym Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

To the east, the square is completed by the Hotel ‘Polissia’, which is joined to the Palace of Culture via a long curved patio.

Ghost Town Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Hospital – Medical Center 126

As said, the hospital occupies a large area, equivalent in size to a microdistrict. This large medical center is composed of many buildings, and on the day of the accident it found itself on the front line, trying to give assistance to the death-bound firefighters, hit by acute radiation syndrome, as well as to many inhabitants of Pripyat, who were exposed to extreme – albeit not immediately lethal – doses of radiation, experiencing physical symptoms in the hours following the accident and preceding evacuation.

For some reason, this area is one of the most contaminated in Pripyat today, and venturing is usually a matter of a few minutes for safety reasons. Adding to the unhealthy aura of this place, rumors support that the uniforms of the firefighters, hastily thrown in the basement when they were given medical assistance, are still there, somewhere beyond a bricked-up door…

We walked inside the largest building in the complex, and kept on the floor of the gynecology and pediatric department. Here you can find baby cots, delivery rooms, medical cabinets and more standard hospital bedrooms as well.

Ghost Town Hospital Gynecology Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Empty cradles, abandoned registers, medical posters and hardware make for a really spooky sight.

Ghost Town Hospital Gynecology Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

To the far end of the building, you can find a kind of conference room, with traces of decoration on the wall.

Ghost Town Hospital Gynecology Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Leaving the main building of the hospital, walking past a water reservoir, we reached the morgue and dissection room. Already pretty horrible in normal life, this is one of the spookiest sights in Pripyat’s post-apocalyptic setting!

Ghost Town Hospital Morgue Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Hospital Gynecology Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Chemical reactants and a smoky incinerator for medical waste complete the picture – who knows whether they incinerated some used clothes and gauze after the accident… better to avoid touching the soot-covered walls here!

Ghost Town Hospital Morgue Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Cafe Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Cafe Pripyat, Passenger Port and Floating Pier

Cross the road on the northwestern corner of the hospital district, you find a very peculiar building, appearing like the set for some James Bond movie scene. The assembly is made of two small buildings with large windows, connected by a covered passage.

The eastern end of the complex is Cafe Pripyat.

Ghost Town Cafe Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Besides some sculptures on the outside, the main hall of the cafe features a very nice – and well preserved – example of artistic stained glass windows. The incredible light of the day added to the ensemble – making it for sure the most pleasant sight in Pripyat.

Ghost Town Cafe Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The covered passages features triangular concrete posts.

Ghost Town Cafe Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The complex is on top of a low cliff, on the bank of a backwater of river Pripyat, and a descending stair takes you to a former pier.

Ghost Town Cafe Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Floating Pier Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The geography of waterways here is not very clear. Today, it appears that the water you access from this complex is basically an isolated pond. However, this may be an artificial result. As a matter of fact, the area around the power-plant, and down to Chernobyl some miles away, used to be served by hydrofoils. It appears unlikely that a pier this big was built without this type of service in mind, so maybe what is now a reservoir, used to be a receptacle of river Pripyat, and a stop in the water transport lines.

An interesting element to be sighted somewhat downstream with respect to the pier is a floating part of the pier, which got detached from the fixed part and got stranded after floating abandoned for a while.

Ghost Town Floating Pier Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

This can be boarded today, a rather sad sight – also giving you a sense of nausea, as it is lying in a somewhat banked attitude which makes you loose the sense of the horizon.

KBO Service Center

Not far from Cafe Pripyat you can spot the original fence put in place immediately after evacuating the village. This old fence is today totally rusty, and largely cut through.

Ghost Town Cafe Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Pointing to the central square, you meet an interesting mall named ‘KBO’, where services offered included a barber shop and other small shops. The barber shop is especially interesting. Despite being in a relatively bad shape, gear including combs, razors, mirrors, soap trays and so on are still there.

Ghost Town Barber Shop Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

In its early life, the mirror could never imagine he would reflect the image of so many westerners one day – some would even be excited to take pictures of their reflection!

Ghost Town Barber Shop Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The building features some decorated glass windows. Timetables and announcements are still painted ahead of some of the shops.

Prometheus Movie Theater and Music School

What makes these two adjoining buildings unique is the elaborate mosaic decoration on the curved facades. Again, an example of architecture from the Cold War era.

Ghost Town Music Academy Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Inside the music school a small theater hall still features a piano on the stage!

Furniture Shop and Home Appliance Shop (AGD)

Not far from the central square in microdistrict 2, you can find a small single-storey building made to host shops. Two shops are particularly interesting.

One is a furniture shop, where you can see several vertical pianos! Most of them bear a ‘Made in the USSR’ sign.

Ghost Town Piano Shop Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

There are also some signs, including some ‘dos and don’ts’ for safety.

Ghost Town TV Shop Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ghost Town Piano Shop Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

An adjoining shop used to sell home appliances, and on the scaffolds you can still find a set of cathode ray tube old TV sets!

Ghost Town TV Shop Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Ahead of this shops, you can find a disturbing abandoned playground and an outdoor basketball court, possibly once part of the nearby School N.2.

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

School N.2 (Microdistrict 2)

This big multi-storey school building offers an incredible quantity of memorabilia to be photographed, and even taken alone it would already make for a valid reason to come to Pripyat, for a committed hunter of Soviet relics!

Entering the hall, you soon meet interesting posters, based on standard soviet iconography.

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Everything is in total disorder, so you literally walk on books sometimes, and you may find notebooks, school reports, diplomas and other handwritten stuff scattered over any flat surface!

The common areas and corridors are decorated with murals, some of them really nice.

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

A geography classroom features folded maps, textbooks on the geography of the USSR, and even models of some mountains.

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

An intriguing room is a linguistic lab – where they apparently taught English. As observed (see this chapter), this sounds strange, considering the poor level of English penetration even in today’s former USSR Countries, and the fact that English was the idiom of the ‘western enemy’. Maybe the relatively privileged status of the inhabitants of Pripyat included a special level of education.

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The chemistry lab is very ‘lively’, with complicate molecular models and bottles of reactants on the desks.

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

There are archive rooms packed with diplomas and hand written paperworks.

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Some posters in the corridors are really funny, including some related to sport, some explaining good practices for preserving your teeth, and others displaying encouraging numbers related to Soviet industrial production – they are updated to 1985, and the trends do not appear to show any indication of what would happen to the USSR and the whole communist bloc in less than 6 years…

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The biology lab is packed with models describing the anatomy of fishes, birds, and humans as well!

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

More and more classrooms are full of interesting items to check out!

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

An example of a rather interesting iconography style, not far from some Japanese manga, can be found on a few posters close to the main entrance, with lyrics including the anthem of the USSR.

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

In the library on the ground floor you can find interesting textbooks on many subjects. On a particular book left open by chance, we could see a portrait of the massive monument to the Soviet Army in Treptower Park, Berlin (see this post).

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

The school building used to feature a canteen, which can be easily recognized – with a menu board still hanging on a wall!

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

In another wing you can find a music room, and the unmissable gym!

Ghost Town Abandoned School Pripyat Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone

Visiting

Together with a friend, we arranged a two-days visit to the zone with the very competent guide Mikhailo Teslenko (website here). For a curious visitor, one-day trips are really just a quick starter. I could notice the difference between that options and ours when visiting School N.2. We spent 45 minutes there, and despite collecting hundreds of good pics and exploring all the floors, we left with the sensation of having left behind millions of photo opportunities and unchecked items. A group of around ten people on a day trip spent there – literally – 5 minutes. They could not venture beyond the ground floor.

So, if you need to multiply photo opportunities, you will need to go on a private tour. Furthermore, do not underestimate the problem of crowds, which may obstruct your camera scope and spoil your pics of any mystery aura. A small party and a guide with a knowledge of peak hours and crowded hot-spots may help much in avoiding disappointment.

Choose the season accurately, for in summer it gets very warm and humid, and you are not allowed to wear sleeveless shirts, plus the trees obstruct the view more than in winter. Winter of course can be extremely cold. Despite the freezing temperature, we got two perfect days for pictures in late November.

Pripyat is big, and the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is immense, so simply forget to see everything even on a multi-day trip. Yet most highlights will be covered decently on a two-days tour – three chapters on this website are from photographic material collected on such a trip!

More suggestions and practical info can be found in this dedicated section.

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – Second Chapter: Nuclear Power-Plant & Nearby Villages

March 6, 2020March 7, 2020 CarloRLeave a comment

The nuclear power-plant of Chernobyl took its name from an early medieval village – actually one of the oldest settlements in the Ukrainian region – not far from the right bank of river Dnepr. Following the construction of the plant in the early 1970s, the village of Chernobyl changed appearance, turning into a modern town (for the soviet standard of the 1970s…) for workers of the plant.

Actually, an entire new village was eventually built anew closer to the power station, the ill-famed Pripyat. The proximity to the place of the accident, as well as the north-bound air stream on that fateful day on April 1986, meant that Chernobyl town was hit much less by contamination than more modern and populated Pripyat.

As a matter of fact, today Pripyat is included in the inner ‘high-contamination’ sector of the exclusion zone, whereas Chernobyl town to the south has been spared a contamination so severe, and albeit to a much more limited extent than before the accident, it is still partly inhabited today. You are even likely to spend the night there, if you elect to embark on a multi-day tour of the zone!

Maybe less known to the general public is how large the (relatively) ‘low-contamination’ belt of the exclusion zone is. Considering only the Ukrainian part of the cordoned territory, the limited-access area extends roughly as Greater London, i.e. the whole area inside the Orbital! Clearly, on a territory so big – basically an entire province! – there used to be many villages, in most cases rural settlements, existing before the power-plant was erected. Unlike Chernobyl town, some of these smaller villages had retained their early-soviet, or even pre-soviet appearance.

Another relevant item in the area was the huge military plant centered around the ‘Duga’-type early warning system, installed in the 1970s together with a small secluded military village, Chernobyl-2 – see this dedicated post.

When tragedy struck in 1986, the government of the USSR had the area evacuated very fast, in some cases almost overnight. Where Chernobyl town and the power-plant area soon turned into a nest of new activities, mainly connected with the sealing, monitoring and recover of the leaking plant, most of the villages in the isolated zone turned into ghost towns.

Due to its large size and to the drama investing the families of the workers of the power-plant living there, Pripyat is for sure the most famous of all ghost towns of the zone, and probably also of the world. Yet scattered over the Chernobyl exclusion zone are many other smaller ghost villages, crystallized in time. Scattered over the Ukrainian countryside, immersed in the overgrown vegetation, these places offer an authentic and unique view of the rural life in the Soviet Union in the decades before the 1980s, deep in the Cold War era. Abandoned schools, kindergartens, private housing, public offices, patriotic monuments, etc. are abundant there, and make for mysterious sights, in some cases more intriguing to relic-hunters and urban explorers than what you may find in Pripyat – where the atmosphere may turn a bit too touristic even in a freezing weekend of late November, due to the hundreds of one-day trippers from Kiev, Ukraine’s capital city.

This post from a multi-day private photographic tour to the zone (see details and suggestion for the organization of the trip here) covers Chernobyl town and power-plant, plus many less-known and highly-mysterious villages and locations scattered over the exclusion zone. Photographs were taken in November 2019.

Sights

Chernobyl Town

The town of Chernobyl, originally a settlement in the countryside on the left bank of Pripyat river, about 70 miles north of Kiev, and dating from the 12th century, found itself located roughly six miles south of the ‘Lenin’ nuclear power-plant since the 1970s. This fact changed the shape of the town, which was largely expanded with blocks of typical multi-storey soviet monolithic apartment buildings. The population rose quickly from some hundreds to some thousands. A new welcome sign was erected, with some symbolism recalling the industrial vocation of the town.

Chernobyl Chornobyl Monument Ghost Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The town was also an administrative center, with an unmissable KGB building, a justice court, a big communication center and many services for the local population.

Following the accident, the population decreased again to some hundreds, as the town is since then basically in the geographical center of the exclusion zone, albeit being by a small distance out of the inner ‘high-contamination’ sector. According to the rules of the exclusion zone, residents are not allowed to spend all the time there, so there is basically no permanent population.

Today, Chernobyl town may be not the most interesting center in the zone for tourists and explorers, but it is still one of the most active administrative and logistic centers in the cordoned area. It is located on the only major road serving the exclusion zone, going from the southern access point of Dytyatky to the power-plant and Pripyat. It is likely in this ill-famed village that you are going to spend the night, if you are on a multi-day trip!

Chernobyl Chornobyl Monument Ghost Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Despite being there for the night, on our visit we could not tour the town extensively – there is a curfew at night, plus you are not allowed to move away from the hotel without a guide, who will likely leave you at the hotel to pick you up the next morning. Here are a few pics of the hotel ’10’ (this is the name of the hotel, probably linked to its address…).

Food Visit Canteen Hotel 10 Ten Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

One of the highlight of the tour was the visit to the memorial to the victims of the accident, including the deported populations of the villages in the zone. This monument features the names of all the many villages forcibly evacuated following the accident. As said, many of these villages dated from much earlier ages, so people living there for generations were forced to pack up and move away – all of the sudden and forever.

Chernobyl Chornobyl Monument Ghost Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The names are reported on entrance signs aligned along an alley climbing uphill. On top of the hill, a concrete platform reproduces the profile of the exclusion zone, distinguishing between the innermost and outer parts. Each village is represented here by a metal stud planted in this kind of map. Finally, a modern statue of an angel with a trumpet has been placed in a position overlooking the map.

Chernobyl Chornobyl Monument Ghost Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The angel is there for a precise reason. As a matter of fact, the name ‘Chernobyl’ in the local idiom corresponds to ‘Wormwood’. From the Book of Revelation, one of the angels of the Apocalypse let a star fall upon the Earth, causing the extinction of a portion of mankind. The name of the star was – guess – ‘Wormwood’! The cold weather, the fading evening light, the dark silhouette of the angel and the ghost appearance of the nearby housing created an ideal setting for listening to this story from our guide – you too would have been deeply impressed!

Not far from the monument, you can find the local courthouse, where the technicians found responsible for the disaster were trialed. Just cross the road from that building, you can find a statue of Lenin, and close by a big communication center from soviet times, still featuring its huge metal antenna.

Chernobyl Chornobyl Monument Ghost Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Cooling Towers of the Nuclear Power-Plant

Moving north from Chernobyl town, you soon get into the innermost part of the zone, centered around the former nuclear power-plant. You realize you are getting closer as you start seeing a huge funnel emerging from the top of the trees in the distance.

Road Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Reactor Funnel Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

This funnel is one of a couple, and they were never finished. This is actually one of the parts of the power-plant which is easier to visit. Access is cross an artificial channel for the cooling of the plant. You will need to walk along a modern and active railway track, leading to the power-plant some miles further. It is only when you are close to the funnels that you realize how monster-size they are. One of the funnels is largely unfinished, whereas the second one is much higher, and close to completion. We also accessed the latter.

Reactor Funnel Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

For me, this was the first time ever I walked close to such a plant, and the appearance – a mix of its actual size and shape – made this item really impressive! Furthermore, it may look surprising but the walls of the funnels are suspended on a tubular structure all around the base, so that the walls are not planted in the ground. This is in accordance with the working principle of the funnel, which is basically a heat exchanging surface. The wind blowing through the tubular structure at the base increases air circulation.

Reactor Funnel Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Walking past the concrete tubes supporting the funnel, you can even better appreciate its size.

The inner surface of the funnel should have been covered with heat-exchangers. As a matter of fact, at the time of the accident work on this highly contaminated part of the plant was immediately suspended, and never resumed. Only a little part of the heat-exchangers is in place – the scaffolds for masons and plumbers working at the construction of the funnel and of the exchangers are still in place close to the top rim!

Reactor Funnel Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

An oversized pipe emerges from the ground inside the funnel, likely the primary duct of hot cooling water coming from the plant. It is surrounded by a complex concrete structure. An artistic mural from a famous photograph, portraying a doctor assisting the victims of the nuclear emergency, has been authorized on the base of this concrete structure.

Reactor Funnel Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

A particular making this part of the visit especially disturbing is that this is one of the radiation hot-spots of the exclusion zone! The guide will let you go in for a limited time, while waiting for you at a distance – going there more frequently, it would turn dangerous for him on the long run. Your guide’s Geiger counter will emit a worrying whistle close to the funnel, which despite other visited places in the zone, was never seriously decontaminated. On top of the cake, the ground at the center of the funnel is covered in moss, reportedly a natural collector of radiation contaminated powder! Our guide recommended not to step over moss, something we took very seriously – as you see, there are no pictures from the center of the funnel…

The freezing wind blowing through the slot at the base made the visit of the funnel particularly uncomfortable – where in most places of the zone we would have liked to stay days instead of hours, here we were glad our guide gave us only ten minutes!

Nuclear Power-Plant

The centerpiece of the exclusion zone is clearly the plant, officially named after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, but known to the general public through the name of the ancient village nearby – Chernobyl.

Construction of the plant was started in 1970, and the first reactor (N.1) was commissioned in 1977, followed by N.2 in 1978. A second couple of a slightly modified model were commissioned in 1981 (N.3) and 1983 (N.4) respectively. The latter – the youngest – was the one that failed on April 26th, 1986.

The four running reactors at the time of the accident constituted the first unit of the overall design for the power-plant. They physically shared room in a single, enormously long building, where they were arranged in a row, with N.4 at the western end.

The catastrophic failure of N.4 did not mean the immediate cease of operations for the power-plant, as the other reactors went on producing power until they were gradually deactivated (N.2 in 1991, N.1 in 1996 and finally N.3 in 2000). Following the 1986 accident, N.4 was encapsulated by the Soviets in an emergency containment structure, which despite generally doing its job was affected by significant leaking problems. Only in 2016-17 the so-called ‘New Safe Containment’, a huge hangar-like structure capable of more effectively containing radiation, was placed over N.4, immediately showing its effectiveness through a stark reduction of the measured emission, now at much more acceptable levels even in the close vicinity of the plant.

The size of the building can be better appreciated from the distance.

Road Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Contaminated Power Plant View Monument Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Reactors N.1 and N.2 can be spotted beneath the cubic domes to the end of the building opposite to the New Safe Containment.

Contaminated Power Plant View Monument Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Close by the plant, a large node of the Ukrainian distribution grid, with cables, capacitors and connectors, is still active today.

Contaminated Power Plant View Monument Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Road Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

For some reason, the plant cannot be photographed – there are clear signs all around its perimeter. This may be due to the fact this is still an active plant – the power-plant is off, but decommissioning activities are making this area one of the busiest and ‘lively’ in the exclusion zone. There is only one position where you can take a picture, and which is actually very close to the place of the disaster. This observation point is close to the containment structure of reactor N.4, where you can find also a monument to the heroes of the accident.

Contaminated Power Plant View Monument Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

From here you can appreciate the top-ranking size of this structure. Besides the immense financial cost, this item will need replacement in less than a century, due to natural loss of its containment function.

As said, this first block of four reactors was just part of the intended design. A second block of two further reactors (N.5 & 6) was already under construction at the time of the accident. This was cross an artificial channel, and closer to the cooling funnels portrayed above. Similar to the funnels, construction work on the new reactors ended abruptly on the very day of the accident.

Today, you can spot the concrete casing of N.5 & 6, with many cranes and scaffolds still suspended around, just like construction of the new building was still going on! A rather strange sight…

Contaminated Power Plant View Monument Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Road Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Further six reactors had been envisaged on the drawing board, but they never materialized.

Kopachi Village Kindergarten

Less than two miles south of the funnels, deep into the ‘highly-contaminated’ sector, you meet what remains of the former village of Kopachi, one of the many pre-existent settlements totally abandoned due to the accident. Kopachi used to be a village of wooden houses. Wooden houses close to the plant had adsorbed much radioactive powder soon after the accident. With the passing of time, the naturally disintegrating wood had started to spread radiation in the air, so the administration of the exclusion zone had the village literally wiped out and buried. Only a few non-wooden buildings are still standing.

Among them is listed most notably a kindergarten. Despite being close to the main road and much visited, this place is rather eerie. Despite the relatively high level of radiation especially close to the ground, you can get access for a few minutes.

Contaminated Kindergarten Monument Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Inside the classrooms, music sheets, dolls and children’s toys can be seen everywhere. Hangers with funny symbols for the children’s small coats make for a disturbing sight, similar to the sleeping room with small beds aligned in rows, and even some blanket still there. There is also a ‘Menu’ board still hanging on the wall…

Contaminated Kindergarten Monument Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Ahead of the kindergarten, a Soviet war memorial has been inherited by the Ukrainian government, and adorned with the national blue and yellow flag.

Contaminated Kindergarten Monument Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Zalissya Village

The abandoned village of Zalissya is located about 1.5 miles southwest of Chernobyl town, and is conveniently reachable along the main road from there to the Dytyatky entry point.

Likely dating from the years of the Tzar, this village is a prototypical example of a rural settlement in pre-Soviet and early-Soviet times. The only noticeable construction from the main road is a Soviet war memorial, pretty plain in design, yet not small.

Chernobyl Chornobyl Monument Ghost Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Zalissya Abandoned Village Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

To the left side of the monument you can take an unpaved alley leading into the trees. You soon meet an array of small buildings, once hosting public services – a post office, a market. Soon after, you come across the most conspicuous of the buildings in the village – a meeting hall. This is rather disproportionate to the size of the private houses you will see later. The front facade of the building carries a huge communist emblem, and the construction year, 1959.

Zalissya Abandoned Village Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Similar meeting halls were not uncommon in Soviet villages, and were intended for meetings of cultural-political kind, where local people got brainwashed by communist politicians. There are at least three adjoining halls in the building. The larger of the three features a stage with a soviet slogan still hanging from the ceiling!

Zalissya Abandoned Village Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The decor of the halls is in stark contrast to the simple make of the houses nearby. As you proceed further into the trees, you finally find the village of Zalissya – a group of old wooden chalets. Similar – maybe more – than in Pripyat, you find much hardware left behind by the evacuated population – bottles, pans, pots, cans, baskets, cutlery, clothes, candles, toys,…

Zalissya Abandoned Village Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Among the strange items to be found here, you will see an abandoned car – cars were left behind during the evacuation, which was carried out by public transport. As a result, the personnel in charge of the decontamination and survey operations after the accident had at their disposal plenty of abandoned cars! When one broke, it was simply left for another, and used for spare parts. This apparently was the fate of the one you see here…

Zalissya Abandoned Village Town Contaminated Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Accessing the houses maybe tricky, as some are badly damaged due to the years spent in disrepair. Nonetheless, this village provokes an incredible time-capsule effect, offering a hands-on glimpse into the everyday life of common soviet people from a rural setting in the years of the Cold War!

Isolated School & Kindergarten

As previously said, the exclusion zone features a quantity of larger and smaller villages. All of them have been abandoned, and some, originally close to the roads once forming a network in the countryside, are today hard to reach except with a walk in the trees – they are not accessible by car.

An inconvenient location has spared some of the spots in the exclusion zone from being battered by day-trippers. You can reach them only with a guide. As a result, these places are especially exciting to visit, as they feature an intense ghost aura – just like inhabitants had just left!

Over our trip, we visited one such village, and in particular we were directed by our guide to spend some time in the school and kindergarten, put on the side of a former small sporting ground, now invaded by vegetation. The evening light and the loneliness played a part in making this one of the eeriest parts of the overall visit to the exclusion zone!

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Starting from the school, by the entrance hall you soon meet tons of posters and notice-boards, with quotes from Lenin speeches, flags and emblems.

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Adjacent to the hall are two smaller rooms, with literally thousands of letters, copybooks, books, boards, postcards,… most of them hand written! You could easily spend one day taking an inventory of what is in there!

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The long building features only one floor, and the classrooms are organized mostly based on themes like geography, biology, language, physics,…

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Especially interesting is the language classroom. Most apparently, they used to teach English there! Considering the very low penetration of English in today’s ex-USSR countries – except maybe in the most touristic towns – and the fact that this was the language of the ‘western enemies’, it is surprising to find this level of commitment in teaching this idiom, especially in this small peripheral school.

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

A very intriguing lab is that devoted to chemistry and biology. Here you can find models of molecules, microscope specimens, collections of plants and seeds, minerals, etc. The silence, the evening light filtering through the windows on a cold autumn day completed the picture at the time of our visit..

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Similarly interesting are the geography classroom, stacked with boards, similar to the main corridor of the building.

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

To the far end of the school, you can find what appears to be a kind of ‘propaganda lab’ – a relatively large room with tons of purely-Soviet items – history books, portraits of heroes, bombastic propaganda posters, and so on. It is apparent that teachers started pouring in some ideas in the minds of soviet children already from an early age…

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Close by, the physics lab makes for another interesting sight, with kinematics and thermodynamics small-scale experiments bolted to the desks.

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Compared to the school, the kindergarten is somewhat more morbid.

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Puppets, toy trucks, dolls and even baby-size slippers make for a few sights that speak by themselves.

Isolated School Kindergarten Abandoned Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Children’s Camp ‘Emerald’

Not far north of Chernobyl town and close to the main road going to the plant, you can find another unique sight – a summer camp made for children from the large area around Chernobyl, before the nuclear disaster changed everything forever.

The location is not far from river Pripyat. It is today immersed in a tall forest, which makes contributes to the dim and shady aura of this place. Of course, some trees used to be there also before the accident, but today some have grown also in unusual places. The summer camp is made of pretty log cabins, placed on the side of a hill, gently descending towards the river. Nice place, except for a nuclear plant a few miles apart.

Abandoned Ghost Summer Camp Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The cabins are basic and today generally empty, but they feature original wall paintings with animals and some popular characters from fairy tales.

Abandoned Ghost Summer Camp Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

In between some of the cabins, grouped in small clusters, you can find a playground, as well as some notice-boards and water fountains.

Abandoned Ghost Summer Camp Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

There are also some service buildings – a small market and an administration cabin.

Abandoned Ghost Summer Camp Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Abandoned Barges on Pripyat River

The famous ghost town of Pripyat took its name from a nice river, a tributary of the majestic Dnepr, which flows from Russia all across Ukraine (via Kiev) and to the Black Sea. The Pripyat river features a meandering path, and thanks to its slow stream, it is ideal for water transportation of people and goods. As a matter of fact, hydrofoils were used by the locals for commuting before the accident, and barges were used for supplies of any kind, both for the local companies and people. Hydrofoils were especially characteristic of the area – you can find an image of a hydrofoil in the welcome sign entering Chernobyl town (see above).

Following the accident to the power-plant, most barges in the vicinity were contaminated, and also lost any use due to the escape of the population from the badly contaminated area. As a result, most of these ships turned into floating wrecks, slowly descending downstream and finally stranding somewhere on the banks of the river and its smaller tributaries.

A concentration of these relics can be found very close to Chernobyl town, descending to the bank of a receptacle of river Pripyat from the town.

Drifting Barges Stranded Boats Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The rusty, partly sunken barges make for a rather dramatic sight. The evening light of a freezing late-November day made this visit even more impressive.

Drifting Barges Stranded Boats Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Visiting

The sites you see portrayed in this and other chapters (see here) were visited on a personalized two-days photographic tour to the Chernobyl exclusion zone with a guide. To make the most of your time in the zone, and especially if you are looking for good photo sets (including the correct timing over the day accounting for sunlight), I suggest considering this type of tour instead of more common and cheaper day-trips from Kiev. The exclusion zone is simply too extensive and rich of photo opportunities for a one-day visit, plus some places might get (somewhat surprisingly) very crowded at some point during the day, spoiling most scenes of their mystery aura.

We visited in a party of two, with the very competent guide Mikhailo Teslenko. Find in this dedicated section from another post rather complete indications for a visit, and the link to Mr. Teslenko’s website here.

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – First Chapter: Duga Radar and Military Village

February 1, 2020March 7, 2020 CarloRLeave a comment

Especially after the acclaimed HBO series of 2019, the events of the Chernobyl accident, as well as the drama of the local population and emergency staff, are at least basically known to the general public.

Since the nuclear disaster, a large area, comparing well in size with Greater London (but somewhat larger), has been severed from the rest of the world by means of a security cordon, forming the so-called ‘exclusion zone’, on the border between Ukraine and Belarus.

Access to the zone is strictly regulated. You have to carry a radiation dosimeter. Nobody can spend more than some days in a month in it, and no more than four days in a row. Some areas should not be accessed at all, and inside the exclusion zone are two sub-regions, an outer one where also Chernobyl town is, and an inner one, more severely contaminated. The latter is closer around the power-plant, and includes world-famous Pripyat – the mother of all ghost towns. To access this inner zone you are checked further, and stricter permanence restrictions apply.

Despite that, and the obvious – but not so dramatic – unhealthiness of the area, there are many businesses still going on, mainly around the power-plant – decommissioning the whole plant and monitoring the ill-fated reactor 4 is still producing a constant flow of work man-hours – but also in the agencies devoted to studying and monitoring the natural reaction to a never otherwise reached level of scattered radiation. As a matter of fact, huge parts in and around the exclusion zone have been turned into a special natural preserve. There are also services in several centers scattered over the zone, like canteens, hotels, transport companies, ranger stations, etc.

Not least, the Ukrainian Government is somewhat promoting visits to the area by the general public, and following the 30 years anniversary of the accident in 2016, touristic flows have literally exploded, with tens of thousands visitors per year. Clearly, you are not allowed to enter or move around on your own. There are two basic philosophies for visiting.

For those who just like the thrill of being in a contaminated place, an eerie ghost town or in proximity to a damaged nuclear plant for a while, there are quite a few options to get to the zone from Kiev on a one-day guided trip. You won’t see much more than the very basic highlights of the show, but you will be entitled to say ‘I’ve been there’. For those with an interest in taking great pictures, urban explorers, Soviet fans (?) or people with an interest in the history of the accident, private custom-designed multiple-day tours are available, managed by competent authorized guides. Considering the size of the exclusion zone, it is going to be a rush anyway, and you will leave with the sensation of having missed at least as much as what you have seen, but you will definitely see more than on a one-day trip, and not only the most obvious highlights. This was my option when I visited in November 2019 (more practical info at the end of the chapter – scroll down for this), and photographs in this post and related posts on this site (see here for chapter two) cover this incredible experience.

Soviet Over-the-Horizon Anti-ICBM Early Warning System ‘Duga’

Among the highlights most typically overlooked on a short visit to the zone is a one-of-a-kind relic of the Cold War. The Soviet early-warning radar Duga-3, aka ‘the Russian Woodpecker’ (or the ‘Steel Works’ or ‘Steel Yards’ to Western intelligence), started the testing phase in 1976, well into the electronic age. This system was intended to counteract the American intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) threat, by detecting a single or more missiles soon after launch from the continental US. This implied detection beyond the line of the horizon, hence the name of this class of defense system – OTH, ‘over the horizon’ back-scatter radar. The physical effect exploited by this device was an alteration of the ionosphere by missile exhaust plumes, studied since the late 1940s, and such to be detectable by the back scatter of a purpose-designed radar beam.

The radar was made of a couple of two gigantic receiver antennas, one a little bigger than the other, and of a set of emitters. The couple of receivers make for a staggering total length of about 2’200 ft! The two antennas worked on two different frequency ranges. The bigger one was the low-frequency antenna, about 450 ft tall, whereas the smaller high frequency one was ‘only’ about 270 ft tall! As a matter of fact, they can be spotted from quite a distance, for example from the taller buildings of Pripyat.

The receivers were built about 7 miles in a straight line northwest of Chernobyl town – and they found themselves about the same distance southwest of the power-plant, today in the inner, highly contaminated circle within the exclusion zone. A segregated residential area for military technical staff and their families, known as Chernobyl-2, was built nearby. A large and sophisticated control center, as well as a training academy for the technical staff, was installed on site too.

The emitter antenna was located some tens of miles to the northeast of the receiver, closer to the village of Rozsudiv (aka Rasudovo), out of the exclusion zone. Nothing of the original antenna remains there today.

Building this radar system close to a Gigawatt-size nuclear power-plant might have been done in purpose, for the system needed an outraging electric power supply to work (in the order of some tens of Megawatts). By the way, the system reportedly cost to the USSR about twice the money needed for building the nuclear power-plant…

Historical Overview

The Duga system was built in only two operational examples. A set of smaller-scale prototype installations had been originally completed as Duga-N and Duga-2, both located in the village of Kalynivka, near Mykolaiv (aka Nikolayev), southern Ukraine. These systems were successfully tested in the early 1970s, detecting simultaneous launches of four missiles from Baikonur, some 1’600 miles away. As a result of the success, it was decided to deploy two full-scale Duga-3 installations, capable of covering the North American sector. The two selected locations were Chernobyl, Ukraine, and Bolshaya Kartel, in the easternmost part of Russia. As said, these were completed around 1976.

In the event, the whole OTH detection system never went fully operative. Major technical issues related to the instability of the ionosphere in the polar region – an effect that inland-looking testing with the experimental small-scale Duga systems had not highlighted – made the north-pointed Duga-3 largely unreliable. The Soviets military finally accepted the Bolshaya Kartel installation in 1980, whereas testing went on for years in the Chernobyl installation, until it was hastily shut off following the power-plant accident in 1986. Parts of the Chernobyl system were transferred to the twin site in Bolshaya Kartel. The latter ceased operations in 1989, even before the end of the USSR, without having been fully commissioned ever.

The contamination of the plant in Chernobyl-2 made its disassembly economically disadvantageous. As a result, this humongous witness of the Cold War is still standing today, notably the last of the group of OTH early warning radars deployed by the USSR in the years of the confrontation with the West, now totally or partly demolished – for sure, this is the only surviving ‘Steel Works’ antenna.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Access and Radar Antennas
Control Center and Technical Buildings
Training Center
Chernobyl-2 – Firefighters Station and Village
Chernobyl-2 – School
Chernobyl-2 – Entertainment Center
Visiting

Sights

Similar to all villages in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the military town of Chernobyl-2 was evacuated and abandoned following the nuclear accident in 1986. It had been built anew for the 1’500 staff of the Duga classified radar station and their families, and as such it was a segregated, secret military town, sufficiently small and far from larger Chernobyl and Pripyat to attract little attention. The local firefighters station was reportedly the only one from the area not taking part in the emergency operations connected with the 1986 accident – it had to devote itself completely to the local military installation and village. This illustrates how serious the concepts of ‘secret’ and ‘segregated’ were for the Soviet military staff!

There are three main focuses in the exploration of this site – the monster antennas, the radar control center & training academy, and the Chernobyl-2 village. In my view, the mixture of a secret Cold War military past, unique Star-Wars-like vintage hi-tech, a history of forced abandonment and nuclear contamination, together with the general ‘something wrong’ atmosphere of the exclusion zone, makes this area one of the most intriguing on the ‘Chernobyl-menu’ of weird sights!

Access and Radar Antennas

You get access to the area after leaving the main road connecting Chernobyl town to the power-plant soon after the inner-zone checkpoint. You drive some miles deep in the trees along a typical Soviet military road, made of prefabricated concrete slabs. The evergreen trees effectively hide the giant antennas, which you spot only when basically at a walking distance from the target.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

You may stop immediately ahead of the original fence of the segregated area – the gate still bolsters the Red Star Soviet military markings! A likely apocryphal huge head of Lenin has been placed besides the entrance. From there on, you must go by foot. By the way, there are a few guards living (at least on shifts, in accordance with contamination limiting regulations) in the original checkpoint by the gate!

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Walking to the bigger low-frequency antenna – the taller one, located closer to the site entrance – you pass by a nice Soviet military-themed mural.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Walking closer to the antenna, and going past an abandoned inner control booth, you start to realize the abnormal size of this item – as well as its rather complicated make.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The overall shape is roughly rectangular. To the far ends you can find two pylons, as tall as the central part of the antenna, and holding an array of horizontal cables.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The most visible part of the antenna is composed of an incredible tubular structure, apparently made of several pod-like substructures. Seen together in the pics, these pods may deceive their actual size – their diameter compares to the height of an adult man!

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The pods are connected by cables and pipes. The arrangement make for impressive pattern geometries – almost a nice design object!

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Walking along the base of this thing, you will notice it changes shape depending on your point of view. Taking the whole larger antenna in a single photo frame is not an easy task, even with a wide lens – it is really big!

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Right besides the taller and longer low-frequency antenna, you find another cable-holding pylon, as well as the ‘smaller twin’, i.e. the high-frequency antenna.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Our visit was rather early in the morning of a very cold late November day, and the sight of this monster antennas was made even weirder by the unreal silence of the area, broken only by the low metallic clacking sound of this mega-structure, dilating after catching the first beams of the morning light… Visiting later in the day would have not been the same – when we left, some other small groups of visitors could be seen around, somewhat breaking the mystery atmosphere.

Past the antenna, you find a concrete technical building running all along it, with a very long corridor.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Control Center and Technical Buildings

The major building in the technical area to the back of the antenna hosts the radar operation and control center. Originally, this sheltered arrays of signal-conditioning electronics, computers and related technical stuff, as well as control rooms much similar to NASA space mission control centers you can see in Houston, TX or Cape Canaveral, FL.

Accessing the building, you will be overwhelmed by the number of photo opportunities. A pinnacle for Soviet vintage fanatics is a couple of fine murals – despite most of Soviet military-related artistic works are really naive, there exist exceptions, and these two murals are among them. One of the paintings is fancy-space themed, whereas the other is science-themed.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

A highlight is of course the huge control room. Original control stations for the subsystems can still be seen, with plenty of vintage cathode tubes. The main report panel, once occupying the entire end wall of the room, has been largely dismantled, but traces of electronics can clearly be seen.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

In the same building, you can find dark rooms with arrays of cabinets once holding electronic boards or electric material.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Another highlight is a kind of propaganda room – not uncommon in Soviet military towns, see this post. Here you can find quotes of Lenin, articles from the Soviet law, as well as photographs and descriptions of US and NATO military assets. A stained glass board portrays the might of the Red Army, whereas another poster denigrates the ‘Yankees’…

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

From the top of the control building, you can enjoy a nice mid-height view of the antennas.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Back inside, you find another interesting room, with a scale model of the Darth, the Duga radar system and its function. In the same room you can find many control panels. Also interesting are the decorated glass windows, with military-themed stained glasses.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Training Center

Walking back to where you had started your exploration of the antennas, you find a flat building, originally hosting a training center for the technical staff operating the Duga. A training room is a major highlight of the show. Here you can find descriptions of the working principles of the OTH antennas, as well as a sample list of the US/NATO strategic missile and anti-missile assets! This is really interesting, also because portraits are made by hand and complemented by basic technical data.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

There are also technical schemes, and some further purely decorative portraits in naive style.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Military buffs – like myself – would easily loose track of time in this ‘didactic area’! Among the interesting things carelessly left on ground, tons of original Soviet radio and signal conditioning material!

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Chernobyl-2 – Firefighters Station and Village

Leaving the innermost technical area, you may then walk to Chernobyl-2, the segregated military village. A rather interesting place here is the firefighters station. Very well preserved, you can find in it an incredible scale model of the Duga and of the village, i.e. the area in the range covered by this station. In the same room, you can find tons of technical posters, and a nice epic mural dedicated to firefighters.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Chernobyl-2 is a ghost town in its own respect. Made of large prefabricated blocks, it is not even one-tenth of Pripyat in size, but it resembles similar military towns in former Soviet-occupied areas of Europe (see for instance this post). Not much visited and very quiet, it makes for a really mysterious sight.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Moving around the deserted blocks, you come across a small playground – basically intact, as if children had left the day before, a really impressive time-capsule effect!

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Chernobyl-2 – School

But the time-machine effect reaches its top in a visit of the local school. Similar to other schools in villages of the exclusion zone, this is really in good shape, and offers tons of interesting sights for explorers. In the music room you can see portraits of Russian and European composers – strangely enough, including Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff, which left the USSR for the West… – a vertical piano, and tons of didactic stuff in the cabinets.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

A very Soviet room features a kind of celebration of youth service.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

There is also a math/science room, with books, models, portraits.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Most surprisingly to Westerners, you can find a language teaching room, where apparently English was taught. Considering the limited penetration of English in today’s Russia, and the fact that this was the language of enemy propaganda from the Soviet standpoint, this room makes for a rather puzzling sight!

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Other rooms include a biology lab – with some botanical specimens still in place! – and much more.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

There is also the unmissable school gym, rather well preserved.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Chernobyl-2 – Entertainment Center

A final highlight of the village of Chernobyl-2 is the entertainment center. This offered a theater and a large gym, together in the same building. Both are still in a relatively good shape. A nostalgic quote on a red banner is still hanging from the ceiling in the large theater.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

The gym is decorated with naive sport-themed paintings, as well as Russian bears on stained glasses.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Going back to the entrance, you meet more service buildings, which have been converted to deposits of scrap material.

Radar Duga Woodpecker Early Warning Soviet Military Red Army Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

All in all, the Duga radar and Chernobyl-2 military village are for sure an unmissable sight for technically-minded people and Cold War historians!

Visiting

As said in the introduction, this site is often overlooked on one-day trips. However, if you are interested in something more than just being in the exclusion zone, and especially if you want to take good pictures, you will definitely need to take a longer tour. The Duga radar and annexed village are often a part of multiple-day tours.

Depending on the type of tour, you may customize the experience, and ask for a bit longer time here. If you are a technically-minded person, a Cold War historian, or interested in military history, this is among the most most interesting sites you will find in the exclusion zone – and by chance, in the world, since the majority of the BMEW (ballistic missiles early warning) system of the USSR have been demolished today (see for instance Skrunda, Latvia, in this post).

Personally I chose to take a private custom two-days tour to the zone in a party of two (me and a friend of mine, plus the guide). We spent a full morning in the area of the Duga. For serious explorers, I totally suggest to choose at least this option, or better a longer tour, as so long a stay in the Duga (or other similarly interesting) area, while still barely sufficient to satisfy your appetite, is simply not possible on a short and pre-programmed 1-day trip.

General Data and Advice for a Trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Type of Trip

You can see this advice in any serious travel account from Chernobyl area, and I can confirm it – just forget to see everything on a single (even multi-day) trip to the exclusion zone, it is simply too extensive and dense of interesting sights. Yet a private two-days tour is surely already ok for a satisfying photographic trip. Of course, personally I am planning to go back for checking out other places in the zone.

Generally speaking, my first two-days visiting experience was extremely positive, largely thanks to two factors – a great travel-mate, my friend Paolo, sharing my passions and most of my crazy exploration ideas, and a great guide, Misha, who owns and operates a guided tour service in Kiev, now totally dedicated to the exclusion zone. Together with Paolo we arranged this trip two and a half months in advance, with a focus on taking pics of some specific highlights of the exclusion zone. We agreed on a schedule with Misha before being there, specifying the Duga among the highlights. Misha totally understood the spirit of our visit, and drove us to unique places, including some not often included in most trips, concentrating on photo opportunities. He took extraordinary care of avoiding the crowds. We felt safe at every time, and I must say the organization of the visit prepared by our guide was virtually flawless – no wasted time, only interesting sights, millions of photo opportunities. The only thing I regret is not having had more time!

Albeit you will be driven in a comfortable sedan around the zone, be prepared to walk a lot and quick even on bad terrain – in many instances there is no way to avoid that. If you want to take good pictures inside, you will need to take a tripod and/or a powerful flash. On top of this, go there with a very good familiarity of your photographic gear. It is essential you can take pictures reasonably fast even with a tripod, or you will not be able to get much of your time in the zone. As I work with a massive Canon reflex camera, I have multiple lenses and gear. I suggest having them in pods around your belt, to be able to switch lenses fast. Let us add that in the freezing air of late November (about 14°F in sunlight during our stay), you will need warm clothes and suitable gloves to both protect your hands from cold air and allowing operation of your camera. So, it maybe obvious to professionals, but a trip to the exclusion zone should not be your first experience with urban exploration or with your camera either, otherwise you will get disappointed very easily.

Time of the Visit

Something you may not think necessary if this is your first time to the zone – arrange your schedule to take countermeasures against the crowds! Listen to your guide’s advice in this respect, and get prepared to start your day out early, have lunch late and finish at sunset, especially if you want to get good pictures without somebody in the frame. This may not be the case in less visited Chernobyl-2 and Duga area, but the central square of Pripyat may turn as busy as in its pre-1986 heyday around noon, with several tourist buses parked side by side, and flocks of 1-day visitors everywhere with their guides – ok, it is not like Venice in the summer, but enough to strip the place of its mysterious aura, and such to severely disturb many potential photographic sets. This was in late November, our guide reported in summer is by far worse.

The best time of the year for the climate is the mid-season. Summer can be very hot and humid, winter can be really cold (well below freezing). In the cold season, the trees hide the buildings to a less extend, and this may be and advantage for pictures. Abandoned places are often invaded by vegetation, to the point you get disoriented, and perspectives tend to be obstructed.

Radiation/Safety

Concerning the radiation/safety aspect, you can be sure you will not be driven by any guide in any dangerous places. Everybody is given a personal dosimeter when entering the zone. This item works in principle like a gas meter – its internal reading runs up every time you are exposed to radiation. The more intense the radiation, the faster it runs up. It will be checked by the local Authority when you leave, and based on the time frame of your stay, the final reading must stay under an assigned threshold. If it is over, your guide will be questioned. For this simple reason, guides are very careful and arrange the visit so that the total dose is below the threshold.

Food Visit Canteen Hotel 10 Ten Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Dress Code

I went with military surplus clothes and undergarments for thermal protection. The only item I did not take back home was a pair of boots, purchased from a made in China shop for 18 dollars just for this trip. As I had imagined, they got covered in dust, and considering their value, I elected not to risk carrying them home. By the law, you should not go around with exposed legs or arms, but visiting in winter will make this rule not difficult to comply with…

Souvenirs

As obvious, you will not be leaving with any unauthorized token, for two reasons – 1) you are checked in dedicated booths when leaving the zone or when accessing the canteen (there is only one central canteen for all tourists), hence if you have sources of radioactive emission with you, you will be stopped, and 2) you need to be a real idiot to dare to take away with you and installing at home something contaminated by radiation! Of course, you will be tempted, but of course you need to resist. This is what make the exclusion zone the world’s best time-capsule from the Soviet era – more than anywhere else, everything is, and is destined to remain, largely as it used to be in 1986.

There are of course souvenir shops, at the entrance of the exclusion zone – where you will stop anyway – in the canteen and in the hotel ’10’.

Canteen

Services include the central canteen and at least a hotel. The canteen is close to the power-plant, inside the highly contaminated area but far from hot-spots. It is modern, clean, and you are given good Ukrainian food. This was included in the guided tour, so I can’t say what instrument of payment they are accepting (cash, credit, …).

Food Visit Canteen Hotel 10 Ten Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Except for the canteen and hotel, we were shown a convenience shop in Chernobyl town, but of course you are not to find much in terms of food services around. You may better carry something with you from the ‘outside world’ (water, snacks,…) if needed.

Hotel

The hotel where we stayed is located in Chernobyl town, and is called ’10’ (‘Desyat’, meaning ‘ten’ in Russian). Facilities are totally ok. We got a twin room with shared toilet services (showers and service are separated from each other, very clean and ensuring privacy – totally ok, just not one for each room). The atmosphere is friendly despite not much English spoken, and they serve dinner and breakfast at pre-determined times with a fixed menu (tasty Ukrainian food), plus there is a bar service running all the evening. Free fully working WiFi. The hotel was reserved and payed for by the guide, we only paid for bar service (water, tea, beer, …).

Our guide left us there after dark, and picked us early the next morning.

Food Visit Canteen Hotel 10 Ten Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

There is a curfew after dark, and you are locked in the building during the night – but you are never allowed to move around without a guide, so the only difference when the curfew is active is you can’t move around in the hotel parking… That said, the sight of Chernobyl at night would easily fit in a post-apocalyptic video-game or horror movie, especially in the cold season – silence, big dark Soviet-style apartment buildings with a couple of lighted windows, nobody around, a chilling wind and some dog barking in the distance… you will definitely better appreciate a cup of tea in the bar than being free to move around!

Food Visit Canteen Hotel 10 Ten Cold War Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone Pripyat

Guided Tour Suggestion

From the website of our guide Mikhailo Teslenko you will get practical info for setting up your trip to the zone. I can definitely suggest to come in contact with this guide, who is always friendly and answers professionally, very fast and with detailed info.

Former Soviet and East German Military Bases in the GDR – Pictures from Above

December 23, 2019July 29, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

	The BEST pictures from Soviet bases in the GDR ALL in ONE BOOK!
	Soviet Ghosts in Germany
	GRAB IT in PAPERBACK or KINDLE from your national Amazon store!
	amazon.com \| amazon.de \| amazon.co.uk amazon.it \| amazon.fr \| amazon.co.jp

At the end of WWII, the territory of conquered Germany was split in four sectors by the then-Allies – the US, Great Britain, France and the USSR. A substantial part to the north-east of the country fell in Stalin’s hands. A few years later, following a re-organization of all territories occupied by the Red Army during WWII, the Soviet part of Germany was turned into a communist-led state known as German Democratic Republic (‘GDR’, or ‘DDR’ in German language).

Especially from a military standpoint, similar to Poland, and later Hungary and Czechoslovakia, this produced a kind of cohabitation. As a matter of fact, besides clearly backing the communist dictatorship in occupied countries, the Soviets did not quit at all from newly acquired western territories. On the contrary, thanks to the position on a potential war front had the Cold War turned hot, the westernmost Soviet-controlled countries – with the GDR on top – were stuffed with Soviet military bases, and hundreds of thousands troops. These shared the map with the national military, which in the GDR were known as NVA (an acronym standing for the German equivalent of ‘National People’s Army’).

The national and Soviet forces often took control of separated military facilities, and while operating in a coordinated fashion, they were substantially different entities. As said, this was typical to many Soviet-controlled countries. Yet especially on the relatively small East German territory, of high strategic value thanks to the shared border with the West, the total number of tank bases, training academies, air bases, missile bases, nuclear depots, shooting ranges, etc., reached an unrivaled world’s peak, when compared to the population or the size of the country.

Following the crisis leading to the end of the GDR in 1989, and the collapse of the USSR roughly two years later, all these military assets turned surplus. The German reunification, and the disappearance of a significant military opponent in the close vicinity of the border, triggered a rationalization of military resources in Germany. Most of the NVA bases were closed. The Soviet-controlled installations were evacuated more slowly – it took until 1994 to bring back to their Russian homeland the thousands of troops and tonnes of material stationed in Germany. Once returned to Germany, also most of these bases were deactivated and closed.

Since then, the fate of these former military facilities in Germany has been in the hands of local governments or national initiatives. As a matter of fact, following a few decades spent as ghost bases – a real paradise for urbex explorers! – most air bases have been converted into solar power plants. Some of them have retained an airport status, either with a very reduced runway, or in some cases being turned into full-scale commercial airports. There are exceptions too, as some are still at least partly abandoned, and while invaded by vegetation, they are still totally recognizable especially from above. Other bases, like tank bases or nuclear depots, while mostly earmarked for demolition, have been comparatively better ‘preserved’ – at least, they have been attacked by the state more slowly, so there is still much to see there.

You can find on this website several reports about quite a few of these military bases in the former GDR – especially airbases – from a ‘ground perspective’. Sometimes, it is difficult to appreciate the size, shape, as well as their concentration over the former GDR territory. In order to better show these aspects, now here you have a portrait of many of these bases from the air!

The photographs in the present post are from a single, two-hours flight on a Cessna 172 single-prop aircraft. The flight took place in July 2019. As you can see from the locations pinpointed on the map below, on our route we met not less than 15 former (or still active) military items. And this is just a short trip mostly in southern Brandenburg – i.e. the region immediately south of Berlin.

This report is a complement to other chapters on this site, yet it is especially interesting on its own, as a comprehensive bundle of aerial pics on this subject is not easy to find!

Sights

Points of interest are listed following the flight plan, which was flown roughly as on the map, in a counter-clockwise direction, starting from Reinsdorf Airfield.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Stolzenhain

This one-of-a-kind facility – there were actually two such depots, but one is today demolished and inaccessible – used to be a major storage for nuclear weapons for the Soviet Western Group of Forces, which included all Soviet troops stationed in the GDR.

The bunker is today closed, but it apparently lies on private land, hence sparing it from being turned into something else (or simply flattened) by the local government. You can see a dedicated report in this chapter.

Vegetation has grown wild in the area, but from above you can clearly spot the rectangular perimeter of the external concrete wall. From north to south, an internal road crossed the rectangle in the middle.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Depot Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The bunkers are half-interred, hence from above you can barely spot the entrances. These are aligned along a service road arranged in a hexagonal shape.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Depot Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

To the south of the bunker area, you can spot a former group of barracks and an access road heading west. Construction and demolition works are taking place in this area.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Depot Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Control and Reporting Center Schönewalde

This is an active military installation, and actually quite an advanced one. It is tasked with monitoring the air operations over a large part of the airspace over Germany.

The origin of this half-interred technical installation can be traced to the 1970s, when the site was activated under responsibility of the NVA. Following the end of communist rule and after German reunification, unlike many others this site was not demolished, but instead it was developed further, and pressed into the defense chain of NATO since the mid-1990s.

Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

You can see many half-interred warehouses, garages for trucks, a smaller radar antenna to the west of the complex, close to a helipad.

Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

There is also a larger antenna to the northeastern corner of the CRC.

Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Holzdorf Air Base

This large airport used to be an airbase of the NVA. It is one of the few airports from the Cold War in the GDR which were turned into a full-scale modern airport. Today it is a base of the Bundeswehr, i.e. the German military.

As we approached from north, you can spot first typical large communist buildings, forming a citadel which is likely still today hosting troops and their families. There is also reportedly a flight academy for helicopters in this complex, north of the airport.

Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The airport features large hangars for military helicopters to the northwest of the runway.

Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

A rather old-styled control tower can be seen to the south of the runway.

Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Falkenberg Air Base

We reached the southernmost point on our flight with the former Soviet base in Falkenberg. This old base dating to the 1930s went on to be developed into a Soviet base home to fighter aircraft, MiG-23 and later MiG-29. Close to the airfield, there used to be a SAM missile battery (to the west of the runway).

Approaching from the north-west, you can notice a small ghost town and a large technical area, with what appear to be big unreinforced maintenance hangars, today used for something else by local companies.

Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The airport is today dedicated to light aviation activities. The runway has been shortened, and sadly large portions of the original airfield have been covered with solar cells.

Most interestingly, in the trees to the northwest of the runway, you can spot four unfinished aircraft shelters – possibly of the type AU-16, which could host both the MiG-23 and MiG-29. They look like short concrete tunnels. They should have been covered with land, but works were interrupted in 1990.

Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

More aircraft shelters – completed – can be found to the east of the field, today used for storage, as it is often the case.

Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Finsterwalde Air Base

This installation was operative since WWII, when the large hangars and control tower still in place to the south of the apron were built. The base went on serving as a Soviet base, hosting fighters and fighter-bombers of many kinds along its illustrious history. A visit to this site, with its nuclear depot, can be found in this chapter.

Approaching from the southwest, we flew over the nuclear storage bunker, made for nuclear warheads to supply aircraft operating from here. The columns once holding the crane to lift the warheads can be clearly spotted.

Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

There is also a group of Soviet-style houses for the families of the troops. Apparently somebody is still living there!

Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The base was enlarged with reinforced shelters to the north and southwest of the runway. The large hangars to the south are still in use with local companies, some of course connected with flight operations – this airport is still active for general aviation operations.

Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Enroute to the next waypoint, we flew over a natural preserve, which offered some quite spectacular sights.

Naturpark Lausitz – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Alteno-Luckwalde Air Base

This airfield north of Finsterwalde was a reserve airport of the East German NVA. While never developed to the extent of primary airfields, it was among the few reserve air bases to receive an asphalt runway.

Today, the view is rather desolating – the airfield has been totally covered with solar cells.

Alteno Fliegerhorst Luckau Abandoned NVA East Germany (DDR) Air Force Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Brand-Briesen Air Base

This WWII base was selected for quick and substantial improvement since the early Cold War years, and went on to be one of the most developed Soviet air bases in the former GDR. In the beginning it hosted Ilyushin Il-28 bombers, but in the jet age it was home to a number of different squadrons and aircraft types. You can find the results of the exploration of a part of this base in this chapter.

Approaching from the south, you first spot an immense hangar, conceived at the turning of the century for commercial airships, and later turned into a water park – Tropical Island.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

But more interestingly, to the south of the airfield – unusually far from it, actually – you can find a depot for nuclear weapons, to supply the aircraft operating from the base. Similar to Finsterwalde, the pillars once holding the crane for lifting the warheads can be clearly seen.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Still to the south of the airfield, the local citadel for the troops is today an interesting ghost town.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

As you may notice, the airfield is today closed, and has been largely converted into a recreation park. Incredibly, they decided to build an array of small houses on the former premises of the airport, and in close proximity to the monster airship hangar.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Yet some relics from the past function of the air base are to be found scattered around. These include aircraft shelters, and more rare engine testing facilities – V-shaped concrete walls emerging from the grass nearby some of the shelters.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Kleinköris Air Base

This airbase was activated in the late 1960s as a reserve airfield for the East German NVA. It was used for exercises, and as a home base for helicopters of the Volkspolizei, i.e. the police of the GDR. After deactivation, it was used as a military storage for a while, and finally closed.

Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The appearance, perfectly evident from the air, is rather unusual – it features a long grassy runway, with concrete taxiways at the ends. To the reports from the time, this is the original configuration of the airbase. Luckily, it is basically still intact.

Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Wünsdorf

The name of this small town will be forever linked to the two military high commands which were headquartered on its premises – Hitler’s OKW first, and the command of the Soviet Western Group of Forces for the full span of the Cold War. You can find a dedicated chapter here.

From above, you can get a nice view of the extension and shape of this military town, as well as good portraits of some of the highlights in it. Approaching from the southeast, you first meet the most famous building in Wünsdorf, the officers’ house. This majestic building dates from the early 20th century. It knew an extensive renovation during the Cold War years, as an officers’ club for the Soviet Red Army.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

This huge building features a statue of Lenin on one side. In the wings to the back, you can find a swimming pool and a theater. The round building with a mural is a late Soviet addition, and once hosted a circular panorama painting.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The high command occupied the buildings north of the officers’ club, today converted into something else.

Another highlight of Wünsdorf are the many bunkers. These include the Maybach bunkers from Hitler’s era, once hosting the OKW. These were designed for deception as living houses, but could withstand aerial bombardment. They were blown by the Soviet, with only partial success. The Zeppelin bunkers, like cusped concrete towers, were designed to resist bombardment, by deviating air-dropped bombs falling from above along the sidewalls and down to the ground nearby.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Soviet bunkers were located very close to the array of Maybach bunkers. They are largely interred, and from above you can see some concrete tunnels in the trees.

The railway line and station is an historical track from the time. The Wünsdorf-Moscow line operated in both ways on a daily basis. The service was suspended only in 1994, at the very end of the withdrawal of the last occupation troops to Russia – for many, the symbolic end of Soviet occupation.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The buildings for those stationed in Wünsdorf and their families were really many. Today this town, having lost its original core business, is largely uninhabited.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Sperenberg Air Base

Not far from Wünsdorf, you can find the former Soviet air base of Sperenberg. This immense transport base used to be a major logistic base for the Soviets, which operated from here with their monster cargo planes. More on this base can be found in this chapter.

Approaching from the east, you first meet the buildings for the troops, to the east of the airport and close to the village.

Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

An aerial view allows to clearly capture the shape of the base, with two large parallel taxiways with a huge array of parking bays for transport aircraft, and a long runway – still basically intact! – to the south.

Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

A large hangar with an inscription in Russian can be found to the east, whereas a small terminal building can be spotted ahead of a large apron to the west.

Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Today the airport is closed, but rumors have surfaced more than once concerning its evaluation as a third airport for Berlin. This may justify its missed conversion into another desolating field of solar cells.

Kummersdorf Military Laboratory

A bit of an outsider here, Kummersdorf holds a very relevant place in the history of war technique thanks to pre-Soviet activity. In the late 1920s the Germans established here an experimental laboratory especially dedicated to novel weapons. It can be said that western rocketry was born here, since the group of Walther Dornberger, later joined by Wernher von Braun, started operations on liquid-propelled rockets in this lab.

Activities later moved to somewhere else, and finally landed in Peenemünde – see this dedicated chapter.

The laboratory in Kummersdorf was used also during WWII to test captured material, especially enemy tanks. Following the end of WWII, the Soviets took over the facility, but turned it into a more standard military base.

Kummersdorf Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The red barracks in typical German style can be clearly seen from above. Most of the post-WWII depots are falling apart, but the area is really huge.

Forst Zinna Military Base

This base is located to the northeast of Jüterbog-Altes Lager, a huge Imperial, Nazi and later Soviet military complex, including two shooting ranges, a few airfields, an academy and many barracks.

Forst Zinna base was operative in the years of the Third Reich, named after Adolf Hitler himself. It went on to become a large base for the artillery groups training in the nearby shooting ranges. A dedicated chapter can be found here.

Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

From above, it is clear that demolition works are slowly wiping out the base. Yet there is much housing left to visit. Typical German buildings share the area with shabby Soviet ‘socialist housing’. A bridge passing over a major road and railway track going to Berlin links the base to the shooting range north of it.

Altes Lager Shooting Range and Barracks

The shooting range north of Forst Zinna is pointed with concrete control towers. The area is very extensive, and quite more convenient to explore from above!

Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Closer to Altes Lager, many barracks can be seen aligned along a major road. From the style, these appear to be from an older time than the Soviet occupation years.

Jüterbog-Altes Lager Training Academy

This pretty unique piece of architecture dates from the years of the Führer, and used to be an academy for air force technicians. It was later turned into a military academy for Soviet staff, and a KGB office was reportedly active here too. A report can be found in this chapter.

From above you can better capture the plant of the complex. The half-circle to the north hosted a big theater in the basement.

Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Most strikingly, in the western part of the complex you can see sporting facilities which have been completely refurbished, and are actually in use. These include a football field and some tennis courts. There is also a pool, but this has not been refurbished.

Jüterbog-Niedergörsdorf Air Base

This large air base was jointly operated by the NVA and Soviet air force. You can find a report in this chapter.

Approaching from the northwest you can see aircraft shelters, whereas to the northeast you find an array of large maintenance hangars. These have been turned into something else, including a test driving facility, which chopped part of the original apron.

Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

To the south of the runway, the base used to feature a large number of parking bays for helicopters. The runway has not been physically cut, albeit a central section of the original concrete has been taken away. Air operations today are apparently limited to ultralights and trikes.

Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

A menacing army of solar cells is attacking the perimeter of the base from the east! An unmissable sight next to this base (to the east) is a former aircraft shelter turned into a private collection of Soviet memorabilia – Shelter Albrecht (covered in this post).

Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Enroute to the next waypoint, you can clearly spot from the air a military hospital complex (see this chapter) – rather famous among urbex fanatics… – and other service buildings.

Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Jüterbog-Damm Air Base

This base dates to the years of the German Empire. It was forcibly demilitarized after WWI, but strongly developed in the years of the Third Reich, with the construction of large concrete hangars and service facilities, and a grassy airstrip good for fighter planes of the era.

Following conquer by Soviet forces, the airbase was partly dismantled, but at some point a SAM battery appeared on this site.

Today you can appreciate the size and special shape of the concrete hangars, a true engineering masterpiece from pre-WWII years.

Juterbog-Damm WWI-WWII Luftwaffe Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Landing in Reinsdorf

Finally, you can see here a vid of the perfect approach and landing into the touristic airfield of Reinsdorf, about two hours after take-off!

Practical Notes

This flight was carried out from Reinsdorf Airfield (ICAO: EDOD), located about 10 miles southeast of Jüterbog, the most sizable town in the neighborhood. The airfield is roughly 1 hour driving south of downtown Berlin, very easy to reach with a car.

The flight would have not been possible without the help of a fantastic couple, Mrs. Kolditz and her husband, who own a nice French-built Cessna 172 from the mid-1960s, D-EBLD, portrayed here.

Cessna 172 D-EBLD Flugplatz Reinsdorf East Germany – Scenic Flight

There are some features making this very aircraft ideal for aerial pictures. Besides the high-wing configuration, this exemplar features a side window which can be completely opened, allowing for an unobstructed view of the scenery below.

The man is a former NVA pilot, something that must have played a part in him accepting to set up this very unusual flight plan! His great ability as a pilot helped much in having the aircraft in the right position to take the desired aerial pictures.

Thanks to the availability of the Kolditz family, setting up the flight was an easy task, even operating from abroad and through much Google-translation!

Another key-element in this adventure was Federico, a friend of mine sharing my passion for flying, who lives in Berlin, and played an essential part in co-financing the flight and translating between me and the pilot, as – perhaps incredibly, considering the content of this website… – I don’t speak German.

If you are interested in sightseeing flights south of Berlin, I suggest inquiring with the folks at Reinsdorf, a very active airfield with many facilities for touristic and pleasure flights. Website here.

Soviet and East German Relics North of Berlin

September 29, 2019June 28, 2023 CarloRLeave a comment

For the full span of the Cold War, the communist German Democratic Republic has been a highly militarized region.

Due to its position right on the European border between NATO countries and the USSR-led eastern bloc, this relatively small state was kept in high consideration by the Soviet military staff in Moscow. In the re-organization of Soviet forces following the end of the Great Patriotic War (i.e. WWII), of the four Soviet groups of forces stationed in all satellite countries outside the Soviet border, one was specifically named ‘Group of Soviet Forces in Germany’. This group was headquartered in Wünsdorf, the former location of the German OKW south of Berlin (see this post), and had under its command a force of some hundred thousands troops, divided in two tank armies, an entire air army, three mixed armies and a supplementary artillery division. Supplies were in no shortage either, with some tens of fully operational airbases/tank polygons, academies and housing for all the troops and respective families.

Despite the very significant Soviet presence, the GDR invested a huge capital of its own in the development of a full-scale military strength. The East-German National People’s Army (NVA) received top-tier technology from the USSR, and did of course manufacture military supply of all sorts. Sustaining this army, together with the enormous para-military organization of the internal Ministry of Security – the ill-famed STASI – and other governmental organizations, military expenses undoubtedly contributed to the economical crisis hitting the GDR in the 1980s, setting the scene for its final demise.

The region north of Berlin was particularly rich in military and governmental installations, some of them highly classified, their history shrouded into mystery. You can find some information in dedicated posts on this website (see this post, also here and here).

In this chapter, some more items of interest are featured. Four of them are abandoned tokens from Soviet occupation. A nice belle-epoque villa on the shore of the Röblingsee in Fürstenberg, where the headquarters of the 2nd Guard Tank Army was headquartered since Stalin’s era to the withdrawal of Soviet forces in the 1990s, is the first of them. The second is a unique, forgotten Soviet monument, to be found less than two miles south of Fürstenberg. Two more are memorials and cemeteries, for Soviet troops who perished in the last stage of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) around Berlin.

Other three points of interest are instead GDR-related. The first is the former academy for future leaders of the communist party, established in Wandlitz in the years of Stalin, and initially led by Erich Honecker, later to become the omnipotent leader of the GDR for two decades. In the same area north of Berlin – and precisely in Waldsiedlung, today a nice clinical campus in the countryside – are the former private houses of the members of the central committee of the communist party of the DDR – personalities like Walter Ulbricht, Erich Honecker, Erich Mielke and Egon Krenz lived here with their families. Finally, you will find a glimpse from the so-called ‘Honecker bunker’ in Prenden. This big and highly classified installation was prepared in case of war, to protect the leadership of the GDR and ensure safe communication with Moscow.

Photographs were taken in summer 2019 and 2021.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Soviet 2nd Guard Tank Army headquarters, Fürstenberg/Havel
Soviet monument, Fürstenberg/Havel
Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Rathenow
Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Blumberg
Free German Youth Academy, Wandlitz
Private Homes of the Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the GDR, Waldsiedlung
Honecker bunker, Prenden

Sights

Soviet 2nd Guard Tank Army Headquarters, Fürstenberg/Havel

Among the Soviet forces permanently stationed in the GDR in case of war, there used to be two entire tank armies, the 1st and 2nd. The former was headquartered in Dresden, whereas the 2nd – named ‘Red Banner’ – in Fürstenberg/Havel.

The headquarter in Fürstenberg is basically an old villa, possibly dating to the late 19th century or a slightly more recent time. The villa is somewhat unusual in the panorama of todays Fürstenberg. This is a nice and lively touristic town, where many Berliners come to find a retreat in nature, less than 1 hour driving from home. Thanks to tourism-related activities, the area has got rid of the Soviet/East German grayness, and is now a typical village in the German countryside, graced with a creek and a small lake, where canoes and small boats are always roaming around.

In stark contrast with this, the villa is today completely abandoned, with overgrown vegetation almost hiding it from the main road. Access to the premises is easier from the back, where you first meet a typical Soviet prefabricated wall, and service buildings with evidence of a communist design – the usual yellow paint and railings on the windows with the stylized ‘radiant dawn of communist revolution’.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

Getting closer to the house, you meet an access door, possibly going to a bunkerized area underneath. The house is in a really bad shape, with rotting walls, plants growing on the balconies and roof. The inside has been made completely inaccessible. A typical East German light is still hanging from the back wall.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

To the front, a temple-like decoration contours the main door. It is difficult to say whether this decoration was there since the beginning, since it appears rather different in style from the rest of the villa.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

A highlight of this site is the statue of Lenin still standing ahead of the front facade. The statue is in a relatively good shape. It looks like the man was portrayed during a discussion.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

The concrete sculpture was accurately made, as witnessed by the facial expression and details in the embroidery of the tie.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

On the front side, the villa used to be reachable with a large flight of steps climbing uphill, with Lenin on top. Today this perspective is gone, for vegetation has totally invaded the steps, and the front of the house is not visible from the street.

Getting there and moving around

The villa is located in central Fürstenberg on Steinförder Strasse (possibly) 44, on the southern side of the road. The house and its large garden estate are abandoned, but all other houses around are not. Getting closer without being spotted is easier from the backstreet. Technically speaking, the latter is accessible for residents only, so you may park somewhere else and come closer by foot. Visiting may take about 30 minutes with time for the pictures, for the house is not accessible inside.

It should be remarked that this site is probably not public, and at an unpredictable time it may be either restored or demolished – so checking it out may be not possible for long.

Soviet Monument, Fürstenberg/Havel

A rare example of Soviet commemoration monument can be found very close to Fürstenberg. Apart from the monumental sites in Berlin (see here), a number of smaller Soviet monuments are to be found around the GDR – impressive ghosts of a bygone era.

Among the best preserved are that in the former tank base of Zeithain (see this post), and this one in Fürstenberg.

The monument is composed of two parts, basically two concrete curtains facing each other on the sides of a small apron.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

The smaller panel to the south is the most intriguing. It is apparently a celebration of an economic plan of the Soviet Union. It is all about the growth in production in several areas of industry and farming, likely resulting from careful planning by the top of the Soviet government.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Between a citation from Lenin and a stylized image of the Kremlin, several panels cite one by one the increases in production of anything from oil to weapons, from milk to corn.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

To the back of the monument, the only remaining feature is a remarkable head of Lenin, with yet another citation. It is likely that other features have been removed by vandals, as empty frames can be seen aligned along this face of the monument.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

The larger panel to the north is a celebration of the march to Berlin during the Great Patriotic War, likely related to specific actions of the Guard Tank Armies. The central slab features an image of the Soviet monument in Treptower Park, Berlin – one the most famous commemorative monuments in the Soviet Union, as witnessed by numerous images to be found still today in many museums in the former USSR (see for instance here).

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Close by, reproductions of decorations and captions of what happened on some days of 1944 and 1945 are reported.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

On the left panel you can see a reproduction of the march to Berlin, from the battlegrounds in the USSR, through central Europe and Germany. It is likely that some metal parts of the monument once used to connect the ‘points of interest’, but these have disappeared due to vandalism.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

On the right wing of the monument the names of Heroes of the Soviet Union possibly from the Guard Tank Armies are cited one by one. Close by, the image of the ‘Soviet Motherland Calling’, pretty usual in Soviet war iconography, can be found together with other typical emblems.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Getting there and moving around

This monument is not maintained nor protected. It is open air, unfenced and freely accessible. It will be hopefully restored or moved to a museum, as the weather and vandals are taking their tolls. It can be reached along the road 96 about 1 mile south of Fürstenberg, immediately to the west of the road. A small unofficial parking area can be found ahead of it, making a quick visit really easy.

Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Rathenow

	Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
	A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY Second Edition - 2024
	DON'T LEAVE IT AT HOME! AVAILABLE in PAPERBACK or KINDLE from your national Amazon store!
	amazon.com \| amazon.de \| amazon.co.uk amazon.it \| amazon.fr \| amazon.co.jp

The Soviet memorial in Rathenow is one of a number of smaller military cemeteries for Soviet troops in the region around Berlin. Soviet soldiers perished in the area in the thousands in the final stage of WWII (1945), when the Red Army entered the northeastern part of todays Germany from Poland, pushing towards Berlin and fighting against the agonizing but still fierce German Wehrmacht.

Apart from the gigantic and formal monuments in Berlin (see this chapter), more modest shrines are scattered around the German capital city, all built roughly in the same period, between the end of the war in Europe and 1950, in the years of Stalin.

The Rathenow site is a small town cemetery, a proportionate, down-scaled version of its larger counterparts in Berlin – especially Schönholzer Heide (see here) – and can be found in the center of the sleepy town of Rathenow. A central obelisk with a commemoration plaque is topped by a golden five-pointed star, the symbol of the Red Army.

Soviet Red Army Memorial Rathenow

A number of soberly designed grave stones for as many Soviet troops are aligned in rows, creating an elegant perspective. Most of the graves bear complete names, as well as the birth and death years. Similar to the war cemeteries dating also from WWI (see for instance here and here), the very young age of most of the troops in the final struggle around Berlin is readily apparent.

Soviet Red Army Memorial Rathenow

Despite being fenced and of course not left in a state of disrepair, the green areas immediately outside of the perimeter of the monument in Rathenow are somewhat neglected, perhaps reflecting a fading interest for this monument.

Getting there and moving around

The Soviet monument in Rathenow can be reached at the crossing of Ferdinand Lassalle Str. with Friedrich Ebert Ring, in central Rathenow. The monument is very compact and can be toured in a few minutes.

Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Blumberg

	Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
	A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY Second Edition - 2024
	DON'T LEAVE IT AT HOME! AVAILABLE in PAPERBACK or KINDLE from your national Amazon store!
	amazon.com \| amazon.de \| amazon.co.uk amazon.it \| amazon.fr \| amazon.co.jp

The monument in Blumberg, in the northern outskirts of Berlin and really close to town, is smaller than the one in Rathenow (see above), but shares the general arrangement with it.

A central pillar with a commemoration slab is surmounted in this case by a statue of a Soviet soldier, holding a Red Banner flag.

Soviet Red Army Memorial Blumberg

Ahead and around the pillar, gravestones put flat on the ground are aligned in a perspective. However, the overgrown vegetation is basically hiding these lines of tombs, so that even from a small distance the central monument appears as an isolated item, put in the middle of a grassy area.

Soviet Red Army Memorial Blumberg

Actually, the major difference with other monuments of the kind lies in the rather remoteness of the one in Blumberg. It is a listed historical landmark, and therefore at least minimally cared for, but on the other hand, it is located relatively far from todays nearest settlement, hidden in the trees, and out of sight for anybody except people going there specifically for it. This makes it rather mysterious, a silent memento of old memories.

Getting there and moving around

The monument is conveniently located just out of the A10 highway (the external ring of Berlin), in the settlement of Ahrensfelde. You may reach Chausseedreieck and drive to its western dead end, where you can conveniently park. From there a grassy path points south into the trees, and in less than 150 yards you will find the monument. The size of the monument is small, hence no further walking is needed. A mosquito repellent is highly recommended in the warm season.

Free German Youth Academy & Joseph Goebbels Manor, Wandlitz

Deep in the countryside about 25 miles north of Berlin, about 3 miles from the small touristic village of Wandlitz, you can find a couple of highlights from the troublesome past of Germany, sitting side by side, close to the small Bogensee lake.

The first is the country estate of Joseph Goebbels, the famous minister for education and propaganda in the years of the Nazi dictatorship. This villa has been built in the war years, and often used by its owner, also for receiving guests. Goebbels obtained the estate as a birthday present from the Nazi Party.

Incredibly, the manor, built in a typical German country style, was not demolished after the war – so unlike other residences belonging to Hitler or his fellows, it is still there to see. It survived denazification, Soviet occupation and 40 years in the GDR as part of a school (see below).

The outside is the only part you can see. The appearance is sober, with simple lines and not much vertical elevation – it nicely integrates in the natural setting.

Joseph Goebbels Manor Nazi Leader Bogensee Wandlitz Hitler Present

Access to the courtyard is from a small road, now part of the inner network of the larger complex surrounding the manor.

This complex is actually the other peculiar item you can find in Wandlitz. This enormous academy was built in 1951, on behalf of the Free German Youth (FDJ), a youth-training organization founded and originally run by Erich Honecker, later to become the general secretary of the communist party of the GDR in the 1970s and 1980s.

The academy was designed by Hermann Henselmann the same architect who designed Karl-Marx-Allee in the Soviet sector of Berlin – one of the most iconic ‘Stalin’s-style’ perspectives in the world. The complex is composed of two large opposing buildings, on the short sides of an internal courtyard. These hosted common areas, lecture rooms and a theater.

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

Along the longer sides of the courtyard are buildings with bedrooms and services for around 500 students.

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

The academy was for the future staff of the communist party, and in later years of the Cold War it was attended also by international students from communism-leaning nations, or sometimes even from NATO countries.

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

Following the collapse of the GDR, the building went on hosting educational institutions until the early 2000s, owned by the regional government. It was then mostly shut off, with some ancillary buildings still hosting institutions connected with the administration of the natural preserve around. It was put up for sale, for a while, but all potential customers failed to present satisfactory conversion plans. An expensive and inconvenient ghost from a forgotten era, as of 2019 its fate has not been sealed yet.

Today the place is not completely abandoned. Basic preservation works are being carried out, thus avoiding the roof to collapse or the walls to rotten. The names of the blocks are likely not from the GDR years. Similarly, a board with notices and maps dating from later than 1989 can still be seen, a witness of the post-GDR activity.

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

Joseph Goebbels Manor Nazi Leader Bogensee Wandlitz Hitler Present

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

The garden is not growing totally wild, and some architectural addition must have been tried in a recent past – like a small modern fountain ahead of the common building to the southwest of the complex. The buildings are still supplied with electrical power – there are lit lights above some doors – and it is discretely guarded to avoid vandalism.

Getting there and moving around

Accessing the area is possible following the L29 from Wandlitz. About 1 mile from the village, the road changes its name to Wandlitzer Strasse. There is a local road with limited access taking to the east. You may park there, and proceed along the road by foot for about .5 miles to reach the heart of the complex. This is surrounded by private houses. There is no fence, but there are proximity sensors which trigger an inspection. I was reached by a warden on a car soon after my arrival. He spotted me, but did not come close, likely noticing I was just taking pictures outside.

The site is rather mysterious and well worth a quick visit for interested subjects. Touring the site will not take more than 45 minutes, taking all the pictures.

Private Homes of the Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the GDR, Waldsiedlung

	Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
	A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY Second Edition - 2024
	DON'T LEAVE IT AT HOME! AVAILABLE in PAPERBACK or KINDLE from your national Amazon store!
	amazon.com \| amazon.de \| amazon.co.uk amazon.it \| amazon.fr \| amazon.co.jp

Similar to other top-ranking figures in the Soviet chain of command – like Stalin and others in his communist entourage, who did not spend much of their time in public or close to crowded places in central Moscow – the masters of the communist party in the GDR had their homes in the trees north of Berlin, relatively far from the city center and from the governmental buildings.

Actually, many of them lived together in a rather compact residential district, called Waldsiedlung. Access to the area was obviously controlled, but once inside the place was somewhat similar to a holiday settlement, with smaller single or two-family houses located along quiet alleys in a rural setting. The architecture is far from lavish – all houses are very similar to one another, and are designed in a plain typically East-German style from the post-WWII era.

Today, the settlement in Waldsiedlung has been converted into a campus for clinical studies. However, the original architecture of the place has been left mostly untouched, and explanatory panels telling quick information about the history of the residence have been planted ahead of most of the housing once occupied by old communist big brasses.

The office by the gate, and the metal gate itself, are totally original, as can be seen from historical pictures.

Waldsiedlung – GDR Communist Party private homes

Among the first buildings past the gate is a former congress center/clubhouse/gathering facility for the inhabitants of the residence.

Waldsiedlung – GDR Communist Party private homes

Moving on to the northern part of the settlement, the modest house of Erich Honecker and his wife Margot can be easily found. The two-storey construction has a patio on the backyard. A mystery wooden hut can be found next to the latter.

Waldsiedlung – Erich Honecker’s Home

The Honeckers were forced to leave this house in the turmoil following the collapse of the wall and the starting of the reunification process. Honecker fled to the Soviet Union in seek for protection, quickly departing from the Soviet base in Sperenberg (see here). He was trialed in absentia, in connection to the order issued to the GDR border guards to used deadly force against people trying to pass the ‘anti-fascist wall’, and the ensuing deaths. He remained in the USSR until also that dictatorship collapsed, and he was forced to escape to South America, where he died soon after.

To the far end of the same alley is the house of Walter Ulbricht and his wife Lotte. Somewhat larger than Honecker’s house, it is however not much more evolved in adornments or architectural fantasy.

Waldsiedlung – Walter Ulbricht’s Home

On another alley, parallel to the previous one, is also the house of Erich Mielke, the uncontested head of the ill-famed STASI, since its early years to the end.

Waldsiedlung – Erich Mielke’s Home

The man was captured and trialed for an old case of homicide, after the shut-off of the STASI monstrous machine. He died soon after.

Today even these smaller buildings have been converted for a new function in the clinical campus. Therefore, they cannot be toured inside. However, strolling in this inconspicuous, quiet village where a huge concentration of power used to be seated, provides a strange feeling.

Getting there and moving around

The Brandenburg Clinic, which has now taken over the Waldsiedlung residence for the members of the GDR government, is on the road N.273, between Bernau and Wandlitz. The clinic in Waldsiedlung is rather busy, and the parking ahead of it may be crowded. However, since the place is guarded and access regulated, that is the only credible parking option also for a historically-themed visit. You can access the area by foot undisturbed, and take photographs of the exteriors. There are explanatory panels ahead of many of the former residential homes.

Honecker Bunker, Prenden

Geographically very close to the academy in Wandlitz (see above) – less than 1 straight mile away – the bunker in Prenden is the central piece of a network of bunkers and military hardware, designed an built on behalf of the National Defense Council (NVR) of the GDR from 1973 onward, and named ‘komplex 5000’. The purpose was protection of the leadership of the GDR in case of a crisis or attack from the West.

The bunker is Prenden, technically listed as ’17/5001′, was a control center of incredible sophistication, designed to withstand nuclear blasts, and with direct communication with other sub-nodes of a larger communication network, thus granting safe communication and broadcasting ability, allowing to lead the country in case of a crisis. The bunker was intended to host the general secretary of the communist party, i.e. Erich Honecker, when the bunker was commissioned in 1983 – hence the unofficial name ‘Honecker bunker’.

The premises of Prenden are now largely in private hands, but some parts are apparently publicly accessible – the original fence has been completely torn down. The bunker itself is sealed, and can be accessed only on a few days per year with a guide.

The official entrance to the area is through the original GDR-made gate. This is closed however, for it is now the entrance to a small private industrial complex.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Traces of the original fence, as well as piping and vents for underground rooms, can be found around the hill on top of which the installation is standing.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Some service buildings in typical communist style can be still found, despite demolition works having taken place. Proximity sensors and signs delimit the private property area.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

The three-storey building on the southwestern corner of the complex used to be the ‘front office’ of the bunker. Today, it is in a really bad shape.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Inside, traces of the original furniture and services can still be found, albeit much deteriorated.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Access to the bunker is on the underground floor. You may notice the prison-like railings ahead of the access stairs. A feature that might make you jump when you are exploring alone – if walking in a forgotten communist government building, deep in the silent German countryside, was not enough… – is the lit bulb hanging over the entrance to the bunker – really unexpected!

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Besides the building, a shelter-garage for trucks and cars is still in a relatively good shape.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Getting there and moving around

The Prenden bunker is not publicized, but it can be neared easily with a car, about 1 mile south of the small village of Prenden, along Utzdorfer Strasse. The gate can be clearly spotted, but it will be likely closed, and there are obvious ‘no trespassing’ signs and labels of private companies. You may park outside and proceed along the side of the property to the back of it, where the abandoned building mentioned above can be found. Whether this is still on private land or not is not very clear. There are proximity sensors between the abandoned building and the rest of the complex, likely to trigger inspection if you get too close to the (surely) private part of the complex.

Venturing in the building is definitely not safe, and the bunker entrance is usually closed. Official visits to the bunker are possible on guided tours arranged irregularly about once per month (please browse the internet for more info on visiting, cause I could not find an official site of the place to link here).

Cold War Forts and Museums in Denmark

September 15, 2019May 9, 2020 CarloRLeave a comment

During the Cold War the condition of Denmark on the international stage was among the most complex. Coming from years of neutrality before WWII, conquered in a matter of days in spring 1940 by neighbor Germany, at that time in the throes of the Nazi fury, it found itself on the front line of the two opposing blocs soon after May 1945.

Having not been occupied by the Soviets during WWII, it could better choose about its future, and in 1949 the mother country of the Vikings joined NATO as a funding member – unlike neighbor Sweden and Finland – thus giving its availability to its Allies to help countering Soviet influence over the territory under its control.

History in brief

Often overlooked when looking at the world map for its relatively small area, at the beginning of the Cold War the geographical position of Denmark nonetheless was – and, to some extent, still is – strategically very relevant. It is right on the inlet of the Baltic Sea, with a proximity to the foreign coasts of Norway and Sweden such to allow easily blocking the marine traffic on the Kattegat strait, when needed, by means of mere cannon fire from the coast. During the Cold War, this meant a virtual control over a sea where the USSR and Eastern Bloc Countries had many industrially relevant and non-freezing ports, as well as navy bases. Furthermore, the islands of Denmark, where large cities like Odense and Copenhagen are, can be found as close as 1.5 hours by boat to the coast of the German Democratic Republic – once one of the most heavily militarized countries on earth, also thanks to a massive Soviet presence. The smaller island of Bornholm, further east, is even closer than that to the coast of Poland.

A curious fact in history demonstrated the proximity of Denmark to the communist sphere of influence, shaking the minds of top ranking Soviet military. On March 5th, 1953, on the very same day of Stalin’s death, the first defection of a jet fighter from the Eastern Bloc took place, when a Polish MiG-15 on a routine flight along the Baltic Coast suddenly left his mates and rushed to Bornholm, where it landed on a field, leaving the aircraft in almost pristine conditions.

The cautious reaction of the Danish government and military forces reflects the position of the country at the time – they had identified the USSR and their satellites as a clear and present threat, and consequently they had taken the side of the West. Yet Denmark knew it could not withstand a direct military hit by the Soviets for more than a few hours, therefore as a form of self-protection, any form of provocation, at least in the early 1950s, was carefully avoided. While the pilot of the MiG was allowed to escape to the UK and then the US, the aircraft was quietly ceded to the US military for technical inspection in the FRG, but then re-mounted and returned to Poland. Other examples of a policy of constant detente with the Soviet Union are represented by the refusal to have NATO bases on its territory, or despite the adoption of the Nike missile system for the airspace protection, the missed deployment of the corresponding tactical nuclear warheads.

Of course, in recognition of the strategic relevance of this pleasant country, plans for a Soviet invasion which would strike in northern Europe, with the objective of reaching to the ports of the North Sea in less than a week from Eastern Germany, included as a major target the quick occupation of the Jutland peninsula, and of the islands of Denmark as well. This had to be done by marching fast through the northern regions of the Federal Republic of Germany, and simultaneously landing troops on the Danish islands.

About this post

Albeit not enough populated to sustain an army capable of resisting the eastern opponents on the other side of the Iron Curtain, thanks to its position on the map, Denmark took over seriously a fundamental border monitoring and interdiction task in favor of all NATO forces. Two tangible witnesses of this are the military bases of Stevnsfort and Langelandsfort, both located on the southern coasts of the islands, overlooking key sea straits, and pointing south to the East German coast. Both have been shut down after the end of the Cold War, and now they can be visited as top-tier military museums.

Further souvenirs from the Cold War era can be found in the Defense and Garrison Museum in Aalborg, a wide-spectrum military museum with a focus on WWII and the Cold War, and in the Danish Museum of Flight, where exemplars from the heterogeneous wings of the Danish Air Force are displayed, together with unique specimens of Danish aircraft production from the inter-war and early Cold War period.

This post covers all these four sites, visited in summer 2019. Presentation doesn’t follow any special order.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort
Cold War Museum Langelandsfort
Aalborg Defense and Garrison Museum
Danish Museum of Flight

Sights

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort

This museum on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand (the same of Copenhagen) is actually a former Cold War military fort, operative from the early 1950s to the year 2000. It was re-opened as a museum in 2008, carefully preserved in most part in the forms it had in the 1980s, the most technologically advanced years of the Cold War.

By the entrance to the museum area you can see three surface-to-air missile, namely an old Nike-Ajax, and a much more performing – and bigger – Nike-Hercules. Both were part of the US Nike airspace protection system, which was deployed in Denmark around Copenhagen. The missiles are from the Cold War years, but were not originally present on Stevnsfort.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Strictly speaking, Stevnsfort is not the part of the installation you access first. The area you meet when getting in from the parking used to be a missile base in charge of the Danish Air Force. It was built for the Hawk system, another US interdiction surface-to-air missile system, the heir of the Nike system. Actually, Nike Hercules batteries in Denmark were withdrawn from use – as elsewhere, see this post – in the 1980s. Their role was taken over by Hawk missile batteries, gradually entering service since the 1960s, and operated till 2005 in Denmark.

Differently from its predecessor, the radar-based Hawk system was entirely movable, making it more flexible and less vulnerable. As a result, there are basically no bunkers in this area, and all constructions here are ‘soft’. Target designation and tracking was demanded to three sub-systems, namely a radar-pulse antenna for target individuation, an interrogation friend-or-foe (IFF) and a target-tracking/homing antenna.

Two radar-pulse antennas are displayed. The aerial emerges from a tent, which covers the electronics and motor of the system. Both are mounted on a truck trailer, which is actually totally movable. The range of the radar scanner was about 75 miles.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

The IFF antenna is a smaller barrel-shaped device coupled with systems on-board aircraft, needed to distinguish between an enemy aircraft and a friend or ally. The target-tracking/homing antenna, with its distinctive two radar dishes, shares the installation setup with radar-pulse antennas – it sits on top of a trailer, covered in a green tent.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Close by, trucks and special moving cranes to mount the missiles on their launch gantries are displayed. Also containers for the missiles are shown, together with an example of the Hawk missile itself. The launch order could arrive only from the central Air Force command, except in case of a communication breakdown, when each missile base could decide on its own – at the high risk of making a mistake!

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Farther on, power trucks and other launch systems are displayed besides batteries of Hawk missiles. The launch gantry is smaller in size compared to that of Nike-Hercules, but each gantry launches three missiles instead of only one. The gantry is anchored to the ground, and when inactive it is shrouded in a peculiar rubber-coated eyelid-like bubble, which can be quickly lowered to let the missiles out.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

On the far end of the missile area, you can see an old-fashioned coastal cannon, part of the original fort, used as an illumination cannon in support of larger cannons in the battery.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

One of the naval gun batteries is the first item you meet when entering the actual Stevnsfort fort. The fort was built between 1952 and 1955 for use by the Navy, and is the oldest part of the installation. Together with the Langelandsfort gun battery and command post (see below), it was tasked with monitoring marine traffic along the straits giving access to the Kattegat and the North Sea from the inner Baltic. For the purpose, it was supplied with a huge underground bunker, its most distinctive feature, as well as batteries of naval guns.

The 150 mm guns have an intriguing history. They were made in Nazi Germany early during WWII, for the Kriegsmarine ship ‘Gneisenau’. This was damaged when still in the dockyard, and the guns were re-designated to be placed on the Danish island of Fano on the North Sea coast, as part of the fortifications of the Atlantic Wall. Following the end of WWII in May 1945, the guns were captured and finally found their way to Stevnsfort.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

The two-guns batteries were capable of 4-6 shells per minute per barrel, and could reach to the coast of Sweden, thus effectively closing the Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden if needed. While primarily an anti-ship battery, the swiveling turret could be used to cover the coast, in case of an amphibious attack.

Firing direction was by means of a primary radar station on site, which is still in use, complemented by five other stations along the coast. The shells were loaded with an elevator from the bunker underneath. The guns were temporarily deactivated – but not dismantled – in the 1980s, when Stevnsfort assumed the role of main control and communication post for the southern district of the Danish Navy. Joint exercises with the military forces of the FRG were carried out also here in the final years of the Cold War.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

By the entrance to the underground bunker you can spot several air hatches emerging from the ground, and an example of sea mine. The latter was the primary weapon to interdict traffic on the strait, with gun battery fire being mainly directed against enemy mine-sweepers.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Past the entrance, you need to descend a long stair into the bunker. At the base of the stair is an airlock with facilities for decontamination. The Stevnsfort bunker was most notably the first structure in Denmark to be built to withstand a nuclear attack.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

The bunker is not excessively big, with about twenty reinforced-concrete-padded rooms connected by tunnels carved in the rock.

One of the highlights of this installation is the communication bunker, operative since 1984 in an area formerly hosting a hospital, then shut down when the naval batteries were deactivated. This used to be a highly inaccessible facility during the Cold War. Thanks to a careful preservation, the room looks like it was still in use! Batteries of telex and other communication machines originally in place, monitors and modern imaging technology from the Eighties, together with examples of ciphered messages are all on display.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Next to the communication room, the operation room is even more impressive. Similar to the former, it was constantly manned, and totally inaccessible for non-authorized personnel. The radar monitors can be seen towering over the consoles! Military staff on duty identified and followed all marine traffic in the assigned district, both civilian and military, friends and potential enemies.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Catalogs of existing ships are on display. Several thousands ships were identified and observed from this facility in the days of operation. It is reported that patrol ships from the USSR approached the coast under surveillance about 30 times per year, tasked with familiarizing troops with local geography…

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Another highlight of the visit is the ammo storage for the gun battery previously visited. In the storage, explosive cartridges are placed separately from the shells themselves. There were four types of shells, recognized through a color code – grey for armor-piercing, orange for explosive, green for illuminating and blue for inert.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

The almost-100 pounds cartridges were loaded on an elevator, and lifted up to the battery. A ladder provided direct access from the bunker to the cannons, serving also as an emergency exit.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Other rooms you can visit are sleeping quarters for the 250 men which stationed inside the bunker, until the guns were deactivated in 1981. The fort was capable of sustaining prolonged isolation in case of crisis or war. During the Cuban missile crisis, the Stevnsfort bunker was put on maximum alert for a week, with all men living underground, all accesses sealed.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Getting there and moving around

The Cold War Museum Stevnsfort is an international-level museum, to be found 1 hour driving south of central Copenhagen. The official website with directions and opening times is here. Visiting inside the gun battery and the bunker is possible only on a guided tour, where you are given an audio guide in English (also German and possibly other languages) if you can’t follow the Danish-speaking human guide. The guided tour includes also a visit of the missile battery, but this part can be toured also on your own. The guided visit lasts about 1.5 hours, and may turn a little boring in some parts (as usual, the human guide speaks longer than your audio-guide), but it is needed to get access to the most unique parts of the museum. I suggest visiting relatively early in the day, allowing some spare time after the guided tour and before closure to tour the missile part on your own. Free parking ahead of the installation, nice military-themed shop.

Cold War Museum Langelandsfort

This museum has been opened on the premises of a former naval gun installation from the same years of Stevnsfort (see above). Located on the southern island of Langeland, at the inlet of the Belt channel giving access to the Kattegat from the Baltic, it was in a good position to monitor all marine traffic in its sector, as well as for blocking the channel. As a matter of fact, similarly to Stevnsfort, the main target of the naval guns here were minesweepers, for the channel was completely covered with Danish remotely-controlled sea mines, and action of enemy minesweepers would have been necessary before any attack by the bulk of navy forces.

The main naval force in Langelandsfort was constituted of four naval guns, mounted on swiveling turrets, and a fire control bunker which in non-crisis time was used to keep trace of all marine traffic in the sector. The fort was complemented with anti-aircraft defensive positions, a bunkerized power station, and ‘softer buildings’, including barracks. Except for the latter, everything has been restored and can be visited. One of the naval batteries has been restored completely to its original form including the mechanisms underneath, whereas at the base of the other three batteries you can find exhibitions about various aspects of the Cold War – they are all pretty well studied, rich and interesting.

The command bunker is the first construction you meet. The building is from the 1950s, and it shares many aspects with Stevnsfort, though this is much smaller. You can see sleeping quarters and a kitchen, which would be used especially in case the fort was sealed, i.e. in case of high alert or war.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The control rooms are three. Two are for tracking marine traffic in the marine district of the Belt, and also for coordinating air operations from other military installations in Denmark. A radar antenna and an observation tower outside, likely complemented by similar gear in the area, provided a complete real-time picture of the civilian and military traffic in the sector. It is reported that ships going to Cuba with SS-4 nuclear missiles and related supplies were spotted in these rooms months before that material was photographed by the US, when the crisis broke out.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The third control room is the fire control room for the whole fort, coordinating fire from all four gun batteries. Fire control was by means of a very interesting piece of machinery, a fully mechanical computer, taking in atmospheric data like temperature, humidity, wind direction and speed, and target data. No electricity was needed except for lighting the goggles of this analog computer! A similar item was present in Stevnsfort, but I could not see it during my guided visit.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

In an adjoining room you can see a perfectly restored communication facility, with ciphered messages hanging on the walls, as well as original transmission machines and early computers. There is also a personal study room for the commander of the post.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Besides the control bunker you can find an anti-aircraft position, centered on a four-barreled anti-aircraft gun. Similar to all others, the small bunker underneath could be manned and sealed in case of war.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The cannon battery closest to the control bunker has been restored completely, including the bunker underneath. The 150 mm guns, one per battery, were made in the final years of WWII by Skoda works in Plzen, in the then-Nazi occupied territory of Czechia. They were originally intended by the Wehrmacht for the Atlantic Wall in Denmark, but they never became operative there. Instead, they ended up to be installed by Denmark to counter a Soviet threat on the Baltic.

The mechanism for supplying cartridges to the cannon is similar to that in Stevnsfort, with an elevator lifting the explosive charge and the shell separately to the level of the gun. However, here the storage bunker is just beneath the cannon, and the lift does not carry the cartridge directly inside the turret, but to a hatch in the reinforced wall besides the cannon – something similar to some of the smaller cannon batteries of the Atlantic Wall built by the Germans.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Inside the bunker you can see the ammo storage, as well as a sleeping compartment for the 15-men crew needed to operate the cannon.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Some example shells have been preserved, with colors corresponding to different functions of the shell (see Stevnsfort above).

The cartridge elevator room is very small, and access is from both sides. Explosive and shell came from opposite directions, each from the corresponding storage room.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The bunker under the next cannon battery has been dedicated to the analysis of the threat from the Danish perspective. Here you see copies of the Soviet plans to invade Denmark, as part of an operation to conquer central and northern Europe lightning-fast in case of an open war against the West. Among the most striking items, you can see detailed Soviet maps covering all regions of Denmark – with city names and all writing in Cyrillic!

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

There is also a nice collection of ordinary weapons and military supply from the Eastern Bloc, and especially from the neighboring German Democratic Republic. A very special feature is an example of the ‘Blücher decoration for valor’, a medal created by the GDR to be attributed to individuals for actions of exceptional courage in the defense of the GDR, and to be assigned only in case of war – thanks to the Cold War never turning ‘hot’ for the GDR, nobody could be awarded this decoration.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The next battery is dedicated to espionage and spy gear, with many examples of James-Bond-like trinkets, actually used by both enemy and Danish spies. Machinery for ciphered communication, once considered hi-tech, is also on display, together with maps used by a Danish spy visiting the Polish coast, and satellite imagery of East German/Soviet airbases.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The exhibition in the last battery is about the Cold War and society, and is full of old photographs of pro-Soviet protesters in Denmark, spies, famous characters of the Cold War, momentous events taking place in Denmark during the Cold War and so on. Most notably, there are also many artifacts from both Denmark, the Eastern Bloc and the USSR, including medals, posters, portraits and much more.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Similar to the control bunker, the power station has been preserved in its original condition. Three diesel engines could provide power to all bunkers in case of war or failure of the grid for whatever reason. Immediately outside the entrance to the power station bunker there are apparently some suspended showers…

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The large area of Langelandsfort has been selected also for the exhibition of a submarine, a mine-sweeper and two aircraft! The submarine ‘Springeren’ was used by Denmark in the 1990s and early 2000s, but it was built much earlier and operated by the Norwegian Navy. Sadly, after the retirement of ‘Springeren’, the Danish Navy shut off completely its underwater branch. The ship is a small conventionally powered attack submarine. The interior is apparently pretty modern with respect to older German or US WWII U-boats.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The submarine features six torpedo tubes.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The mine-sweeper has the appearance of a small conventional boat, but with room for a crew of several men. It is hosted in a hangar together with examples of sea mines – apparently US models.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The two aircraft are a SAAB Draken of Denmark and a MiG-23 of Poland. They represent some of the most advanced aircraft of these opposing countries at the height of the Cold War. Both exemplars are well preserved inside hangars protecting them from the weather and sunlight.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Another interesting sight is a reconstruction of a civil defense bunker, with much original material, including packs of ration cards already prepared for the population in case of war. In an adjoining room you can see a reconstruction of a bunkerized broadcasting studio – the national TV channels were tasked with providing updates to the population in case of an attack, hence a similar facility was prepared in the basement of the TV headquarters.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Close to the ticket office, you are offered a very well-designed exhibition tracing the timeline of the Cold War, with some clever text and many pictures, some of which rather uncommon – really worth spending some time on, before or after visiting the museum.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

There is also room for temporary exhibitions, in a hangar which includes an original section of the Berlin Wall.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The building of the ticket office is also interesting. From the back of it you can get access to a smaller exhibition about travels to the DDR (the native acronym for the GDR), with everyday items, old Interflug boarding passes, and some incredible postcards – apparently, modern Soviet-style housing and heads of Marx were the items that GDR postcard-designers liked most… Fragments of the Berlin Wall are also on display.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Ahead of the entrance there is an old and pretty big hammer and sickle, originally from a Soviet ship. The commander threw it outboard when the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist. It was collected by a Danish sailor and ended up here. Nearby you can see a reconstruction of the Berlin Wall, and an original Trabant crossing it.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Getting there and moving around

The Cold War Museum Langelandsfort is located close to the southern tip of the island of Langeland, which is connected with bridges to the major island of Fyn, where Odense can be found about 1-hour north of the museum by car. You can move around the museum on your own, there are several panels with explanations. Most panels have at least a quick translation in German and English. All presentations are very well designed and maintained. Visiting may take at least 2 hours for an interested subject, and even more especially if you are taking pictures. Free parking ahead of the entrance, and picnic area nearby. Official website here.

Aalborg Defense and Garrison Museum

This museum was opened in the year 2002, in the hangar of a seaplane base constituted by the occupying German forces in 1940. The base was potentiated in more instances during WWII, and a half-interred command bunker similar to those of the Atlantic Wall was added.

Aalborg has been a military post for centuries, therefore the museum is centered on several aspects of war and military life. Of course, the majority of the artifacts on display date from WWII and the Cold War period.

The hangar hosts a small collection of aircraft, which capture your sight when you get in. Most notably, there are a venerable F-84, an F-86, and somewhat older T-33 and Gloster Meteor.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Close by, you can find a more modern F-104. Jet engines of American make from some of these aircraft have been taken out of the airframes, and put on display separately.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Again in the center of the hangar you can see a Hawk missile system, including the missile battery and movable power and control trucks. Also anti-aircraft guns and searchlights from various ages are on display.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Items from WWII include a nice exhibition of locally-collected gear used by the Danish resistance movements. Supplied by the Allies from the air, they managed to build several types of bombs, mines, and so on, made to disturb and damage enemy transports, or to kill enemy staff in well programmed para-military actions.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Memorabilia include the engine of an US B-17 bomber, sadly downed over the Baltic during the crew’s final mission, the original Luftwaffe eagle once standing on the building of the local German air command, and a Nazi flag weaving on some public building in town in the years of the German occupation.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

There are also many photographs from the area from the war years, and reproductions of German maps and local newspapers. The latter tell about relevant facts taking place during the war, as reported by the local media. There are also diplomas of merit issued by the US and Britain in favor of a local citizen, member of the resistance.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

A part of the exhibition is about civil defense. Similar to the US, Britain and other countries during the Cold War, this service was activated to prepare the population to a nuclear war scenario, and to provide shelter and a chance of survival, by means of bunkers and deposits of supplies. Here you can see a reconstruction of such a shelter, and items which used to be stored in preparation for survival in the nuclear winter.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

There is also a nice collection of light weapons from local firms, uniforms and communication rigs.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

A few uniforms and technical gear from the current supplies of the Danish military are on display as well.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

In a room to the side of the central hall, you can find uniforms dating from WWII, including German stuff. The story of a Dane coming to the US and fighting for the US Army is also told in a corner, also through some memorabilia.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

On an elevated platform you can find an exhibition about the Cold War. This is mostly made by panels retracing the history of that confrontation over the decades. Among the most peculiar items on display, a copy of the invasion plan studied by the Soviet in case of a sudden war with the West. That plan included the rapid conquer of Denmark, due to its strategically relevant position. A copy of a Soviet-made map of Aalborg in Russian, needed in case of war, is another example of the unique artifacts on display.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

This special Cold War exhibition is completed with a set of field and anti-aircraft weapons from various ages of the confrontation.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Other rooms around the main hall display modern uniforms, NATO-related material, military supply from various ages and even a throne used by the Queen of Denmark on an official visit.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

In an adjoining smaller hangar you can find a rich collection of trucks and weapons with various – not only military – functions.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Outside, a highlight of the museum is the former air command bunker built by the Germans. This has been filled with memorabilia from the Nazi occupation period. An unusual and little-known story is told here, about the German refugees from Eastern Prussia, a region loosely coincident today with the part of Russia around the town of Kaliningrad (ex-Konigsberg). This area used to be part of Germany since before WWI, and it remained under the Weimar Republic, even though separated from German mainland. Neighboring Lithuania was annexed to the Third Reich before WWII – similar to Sudetenland – on account of the proximity to that region, with the excuse of a significant German group living in Lithuania. In 1939 the Germans re-gained control over northern Poland, and the two regions of Prussia were reunited in the Reich.

Following the victories of the Soviets in 1944 and the ensuing landslide-march towards Berlin, Eastern Prussia was lost to the enemy. Refugees escaped to mainland Germany, and the administration of the Reich sent these folks in several areas relatively far from the front – including a significant number to occupied Denmark, and especially in the hangars in Aalborg, where the museum is today. So the hangar acted as a hospitality center for the refugees. This was something strange though, for the refugees were not local nationals, but instead enemies. This led to a controversy soon after, when the war ended. In the event, most of the refugees returned to their land of origin, only to find it permanently occupied by the Soviets. Some handmade artifacts of these German refugees can be seen on display in the bunker.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Finally, a very good collection of tanks, field guns and movable howitzers from various countries including the Eastern Bloc and mainly from the various ages of the Cold War can be admired on the museum apron. For the most part, these are reportedly kept in working condition.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Getting there and moving around

The museum is located close to central Aalborg, on the waterfront. You can visit it totally on your own. Some of the exhibitions are described in more languages, but some parts are in Danish only. Nonetheless, the visit can be very rewarding for experts and for the kids as well, thanks to the chance to touch many of the artifacts on display. A two-hours time may be enough for having a look, more time is required for a more in-depth visit or if you want to take pictures.

Convenient parking just ahead of the entrance. Website with full information here.

Danish Museum of Flight

This fantastic collection of aircraft can be found next to Stauning Airport, on the west coast of Jutland, at the level of the Ringkobing firth. This is by far the largest aircraft collection in Denmark, and the reference air museum in this country.

The exhibition is well designed and rich, and it covers both the civil and military branches of aviation. Furthermore, a good half of the aircraft appear in fully airworthy conditions.

There are three thematic hangars. In the first you can find civilian aircraft from various ages, smaller sport aircraft and military trainers mainly from the inter-war period or the late 1940s. Some of them appear airworthy.

Most notably, there is the front part of the fuselage of a Douglas DC-7, formerly in service with the national carrier SAS, still on business today. The cockpit and the crew compartment are well preserved. The analog instrumentation adopted on this plane, which dates from 1957 and represents the last and most advanced of the Douglas propliners, is abundant and remarkably sophisticated.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Another unique aircraft on display is an Aerospatiale Corvette, an executive jet by the same French airframer who participated in the Concorde project. You can also board the plane.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Similarly rare today is the DeHavilland Dove, a British-made short range liner from the early Cold War period. Similar aircraft, cheap to operate, went on flying well into the 1970s in many countries. Here you see an exemplar in the colors of Cimber Air.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Among the trainers, you can find a DeHavilland Tiger Moth and a Chipmunk from the same manufacturer. Less common aircraft include a DeHavilland Hornet Moth, which apparently spent most of its flying time in Kuala Lumpur, and a nice Bucker Bestmann, a German trainer adopted and license-built also in Sweden.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Despite never adopted by the Danish military, a V-tailed Fouga Magister French trainer apparently found its way to here. It was reportedly flown in private hands by a Danish professor, before being donated to the museum.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

In the first hangar are also examples of Danish aircraft production, including the reconstruction of an early prototype by a local pioneer. Propellers and dismounted engines and systems, likely used for training purposes in the past, are an interesting part of the exhibition too.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

A huge collection of model engines, some air traffic control consoles and airport trucks complete the exhibition in the first hangar.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

The second hangar is mainly devoted to aircraft manufactured in Denmark. Most notably, the Skandinavisk Aero Industri – abbreviated in SAI – specialized in trainers and small transport in the inter-war and WWII period, and knew a good national and local international success between 1937 and 1954, when it disappeared – and with it basically also the Danish aeronautical industry.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Some of the aircraft on display are unique exemplars, the last witnesses of this interesting story. Not all aircraft here are from this manufacturer though – an ubiquitous Piper Cub in its distinctive yellow colorway can be found as well, together with a Supermarine Spitfire. Also here, most aircraft appear to be in airworthy conditions.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

In the last hangar, which despite being the largest one, is the most crumpled, you can find military aircraft retracing the history of the Danish Air Force supply. The aircraft here are all from the Cold War period, hence giving to this hangar a historical connotation. This part of the exhibition is also particularly nice, as you can walk close and beneath the aircraft, an ideal setting for getting pictures of smaller particular features.

The variety of present aircraft is very interesting, and reflects the close bounds of Denmark with the US and Britain. Aircraft from the early Cold War include Lockheed T-33, a North American F-86, and two different versions of the Republic F-84.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

An exemplar of the latter is supplemented with JATO – Jet Assisted Take-Off – bottles under the fuselage. The mountings of the underwing rockets on the F-84 and of the belly rockets on the F-86 are really unique examples of Cold War technology!

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

A big Consolidated Catalina amphibious aircraft towers on all others in the hall, while a Douglas C-47 transport in excellent conditions is preserved in a corner, with an interesting ski system mounted on the landing gears.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

British aircraft from the same early era include a Gloster Meteor and what appears to be a pretty rare Fairey Firefly. Another US design is a T-6 trainer, to be found under the wing of the Catalina.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

More recent designs still from the Cold War include a Lockheed F-104, a British Hawker Hunter and a Swedish SAAB Draken.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Especially the configuration of the latter – both the general configuration and the arrangement of the landing gear and wing pylons – is really unique, reflecting a different yet interesting school of aircraft design.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Rather uncommon out of the US, a North American F-100 Super Sabre is also on display, with a foldable Pitot boom.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Finally there are a Hawk missile battery, a movable command center and service trucks.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Modern aircraft are represented here by an F-16. There are also two helicopters of US make, closing the collection.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Getting there and moving around

The museum is located between Stauning and Velling, two small villages on the inner coast of the Ringkobing firth, western Jutland. The facility is modern, with a large free parking and a picnic area. It is located on the border of a local airport, immersed in nature – a very pleasant location. The museum requires about 2 hours for an interested subject, 2.5 if you want to take pictures. Website with full information here.

Soviet Depots for Nuclear Warheads in the GDR

September 8, 2019June 28, 2023 CarloR3 Comments

	The BEST pictures from Soviet bases in the GDR ALL in ONE BOOK!
	Soviet Ghosts in Germany
	GRAB IT in PAPERBACK or KINDLE from your national Amazon store!
	amazon.com \| amazon.de \| amazon.co.uk amazon.it \| amazon.fr \| amazon.co.jp

Despite their great destructive potential and strategic relevance, nuclear assets were deployed far from the ‘centers of power’ in Moscow and Washington by both the USSR and the US. As the front of the Cold War was especially ‘hot’ along the border between the Warsaw Pact and NATO Countries in central Europe, large arsenals of nuclear weapons were deployed to the area, on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and in several instances over time.

On the western side this was not hidden and led often times to protests in Countries like the UK, West Germany and Italy, so that the history of the presence of a nuclear arsenal in those Countries can be traced with some accuracy, albeit not easily. Conversely, much less is known about the deployment of Soviet nuclear arsenals over the territory of the former Eastern Bloc, making this segment of Cold War history especially mysterious.

History – in brief

In this Cold War scenario, the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or DDR in German) received special consideration by the Soviets. Thanks to its advanced position in Europe and the local, much trusted ‘hardcore’ communist regime, the USSR planned the deployment of early strategic missiles – SS-3 Shyster and SS-4 Sandal – starting already in the late Fifties, the years of Khrushchev. Traces of an actual deployment exist in Vogelsang and Furstenberg, about one hour driving north of Berlin (see this post about Vogelsang, and this about the mysterious deployment of missiles in the area).

Later on, in the early years of Brezhnev as leader of the USSR, it was decided that for a prompter and more flexible response in case of an attack, nuclear warfare especially for tactical use should be deployed outside of the USSR borders, to Countries in close proximity with the West. On the other hand, strategic warheads and missile systems could be withdrawn to within the USSR, as more technologically advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles had become available, making a hit of a foreign objective possible even from deep inside the Soviet borders.

Consequently, deployment of air launched nuclear warfare started in selected Soviet airbases, which were really not in any shortage in the GDR – considering both the national air force (NVA) and the Soviet aviation, the DDR used to be one of the world’s top countries in terms of airbases per square mile, or per resident. You can see several posts on former Soviet bases in the GDR on this website (look here, here and here).

For military corps not operating from airbases – especially missile brigades – the headquarters of the Red Army in Moscow deemed necessary the deployment to the GDR of nuclear warheads for tactical or theater missiles.

Two depots were built anew in dedicated installations specifically for hosting such warheads. One was in Stolzenhain, codenamed ‘Objekt 4000’ and sometimes referred to as Linda (the name of a village nearby), close to the highly-militarized area of Juterbog (see this post) and Kloster Zinna, about one hour driving south of Berlin. The other was again close to Furstenberg, and named Lychen-2, and codenamed ‘Objekt 4001’.

The nuclear bunkers in Stolzenhain and Lychen were payed for by the GDR – through a governmental agreement with the USSR – which always detained official property of the facilities, and were built by German workers, around the year 1967. Once ready, in 1968 the bunkers were handed over to Soviet staff, and the corresponding areas totally closed to non-Soviets. The bunkers, as other similar facilities in other Countries of the Warsaw Pact, communicated directly with Moscow, as similarly to the US, only the top of the command chain could authorize the use of nuclear forces.

The facilities were kept running until the end of the Cold War. Control was officially given back to the agonizing GDR in 1990, the Soviets having transferred all valuable material to the (agonizing) USSR.

Here the story splits for the two installations. While the Lychen bunker has been selected for interment, the installation largely being demolished around 2015, forgotten and reclaimed by nature, as of 2019 the Stolzenhain bunker is in a far better condition, apparently in private hands, and albeit plans for it are sadly similar to Lychen, it may be still in time to be turned into a unique, world-class museum.

About this post

This post covers both Lychen-2 and Stolzenhain bunkers. The former was explored in the summer of 2019. The latter was explored a first time in 2019, and in a second instance with the guidance of its owner Manfred van Heerde and the nuclear scientist and historian Reiner Helling in 2021. As the Stolzenhain installation is still in a relatively good shape, you can also get an understanding of what the inside of these bunkers looks like, their design and specific features. Pictures of this installation from above can be found in another chapter (see here).

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Objekt 4000 – Bunker Stolzenhain (aka Bunker Linda)
Objekt 4001 – Bunker Lychen-2

Sights

Objekt 4000 – Stolzenhain

The Stolzenhain bunker, aka ‘bunker Linda’, due to the name of a nearby village, is a perfect specimen of this type of construction (codenamed Monolith-type – see also this post for similar sites in nearby Poland, including one open as a museum). It is composed of two adjoining sub-parts – an area with larger barracks and ‘soft’ constructions, and a larger area were two twin bunkers for warheads are located, together with smaller service buildings and smaller service quarters for the troops. The two areas are arranged along a north-south direction, with the bunker area north of the barracks area.

Today, access to the barracks area is mostly interdicted – you may venture in by foot, but there is a gate which does not allow getting in by car, despite the relatively good condition of the road. The premises are in private hands, and some demolition/reconstruction/conversion works are being carried out here. There is also a service building, looking like a private residence, built in recent times.

Main Gate and Outer Buildings

The main access road features typical prefabricated concrete slabs, found in most Soviet/communist installations everywhere in eastern Europe. Halfway between the external gate and the barracks area, traces of an external wall can be found, with a couple of ‘welcome stones’.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A closer look to the slabs reveal a rather poor quality material used for manufacture. Writings are excerpts of the Soviet constitution, presented as mottoes in Russian, with some communist symbols.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The barracks and some softer constructions date from the Seventies – the frieze on the sidewalls of the buildings tells it quite clearly. The area is protected by a concrete wall, bearing a probably original greenish camouflage.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

In the years of operation, there used to be four large apartment blocks aligned in a row, just ahead of the entrance to the area of the barracks. These buildings were for the officials and their families. While still inside the external fence of the base, these apartments allowed more privacy and convenience, forming a de facto little Soviet village in the GDR, segregated from the surrounding German community. This housing has been completely demolished today. However, some trace of correlated ‘civilian’ facilities can be found to the south of the barracks area.

In particular, a swimming pool was built at a certain point in the history of the base, and it is still in a relatively good shape. Changing rooms for men and women are still there. A tall springboard and starting blocks still face the pool, which is apparently watertight, despite the greenish water not being really attractive!

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The pool features an outer fence, with a service gate bearing a characteristic Soviet ‘diverging rays’ motif.

Another facility put specifically for comfort in this area is a sauna/bathing house, a widespread Russian tradition. The sauna building in Stolzenhain features several smaller adjoining rooms, with pools, sauna/Turkish bath areas, a central heater, as well as more general purpose sitting rooms with fireplaces. A video studio was also featured in this multi-functional building.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

An interesting specimen of Soviet naive art, some frescoes adorn the walls of some of the rooms, with subjects ranging from sea life to women performing ‘spa activities’.

Still outside of the innermost military part, yet inside the external fence of the base, a training ground is to be found to the east of the military area, not too far from the spa building. A walk in the trees along the inner perimeter of the wall of the base is needed to reach this part. A control building with an observation post on top features plenty of instructions for tasks to be performed in a training exercise – in Russian!

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Close by, a shooting range for light weapons (rifles, guns) can be found, again with precise indications on the distances to be taken from the target, marked by colored lines on the ground.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Back to the gate to the military barracks area and stepping inside, among the few surviving buildings is a former gym. Despite used as a storage today, the larger hall is clearly a former volleyball/basketball court. A referee chair is still hanging from the sidewall, and sport-themed frescoes decorate the walls.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Former hangars for trucks or technical vehicles can be found in the eastern part of the former barracks area, similar to traces of a fuel pump. As said, most of the former buildings here are now gone.

A special feature in the barracks area is a manhole with traces of a set of cables, pointing towards the highly secretive and guarded bunker area. Communication is of paramount importance for military practice. In the case of nuclear depots so far away from Moscow, a cable connection was implemented not to loose contact under any circumstances between the Soviet headquarters and this peripheral, yet so valuable facility. Pressurized cables were used, such that when an attempt to severe or intercept cable signals was carried out by the enemy cutting the cable, the external jacket was pierced, a loss of pressure was sensed, and an alarm was triggered immediately. Similarly, in the case of an accidental degeneration of the ground where the cable ran, the pressurized jacket was pierced triggering an alarm, allowing the technicians to repair the cable and restore contact.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

An old and forgotten Soviet standard service container, typically transported by truck, can be found close to the manhole totally invaded by vegetation. From here, a view to the perimeter concrete wall around the innermost part of the site can be easily seen, with clear traces of camo paint.

Bunker Area

The area of the bunkers is fortified with a concrete wall with barbed wire on top running along all its perimeter. The size of the bunker is immediately apparent from above – you can look at some aerial pictures from a dedicated flight over the area, see this report. There is a gate connecting it to the barracks area. The only other gate to the bunker area, located north on the other end of the complex, opposite to the first gate, is partially obstructed.

For its entire length, the external wall of the bunker area is almost perfectly preserved, and abundant traces of camouflage can be easily spotted all along.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Inside the wall, you soon find a fence of barbed wire with concrete posts, again standard for Soviet military installations. Some sections of the barbed wire are very well preserved, albeit rusty. The overgrown vegetation looks like the only difference between now and the years when the bunker was in operation!

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Inside the barbed wire fence, you find traces of an exceptional system of trenches and turrets, which should have granted protection to the innermost part of the complex – the storage bunkers. There are turrets of many kinds, including one which looks like the dome of a tank, re-used for the purpose – a feature also of the Atlantic Wall and the Salpa Line (see here). Such a degree of protection is extraordinary also with respect to other military installations. Abundant traces of barbed wire-holders along the tranches can be easily spotted. The site was clearly considered as an objective of special value, to be seriously defended in case of an attack from the West.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Close to the center of the large fenced area, you soon reach the bunkers (there are a western and an eastern bunker, described below), which despite being mostly underground, feature a small mound on top which allow spotting them from the distance.

Western Nuclear Storage Bunker

Access for the warheads is at the level of the ground. There are two large tight doors corresponding to the two ends of the main hall of the bunker. Below you can see a 3D sketch of the bunker, from a placard found close to Objekt 4001 (the Lychen bunker), describing the inner layout.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

By one of the entrances to the bunker is a small loading/unloading platform for two trucks. The apron connecting the platform to the bunker door used to be covered by prefabricated roof tiles – rich in asbestos – and covered with artificial vegetation, of which some traces remain.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The area is overlooked by a firing turret, seating above the front of the bunker.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The external tight door gives access to an airlock, a small square compartment closed to the opposite end by another identical door. This is explained in view of the need to protect the innermost part of the bunker from attacks by means of high-yield weapons. A similar architecture can be found in a Soviet nuclear depot in Szprotawa, Poland (see this post).

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

From the airlock you get access to a suspended platform, from which you can appreciate the storage facilities of the bunker. There is a main hall, where the warheads were lowered by means of a motorized crane from the suspended platform down to the underground level. From there, they were moved to one of the four long storage chamber, all accessible on the same side of the main hall.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Temperature and humidity of the main hall and storage rooms were perfectly controlled. Ventilation pipes and an impressive array of hangers for heat exchangers can be seen in the main hall.

Access to the underground floor from the suspended platform is only possible with a ladder, passing through a narrow hatch – as usual, it’s hard to understand why the Russians (or the Germans in this case) built passages so narrow and uncomfortable, considering they are not among the shortest human types on Earth… – see this post for another brilliant example…

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The storage rooms are very long, and traces of strongpoints for anchoring the warheads safely on ground can be seen surfacing on the floor. The doors between the main hall and the storage rooms, where present, don’t appear to be tight. Most writing is in Russian, but some labels are in German. This can be explained with the bunkers being realized by GDR personnel, upon requirements by the Soviets.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The blue cabinets and piping in the pictures are part of the warhead monitoring plant. Each warhead – the actual number is part of the mystery, but there used to be several tens of them in each of the two bunkers on site! – was kept in a sealed shell, to keep sensitive nuclear material precisely in the required climatic condition. Constantly checking the condition of the warheads was part of the duty of the bunker personnel. For the task, each warhead was moved to the hall and connected to the piping, to take measurements of temperature, pressure, atmospheric composition and similar parameters. In case of an anomaly, the warhead was resent to a major technical facility in the USSR (in particular, in Belarus for the Stolzenhain warheads), for fixing.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

To the opposite end of the main hall from the entrance is another identical entrance, with a suspended platform and an airlock. In the case of this bunker, the most external tight door to the far end has been taken off its hinges and put on the floor, whereas that between the airlock and the main hall has been permanently shut.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Back to the main hall, on the opposite side of the storage rooms on the underground floor, it is possible to access a service area, with several smaller rooms connected by a narrow corridor. The function of each room is not difficult to argue, and looking at some details it is possible to make some easy hypothesis.

Electric actuation for the ventilation system may be the function of a first room.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

What looks like a kind of hydraulic pumping/water filtering system is located next door, split over three adjoining rooms. The system has been pulled down to the ground, but it is not severely damaged.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Next you can find a reservoir for water, placed in a room close by, painted in green and highly damaged.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Going further along the corridor, you can find a toilet. Poor drainage – don’t forget this floor is entirely underground – meant that the troops spending their shift in the bunker did not use the toilet much, and climbed out of the bunker for their necessities.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Further on, you can see a room which is probably a sleeping room for the troops stationed inside the bunker. A heat exchanger and traces of a sink on the wall may support this theory. Air ducts leading to the surface can be found in recesses close by.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A room with traces of electric material and an electric panel outside may have been an electric power control facility, maybe even a cable communication facility.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Further on, you get access to a power station, where clear traces of a diesel system for supplying electric energy to the bunker can be found. A big reservoir painted in yellow may have been the diesel fuel tank. A stator of an electrical generator can be seen on the floor. Parts of a diesel engine can be found, and what may have been tanks for lubrication oil can be seen on the walls. As it often happens with defense bunkers – even for larger defensive forts since before WWII – the installation was usually powered from the outside grid in peacetime, but it had to be capable of staying active in case of an attack and failure of the external grid. Hence backup generators can be found in most underground bunkers since the 20th century. Especially in the atomic age, when a nuclear attack on the installation was considered a potential scenario, a stress was put on this type of countermeasure.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The diesel engine is earmarked with a Soviet label, witnessing its origin! Similarly, electric motors and components scattered on ground – part of the ventilation system – are ‘made in CCCP’.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Traces of lubrication oil can be found on panels on the floor. Between the power station and the main corridor, a side door gives access to a ladder going up. This was likely the ‘normal’ pedestrian access to the bunker.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A few more service rooms can be accessed from the main underground hall, through doors on its short sides, under the suspended balconies. There were mechanical workshops, but also facilities for dealing with contaminated or poisonous material, in particular that of nuclear warhead triggers. This is further witnessed by traces in the eastern bunker (see below), and by special valves installed on the ventilation system in those rooms.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Getting out and climbing on top of the bunker, it is possible to spot several air hatches for the ventilation system (including that of the power station), as well as a metal cabin covering the ladder giving access to the service rooms in the bunker – the ‘normal’ pedestrian access cited above.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A loading/unloading facility, larger than the one on the other side and with platforms of different sizes numbered from 1 to 4, can found also by the other gate of the bunker, which as noted is sealed.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Also here, an asbestos-rich roof can be found in the truck docking area, but there is no superstructure covering the apron leading to the door of the bunker.

Eastern Nuclear Storage Bunker

A large concrete road forms an ‘8’ around the two nuclear storage bunkers. The bunkers are identical, but for protection the eastern bunker was built tilted by 90° with respect to the western one – this way, it was not possible with a single attacking wave to hit the entrance gates of both bunkers.

The gate on one end of the bunker has been partially interred. The large apron leading to the truck loading facility is not covered. Traces of a fire emergency system can be found. Many hatches can be seen on top of the bunker, not all well conserved. One of them carries the curious inscription ‘Baku’, the capital city of the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, written in Russian – as elsewhere in Soviet military installations, maybe the troops stationed here marked the place with the name of their city of origin (see this post).

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The bunker is slightly better preserved than the western one. The motorized cranes can be see on top of the main hall – nominal capacity is 32 tonnes.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The array of heat exchangers for temperature control on the side of the hall is clearly visible. A pressure gauge dates back to 1967. The storage rooms keep trace of a ventilation system, yet today humidity is damaging the inside of the bunker.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

An exploration of the service rooms, accessible from the main hall opposite the storage rooms, reveals a water pumping/filtering system and a water tank in their original positions.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The toilet, complete of toilet brush, is placed on top of a platform – the composition is so perfect that it looks like a weird ‘monument to a toilet’!

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Here the air pumps are better preserved than the in the western bunker, with fans still in place and air ducts pointing upwards to the roof of the installation.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A room possibly for the shift on duty, with a heat exchanger and sink, features a supporting structure possibly made for beds. The electric panels in the adjoining room confirm its function as a control center for electric supply.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Before reaching the power station at the far end of the service corridor, a side passage gives access to a room with bulky air filters. This looks very similar to the filtering system of other military installations elsewhere – see this post for instance. Big greenish canisters are still there with writings in Russian. These were needed for survival inside the bunker, in case of an attack with nuclear or chemical weapons, which would have made outer air poisonous.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The area of the power station is similar to that in the other bunker, except the diesel engine, which is somewhat in a better shape. A big radiator, looking from an old-style truck, has been put alongside a large fan. More radiators can be found in the room, which is also stuffed with air ducts in a bad shape and tanks.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The smaller service rooms accessible from below the suspended platforms are basically empty, except one with a transparent case, likely for manipulating poisonous material. This was required for older-style nuclear bomb triggers. Soon after the bunker was built, triggers were redesigned, and this room with its facilities was no longer needed. Holes for thick rubber gloves, and even remains of the gloves themselves, can be clearly spotted. The ventilation system in this room features particular valves.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Outside on the far end you can find a docking station for trucks. This has been used more recently as a deposit for asbestos tiles, and venturing should be avoided. On top of the bunker, the metal case with the ladder descending into the underground part, as well as the ladder itself, have been demolished to hamper access.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Other Buildings

In the premises of the fortified bunker area are also other smaller service buildings. Their function is hard to guess at a first glance. Most of them display writings in Cyrillic.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

One of these smaller constructions contained ‘poisoning charges’. These were special ‘weapons’ which could be put on the shell of the warhead and, when triggered, were capable of making it totally inert and ineffective. This was an extreme emergency move, in case a capture of the nuclear warheads was deemed possible due to enemy action. The name of the person responsible for this special action is painted on the gate of the storage.

A low-profile building with a curved roof, not far from a softer construction dating to the 1970s, looks larger and with a mainly pedestrian access. This was a storage for light weapons.

Turrets and defensive buildings are abundant, and all are connected by concrete roads which look pretty good in spite of the decades of disrepair.

Closer to the wall of the inner part, hatches giving access to underground bunkers can be spotted, when exploring with accuracy. These underground bunkers, service rooms or resting rooms for the many troops constantly guarding this installation, are of different size.

A first one, rather convenient, is made of concrete. Nothing remains inside, except traces of a Soviet-style electric plant, made with a questionable safety standard…

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Another is made of prefabricated corrugated tubes, with a sealed entry hatch. This is rather well-preserved, with berths, a stove and a small living area, all accessible via a corridor from the outside.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Finally, close to the barracks area described above, but still inside of the innermost part of the installation, is the access to another underground bunker. Here many smaller rooms, including communication rooms of great importance for triggering actions in the bunker area, are located along a straight tunnel. In the origin, the tunnel went all the way to the barracks area, passing under the fences and wall separating it from the innermost bunker area. The outer entrance was clearly deceived for improved safety, and today it is totally gone.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Getting there & moving around

As the place is private property, no detail will be provided concerning access. Moving around the area is dangerous, due to difficulty of access, proximity with local activities and residents, bad phone signal for emergency, plus tons of rusting material, barbed wire, pits, pierces in the ground, asbestos, slippery soil, etc. scattered over the area. The bunkers are wet and completely dark inside. Obviously, the fact that nuclear ordnance and diesel fuel used to be stored there does not help making the place healthier.

That said, the place is in a fairly good shape for the age and vicissitudes, and hopefully it will be at least partly restored and opened to the public in the future, once suitably sanitized.

If you are interested in a legit visit of a Monolith-type bunker, you may consider going to Podborsko in nearby Poland. See this post for pictures and info.

Objekt 4001 – Lychen-2

The Lychen bunker was built on a design basically identical to that of Objekt 4000. The only difference was the orientation, this time along an almost east-western direction, with the ‘softer part’ towards the east and the bunkers to the west.

Historical pictures – actually, even from the early 2010s, when the installation was still mostly untouched – show a very peculiar monument with the head of Lenin and other emblems, marking the entrance to the bunker area.

Today this installation has been completely wiped out. All soft constructions have been demolished, and the ground has been leveled – there is basically no trace of them at all. The monument is gone too. The turrets and protection systems have totally disappeared, similarly to the truck loading and unloading stations.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

Even more surprising is the great care taken to make all walls and fences disappear completely. There are no walls, nor barbed wire fences. What you can still – barely – spot is where the external wall and inner fence used to be, as vegetation has not yet covered the perimeter.

Looking with great care, and knowing where it used to be, if you are lucky you may find scant remains of barbed wire on the ground.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

Instead, the concrete access road and inner service roads are still there. In the middle of the ‘8’ shaped road around the two bunkers, a placard with information has been put by the regional administration. The placard concludes saying that being there should ‘provoke thoughts’ – for instance, why wasn’t this installation preserved somehow for posterity, instead of leaving it slip into oblivion?

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

The bunkers, made to withstand a nuclear blast, are too expensive to be demolished. However, the doors have been completely sealed and covered with land and concrete. The camouflaged concrete fronts of the bunkers are the most visible trace of Objekt 4001.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

On top of the bunkers some metal ventilation hatches appear to have resisted the demolition works. More interestingly, the metal cabin with the ladder for pedestrian access has been demolished, and access blocked with a concrete slab in both bunkers. In the southern bunker the concrete slab has been broken recently, and maybe a difficult access re-opened. However, this is not practicable if you are traveling alone – and is extremely dangerous in all other cases.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

Getting there & moving around

Going to Lychen-2 is easy from the small nice town of Himmelpfort, about 1 hour driving north of downtown Berlin, in the heart of the natural preserve and nice tourist district of Oberhavel.

An access road is marked on the map attached to this post. You may see the Lychen-2 bunker from the satellite map, just north of the road, at the level of the launch platform for the SS-4 Sandal marked as ‘Furstenberg’. The latter post lists also several other Soviet-related destinations in the area, which may be more rewarding than Lychen-2. The (once) prominent secret Soviet base of Vogelsang (see this post) is also a highlight of the area, despite significant demolition works having taken place also recently, pushing also that part of the story towards oblivion.

Plokstine – A Preserved Nuclear Missile Site in Lithuania

April 21, 2019April 21, 2019 CarloRLeave a comment

While almost all nuclear sites you can find in European Countries once beyond the Iron Curtain are today totally abandoned and fairly unaccessible, there exists a perhaps unique exception. The Plokstine site in northwestern Lithuania has been selected around 2010 for complete refurbishment with the help of public money, and in 2012 it has opened its doors as a museum. Located in a beautiful natural setting crowded with hikers – namely Zemaitija National Park, a national recreation area around Plateliai lake – it has quickly grown to international fame, and is now recording several thousands visitors per year, with guided tours in multiple languages – including English – offered on a regular basis during the warm season.

What is today an intriguing tourist destination, used to be part of a large Soviet installation for launching ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads. It is worth mentioning that Lithuania was a ‘Soviet Socialist Republic’ in the realm of the USSR, i.e. not just a satellite country of the Soviet Union, but part of it. Actually, this small country on the shores of the Baltic Sea, on the extreme western border of Soviet territory, was an ideal location for deploying weapons to hit European targets from within the Union. Furthermore, the Plokstine forest was – and still is – a little populated area, where construction works for a large top-secret military facility for storing and operating offensive cutting-edge hi-tech warfare would go likely unnoticed.

The missile complex was completed in December 1962, in the years of Khrushchev and Kennedy. The Plokstine site comprises of four interred silos and an extensive underground command station in the middle – the ensemble constituted a so-called ‘Dvina’ launch complex.

The ‘Dvina’ site in Plokstine was actually the last part of the missile base to be built. Two more sister surface sites, with four launchpads each, had been completed one year before, just west of the nearby village of Saiteikiai. These surface sites were similar to those you can find in Latvia (see this post), a neighbor country where unfortunately the last remaining ‘Dvina’ site was demolished in 2017, but abundant traces of the Soviet presence can still be found.

All three launch complexes in this region were designed around the R-12 missile. The R-12U missile was actually used in the underground ‘Dvina’ complex, slightly different from the surface-launched R-12. This weapon was better known by its NATO designation – SS-4 Sandal – and was a 2.3 megaton, single warhead, single stage nuclear missile. It reached true international notoriety before the base in Plokstine was activated, for this was the type deployed to Cuba in the missile crisis of 1962. Coincidentally, part of the staff transferred to Cuba in the days preceding the crisis was from the same rocket regiment of the Red Army (the 79th) stationed in Plokstine. Sandal missiles from here were reportedly transferred in complete secrecy to Cuba, via the port town of Sevastopol in Crimea in that occasion.

The base remained operational until the last missile – by then obsolete – left in 1978.

The Baltics were the first republics to leave the dying Soviet Union, openly defying the military authority of neighbor Russia. After the collapse of the Union and the end of communism in Europe, these three states – which historically do not belong to Russian culture – quickly joined the NATO and European Union, to escape Russian influence as much as possible. Most Soviet military installations were shut down and abandoned, and have been for two decades an interesting destination for explorers and war historians (see this post for many examples). Later on, most sites have been slowly demolished or converted into something else. Really a few of them have been preserved for posterity.

In this post you can find photographs from the Cold War Museum now open in the former ‘Dvina’ site of Plokstine, from a visit in 2017. Close to the bottom, you can find a few further photographs from a previous visit made by appointment in 2009, before the site was selected for renovation – these may be more appealing for Soviet-aura lovers!

Sights

What can be visited today is all in the area of the old ‘Dvina’ complex. The complex is mainly composed of four interred silos, covered by heavy steel & concrete bulged covers, placed on the four corners of a square. These gigantic caps are the most prominent components of the site from the outside. Today, an observation deck has been erected on the south of the area. From there, you can appreciate the distinctive plan of the ‘Dvina’ complex, with an access road terminating in a loop touching all four armored silo covers.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

The weight of each cover is told to be around 100 tonnes, as it was armored to withstand a nuclear explosion. The covers would be pulled sideward with a sled mechanism, to open the silos before launch. Unmovable missile launch complexes, like the ‘Dvina’ site in Plokstine, were easy and attractive targets for western weapons, thus requiring a very strong defense barrier. Similar considerations led the design of the Titan missile sites in the US, which albeit more powerful and capable of a greater range, are roughly from the same era (see this post).

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

To get near the silos or get access to the museum, you need to pay a ticket and join a guided tour. The visit includes a tour of the Cold War Museum, which has been prepared inside the rooms of the former control center. The tour will start from the visitor center, a new modern building. You will soon go through a specimen of the original fences which ran around the ‘Dvina’ complex, and which included barbed wire and high-voltage electrified lines. Close by, you can find traces of original unarmored constructions, likely service buildings. The missile site was operated by more than 300 troops stationing in a number of smaller centers in the area around the complex.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

The guide will lead you along a walk around the surface part of the complex, where you can see the construction of the caps from very close. The metal part is very rusty, but the concrete cover has been refurbished and looks like new – a pretty unusual sight, for connoisseurs of Soviet military relics!

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

Access to the underground missile service and control center is via a small metal door, right in the middle of the square formed by the four silos.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

A few rooms in the control center today host the exhibitions of the Cold War Museum. A room displays a quick time-line of the Cold War, since the end of WWII to the end of the USSR. In the adjoining rooms you can find propaganda items

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

Another room is about defense against nuclear threat. This is interesting, with many artifacts like dosimeters and medical tools, plus easily readable instructions of ‘dos and don’ts’ in case of nuclear attack.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

Another room is about the evolution of weapons over the Cold War decades, with original material from the time, including heavier tactical weapons.

The exhibition is modern, small but not superficial, and may appeal to any public, including children. Besides the exhibits, you can appreciate the relatively small size of all rooms and connecting corridors in the former control center.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

As you are driven next to the missile operation part, you can find a scale model of the ‘Dvina’ complex and a cut-out of a R-12U silo, together with a map of the relatively few missile sites in Lithuania – from the map, it can be argued that, for some reason, many more sites were prepared in nearby Latvia.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

Resting quarters for the troops and a communication station with original electronic gear have been reconstructed based on original footage and pics. Communication with the military headquarters was clearly an essential task – it was the only way an order to launch could be issued – and the serviceman on duty was responsible for assuring a permanent link with the chain of command. In other words, he was instructed not to leave his headphones under any circumstances, during a several hours-long shift!

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

On the sides of the corridors you can see holes for the extensive network of cables and pipes. Further on, you meet the most ‘hardware’ part of the exhibition. First, the original diesel-fueled power generator has been refurbished and is standing in its original room. The underground complex was designed not only to withstand a nuclear blast, but also to provide shelter for all servicemen for several days following an attack. This meant air filters, food, water, technical supplies and of course electrical power, were all essential assets. Oil for the generator was stored in a container in an adjoining room.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

Finally, you get access to one of the four silos. You need to go through a tight door opened on the wall of the concrete structure of the control center. Writings in Cyrillic can be spotted on the walls in this area. From there, you will see the cylindrical shape of the metal structure of the silo from the side. This metal canister is really big, the ‘Dvina’ silos featured a much greater diameter than the SS-4 missile they were built for. This was somewhat different from their US counterpart (see this post), where the missile diameter fits the size of the silo without much margin.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

You can get access to the silo via the original hatch, cut in the metal wall close to the rim on top of the silo, just beneath the external cap. Going through this hatch is incredibly difficult – it is extremely narrow, much longer than the size of a human step, and tilted upwards! It is hard to understand why the Soviets built it in a size so small – this applies to the control center too, for all corridors are really narrow and the ceiling in the rooms is so low you may easily need to bend forward! For those who don’t want to try the original entry to the silo, there is now a non-original door cut in the side of the canister.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War

The inside of the silo can be observed from an original service deck, immediately under the external cover. From here you can clearly appreciate the size of the construction – the missile was more than 70 ft long, and sat here in a vertical position. The SS-4 was among the first missiles to make use of a storable liquid propellant, which allowed it to stay in almost-launch-ready conditions for a prolonged time, if resting in a silo. Nonetheless, the time for opening the armored caps was about 30 minutes, which meant this was not exactly quick to launch. The understructure of the armored caps can be clearly appreciated from inside the silo.

Photographs Before Restoration Works – Ghost Base

When I visited this site for the first time in 2009, it was open only by appointment. Unfortunately, I had only a compact camera at the time, and the very low light inside plus a rainy day outside, meant I could take only a few acceptable pictures.

However, they provide an idea of the state of the ‘Dvina’ complex before it was decided to reconfigure it as a museum.

As you can see, the armored silo caps were in a worse shape than today, yet not heavily damaged. The barbed wire fence around the four silos was probably original Soviet.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration

Inside, the control rooms were basically empty, except for some communist emblems and flags. Green wall paint and Cyrillic writings could be found even at the time, so what you see today is likely original. The generator, whilst in bad shape, was there.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration

The silo could be accessed only via the original hatch, and except for the partial darkness, its appearance is similar today.

Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration

It is out of doubt that the ‘Soviet ghost aura’ of the base was somewhat lost in the restoration process, yet credit must be given to the effort of the local government in preserving a rare and relevant trace of military history through an expensive restoration process.

Getting there and moving around

The Cold War Museum (Šaltojo karo muziejus in the local idiom) is located in the Zemaitija National Park, northwestern Lithuania, east of lake Plateliai. Access is via the road 2302. The place is totally accessible and well advertised locally. Visiting the outside of the armored caps and inside is possible only with a guided tour, offered in many languages including English, and lasting about 50 minutes. No fee is required for climbing on top of the observation deck. Full information through the official website here.

A Walk in Kiev – From Medieval Town to Post-Soviet Metropolis

March 17, 2019September 28, 2019 CarloRLeave a comment

Founded as a trading post back in the 5th century in the Ostrogoth region on the far eastern border of the Roman Empire, Kiev later grew to become the capital of the first ‘Rus’ in early medieval times. The ‘Rus’ embraced a vast territory between todays Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Western Russia. Centuries later, after a war lost against the Mongols and having changed hands more than once, it finally became part of the Czarist Empire.

In Soviet times, Kiev was the capital of the second largest Socialist Republic of the Union, i.e. the Ukraine. This large and fertile land, not subject to the exceptionally harsh winters typical to the majority of Russian territories, features a long coast with several port towns on the Black Sea, and since the Bolshevik Revolution and the Russian Civil War, it accounted for a good share of the population and workforce of the USSR.

Despite being kept in great consideration by the Soviet central government for its economic and military value, the Ukraine was among the fiercest opponents of the Bolshevik revolution back in the years of Lenin and the Russian Civil War. Some top-ranking Soviet leaders actually came from this Country, but that it remained separated from Russia even in Soviet times was not just by chance.

As a matter of fact, after the collapse of the USSR, the Ukraine immediately left for independence, entering a very difficult transitional phase, which is basically still lasting today. The general weakness of all recent presidential administrations, the claims of ownership over the former national industries and natural resources by private owners, and substantial border controversies with Russia, have produced living conditions for the population which are much lower than for other ex-USSR countries like Russia, the Baltics or Belarus.

All these pieces of national history are reflected in Kiev, a very large city where you hear echoes from all the eras of its complicated past. This chapter presents a quick account of the highlights of Kiev’s heritage from older and newer times, providing also an impression of how this town is evolving today. Photographs were taken in spring 2018, and portray a bit of everything, from spectacular Orthodox temples to gigantic Soviet statues, cannons from WWII, the Chernobyl Museum, panorama views of the city and more!

Map

The map below shows the location of everything described or portrayed in this post.

Pictures were taken mostly in central Kiev, itself a pretty extensive area, served by public transport, but more quickly and efficiently explored by taxi. As of today (2019), the cost of life for a visiting westerner is incredibly low, so even taking a taxi for every shift is not inconceivable.

Of course, there are some parts of the central district which are interesting to explore by walk, and if you are a well-trained type you might simply spend your day walking from a destination to the other – getting a more complete view of the city center, and avoiding traffic jams which constantly plague the city.

I really enjoy driving, but in Kiev I would not suggest moving around with a car on your own, cause traffic is really a nightmare, traffic flows are fuzzy and chaotic, so you may be easily wasting your time, letting aside the chance of accidents and damage to your car.

The central districts appear reasonably safe, so you may relax and move around by foot, taking all the pictures.

Sights

Saint Sophia’s Cathedral

If you want to start you exploration with a true masterpiece, then head directly to the very central Saint Sophia’s Cathedral. This glorious church and monastery founded around the year 1000 AD was renewed and modified over the centuries, but the main features of the central church have remained basically unaltered since its origin.

Kiev Saint Sophia

Kiev Architecture Panorama

Access to the monastery grounds are via the tall bell tower. You can also climb upstairs, very much advised to enjoy a very good view of Kiev’s central districts, including the nearby church of Saint Michael.

Kiev Saint Michael

Kiev Saint Sophia Panorama

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama Government

Kiev Architecture Panorama

Looking farther, you can appreciate the size of the outskirts of the city, which is really extensive. The typical Soviet/post-Soviet amenity of the most peripheral districts is readily apparent. There is also a plant looking like an oil power plant, with giant red and white chimneys, right in town.

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama

The majestic river Dnepr can be barely seen from here, looking east.

From the outside the church in the monastery – resembling the plan of Saint Sophia’s Cathedral in Constantinople – is a masterpiece, but the mosaics inside are really unmissable.

Kiev Saint Sophia Cathedral Monastery

Kiev Saint Sophia

Unfortunately, taking pictures inside is strictly forbidden (many guards around).

Saint Andrew’s Church & Ministry of Foreign Affairs

A quick detour to the east from the alley connecting Saint Sophia’s to Saint Michael’s Cathedral, Saint Andrew’s Cathedral is a nice example of Czarist Rococo style. Unfortunately the church was undergoing renovation inside at the time of my visit.

Kiev Saint Andrew Cathedral

On the way from Saint Andrew’s Cathedral to Saint Michael’s Cathedral you can find a Soviet monolith, today the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The building, with a line of prominent columns aligned ahead of the façade, was built over a terrain formerly part of Saint Michael’s Monastery.

Kiev Ministry of Foreign Affairs Soviet Architecture

Saint Michael’s Cathedral

This beautiful church, with distinctive golden domes, was reconstructed in its baroque form in the late 1990s, after it had been completely demolished in the 1930s, among the darkest hours of Stalin’s communist dictatorship. The ancient mosaics which adorned the original church, dating back to the Byzantine period, were transferred to major museums of the USSR before demolition took place.

Kiev Saint Michael Monastery

Kiev Saint Sophia Monastery

Kiev Saint Michael Monastery

The accurate reconstruction work has produced a beautiful ensemble, with a church in the middle, a tower over the main gate, and several smaller buildings. The contrast between the blue façade walls and the golden roof produces a very nice chromatic effect.

Kiev Saint Michael Monastery

Friendship of Nations Monument

Descending towards the river from Saint Michael’s Cathedral, you soon reach an artery of the city called Kreshchatyy, and a typical soviet building – the Ukrainian House, today a congress center. This artery leads to the central Independence Square.

Kiev Ukrainian House Congress Center

Kiev Ukrainian House Congress Center Kreshchatyy

Next to the Ukrainian House you can find the head of short promenade leading to a balcony with a gorgeous view of the Dnepr. Going there, you pass under an arch, framing some sculptures including a – strangely – moderate soviet memorial, the Friendship of Nations Monument.

Kiev Friendship of Nations Soviet Monument

The size of the Dnepr is impressive. The balcony is a vantage point for a panorama view of the northern and eastern districts of Kiev.

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama Dnepr River

Kiev Friendship of Nations Soviet Monument

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama Dnepr River

Governmental District

Taking to the south from the Friendship of Nations Monument you get access to an extensive city park. Immersed in this park are the residence of the President of the Ukraine – Marijnsky Palace. This is a fancy blue and cream palace, with a nice Italian-style garden ahead of it. It is still working, so it is usually off-limits for tourists. A great panorama to the east can be seen from besides the palace.

Kiev Marijnsky Palace Presidential Residence Ukraine

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama River Dnepr

Kiev Soviet Architecture Dynamo Stadium

Next to the presidential residence you can find the small Parliament Building.

Kiev Parliament Ukraine

Kiev Soviet Hotel International Kijv

On the border of the park you can find the International Hotel Kiev, part of the soviet heritage. The park is pointed with many soviet statues and memorials, as well. To southern end of the park you meet the area of the old arsenal. The metro stop there resembles some of the stations in Moscow.

Kiev Soviet Architecture Monument

Further south you come to what is probably one of the most popular area among tourists, you meet more soviet buildings, including old soviet hotels.

Monument to the Unknown Soldier

The southern end of the governmental district is marked by the nice area on top of a cliff rapidly descending to the river. Here you will find the sober Monument to the Unknown Soldier. The focus of the monument is an obelisk with an eternal flame nearby. Access to the obelisk is via an alley with commemorative slabs along the sides.

Kiev Monument to Unknown Soldier

The obelisk is constantly guarded by the military. The area is quiet and nice to stay. The panorama to the east is again really gorgeous.

Kiev Unknown Soldier Panorama

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama

Immediately south of the obelisk, it is possible to see a monument to the victims of the Holodomor Genocide. This was a famine intentionally caused by Stalin in the year 1933, in support of the industrial development plans. By conveying all the food to the cities with industrial plants, and simultaneously prohibiting any movement to Soviet citizens among districts within the Union, Stalin and the Soviet Government set the stage for one of the worst famines in European history, causing millions of victims among farmers and the rural population. The rural population of the Ukraine was among the most hit by this move.

Kiev Holodomor Genocide Memorial

Pecerska Lavra Monastery

This is probably the best known monument in Kiev. This immense monastic complex is basically a citadel, with several churches scattered over a large area descending towards the river. Besides the churches, it is possible to find several buildings with refectories, dorms and more, plus an incredible museum with some incredible treasures from ancient times.

The churches date from different epochs, and some have been altered over the years. The most prominent, nearby the entrance, is in baroque style, with a tall tower ahead of it.

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery

The size of the monastery is really striking, and it is very lively, with religious services and related activities often taking place.

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery

The archaeological museum with its golden treasure is surprisingly rich and valuable.

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery Museum Treasure

A less usual feature of the monastery is an Orthodox church dating from the late Czarist age, late 19th-early 20th century. It reflects the typical innovative style of the time, without departing from the classical subjects of the Orthodox iconography.

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery

One of the most famous features of the Lavra is the catacomb with the mommies of the monks. This is really impressive, cause the tunnels are very narrow and dark, and you go there with a small candle. Taking pictures is strictly forbidden, and technically very difficult, due to the low light of the place.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery

Looking south from the beautiful area of the Pecerska Lavra Monastery, you can spot the most prominent Soviet monument in Kiev – the Motherland Monument.

The Local Conflicts Museum

Accessing the area dominated by the immense statue to the Motherland from north, you find some damaged military vehicles. These are Russian vehicles requisitioned by the Ukrainian military in the course of the recent tensions which led to the annexation of the Crimea – a former Ukrainian territory – by Russia. The vehicles on display are Russian-made and Russian-operated relics, found on Ukrainian soils.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War Motherland

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum Russian Aggression

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

As the explanatory panels tell you, they are a proof of unauthorized military actions carried out by Russian troops on the territory of the Ukraine. As of today, the Ukraine and Russia are not openly fighting, but they are not friends.

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum

The Local Conflicts Museum is actually a wonderful collection of military vehicles, tanks, cannons, missiles, a few aircraft and even a submarine and an armored train. They are all from the Soviet weapons arsenal, and despite the name of the museum, there is even a ballistic missile among them.

The collection is split in two parts. One is on display over an apron which can be freely accessed. In this part you can see a few classic Soviet tank designs, rocket launchers and an attack helicopter Mil Mi-24.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum

The second part is located nearby, but it is somewhat more secluded, and can be accessed only with a small fee. Here you meet first a few aircraft, including a Lisunov Li-2, a license-built Soviet copy of the Douglas C-47.

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum War Soviet Cold War WWII Missile

There are a few attack aircraft from various ages (you can find many more in the beautiful air museum in Kiev, see here, a must-see for every aviation enthusiast), but what will probably capture your attention is a mighty SS-4 Sandal missile. This strategic missile type, also known as R-12 in the Soviet inventory, was the key element of the Cuban crisis. Before that, its deployment was planned in the last years of the Eisenhower administration also in the German Democratic Republic (see here). This was a major asset for the USSR in the years of the Kennedy administration, and was deployed in large numbers within the borders of the Soviet Union – preferably next to the borders, due its relatively limited range (see here).

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum War Soviet Cold War WWII Missile

Nearby the missile, you can find its launch gantry, which was anchored to the ground through a metal crown. This is what you find in todays Germany, the scant traces of the planned deployment of this system out of the USSR (see here). Another exemplar of this iconic missile with its gantry tower can be found in an excellent museum close to Minsk, Belarus (see here).

An impressive array of cannons with different calibers, a small submarine and an armored railway car with turrets – a similar one can be found in the Parola Tank Museum in Finland (official website here).

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum War Soviet Cold War WWII Missile

Also on display is a tactical nuclear missile with its movable canister truck.

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum War Soviet Cold War WWII Missile

Motherland Statue

This iconic statue is actually one of the youngest WWII monumental memorials of the USSR. Despite being planned soon after the end of the Great Patriotic War in the early Cold War period, it was not until the early 1980s that this metal colossus was built and inaugurated, at the presence of the then-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

The statue stands on a very nice natural stage, on top of a cliff dominating a wide panorama with river Dnepr in the middle.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War Motherland

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Panorama

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial

The area around the monument forms a WWII memorial. There is provision for a big eternal flame, which despite the name is not constantly operating due to the massive gas flow needed for feeding it. Scattered around are some interesting groups of sculptures celebrating the efforts and the final victory of the USSR in WWII.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

The foundations of the Motherland Statue host a nice crypt with the names of thousands of soldiers and civilians fallen in the battles over the Ukrainian territory during the Great Patriotic War (which is WWII for the USSR).

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

Besides the slabs with the names carved in them, there is very nice and sober mosaic decoration on the ceiling.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

You can get access to the crypt visiting the Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War.

Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War

Similar to other museums dedicated to the Soviet actions in WWII you can find in Moscow and Minsk, this collection is a true must-see for anybody with an interest in the topic. The museum right under the Motherland Statue, with access from the front of the monument (official website here). In the case of the museum in Kiev, the totally Soviet construction adds to the value, with red stone and bronze lamps and ceiling decoration adding to the atmosphere.

Before you get access to the original collection, you can see in the hall of the museum, and in a few small rooms nearby the entrance, material from the recent Russian-Ukrainian confrontation.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

The original collection is on two floors. There are uniforms, flags, many weapons, military gear, personal diaries, maps, passports and military papers. What is especially striking is the abundance of German material from the time, with tons of swastikas, Nazi insignia, original uniforms and more.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

There is a small collection of rare Nazi daggers. Other interesting items include an Italian-issued certificate of merit, given to a Soviet soldier fighting in the Italian resistance movement.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

There are clearly also many Soviet artifacts from the time, including original newspapers, books autographed by Stalin, and more. There is also the wreck of a downed Soviet aircraft.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

On the top floor you get access to the collection through a monumental wall with metal sculptures.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

Further Nazi and Soviet gear, uniforms, medals and papers are on display here. There is a diorama portraying the battle of Berlin, and even some Japanese war material – the USSR fought against the Japanese Empire especially in the months between the collapse of the Third Reich and the end of WWII in 1945.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

Before you come to the crypt under the Motherland Statue (described above) in the dome on top of the museum, you can visit also a more modern commemorative display, with black and white pictures of people involved in the war.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

Independence Square

This is the geographical and symbolic center of Kiev. This large square is crossed by a major road, with massive Soviet apartment or office buildings, which splits it in two.

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

Kiev Independence Maidan Square

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

On one side there are a few similar buildings creating a curved theatrical set. Looking closer, they are adorned with Soviet iconography, hence probably dating back to Stalin’s years. You may also notice they are not so well-kept – this applies in general to all buildings around the square, producing a strange ‘disorder feeling’.

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

There are traces of an original gate, from older times and misaligned with respect to the main axis of the square.

On the other side, the square is dominated by the monster Soviet building of Hotel Ukraine. This is preceded by a kind of modern mall, flanked by classical buildings probably dating back to an older era.

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

The district around the square is rich of older – pre-Soviet – buildings, making for an interesting stage for a relaxed walk.

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

Kiev Nouveau Liberty Architecture

Kiev Independence Maidan Square

To the south of the square you can find a group of particularly striking examples of Art Nouveau from the late 19th-early 20th century. Some of them are really world-class masterpieces, like the famous Chimera House, with sea monsters, animals and various strange creatures haunting the house.

Kiev Nouveau Liberty Architecture Chimera House

Golden Gate

A few minutes walking from Independence Square you can find the so-called Golden Gate, which is a reconstruction of one of the medieval gates of the city. The appearance of Kiev was greatly altered following its evolution in the centuries, leading to the disappearance of the walls and gates of the ancient city. The famous Mussorgsky theme closing the Paintings of an Exhibition is dedicated to the ‘Gate of Kiev’ – this monuments provides an idea of the real size an shape of such a gate.

Kiev Monument Gate Great

Kiev Soviet Architecture

Kiev Architecture

In the district around the monument there are examples of buildings from many ages and architectural styles. Soviet emblems are featured on many facades.

Chernobyl National Museum

Kiev is located less than 70 miles from Chernobyl power-plant. As a secondary effect of the increased popularity of Chernobyl as a tourist destination – as a result of the recent encapsulation of the ill-fated plant into a hi-tech protective armor increasing safety for visitors – Kiev has become a crossroads for international tourists.

The Chernobyl National Museum (official website here) has the function of a documents center for the accident, with rare artifacts taken away from the exclusion zone, papers and recordings from the time of the accident (1986), models of the power-plant and the contaminated area, and more.

Kiev Chernobyl Museum

Among the weirdest items on display, some specimen of mutated plants and trees, a mommy of a mutated animal, and photographs of similar subjects.

Kiev Chernobyl Museum

Another area of the museum is actually a memorial for those who perished, suffered a severe health condition or were deported for safety reasons after the accident. The latter happened to a number of smaller villages, including the now well-known Pripyat, which has turned into one of the largest ghost towns in the world.

Kiev Chernobyl Museum

There is also a quick pictorial overview of the Fukushima accident.

Kiev Chernobyl Museum

The district where the museum is located, north of Saint Andrew’s Cathedral, features several old-fashioned and classical buildings from pre-Soviet times, and Art Nouveau buildings as well.

Kiev Architecture

Kiev Mohyla

Kiev Andriivsky Descent

Kiev Architecture

Kiev Andriivsky Descent

Kiev Architecture

Yet some Soviet monsters are scattered around the district, like market buildings and university buildings – don’t forget Kiev used to be a capital of a Soviet Republic!

Forgotten Cold War Bases Around Prague

February 3, 2019February 22, 2021 CarloRLeave a comment

Todays Czech Republic was born from the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The latter was founded after WWI from the ashes of the Austrian Empire. Its well-developed industrial plants and proximity with Germany made it a primary target in the expansion phase of the Third Reich – in fact, after the Munich Agreement a large part of the territory of Czechoslovakia was annexed to Germany in 1938.

Towards the end of WWII, Czechoslovakia was conquered by both the Soviet Red Army and US troops. As a result of diplomacy moves soon after WWII, a new free republic was founded. Unfortunately, as soon as 1948 the local Communist Party conquered power with a coup d’état, turning this Country into a Soviet satellite.

From a military viewpoint, this period saw the adoption of Soviet supplies and organization standards. Czechoslovakia shared a border with the Ukraine, hence with the USSR. Yet the stability and reliability – from a USSR standpoint – of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, differently from other countries under soviet influence – like Poland – meant a certain level of autonomy in the setup of the armed forces, which were not massively present over the territory of the country during the 1950s and 1960s, until 1968.

The Prague Spring, triggered by the announced reforms of the leader of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party Alexander Dubcek, brought Brezhnev-led USSR to fear a loss of control of that industrialized region, creating a dangerous diplomatic affair and a bad example for other Soviet-controlled countries. The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, codenamed ‘Operation Danube’, was launched in August 1968.

The operation led to the successful occupation of the country by more than 250’000 troops from the USSR, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. Since that time, and until 1989 with the overthrowing of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, the Red Army was present over the territory of this country, taking control and developing bases formerly managed by the local armed forces. The two largest airbases in the country, Ralsko and Milovice, both less than 40 miles away from Prague, were among the installations taken over by the USSR.

Despite this, the already developed Czechoslovakian Army maintained a high standard of proficiency and supply, thanks also to the local production of top-quality weapons. The local army was responsible of the Czechoslovakian sector of the anti-aircraft barrier of the western border of the Eastern Bloc, which was built in the 1980s based on advanced Soviet material, namely the SA-5 Gammon surface-to-air missiles. Furthermore, the city of Prague was protected by a network of anti-aircraft missile batteries based on the SA-3 Goa. Anti-atomic bunkers were built both in Prague for civil defense (see this post), and in more remote areas of the country for the government and for the military chain of command (see this post).

After the end of communism both in Czechoslovakia and the USSR, the departure of the newborn Czech Republic from the influence of Russia, and the reconfiguration of the Czech Army in view of the new geopolitical situation in the 1990s, the majority of the former military installations were shut down and abandoned – a scenario totally similar to all former Soviet-controlled countries, which had known an exponential increase in the military presence over the years of the Cold War, which could not be supported any more by the economies of the new independent Countries (see for instance here or here). Furthermore, like in every other country in the Eastern Bloc, the retreating staff of the Red Army and their families left extensive ghost towns (see for instance this post).

Today, after substantial demolition works and years spent under the action of the elements, a few traces remain of these witnesses of the Cold War. Yet as of 2018 some notable relics of this bygone era could still be found, conveniently reachable from Prague.

This post covers Milovice Red Army airbase, possibly better known through the name of the local Soviet town of Bozi Dar, two abandoned anti-aircraft missile batteries for the protection of Prague – Tocna and Miskovice – and an anti-aircraft battery in the vicinity of Dobris, south of Prague, once a focal point of the anti-aircraft defense of the European border of the Eastern Bloc, against NATO forces. Photographs were taken in summer 2018.

Map

The following map is very basic, and helps just to highlight the location of the four subjects of this chapter in the Prague region. The reason for not being more explicit is that the Dobris and Milovice bases are possibly not publicly accessible. Concerning Tocna and Miskovice, they are rather small installations, thus not difficult to explore.

As usual with this kind of attraction, approaching by car is the only way possible, due to the remoteness of the locations. Once there, much walking on uneven terrain is required. A tripod and torchlight are highly recommended for indoor exploration, and a cell phone with a GPS may be handy for moving around especially in Dobris and Milovice.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Milovice Airbase
Tocna Missile Battery
Miskovice Missile Battery
Dobris Missile Base

Sights

Milovice Airbase

Much before being turned into one of the busiest and largest Soviet airports in central Europe, the airbase in Milovice had experienced a long history of upgrades and developments. Activated in the 1920s on military grounds previously established by the Austrian Emperor, the airfield was actively used by the Luftwaffe in the years of the Nazi occupation and WWII. Later on, it was turned into a major base of the Czechoslovakian Air Force, with MiGs reportedly operating from there as soon as a hardened runway was built in the early 1950s.

Before the Soviet invasion of 1968, the staff of the base used to stay in the village of Milovice, on the southwestern corner of the base.

After the Soviets came to occupy the field, they built from scratch a new, self-sufficient village on the northern side of the base, where Soviet troops and their families could live segregated from the local community. This village was named Bozi Dar. The Soviets developed the facilities of the base enormously, lengthening the runway to almost 8’500 ft, building about 40 reinforced hangars sized for MiG-21 and later MiG-23/27, and more than 25 open-air landing bays for Mi-8 and Mi-24 attack helicopters. The base featured also large open-air aprons for transport aircraft, which reportedly operated many military transport flights to and from the USSR with larger cargo aircraft.

A storage for nuclear warheads for tactical weapons was built to the south of the runway, with two Granit-type concrete containers.

Today this once prominent base is largely abandoned. The village of Bozi Dar, while surprisingly still hosting some form of business in a few surviving smaller buildings, has been almost completely demolished, leaving behind the depressing view of piles of rubble. The village had been ceded to private owners after the withdrawal of the Russian troops, but all proposed restoration ideas have come to nothing, and the by-then rotting buildings have met their fate in the early 2010s.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The northwestern corner of the airport is the richest in relics. Approaching the airport from this corner, you first meet significant remains of the double fence once delimiting the perimeter of the airbase.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

In the same area, it is possible to find the helicopter aprons, almost untouched, with scant yet visible remains of tarmac repairs and typical airport area signs and delimiters painted on the ground.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

From the same northwestern corner, you may go ahead along a former main road of the base looking east. South of the road you may soon spot the reinforced aircraft shelters built in this part of the airbase.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

North of the road, you can see two unusual constructions, looking like fortresses of the Atlantic Wall (see here). These are likely part of the reinforced fuel resupply system, a pretty interesting feature of the Misovice airbase. These two reinforced tanks were only a part of a huge network of pipelines and reservoirs, which allowed to store most of the fuel in the vicinity of the base, but not on it, to prevent damages in case of an attack. The two reinforced tanks served only the immediate needs of the aircraft and helicopter fleet, and were designed to withstand a direct hit. This system was put in place by the Czechoslovakians, before the Soviets took over the base. You can spot the reinforced concrete roofs of the two reservoirs emerging from the bushes.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The aircraft shelters of this area are all shut. You can walk around, ahead and over them as well – useful for getting a panorama view of the base.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

From the top of the shelters you can get a view of the open-air apron, and of part of the runway. The airport is today closed, but after the military quit, some ultra-light and RC aircraft activities were carried out from the area.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

Having a close look at the gates of the hangars, you may notice they are made of concrete, really sturdy. Small engines to operate the gates can still be found on the sides of most of these hangars.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

In the same area you can find a former cabin, probably hosting a power generation unit or something alike.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

Further west, you can find a large unarmored hangar, most likely from older times than 1968. This was probably for maintenance activities. The windows on top of the front façade bear ‘KPSS’ in Cyrillic – this is the Russian acronym for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This is probably only part of the original writing. Further right, there is a Czechoslovakian flag, possibly from the later years when the base was operated.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The building of the maintenance hangar is composed of a very large main hall, and many smaller rooms all around its perimeter. Electric plugs and switches bear writings in Cyrillic. Today, there is also monumental pile of used tires!

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

On the walls of the main hall there are traces of Soviet murals and Cyrillic inscriptions – most of them are fading.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The rooms along the long side of the hangar are mainly heavily damaged and spoiled.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The rooms along the short sides are in a bad shape, but something more remains of the original furniture, including some doors and windows. The traces here suggest a more aesthetically pleasant design, not just purely functional – look at the doors and handles, more like those of a canteen than of a mechanic workshop.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

Especially on the eastern side of the hangar, evident remains of a sauna and steam room tend to confirm the function of this area as a recreational facility. Having such facilities close to the runway would not be strange – something similar can be found for instance in Soviet airbase in Wittstock, in the former GDR (see here).

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

Leaving the hangar to the north you can find several fences, and leaving the airport you may meet the original double fence with barbed wire – almost untouched from Soviet times, so may you need to walk along it to find a way through!

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

All around the former airport it is possible to find memorabilia and items of interest – mugs, metal pieces, fuel tanks,…

Getting there and moving around

As said, while largely abandoned and mainly unfenced, this area is likely all private property. Moving around does pose some safety issues, for when walking in the bushes and wild grass you may stumble due to abandoned cables or barbed wire at the level of your ankles. The main hangar is not completely rotting, but it is unlikely that it underwent maintenance in recent years. The adjoining small buildings are probably even more dangerous due to risk of collapse.

The village of Bozi Dar does not deserve any attention, unless possibly if you are looking for memorabilia – all buildings are completely gone. The area to the south of the runway where the nuclear facility used to be has been completely demolished. It was reportedly similar to the one preserved in Grossenhain, next to Dresden in the former GDR (see here).

Approaching the airport from the northwest is convenient, for there is chance of parking on the side of the perimeter road, far from the unwanted attention of the locals. There are some local businesses insisting in the last buildings of Bozi Dar, and possibly on the apron, but probably there are not real security issues in entering the base area by foot – there are no barriers nor prohibition signs whatsoever, except for cars. The area of the base is very large – it is an airport after all… – and visiting the northwestern corner may take about 2 hours for a well-trained subject, including time for all the pictures.

Tocna Missile Battery

This is part of the former network of missile batteries for the anti-aircraft defense of Prague, operated by Czechoslovakian 71st Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. This ring of protection was established in the 1970s. The base in Tocna was equipped with approximately 12 batteries of 5P71 two-rocket trolleys for the Soviet SA-2 Goa, which in the Soviet classification is known as S-125 Neva (or Petchora for the exported version). This is a popular model from the early 1960s, adopted in many countries outside of the USSR and the Eastern Bloc over the years, and still deployed today. These 24 missiles had a range of roughly 20 miles and a ceiling of more than 50’000 ft. The electronic gears for target acquisition and missile guidance comprised the trailer-mounted P-15 acquisition radar and SNR-125 tracking and guidance radar – all Soviet supply.

Similar to other batteries of the kind, Tocna was divided in two smaller sectors, one with the barracks, parking, living facilities for the troops and fuel storage, and one with reinforced shelters where the missiles were stored, and open-air aprons from where they could be launched. Today, the former sector is part of a local institution, and is separated by a fence from the latter sector, which is totally abandoned and can be accessed.

The missile area is located on top of a small hill. You can get access to the area starting from the gate of the former guard sector (still in use, inaccessible). Taking uphill you will soon meet the old inner wall of the base, which originally divided the guard part from the missile sector. Traces of the camo paint still adorn the concrete wall.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

The storage facilities are basically four barrel-vaulted halls inside a shelter. The shelter could be accessed from two opposite sides. Each of the four halls could host three twin-rocket trolleys.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

Dark and narrow passages connect the blind ends of the vaulted halls, and give access to a small protection area, where personnel could stay for protection in case the base was attacked from the air.

As you can see from the pictures, unfortunately the halls are in a very bad shape, covered in stupid graffiti and full of rubbish.

On top of the halls, there is a circular wall probably intended for the guidance radar. The missiles could be extracted from the shelters and prepared for launch from predetermined areas of the base.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

On the western side of the shelter you can find a command building, which today is barely accessible due to piles of rubbish obstructing the door. This is used as sporting ground by paint-ball teams. The emerging foundation wall of the shelter area was covered in camo nets, with some remains still in place today.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

On the northern end of the base you can find two more smaller shelters, with a large round hole in the roof giving access to where two large antennas can be found still today. These do not look like highly directional radar antennas, but more like usual communication antennas – maybe they are not originally from the time, yet they look unmaintained and rotting. The two shelters were possibly for control/communication trailers, or for power generators. These too are in a very bad shape today.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

Getting there and moving around

The former base has been split into two parts. One is still run by some public service, and cannot be accessed. The other – the rocket storage part – is totally abandoned and can be accessed without clear restrictions. Some paint-ball activities are (or used to be) carried out around here – but apparently only rarely. During my visit I came across two people walking their dogs, and was alone for the rest of the time.

The place can be easily reached by car in the southeastern outskirts of Prague. Parking is possible right ahead of the gate of the public service in the still active area – there is a large apron where your car will not be noticed.

The site is rather compact, but the terrain is uneven and steep. Anyway, considering also the very bad shape of the installation, visiting will not take more than 45 minutes.

Miskovice Missile Battery

This site is similar to the one in Tocna both in history and function. Unfortunately, possibly due to the immediate vicinity to a nearby village, this site was completely demolished. Only few traces remain of the original installation.

Accessing via the only way possible, you will soon meet traces of the outer fence, with vertical concrete posts and barbed wire.

Miskovice Missile Base Abandoned Soviet Radar Czech

The framework of inner roads can still be seen, albeit invaded by vegetation. The only visible remains are the round wall for the radar, and part of the access door to one of the shelters.

Miskovice Missile Base Abandoned Soviet Radar Czech

Getting there and moving around

I went to the Miskovice site as I expected it to be in a much better shape. Clearly, demolition works have hit here months before my visit, so that basically nothing remains here to see – just another lost occasion of sparing a piece of military history from total oblivion. While not far from Prague and easy to reach, I would not suggest to waste time in this location.

Dobris Missile Base

Together with another sister site in the vicinity of Brno (Rapotice), the Dobris base was part of the Czechoslovakian stronghold of the anti-aircraft defense line of the Eastern Bloc, countering intrusion from the nearby NATO forces operating mainly from West Germany.

This defense line was implemented in the final years of the Brezhnev leadership in the early 1980s, and comprised of ten missile bases, located in Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. It was based on the advanced SA-5 Gammon surface-to-air missile, known in the Soviet archives as S-200 Vega. Designed in the late 1960s, this massive anti-aircraft missile is still in service in many countries, offering a range of over 180 miles, a top altitude over 120’000 ft and a peak speed over Mach 4. It can carry a 450 lb warhead of conventional explosive, or a 25-kilotons nuclear warhead.

The missile battery of the SA-5 is typically composed of six 5P72 launchers, and a single radar 5N62 illuminating the target up to a distance of 180 miles.

The Dobris site, operated by the Czechoslovakian 71st Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, is an example of a really advanced launch facility for the SA-5 type. It is composed of three launch areas, with six launchers each, and correspondingly three 5N62 Square Pair radar antennas, making the three launch areas capable of working in parallel. Further antenna systems included a O-14 Tall King and a PRV-17 Odd Pair early warning radars, providing a seeking range of more than 350 miles at an altitude of 100’000 ft.

The area of the base in Dobris is correspondingly pretty large. The most notable feature are the incredible 60-ft-high concrete platforms where the square pair radars used to be placed. These structures are really unique, and clearly date from the latter, hi-tech stage of the Cold War era. The base was operative only in 1985, after four years of construction, carried out in secrecy by a force of 1’500 men. The areas was protected from intrusion by land, with a barbed wire fence and a concrete wall with watchtowers. All technical trails for operating the radar antennas and coordinating an attack, plus all power generators were sheltered in concrete bunkers, dug in the ground and covered in camo paint.

The base was deactivated at some point after the end of communism, for sure by the early 2000s. A private business has taken over the property, and a modern research center has been erected on the southern part of the former base. Thanks to its secluded location, sufficiently far from the city and deep in the trees, the area has come to our days in a relatively good shape. Due to the vicinity with a running business, exploring the launch part of the complex may be risky. This post covers only the more remote northern part, with the radar facilities and the control bunker.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Accessing the site from the north through the external fence and concrete wall still in good shape, you soon come to the first bunker, connected with the early warning O-14 Tall King. The bunker features two halls, which could host a control and signal processing trailer, and a power generation unit for the antenna. A corridor leads to a back door emerging to the ground level.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Holes in the ceiling allowed signal and power cables to reach the adjoining apron, where the antenna used to stay anchored. The Tall King was a massive 100-by-40 ft radar antenna, kept in place through six anchor points.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Pits and concrete pipes emerge from the ground all around the base. Moving southwest from the position of the Tall King radar, you will meet the monster structure supporting the Square Pair radar for one of the southernmost missile launch battery in the base (battery number 18 in the original maps). The support structure is accessible by a steep ramp, which allowed trailers for further electronic systems to climb on top of the platform.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

The round wall on top of the platform provided the foundations of the radar antenna. Caution is needed here, for the center of the pavement is covered with some rubbish, deceiving a hole which allowed the power and signal cables of the antenna to run below the platform, and down into the nearby shelter.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

The Square Pair operation trailers were hosted in that shelter, dug in the ground and featuring a single vault. Behind the main vault you can find smaller rooms with traces of technical gears – possibly for ventilation – and a service area for controllers and operators. A back door made access easier for the technical staff.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

The service roads leading to the three high platforms for the Square Pair radar antennas meet in the same point, where the control bunker of the base can be found. This bunker is interred and very large. It features three entrances on the front façade, leading to as many vaults.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Each vault contained a power generator close to the entrance. The right vault contained the K-9 combat control trailer, with sensors and computers, from where the whole Dobris site was controlled. The central vault hosted a K-21M electrical distribution group, and the left vault the K-7 control group, which was used to monitor the status of the base and the accuracy of the targeting system. The graffiti on the sidewall of one of the vault clearly date to later than 1993, the year of Stephen Spielberg’s Jurassic Park feature!

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

To the blind end of the vaults a network of corridors and rooms can be accessed. This is interesting, for it features a protection system likely to be used in case of a serious threat to the base. This includes a system of tight doors, a ventilation system, showers and services typical to a decontamination facility.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

This area is great fun to explore, but it is completely dark – a great environment for bats, like the one captured in this pic, purely by chance!

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

A powerful torchlight is mandatory for safely finding your way out. Traces of a control room – besides the trailer, which is clearly gone – can be found among other features of this interesting part of the bunker.

Just out of the control bunker you can find a building which served as a relax area for the troops. Traces of a gym can be found in one of the rooms.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

To the back of the same bunker you get access to another platform for the Square Pair radar of the westernmost (number 17) missile launch area. The bunker for the control trailer can be found on the side of the platform, together with a soft cover for trucks or light vehicles.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Due to time constraints, the last platform was not explored. Leaving is convenient from the same point used for entering the area.

Getting there and moving around

As pointed out, the Dobris site has been partially converted into a modern research center, funded by the European Union and involving national universities. This occupies the southernmost part of the former base, close to the launch complexes.

Accessing the northern part of the site during the week-end is probably not very risky, yet you can immediately notice that the original external fence and wall have been repaired in recent times more than once, and inside there is an unpaved road kept free of any vegetation running along the wall. Coming close to the research center is not recommended, but the parts of the base portrayed in this post are clearly unused, with overgrown vegetation, dusty surfaces and rust everywhere.

Due to the intriguing history of the base and the good state of conservation, visiting is very rewarding. The area is a national park, and in case you miss the entrance you can relax with a walk in the trees. The area is pretty large, and visiting the only part portrayed in this post may take more than 2 hours, excluding time to and from the base. Much more would be needed if you decided to explore the rest of the base. A torchlight and a tripod are mandatory to explore the inside of the bunkers.

Sights

Red Forest, Bridge of Death and Pripyat Access

‘Azure’ Swimming Pool and School (Microdistrict 3)

Panoramic View from Rooftop (Microdistrict 5)

Amusement Park

Post Office

Central Square

Hospital – Medical Center 126

Cafe Pripyat, Passenger Port and Floating Pier

KBO Service Center

Prometheus Movie Theater and Music School

Furniture Shop and Home Appliance Shop (AGD)

School N.2 (Microdistrict 2)

Visiting

Share this:

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Sights

Chernobyl Town

Cooling Towers of the Nuclear Power-Plant

Nuclear Power-Plant

Kopachi Village Kindergarten

Zalissya Village

Isolated School & Kindergarten

Children’s Camp ‘Emerald’

Abandoned Barges on Pripyat River

Visiting

Share this:

Soviet Over-the-Horizon Anti-ICBM Early Warning System ‘Duga’

Historical Overview

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Sights

Access and Radar Antennas

Control Center and Technical Buildings

Training Center

Chernobyl-2 – Firefighters Station and Village

Chernobyl-2 – School

Chernobyl-2 – Entertainment Center

Visiting

General Data and Advice for a Trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Type of Trip

Time of the Visit

Radiation/Safety

Dress Code

Souvenirs

Canteen

Hotel

Guided Tour Suggestion

Share this:

Soviet Ghosts in Germany

Sights

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Stolzenhain

Control and Reporting Center Schönewalde

Holzdorf Air Base

Falkenberg Air Base

Finsterwalde Air Base

Alteno-Luckwalde Air Base

Brand-Briesen Air Base

Kleinköris Air Base

Wünsdorf

Sperenberg Air Base

Kummersdorf Military Laboratory

Forst Zinna Military Base

Altes Lager Shooting Range and Barracks

Jüterbog-Altes Lager Training Academy

Jüterbog-Niedergörsdorf Air Base

Jüterbog-Damm Air Base

Landing in Reinsdorf

Practical Notes

Share this:

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Sights

Soviet 2nd Guard Tank Army Headquarters, Fürstenberg/Havel

Getting there and moving around

Soviet Monument, Fürstenberg/Havel

Getting there and moving around

Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Rathenow

A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

Getting there and moving around

Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Blumberg