Military Collections in Sweden – First Chapter

January 26, 2025 CarloRLeave a comment

When visiting the countries of northern Europe as a foreigner today, you may be easily captured by the beautiful landscapes and elegant architectures, as well as the great food options and the generally exceptional hospitality. Actually, a visit to Scandinavia will hardly disappoint, either in the summer or in the cold season. Everywhere looks like an ideal place for having a good time off.

However, digging in the military history of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, you might be surprised. Actually, since medieval times peaceful mutual relations have been built very slowly over the years in the area, going through centuries of unrest and struggle often culminating in open wars. In the global conflicts brought about starting with Napoleon until the end of the Cold War roughly 190 years later, the Countries around the Baltic sea have been in the center of a theater of operations of their own.

World War II and the Cold War

Looking at WWII and the Cold War era, the roles of Northern-European countries have been significantly different. Denmark, geographically untenable in front of the German enemy, was taken by Hitler’s Third Reich forces almost overnight, with Norway following shortly after. This gave birth to fierce resistance actions, trying to jeopardize the activities of the enemy. Norway was in the focus of much attention by the Western Allies, who tried to land in Narvik, sank battleship Bismarck, bombed the heavy water plant in Vemork, and transited in its arctic seas to feed Stalin’s Soviet Union with much needed supply (see this chapter). Conversely, Finland fought a fierce war against the USSR, ending up as an ally of Germany after the start of Operation Barbarossa, and finally turning against the Wehrmacht on agreement with the USSR, and managing to leave the conflict in 1944 (see this chapter).

Finally, Sweden did not take part to offensive military actions in WWII, managing to keep a neutral role through delicate diplomatic actions. For this neutrality to be credible however, the Country had to be defended, and its border – both on land and along the shoreline – actively guarded. This meant the construction of many forts all along the Baltic coast, to the west, south and east, as well as ground installations along the border with Finland. Similarly, the military tradition of Sweden, that in modern times date at least from the 17th century, when in the Thirty Years War Sweden managed to take a primary role in the balance of powers in Europe, was not discontinued at all. Despite neutrality, traditional manufacturers of fine firearms and shipbuilders were flanked over time by companies making excellent heavy-duty vehicles, armored tanks and aircraft.

In the Cold War period following the end of WWII, Scandinavia got a possibly even more central status, due to its proximity with the USSR and the control it could exercise on the sea accesses of the Soviet Union to the Northern Atlantic. Where Denmark and Norway joined NATO (see this chapter for Norway, this for Denmark), Finland and Sweden kept a neutral role. Once again, Sweden, not entangled in a complicated post-WWII deal with the USSR unlike Finland, could develop the credibility of its neutrality, preparing for defending against the Soviet threat with a build-up of its armed forces, and the development of original and high-tech military solutions, tailored to its territorial and climatic needs, carried out mostly in-house.

Traces in Sweden

The facts of WWII and especially of the Cold War in Sweden have left relevant traces, which are proudly preserved for the public either in world-class exhibitions, sometimes prepared on the very site of former military installations, or in smaller, well-crafted and much detailed collections, often run by groups of exceptionally passionate enthusiasts.

This and the following chapters cover some of them, offering a cut-out of what a visitor interested in military technology and history can find in beautiful Sweden. Photographs were taken in 2024.

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Aeroseum – former Säve Air Force Base – Göteborg
Maritiman – Göteborg

Sights

Aeroseum – former Säve Air Force Base – Göteborg

Besides making for a testimony to the originality and commitment of Sweden military planners, the air force base of Säve, located about 4 miles north of the major town of Göteborg in South-Western Sweden, is truly a one-of-a-kind example of a Cold War installation. Conceived for anti-blast protection in the early years of the nuclear age, the base was designed to carry out all operations, except take-off and landing, underground. This included aircraft storage and servicing, but also refueling, loading, towing, and lighting the engines in corridors carved down to 100 feet underground in the hard Scandinavian rock!

The project had an anticipation during WWII, when some special aircraft shelters had been obtained on site by drilling the hillside. However, the actual digging of this incredible Cold War underground base was started in 1950, to be inaugurated by the king Gustav VI Adolf in 1955 (even if not totally complete at the time). The base was sized for a crew of 40 men staying underground with 15 aircraft, of the then new type Saab J29 Tunnan (which translates into ‘barrel’).

The plan of the underground facility features multiple accesses from ground level, on the sides of local hills. Entrances are all misaligned, to reduce the potential damage from a hit by a single attacker. The actual access to the descending tunnel driving down is through a colossal concrete sliding door, 2.3 ft thick and weighing 70 tonnes, with a front area such to allow a fully mounted aircraft to transit with sufficient clearance from the walls and ceiling!

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Interestingly, the concrete door is preceded outside by a curtain, which together with traffic lights, switch cabinets and cables can still be seen today. This was installed for further protection to prevent the effects of fallout and contamination, in case of a nuclear attack on the base premises. The heavy curtain could be effective in stopping debris and lower-energy contaminated particles from even touching the doors. Soaked in water for cleansing, it could be then potentially re-employed multiple times, in case of a nuclear war scenario with waves of nuclear strikes.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

This feature of the base, already pretty unusual, is the first to welcome – and strike! – the visitor. Then the tour takes you inside, for a full exploration of the underground facility beyond the massive concrete doors.

The feeling when accessing the tunnel is really of something huge. A description of the history of the base is offered as a first item through pictures, schemes and original crests. Then the roomy environment of the access tunnel, descending in a bend to the bottom part of the base, is stuffed with a rich collection of aircraft and helicopters in service with the Swedish Air Force, their engines and technical accessories.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The base of Säve was fully completed by 1963, including the fuel supply system which had posed some safety issues in its original design (fuel went down in case of accidental spilling, thus remaining trapped in the deep-end of the base). However, the F9 squadron of the Air Force, home-based in Säve, was disbanded just a few years later, in 1969. This meant that the underground airbase saw active service with the J29 and later the J34, the latter being the Swedish designation of the British Hawker Hunter. After 1969, Säve was home base to the 2nd Helicopter Squadron, and the underground part, hardly of use for rotorcraft, was then employed as a safe storage for non-active aircraft, notably the illustrious Saab J35 Draken, of which 70 (!) were long-term stored inside, with wings dismounted. The base finally ended its military service in 1998. The underground bunker was re-opened later as the Aeroseum museum, where most of the former airbase was turned into a civilian airport, still working today.

Among the aircraft on display in this first descending tunnel are a Saab J29 Tunnan, alongside its De Havilland Ghost jet engine (license-built under the designation RM2 by Svenska Flygmotor, later Volvo Aero, in Sweden). In service between 1948 and 1976 with the Swedish Air Force, the somewhat elusive J29, little known in the West, was a massively produced swept-wing fighter and fighter-bomber, with 661 exemplars manufactured! Austria, another non-NATO country lying on the border with the Soviet bloc, was the only foreign customer for this machine, which in the 1950s formed the backbone of Sweden’s defense force. A modern fighter in many respects, in the same class of the North American F-86 Sabre and of the MiG-15, the J29 was not easy to master for novel pilots, and unfortunately caused many accidental losses, at a time when Sweden was the fourth air force in the world in strength. It was actively employed in the Congo, where Sweden took part within the United Nations contingent in the 1960s.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

On display are also the towing truck and generator employed for engine spool up. In a scramble, the aircraft could be towed up by this Volvo truck, directed on an open air apron, from where it could complete its taxi run alone and finally take-off.

Next in line is a Saab J35 Draken (meaning ‘dragon’), an iconic and successful supersonic fighter/interceptor from Sweden, first flown in 1955 and entering service in 1960, manufactured in 615 exemplars and not less than 10 variants. Besides the Swedish Air Force it was adopted by the foreign Air Forces of Denmark, Finland, and again Austria, the last to withdraw it from service in 2005! This Mach 2 capable machine, with a double-delta wing planform, was propelled by a slightly modified Rolls-Royce Avon engine (manufactured by Svenska Flygmotor as RM6). An original design from the Swedish school, among the features making it so versatile were provision for a two-seats airframe, as well as a general plant simplicity and undercarriage sturdiness, which together with a stopping parachute allowed its deployment from the wartime landing strips.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The latter were obtained in Sweden from the quick conversion of short sections of straight roads in the highway system, creating a network of so-called krigsflygbaser (‘war air bases’), in a defense plan called Bas 60 and later Bas 90. A solution to be found also in the Federal Republic of Germany in the Cold War years, this could greatly enhance the chance of survival of the air force following enemy strike on major air bases, through force dispersal. Yet not all aircraft can safely operate from similar airstrips. Swedish aircraft take this ability into account from the design phase, yielding dependable aircraft, capable of operations in far-from-ideal conditions.

Despite featuring a double, fixed-geometry and comparatively small air intake, the aircraft is single-engined. Underneath the fuselage, this aircraft features a ram air turbine (RAT), for powering the aircraft systems through kinetic energy in the airflow, in case of an engine shut-off in flight.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

To the back of this exemplar of the Draken model is a Saab J37 Viggen (which is the name of a local species of duck). Another great example of an original design from Sweden, the J37 is an attack aircraft built in a canard configuration, and like its predecessor capable of short take-off and landing from road runways. Made in mode than 300 exemplars and employed uniquely by Sweden, it was in service between 1971 and 2007. Quite difficult to see out of Sweden, at the time of its introduction it was arguably the most advanced aircraft design to date, in terms of aerodynamic study, avionic suite and attack potential.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Developed in a number of variants for several roles, the exemplar on display features a number of payloads, to be attached to the underwing pylons or under the fuselage, also thanks to the good clearance from ground offered by the tall undercarriage (not to be found on the Draken). Differently from its Saab predecessors, the J37 was powered by a Volvo RM8, based on the American Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbojet, instead of a British engine.

Close to the Viggen, on display is a Saab car employed for friction test on the runway. This was rather widespread in airport facilities in Sweden. Vehicles with similar function can still be found everywhere in the world, especially in countries where runways are subject to icing.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Next in the line is the Saab JAS 39 Gripen, the most current evolution of the Saab dynasty of attack aircraft. Currently manufactured in more than 300 exemplars and exported to several countries, this machine is another original design from Sweden which is also a post-Cold War commercial success. A canard design like the Viggen, this model was introduced in the late 1980s, and it has been updated over the years as an air superiority platform, with a good mix of performance and efficacy, dependability and economical efficiency. Based on the Volvo RM12, derived from the American General Electric F404, it is currently in service. The aircraft on display is the oldest surviving.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Before reaching to the bottom, in one of the recesses along the corridor, photos from the construction phase of the bunker base, its inauguration and the years of operation can be checked out.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Also mentioned in the exhibition is the peculiar chapter of the Swedish nuclear program. The latter was envisioned in the early nuclear age following WWII, and it took shape especially in the 1950s and early 1960s. Besides facilities for the making of what was needed for fueling and managing a nuclear deterrent, on the aviation side Saab was tasked with dedicated projects for a delivery aircraft for nuclear ordnance, to flank the Saab J32 Lansen intended as an interim platform in that role. Project A 36, for an aircraft featuring a Viggen-like fuselage but no canard, and with an unusual overhead layout of the engine similar to the North American F-107, was in the pipeline when the government started to face increasing contrast from the public opinion concerning the entire national nuclear program, which was eventually cancelled in 1968.

Looking at the structure of the tunnel, left mostly untouched from the days of operation, the original wiring and piping for various systems – electrical, ventilation, etc. – can still be seen. The tunnel is also interspersed with frames, where light fire-proof doors could be lowered in case of an accidental fire. They could seal segments of the tunnel, which could then be flooded with fire-suppressing foam.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Approaching the bottom of the descending tunnel, it is possible to find a group of helicopters, in service in Sweden mostly for rescue operations, like an ubiquitous US-made Piasecki H-21 (the ‘Flying banana’), a Sud Aviation Allouette 2, an Agusta-Bell 402 and a Bell 206, the latter employed in polar missions from icebreaker Ymen. An Eurocopter Super Puma and a MBB Bo 105 come from the Swedish military, the latter reportedly having been prepared in a special anti-tank version, but never pressed into service.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Once on the bottom level, you can explore the halls, which are all interconnected, forming a network with a plant similar to a double ‘H’. On the crossing of two halls, you can spot the big round turntables, employed to turn the aircraft when towing them from storage to the base of the ramps going up. There are actually two of these ramps, one is that employed for access by visitors, the other is currently only visible from the bottom level, and off limits (employed for museum service). Its access can be found to the opposite side of the bottom level upon entering.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

You can find several aircraft and exhibits on this level, including some pay-per-use professional flight simulators. An interesting exhibition tells about the organization of the STRIL, an acronym for stridsledning och luftbevakning, forming the backbone of the air defense system of Sweden from the early years of the Cold War on. Among the most unique facilities managed by the system are the krigsflygbaser mentioned above. Some original pictures and scale models tell about the detailed scheme of such bases, which could be activated when conditions required.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

It is possible to board examples of both the Draken and Viggen models. The latter is presented with the engine dismounted from the airframe, and with many examples of war load either hanging from the wing pylons, or lying underneath. The number of options is really big, witnessing the versatility of the Viggen as an airborne platform.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The cockpit of the Viggen has evolved over time. The one you can see is fully analog. Close by is also the RM8 jet engine of the Viggen, with the afterburner pipe installed – a pretty long assembly! Also a trailer for storing and transporting jet engines is on display.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

One of the Saab Draken exemplars is displayed alongside its engine as well. Interestingly, the afterburner pipe has been separated from the engine core in this case, allowing to check their respective size.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Another interesting item on display in this area, alongside a Bell 47 helicopter with its distinctive bubble canopy, is a Saab J32 Lansen. Primarily built as a fighter and entering service in the 1950s, the career of the Lansen stretched to the 1990s, and saw it employed in several roles, including as a trainer. Interestingly, the study for a dedicated engine – the STAL Dovern – was started alongside with that for the airframe, as typical to other military programs especially in the US. The engine, which reached the flight testing phase, is displayed alongside the aircraft. It represents one of the few projects of the Swedish company STAL for aviation. The company has been for long a primary manufacturer of turbines for electric power plants, started in the early 20th century on the remarkable Ljungström design (the homonym brothers actually founded STAL). In the end, the Lansen employed the British Rolls-Royce Avon.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

A well-stuffed display is that of on-board radar equipment employed on the SAAB aircraft in service with the Swedish Air Force.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Among the many design and procurement programs of the Swedish military, special attention was given to missiles. The Robot 08 A, an anti-ship cruise missile employed on destroyers and from coastal batteries in Sweden, was the result of a collaborative program with the French. After a boost phase employing rockets, the efficient small jet engine employed for thrust in cruise (a Turbomeca Marbore) allowed the missile to travel at transonic speed, delivering a warhead up to 100 nautical miles away from the launch site. Navigation was through radio control, and homing on target was radar-assisted.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

A real work-horse both in the US and abroad (see this post), a Cessna 337 Skymaster in service with the Coast Guard of Sweden can be found in apparently pristine conditions.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

A wing of the museum is dedicated to the collection of the Aviation Veteran Society of Göteborg. Among their many interesting projects is the restoration of classic models, often times unique exemplars from an age prior to the introduction of jets. Each of the aircraft on display in their collection, which is always evolving, has a story to tell. For example, one of them, a British De Havilland Gipsy Moth, was employed by his owner (the Swede Gösta Fraenkel) in the 1930s for an experimental treatment of whooping cough, an infectious disease typically developing in children. The pilot took infected people on board the open-cockpit biplane, allowing cold, dry and clean air to ram into their respiratory channels and lungs for some minutes while flying at a sufficient altitude. Apparently, this treatment accelerated recovery in a percentage of cases. Another aircraft in this area is a SAAB 91A Safir. The ‘A’ version is the original and oldest of this light basic trainer and multipurpose aircraft, dating back to the 1940s, and a good commercial success for Sweden.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Another rich collection is based on an impressive archive of Cold War files documenting many Soviet activities in the territory of the German Democratic Republic. This exhibition (a topic often touched on this website, see for instance here and here) is especially interesting for its completeness and for the level of detail – most files show photographs and numerical data.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

A nice array of models, often portraying in dioramas scenes from the real aviation history of Sweden or the region of the Baltic sea, is aligned along a wall. Among them, you can see the first ever defection of a MiG to the West on the Danish island of Bornholm (see this post), as well as the grounding of a Douglas DC-3 in Swedish markings by a MiG-15 which had taken off from Estonia (at that time within the borders of the Soviet Union). That DC-3 has been savaged from the bottom of the Baltic Sea years later, and it is now on display at the museum of the Swedish Air Force in Linköping.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Even if you don’t need it, you should take a detour to the toilet, to access an original corridor and have a look to two full-scale reconstructions of STRIL command centers.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Back outside, you can climb uphill to check out a few additional military vehicles on display, including an exemplar of the highly-succesful line of bi-modular track vehicles called Bandvagn, made by the Swedish company Hägglunds in tons of variants and for different roles. Basically unstoppable on any terrain (and actually working in shallow waters as well), this highly versatile machine is here displayed in a Swedish Army camo paint. Also on display is a rather rare moving lounge, a vehicle for easing boarding operation on larger aircraft. Made by Chrysler in the US (and reportedly employed at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., back then), this exemplar was in use at Göteborg Landsvetter airport, before the terminal was re-designed for a better management of passenger traffic.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

From the hilltop, you may get a vantage view of the airfield, now the general aviation airport of Säve.

Aeroseum Air Force Bunker Base Air Museum – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Getting there and visiting

The exact address of Aeroseum is Nya Bergets Väg 50, 41746 Göteborg, Sweden. The location is easily reachable along Hisingsleden, taking north from Göteborg, and connecting some of the premises of the huge Volvo factory quartered north of town. From the crossing with Flygflottilijens Väg (where a bus stop is), it is a .4 miles stretch to the museum’s gate. Huge parking on site. Visiting for technically-minded people with an interest for aviation can easily take 3 hours (4 in my case), checking out all the nice exhibits. There is a self-service restaurant at the bottom of the bunker, as well as a nice shop. Entertaining activities for the kids are on the menu as well.

Together with the Air Force Museum in Linköping, this is possibly one of the top air museums in Sweden, well worth a dedicated trip also for the special construction where it is located. Website with full information (also in English) here.

Maritiman – Göteborg

Located in downtown Göteborg, this museum has on display a handful of vessels, originally employed in Sweden in either civilian or military roles. The most sizable of them, the destroyer Småland (J19), is also an illustrious witness of the Cold War, and a lone survivor of the Royal Swedish Navy of that era. She was built by Eriksbergs shipbuilding company in Göteborg, a now defunct primary player in the Swedish naval history, and it saw service between 1956 and 1979 together with the only sister ship Halland, which gave name to the class.

The neutrality of Sweden for the Navy meant that the fleet of the kingdom was developed with self-defense in mind. At the end of WWII, two cruisers were laid down, Tre Kronor and Göta Lejon, which were the largest vessels ever to see service in Sweden. In the 1950s the shipbuilding effort saw the completion of the new destroyers Halland and Småland, which went operating alongside many more destroyer units over the 1950s and 1960s. All these four ships however were the pinnacle of shipbuilding in Sweden in terms tonnage. By the end of the 1950s the last four destroyers of the Östergötland class (lighter than Halland class) had been put into service, and manufacture of either cruisers or destroyers ceased altogether. By the end of the 1960s, the two cruisers were stricken off, and over the 1970s and 1980s many of the destroyers followed. In the high-tech late era of the Cold War, Sweden opted for a larger number of lighter surface ships, in particular corvettes and torpedo boats. The former are represented today by the highly effective Visby class, which constitutes the backbone of the Royal Swedish Navy today.

Of the historical cruiser and destroyer fleet of the Swedish Navy, the Småland is the only surviving unit. In the Maritiman museum, it is possible to board and thoroughly explore this vessel. Among the distinctive construction features, the castle structure runs all along the ship, allowing the crew to operate while keeping inside, so as to avoid exposition to fallout radiation in a nuclear war scenario. Provision for cleaning the outer decks was made with a pressurized water system, running around the castle. Furthermore, material was steel and iron, instead of aluminum, sometimes employed in shipbuilding for saving weight, but more prone to fire damage than heavier steel. The crew was of 250-290 men. The ship went through three modernization programs, and included three fire direction facilities in the castle.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The heavier gun armament of the destroyer is composed of two turrets (one at bow, one at stern) with two 120 mm guns each, and a bow turret with two 57 mm cannon. Additionally, six 40 mm single-barrel anti-aircraft cannons on revolving turrets are placed along the sides of the ship. All guns were made by Bofors in Sweden.

A single 120 mm gun turret was manned by seven men, and could fire 42 rounds per minute, with a range of roughly 12 nautical miles. It could be employed for targeting other ships, aircraft or land installations.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

On the side of the 120 mm turrets you can see flare rockets with super intense illuminating power, which were employed for fire direction at night. Fire direction systems evolved over the years, but the task was mainly performed in the castle structure.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The 57 mm gun turret was designed for anti-aircraft operations, with a range of up to 4,000 m, which was roughly 25-30% more than the standard 40 mm anti-aircraft guns. Fire direction was from the castle deck or locally by the designated gunner.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

For anti-submarine war operations, Småland has revolving torpedo tubes on the deck, for the Torped 61 torpedo series, a highly-successful design from Sweden, employed also by foreign customers (see this post).

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Additionally, to the bow are two racks of launchers for four anti-submarine rockets each. An example of the body of a Bofors 375 mm anti-submarine rocket is on display beside the rocket launchers. It took 40 seconds to reload one launcher. Fire direction and timing was performed from inside the sonar room, or from a control station beneath the launchers.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The ship could carry out mine laying operations. To the stern of the ship some sea mines are on display on the rail employed for launching them outboard.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The Småland could manage helicopter landings on its deck, and it had the ability to launch anti-shipping cruise missiles. This rather innovative solution for the time was based on the Robot 08 platform (see also the Aeroseum exhibition here in this chapter). Two of them could be carried on the launching pad, where further missiles were stored under deck, and a special incline was employed to take them to the outer deck level for launch. Launch was managed with a dedicated fire control computer.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The Småland could operate as a flotilla capital ship, thus navigation and communication systems were particularly modern and capable on this ship, for the time. Digital computers, with pre-defined communications which could be issued at quick pace, are part of the scenery on the top decks of the castle structure.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The crew compartments, even those for higher-ranking staff, and many technical rooms are as cramped as usual on military ships, not so far from their WWII predecessors.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

On top of the castle, the command deck can be found, and from here you can get also a nice view of the town of Göteborg.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Among the most interesting parts, is the engine and power supply area. The Småland was pushed by two independent boiler/turbine systems, which gave power to two propellers. Top speed was 37 knots, and at that speed the ship employed 420 liters of fuel per minute!

The engines required 16 men for operations initially, working close to the hot ducts and parts of the engine at extreme noise level. At a later stage, control rooms were installed in the engine compartments, allowing to reduce the workload and increase comfort to a reasonable level. Filtering and shielding was installed on the air intake system, to reduce the effect of nuclear fallout ingestion by the combustion system.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

This area can be toured extensively, unveiling many narrow passages and showing the complex structure of the energy plant, producing power for motion and for all the other onboard systems.

Another highlight of the Maritiman is the Draken class submarine Nordkaparen (Nor, in the registry). The six ships of this class were manufactured in the early 1960s, Nordkaparen (laid down by Kockums at Malmö) entering service in 1962, to be stricken off in 1988. The Royal Swedish Navy has always invested much in its submarine fleet, especially along the entire span of the Cold War, with more than 20 units manufactured post-WWII and before 1989. New models have been introduced after the end of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, and currently four modern units are in service.

The Draken class, propelled by Diesel-electric propulsion, was introduced as an improvement of the older Hajen class, with a single slow rotating propeller instead of two, and a modified stern part and control surfaces. With an operative depth of 150 m and manned by 36 men, it was capable of a top speed of 22 knots submerged.

At the Maritiman it is possible to board the Nordkaparen from the stern hatch, and have a complete tour of its well preserved interiors, coming out from the hatch to the bow.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The rear compartment with the electric motors and a sleeping area for the crew is relatively roomy. Conversely, the center section of the submarine allows only a narrow passage between the Diesel engines, with round tight doors which require some body flexibility to go through!

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The navigation deck and the cockpit are again somewhat roomier than their WWII counterparts, similar to the forward compartment, with a reasonable area for the crew.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

A unique feature of this design is the revolving rack for storing the torpedoes. Torpedo tubes are four, and all placed to the bow of the ship. The revolving rack, resembling that of a giant revolver, hosts eight torpedoes. It is itself loaded from the back, and it can pivot around its axis pushed by a motor, putting a torpedo in the revolver at the level of the firing tube to be reloaded, thus allowing a faster recharging of any firing tube.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Another military boat from the Cold War years on display is the patrol boat Hugin (P151). A fleet of many, lighter vessels was preferred by military planners in Sweden to one of heavier and more expensive ships with greater firepower, especially towards the last decades of the Cold War. Hugin was the first of her class, and it was manufactured in Norway (Bergen Mekaniske Verksted). Sixteen units of this class were in service in the 1980s with the Royal Swedish Navy.

The boat features a steel hull, and is pushed by two 20-cylinders MB518D Diesel engines made by MTU, delivering a power of 3,500 hp each, and giving this boat a top speed of 39 knots. The crew of twenty men could operate for more days in a row on board the ship. This versatile fast boat was armed with inertial-guided and IR-homed anti-shipping missiles (type Robot 12 Mk 2, made in Sweden), depth charges and ASW-600 Elma grenades (made by SAAB in Sweden) for anti-submarine warfare, and sea mines for mine laying missions.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

Additionally, the boat has a single Bofors 57 mm cannon for anti-aircraft gunnery. One of the versions of the Arte fire control system made by Philips was installed on the ship, allowing to engage more targets simultaneously.

Maritiman Museum Swedish Navy Småland Nordkaparen Hugin – Göteborg Gothenburg – Sweden

The Maritiman has on display a number of other boats, covering a range of uses and a big part of the storyline of shipbuilding in Sweden. Among them are fire-fighting vessels, tugboats, as well passenger commuters.

Getting there and visiting

A top attraction of Göteborg, the Maritiman museum can be reached with a nice walk from the historical city center, simply reaching the water bank from it. The museum will be very entertaining for children, but it has even more to tell to technically minded people. Many detailed descriptions in multiple languages all along the visiting path allow to get much from your visit. Furthermore, the majority of the compartments are open or visible on the Småland ship, all on the Nordkaparen, allowing to fully explore these vessels or look into the many technical rooms. A thorough visit may take about 2-3 hours or more, depending on your level of interest.

The exact address is Packhusplatsen 12, 411 13 Göteborg. Parking options nearby (public at a fee). Website with full access information (also in English) here.

Herdla Torpedo Battery – Defending Bergen in WWII and the Cold War

January 28, 2023 CarloRLeave a comment

Despite overshadowed by the natural beauties of Norway, the heritage of the rich war history of this Country would really deserve a dedicated trip. Thanks to its geographical location, this Scandinavian Nation had a primary strategic role both in WWII and the Cold War.

Hitler’s Third Reich military forces conquered Norway early in WWII (Spring 1940), gaining an effective stronghold for launching sea and air patrolling missions over the Norwegian Sea and the northern Atlantic. The long coastline stretching from the Skagerrak strait up to North Cape was made impenetrable to enemy invasion, building anew a capillary network of fortifications – the Atlantic Wall. This masterpiece of military engineering was based on an extensive catalog of reinforced concrete standard elements (Regelbau in German), ranging from fortified casemates to radar towers, to observation and target range finding stations, to bunkerized gun batteries, etc. These elements were assembled in larger fortified compounds, placed in key strategic locations along the coast or in the narrow firths reaching to major ports and towns, like Bergen or Trondheim.

Typically run by the Kriegsmarine (Navy) or Luftwaffe (Air Force), these forts may comprise measuring stations, anti-shipping guns, anti-aircraft cannons, plus barracks, services, ammo storages, and even airfields in some cases. They were built not only in Norway, but having been originally planned by the Third Reich to protect the entire coast of conquered continental Europe, they were erected along the shoreline also from Denmark down to France.

As a matter of fact, many of the Norwegian fortresses of the Atlantic Wall rank today among the most massive and well-preserved of the entire line (see here for some highlights).

But the war history of Norway, and of its mighty military infrastructure, didn’t stop with the end of WWII. With the start of the Cold War, Norway became a NATO founding member, and once again of great strategic value. It found itself in close proximity to the USSR, and with a long coastline facing the sea corridor taking from the highly-militarized Murmansk and Kola Peninsula (see here) to the northern Atlantic.

Most of the Atlantic Wall forts, especially anti-shipping and anti-aircraft gun batteries, were obsolete by the 1950s, and were soon deactivated. Some were abandoned or, when retained by the Norwegian military, they were modified to cover new functions.

In a few cases, the original mission of the site by the Third Reich was retained by NATO forces in the Cold War. This is the case of the torpedo battery in Herdla.

The fortress of Herdla was a major strategic fort in the Atlantic Wall, allowing to keep a watch on the entry point to the inner waters leading to the large industrial and military port of Bergen. Thanks to the morphology of the area, featuring a rare spot of flat land nearby a steep and rocky cliff, an airfield was installed by the Third Reich besides a set of bunkers, effectively hidden in the rocks. A land-based torpedo battery, consisting of a range-finding and aiming station and torpedo-firing tubes, was part of the fort.

During the Cold War, it was decided that the torpedo battery could be still a valuable asset, and Herdla was retained by the Norwegian military – by comparison, the airfield, too short for the requirements of the jet-era, was not. Over the years, the torpedo battery was potentiated to keep up-to-date against the technological offensive capabilities of the Eastern Bloc, and to exploit the most modern identification and surveillance techniques.

The torpedo battery was part of a larger naval fort, which controlled also the barrier of sea mines implemented to stop a sea-based intrusion towards Bergen.

As a matter of fact, the area control functions and the offensive capability of Herdla were retained until the early-2000s, when the fortress was deactivated following the end of the Cold War and defense budget cuts.

Luckily however, the often neglected Cold War chapter of warfare history has in Herdla a valuable asset – an accurately preserved fortress regularly open for a visit. A modern visitor center welcomes the more curious travelers, leaving Bergen towards the remoteness of the coast. It retraces the WWII heritage of the Herdla site, thanks to an exhibition centered around an original Focke-Wulf FW190, recently salvaged from the bottom of the sea, and with a special history to tell. Then a visit to the battery, looking like it had just been left by the military staff, is a unique emotion for both the specialized war technology enthusiasts and the general public as well.

The following report and photos is from a visit taken in Summer 2022.

Sights

As outlined in the overview, the Herdla site today is centered on two major highlights. One is the visitor center, with the preserved relic of a unique Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf FW190. The other is the former torpedo battery and Navy area command bunker, Norwegian facilities installed during the Cold War in bunkers dating to the Third Reich era.

Visitor center & Focke-Wulf FW190 exhibition

The relic of a Focke-Wulf FW190 A-3 German fighter from WWII is hosted in a dedicated room, where a scenic lighting makes this impressive exhibit literally shine.

This exemplar of the iconic Third Reich fighter, produced in some thousands examples, and now almost impossible to find especially in Europe, is ‘Gelbe 16’ (which can be translated in ‘Yellow 16’) of 12./JG5, and its history is deeply related to Herdla.

It took off on December 15th, 1943, from the airfield the Luftwaffe had established on the flat area now lying ahead of the visitor center, at the time a very active German airbase.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Following troubles with the engine, it ditched in the cold inner water near the island of Misje, some ten miles south of Herdla, the pilot being able to abandon the doomed aircraft, and being saved by local fishermen – and returned to the Luftwaffe, who had a Norwegian resistance prisoner released in acknowledgment.

The aircraft sank to the bottom of the sea, but its memory was not lost by some of the locals, who clearly remembered the events. The Focke-Wulf remained there for 63 years, but it was finally located and pinpointed by the Norwegian Navy, instigated by local interest, in 2005. After preparatory work – including exploration dives, to assess the condition and to set-up recovery operations – the fairly well-preserved wreck was lifted to the surface on November 1st, 2006, and loaded on a tug. Conservative restoration work then took place in Bergen.

Instrumentation and the machine guns were all recovered, together with many further fragments of equipment. Interestingly, evidence of repaint was found during conservation, retracing some previous assignments. Yet the history of this very exemplar remains difficult to write in its entirety.

Finally, following completion of conservation works, a new home for the aircraft was prepared in Herdla, where a hangar was built anew – and this is where you can see it today.

FW-190 Restored – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The aircraft is in an exceptional state of conservation, considering it spent 63 years in sea water. The fuselage, wings and tail are not significantly damaged, with just some paneling having disappeared on tail control surfaces, due to corrosion. The swastika on the vertical stabilizer is still perfectly evident, like other painted details.

FW-190 Restored – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The propeller blades are all bent downstream, as typical for an emergency landing carried out without the landing gear and the engine still running. The tail wheel is there with its original tire, the emblem of the German brand ‘Continental’, still in business today, being clearly noticeable.

FW-190 Restored – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The instrumentation from the pilot’s control panel has been put on display separately. Also a gyroscope has been found. Everything is only slightly damaged. Similarly, the two machine guns, dismounted prior to lifting the aircraft from the sea, are little damaged, and displayed with some ammo.

FW-190 Restored – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Complementing the exhibition are a few other pieces from other wrecks, as well as some quality scale models and dioramas portraying Herdla in the days of Third Reich tenancy.

FW-190 Restored – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Torpedo Battery

Access to the torpedo battery, which was built in WWII just above sea level, is from a gate on the land side. From outside, the bunkers in the fortress of Herdla appear especially well-deceived in the rocks of the cliff.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

What is seen today inside, however, dates to the years of Norwegian tenancy. The facility was updated in several instances during the Cold War, the last in the 1990s. Immediately past the gate, you get access to a modern and neat mechanics shop, where a partly dismounted torpedo allows to have a suggestive look inside this marvelous weapon.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Interestingly, Norway inherited and went on operating a significant number of German G7a (TI) torpedoes. This was the standard torpedo employed by the Kriegsmarine since 1934, and with some modifications (‘TI’ standing for ‘first variant’, the later variants bearing other codes), for the full span of WWII.

Propulsion power for this torpedo was from a piston engine, fed by high-pressure vapor obtained by the combustion of Decaline with compressed air stored onboard, mixed in a heater (i.e. a combustion chamber) with fresh water, similarly stored in a tank. The resulting mixture fed a 4-cylinder radial piston engine, driving two counter-rotating propellers. The exhaust in the water produced a distinctive contrail of bubbles, and the presence of a high-frequency moving mechanism had the side-effect of a significant noise emission. The head of the cylinders can be clearly seen in the dismounted exemplar.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Guidance was provided by rudder steering controlled with the help of gyros, whereas depth was controlled via a mechanical depth sensor. The torpedo could stay close to the surface or keep an assigned depth. In WWII the torpedo had no homing device – i.e. it was ‘blind’, thus requiring carefully putting it on a target-intercept trajectory. It could however cover pre-determined trajectories of some sophistication. The set-point selection for guidance and the yaw regulation gyro assembly have been taken out of the torpedo, and can be checked out in detail.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The range could be selected before launching, and was traded off with speed. It could be between 5.500 and 13.200 yards, and the speed ranged between 44 kn and 30 kn correspondingly. The German origin of the torpedo on display is betrayed by the writings in German on some parts.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Leaving the workshop through a gate towards the inner part of the bunker, a roomy supply storage area can be found, with some interesting material including torpedo parts, as well as a torpedo launching cannon.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

This item represents the primary way of launching torpedoes in the early Cold War from land-based batteries or ship decks. This was a technology inherited from WWII, when coastal batteries of the Atlantic Wall ejected torpedoes from slots in the bunker wall, shortly above the surface of the water, employing cannons similar to this one (which dates from the Cold War period), thanks to a burst of compressed air. This cheaper, but less ‘stealthy’ and accurate launching procedure, was replaced by underwater launching tubes only over the years of the Cold War, featuring an increase in the level of sophistication of warfare. Correspondingly, the slots in the side of the torpedo battery bunker facing the water were bricked up, and torpedo cannons were retained mostly for use from the deck of warships.

From the storage room you get access to the core area of the battery. This is through a decontamination lock, with gear for anti-contamination testing, including paper strips for checking contamination from poisonous gas.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The battery features two diesel generators for electric power, employed in case of disconnection from the regional grid.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Less usual – for a military facility – is the presence of two air compressors. Compressed air is relevant for torpedo operation, being employed for the launch burst from the torpedo tube, as well as for propulsion and gyros in the G7a torpedo. The air compressors in Herdla are made by Junkers, solid German technology from 1961!

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

A few bunkerized resting rooms for the staff manning the battery can be found in the same area, besides the power/compressed air supply room and the torpedo room. The resting rooms are minimal as usual, with suspended berths, and much personal military equipment on display – coats, blankets, medical kits, and more technical material.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Finally, the core of the battery is the torpedo room. This is much longer than wider, access is via the short side. In the Third Reich years, the launching slot was on the short side to the opposite end of the room, right above the water. Today, this slot has been bricked up, and there is no window at all.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The torpedoes are aligned on racks along the long sides of the room. The launching system is via two underwater tubes, which are accessed via obliquely mounted hatches, one to each side of the room at the level of the floor. The section of the racks closer to the entrance door is actually a pivoting slide. The slide could be pitched down, thus allowing the torpedo to slip through the hatch in the firing tube. The original launch control console can be found to the right of the access door – in a mint condition, it looks really like it had just been put in standby following a drill!

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Over the years, the stockpile of G7a TI torpedoes was upgraded especially in terms of guidance. The major modification was the adoption of wired control. This is based on a thin electric cable unwinding as the torpedo proceeds along its trajectory, keeping it linked with the launching battery. This upgraded model is called G7a TI mod 1. Control via a steering joystick and trajectory monitoring system could provide manual guidance to the torpedo, thus sharply increasing the chance of target interception. This technology is still in use today. Wire tubes can be found on top of the rudder of torpedoes.

Besides the G7a, Herdla battery received the TP613 torpedo, a weapon developed in Sweden in the early 1980s from previous designs. Exemplars of this torpedo, still in use, are visible in the torpedo room. In terms of mechanics, the piston engine of this torpedo is powered by the reaction of alcohol and Hydrogen-peroxide. In terms of guidance, this torpedo features improved wired communication for guidance and power setting (i.e. changing torpedo speed during the run), as well as passive sonar homing. A dismounted section exposing the engine can be found on display.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The wire tube installation on top of the rudder is featured also on this model, and examples of the wire are on display.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The original guidance console, made by Decca, with a prominent joystick on it, is on display as well!

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Training and proficiency checks are typically carried out without a warhead, but with an instructional head. Distinctively painted in shocking red, and with powerful lights in them – to show their position to simulated targets during training exercises, when needed – these are on display in a number. Since the torpedoes, just like missiles, are very expensive, a way of recovering them after instructional use has been envisioned, in the form of inflating bags coming out of the head, increasing the buoyancy of the emptied torpedo and forcing it to surface when reactants tanks are empty and power is off.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Offensive warheads can be exchanged with dummy ones for training, bolting them to the body of the torpedo, which remains totally unchanged. A warhead with a 600 lbs explosive load, triggered by a proximity pistol, was typically put on G7a torpedoes. The proximity pistol was made of four petals, which on contact with the target were bent towards a conductive metal ring around the nose cone of the torpedo, closing an electric circuit and triggering the explosion.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Leaving the torpedo room and the bunker is via the same way you came in.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Sea Mines & Area Control Center

But your visit is not over. As mentioned, the Herdla coastal battery hosts an area control center, with provision to manage target detection facilities and the minefields in the waters around Bergen.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

This part was built in a facility strongly potentiated with tight doors, typical to the shockwave-proof military construction syllabus of the Cold War. A sequence of roomy vaults carved in the rock hides a number of containerized modules, together with an exhibition of sea mines and related apparatus.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Most notably, an L-type Mk 2 moored mine and a Mk 51 bottom mine are on display, with a understated control panel. The latter is actually a portable controller for triggering the mines. Already before WWII, sea mines were often put on the bottom of the sea in shallow waters, or moored in deeper waters, to control access inner waters, firths, ports, etc. The Germans made extensive use of this technique in Norway, and following WWII this strategy was inherited by Norway to protect its waters from (primarily) Soviet intrusion.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Despite contact mines were still popular in WWII, they have been surpassed and gradually replaced already in that age by proximity mines, based on noise and – especially – magnetic sensors. Today, proximity fuses activated by the magnetic field of ships or submarines passing nearby are standard technology. Onboard electronics allows to distinguish between the magnetic signature (i.e. fingerprint) of different ships, thus avoiding any issue for civilian or friendly traffic, and activating only against enemy shipping. Degaussing techniques – i.e. the ability of military ships to hide their signature – have forced to improve detection technology, which is today extremely sophisticated.

Furthermore, for the protection of ports and friendly waters, sea mines are typically controlled and triggered by hand, upon detection and localization of enemy shipping, by means of dedicated detection facilities on land or water. This improves precision and allows more flexible defensive-offensive tactics, since a human chain of command has control on the minefield, instead of a pre-determined computer program.

To trigger the mines, consoles like that on display are employed, where a trigger for each mine allows precise control over the minefield.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

The first containerized control center hosts a similar, yet much more modern, dedicated console. Everything in this movable control center is very neat, and really looking like reactivation might take place in just moments! Of interest is also the situation map, covering the area around Herdla and the water inlet to Bergen.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

A nearby container reveals berths and a small living area for stationing staff.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

Yet another container hosts a complete situation room covering the area. Similar to the coastal battery in Stevnsfort, Denmark (see here), a careful eye was constantly overlooking the shipping in the area.

Cold War Coastal Torpedo Battery – Command and Control – Operations room – Atlantic Wall – Herdla Fort – Bergen – Norway

In the same container, a console for steering torpedoes, more modern than that previously seen in the torpedo battery, is on display.

All in all, Herdla is a one-of-a-kind destination, of primary interest for those interested in Cold War military history, enjoyable and easy to visit. Totally recommended for everybody with an interest in history, with much to see and learn for the kids as well.

Getting there & Visiting

Herdla fortress features an official visitor center with a large parking area, and amenities including a small restaurant and a shop. The official website is here. It can be reached about 27 miles north of central Bergen, roughly 45 minutes by car. The address is Herdla Museum, Herdla Fort, 5315 Herdla.

The torpedo battery and control bunker can be visited only on a guided tour. Visiting from abroad, we scheduled an appointment, and were shown around by the very knowledgeable guide Lars Ågren, a retired officer of the Royal Norwegian Navy. He joined the Navy in the late 1970s, in time to gain a substantial, hands-on Cold War experience during the final, high-tech part of that confrontation. He was promoted to tasks in the NATO headquarters in Belgium, later returning to Norway, and totaling more than 37 years in service. He is strongly involved in the management of the Herdla site. Chance is for you to embark on a visit with this guide, or other very competent guides who will satisfy the appetites of more committed war technicians and engineers, being capable of entertaining also the younger public as well.

A visit to the torpedo battery and control center may last about 1 hour. Seasonal changes to opening times may apply, as common in Northern Countries, therefore carefully check the website.

German and Soviet Military Traces in Jüterbog

July 29, 2022July 29, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

The area around Jüterbog, about 1 hour and 15 minutes south of Berlin by car, has enjoyed a long military tradition, dating from the years of the Kaiser and WWI, through the Third Reich and all the more than four decades of the Cold War, until the departure of the Soviet Army in the early 1990s.

Almost for the entire duration of the 20th century, the area has been scattered with barracks, immense training grounds, shooting ranges, officer’s houses, army administration buildings, technical depots, airports and military academies.

The town of Jüterbog is actually much older than the 20th century, but the Soviets, who grew to a much greater population than the Germans in town after 1945, did not pay much attention to this nice medieval town. Following their withdrawal and the end of all military operations around, the town center received substantial money for restoration from the Government of reunified Germany, and the result is really remarkable – Jüterbog is today possibly one of the most lively and nice-looking centers in the region, with medieval towers, gates and churches, hotels, restaurants and bright-painted houses all around.

However, one hundred years of military activities in this province could not be wiped out at once, and despite nature is now invading the old army premises after operations ceased, to a careful eye the heritage of the German and Soviet Armies stationed there can be spotted quite easily, immediately out the lovely historical town.

Perhaps the most prominent witnesses of the past activities are the old flight academy, installed in the Third Reich years and later employed also by the Soviets, who got control of the area after they arrived in 1945, and kept it even after the foundation of the GDR and the corresponding Armed Forces (i.e. the Nationale Volksarmee, or NVA). The flight academy is today a listed building, despite in a state of partial disrepair. Another example is the big airbase of Jüterbog/Altes Lager, which went on operating as an NVA and Soviet airbase until the very end of the Cold War, and is now being used as a sport airfield, a kart circuit track, an event venue and a solar power plant.

Both these two items are covered in another chapter.

In the following report, more locations in and around Jüterbog are pinpointed, photographed during two visits, partly guided by the knowledgeable Dr. Reiner Helling, in the Summer seasons of 2021 and 2022.

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Sights

The material in this post covers ‘Shelter Albrecht’, a one-of-a-kind private collection of items from WWII and especially from Soviet times, more views of the former airfield of Altes Lager, with a Granit bunker still in very good conditions, an abandoned military hospital with evident traces of Soviet operations, a Soviet cemetery, and a few more items, silent and overlooked witnesses of a recently bygone era.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Shelter Albrecht
Granit Bunker and Hangars in Jüterbog/Altes Lager
Military Hospital
Soviet Cemetery
Railway Yard, School and Command Building

Shelter Albrecht

The airbase of Jüterbog/Altes Lager was selected by the Soviets for further development with the arrival of jets in the late 1940s-early 1950s, and grew to be a prominent attack aircraft and helicopter base in the territory of the GDR. Now reduced in size to the point that some taxiways have been turned into public roads, some of the incredibly many aircraft shelters originally in place in the peripheral parts of the base – mostly AU-16 – have been wiped out. However, a set of two to the east of the runway have been spared this fate, and have been redeemed by a private business. One has been turned into a venue for events, whereas the other has been employed to showcase a great collection of WWII and Cold War memorabilia. Actually, the two hangars are located inside a somewhat larger perimeter, with an original technical building and room for even more exhibits.

A first impressive sight is the original Soviet scheme of the base. Similar signs were typically put close to the gate of any Soviet base (as seen for instance here in Ribnitz/Damgarten), and with their Russian writings today they witness the Soviet tenancy of the base.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

On the apron, an original military version of the ubiquitous Trabant, in army green color, is on display together with a field kitchen and a gigantic roadwork machine. The latter is Russian made, with tank tracks, and powered by a 12-cylinder Diesel engine.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

A Mil Mi-2 helicopter, which for some hard-to-imagine reason had ended up on the Adriatic coast of Italy in a private collection, where it sat almost derelict, has been brought back to the other side of the Iron Curtain, and restored in a camo coat and placed in a prominent position. Not far, a wing from an old Lavochin La-5 Soviet aircraft can be found.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Still on the open air exhibition are a decorated panel once gracing a Soviet hospital – possibly the one described later (here) – and another celebrating the Warsaw Pact. But the exhibits are really countless, and include propaganda posters, and canisters for ordnance.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

To the side of the main exhibition hangar, in the area of an interred fuel tank once serving the base, is an incredible set of Soviet panels, originally from this or other Soviet bases around. These panels are partly decoration/celebration signs, with portraits of Soviet soldiers and emblems.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Other are technically-themed, with explanations concerning driving habits and rules, hand-to-hand combat, and more. Similar items, including fake targets for assault training, can be found for instance in Forst Zinna, an abandoned Soviet base not far from Jüterbog (covered here).

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Also part of the collection is a rare mural, apparently retracing the push to the west of a Soviet division (?) during the Great Patriotic War.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Inside, the aircraft shelter is stuffed with interesting memorabilia. From WWII, exhibits include remains of downed aircraft, including damaged engines, propellers and canopies. Among them are remains of an Avro Lancaster, a Focke-Wulf 190, a Junkers Ju-87 and the canopy of a pretty rare training (two-seats) version of the Messerschmitt Bf-109.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Four large scale models cover as many interesting sights around. The first is the former flight academy of the Third Reich (mentioned above and covered here), north of the Altes Lager airbase premises. Also on display are books and furniture originally from the library of the academy.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

A second model portrays the entire area between the academy (north) and the airfield (south), including the latter. This area, now largely shrouded in the trees and partially in private hands, used to host technical installations and even factories connected with warfare business – all linked by an extensive network of roads and railways.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Another model is that of two airship hangars from the years of German tenancy. These had to be really huge, but are today completely gone. Among the factories in place in the area, were those for supplying gas for the airships.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Finally, a fourth scale model represents the older airfield of Jüterbog/Damm. The latter is not far from Altes Lager, and is today in private hands for some cattle breeding business. It features very peculiar concrete hangars, an interesting specimen of Third Reich construction engineering. Some aerial pictures can be found here. That airfield was not selected for further development by the Soviets, due to the limited potential for runway lengthening, in turn due to the proximity with Jüterbog town.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Soviet-related items on display range from painted tables, originally gracing the walls of the base, to technical signs in Russian, to a full array of personal and military items, all belonging to the Soviet staff stationed in Jüterbog. These include an interesting overall map of the Soviet airfields on GDR territory, with basic technical data.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Among the highlights, an official printed portrait of Stalin, and one of Brezhnev in a military uniform, parachutes and parts from attack aircraft, many direction signs and instructional panels for low-ranking military staff. Also very interesting is a radar scope with the three air corridors to West-Berlin and the position of Altes Lager printed on it!

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Of special interest for aircraft enthusiasts are many pictures from the days of operation of the airbase, with many exotic Soviet aircraft seen landing, departing or taxiing around.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Other panels tells about the presence of rocket forces in the area of Jüterbog – in particular the 27th R.Br. of the NVA. They operated the SCUD-B system.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Back outside, the exhibition is completed by an original monument from Altes Lager, often employed as a background for official ceremonies, and more personal memorabilia of the owner of the museum, formerly serving within a tank division of the NVA.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Reconstructed shops and schools are on display, with much original furniture and everyday items of Soviet make.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Getting there and Visiting

The place is really worth a visit for everybody interested in memorabilia items from Soviet times, or for those looking for tangible traces of the military past of Jüterbog. The location is easy to reach by car, with a convenient internal parking. The address is Niedergörsdorfer Allee 4, 14913 Niedergörsdorf, Germany.

An updated official website with opening times is apparently not available. However, Mr. Helmut Stark, the owner of the place, may be contacted beforehand (in German only) to inquire about opening times and plan a visit – try Googling his name and that of the site for updated contacts. The place is regularly open at least in the weekends in the warm season. A visit to this site will be likely with Mr. Stark following you and giving explanations in German. This will take about 45 minutes.

Granit Bunker and Hangars in Jüterbog/Altes Lager

Some views of the Altes Lager airbase are provided in this chapter, and some aerial views can be seen here. The huge, flat-top hangars date from the Third Reich era, and similarly the control tower with its annexes. Some of the hangars were reportedly dismounted by the Soviets and taken to the Soviet Union soon after the end of WWII.

Jüterbog Altes Lager Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit Cold War Nuclear Warheads

Besides all the aircraft shelters scattered all around the runway, a relevant and pretty secluded Soviet addition north of the airfield is a Soviet Granit-type bunker. This type of bunker was among the lightest in Soviet inventory, and could serve multiple purposes, e.g. storing movable radar trucks, tanks, other machinery, or weapons. Actually, its presence on an airfield may suggest the purpose of storing special air-dropped weapons, maybe tactical nuclear, high-explosive or chemical ordnance.

Jüterbog Altes Lager Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit Cold War Nuclear Warheads

Bunkers of Granit-type are possibly the most frequent special constructions in former Soviet bases (see for instance here or here), but the one in Jüterbog is interesting since it is very well conserved, and its massive metal doors are still perfectly in place, providing a nice impression of how this technical item should have looked like in the days of operation.

Getting there and Visiting

The airport of Altes Lager is today pretty busy, with several companies having taken over much of its original premises now open for business. Multiple access points are available, and chances of looking inside the original installations are many. Given the still exceptional state of conservation of the Granit bunker, in order to protect this rare historical artifact from the impressive hordes of catatonic idiot spoilers and writers out there, no indication is provided on its exact location.

Military Hospital

Among the buildings now shrouded by the overgrown vegetation in the area between Jüterbog/Altes Lager airfield and the town of Jüterbog is a sizable military hospital. Totally invisible from the road, the hospital is basically made of a single, building featuring three long interconnected rows.

It is made of the typical German dark-red brick, a design which is way too elegant for Soviet occupants. The arrangement of the facade and the nice railings suggest a construction date from the years of the Kaiser and the German Empire, maybe early 20th century.

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

However, the years of Soviet use are witnessed by a big mural, portraying Lenin with some Soviet soldiers in the background, with a black and yellow striped ribbon and a red star, emblems of the Red Army.

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

To the more careful eye, a few graffiti in Russian can be found here and there, with a date as usual.

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

The aura is very silent and mysterious, and as such, this location is a mecca for urban explorers. Actually, the only noise came from a fast spinning ventilation fan in a window frame! This was pushed by an air stream however, not likely by a motor…

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

Some more buildings complete this complex, and original GDR-style lamps can still be seen around – the tall trees now surrounding the building were likely not in place when the hospital was closed, presumably in the early 1990s.

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

Getting there and Moving around

Not difficult to find in the trees between Jüterbog and the airfield of Altes Lager, there is no clear interdiction sign to access this complex from behind, yet vibration sensors planted in the ground can be spotted around, and some security cars can be seen sometimes parked on the main road. A walk around the hospital is not especially dangerous nor difficult, and may take about 25 minutes taking all the pictures. The building is architecturally nice and possibly listed. Yet it is in partial disrepair and largely sealed, and getting in is obviously not advisable.

Soviet Cemetery

The only relic of the years of Soviet occupation which is immediately visible to the general public in Jüterbog is the Soviet military cemetery. This is located to the back of the Liebfrauenkirche, in the historical center of Jüterbog.

Actually, a monumental part, with railings embellished with hammer and sickle emblems and a monument with writings in German and Russian to the back, is detached from the church yard.

Jüterbog Soviet Cemetery Friedhof

However, possibly in later times, the limited space available in the lot originally planned for the monument meant some graves were dug right in the church graveyard, side by side – but not mixed – with German graves.

Jüterbog Soviet Cemetery Friedhof

Getting there and Visiting

The exact address is Am Dammtor, 14913 Jüterbog, Germany. The place is well-kept, being part of the historical city center of Jüterbog. Parking opportunities all around on the street. A visit may take 10 minutes.

Railway Yard, School and Command Building

The town of Jüterbog acted as a ‘local capital’ for the many Soviet troops and their families scattered in the corresponding district. The hospital (see above) was not the only large installation in place. A district school was also installed, which served not only the very town of Jüterbog – with a Russian-speaking population of more than 70.000, greater than the German nationals – but also the residing Soviet population of smaller technical installations in the area. A notable example is the impressive nuclear depot in Stolzenhain (see here), where a dedicated staff and their families occupied four residential blocks now gone. Their children reportedly attended school in Jüterbog.

The school is today largely abandoned, and a quick tour around reveals typical Soviet decorations in the large sporting hall.

Jüterbog Soviet School Abandoned Cold War Relic

The school building is geographically close to the railway station. The latter had a passenger terminal dedicated to the Soviet population, which was completely segregated from the German one.

Furthermore, the railway in Jüterbog had also a primary logistic function, connected with the military activities going on in the area. Besides transporting tanks, vehicles and other material, also nuclear warheads arrived by rail from Belarus or Ukraine (both in the USSR at the time), for storage in the Stolzenhain Monolith-type bunkers (see here). A special railway track with a dead end in the trees featured a special interchange platform, allowing to move the sensitive warheads in their controlled canisters to trucks, and by road to Stolzenhain – usually at night. Since warheads were also sent back for maintenance or overhaul, the transport operated also in the opposite direction.

Jüterbog Railway Track Station

Very close to the railway station and the school is also a large grassy area, surrounded by a nice, old-style metal fence. This area is that of an older training ground, dating to the years of the Kaiser. A command building, now in disrepair, betrays the same origin, featuring decorations in a typical old-German style.

Jüterbog Command Building Abandoned Relic

Getting there and Moving around

The school can be found in Jüterbog here. Cross the street from the school, the old training grounds and command building are immediately spotted. Walking north past the command building, you get access to a pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks, with a nice view of the station. An exploration of the railway tracks has to be considered extremely dangerous, since the railway line there is today a high-speed one, with bullet-fast trains appearing in just seconds. A walk around this spot in Jüterbog may take 15 minutes. Parking opportunities ahead of the command building.

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Traces of the Cold War in Western Poland

March 14, 2021 CarloRLeave a comment

The western part of Poland, today on the border with Germany, used to be largely part of the German Reich before WWI. Following the defeat of the central empires in 1918, the borders of Poland were partly redrawn, but with respect to today’s political map of Europe a large territory of what is today western Poland was still German. Most notably, the Baltic town of Gdansk (or Danzig, in German) was the port town of Poland in the interwar period, linked through a narrow corridor to the main inland region of that country. The severing of this link and the attack on Gdansk by Hitler’s forces in late summer 1939 was the first act of WWII.

With this map in mind, it is no surprise that most towns in the Polish region on the Baltic shoreline, and south to the border with today’s Czechia, are pointed with former Luftwaffe airbases, German made concrete bunkers and coastal guns similar to the Atlantic Wall (see this post for an idea). As a matter of fact, also the remarkable border forts of Czechia were put in place in the 1930s to counter warlike Hitler’s Third Reich on the other side of the border, not Poland, today bordering Czechia to the north (see this post).

Western Poland was swept by Stalin’s Red Army in the closing season of WWII in winter and spring of 1945. Soon after WWII, Poland had its borders this time totally redrawn. A new big communist state was created in central Europe, which to the uttermost delusion of the fierce local population, was basically a feud of the USSR – actually, the largest and most populated of the countries in the Eastern Bloc.

Just like any other country in Moscow’s suffocating embrace, Poland was strongly militarized. The armed forces of Poland were among the most developed branches of the Polish state, but this was just a part of the overall picture. As soon as the former Allied forces of WWII split, and the USSR became an undeclared enemy of Western democracies in the late 1940s, a strategic Soviet force was installed in Poland, taking over many formerly German military assets in the western region. The Northern Group of Forces was the name of the branch of Soviet military deployed to Poland.

As the strategy for a war in Europe envisaged by the Soviets was based on a kind of nuclear-assisted blitzkrieg-style westward push from the border between the Eastern and Western Blocs, the westernmost regions of the Soviet satellite countries on the border with the west were the most heavily reinforced. These included all the territory of the strongly Soviet-presided German Democratic Republic (see for instance this and this post, but there are really many on this topic on this website, and a dedicated book as well!), western Poland, western Czechoslovakia (i.e. Czechia), and to a lesser extent also Hungary (see for instance here) and Bulgaria.

Traces of the Cold War are very abundant in Poland, where they have received a generally greater attention in later times than in other former communist dictatorships, with some good examples of preservation, besides an array of inevitably abandoned and rotting facilities. These traces include both Polish and Soviet relics.

Some conspicuous Cold War leftovers in Poland have been described in this post, a brilliant example of preservation of a nuclear bunker, and also here. In this one, some more are shown, either preserved or abandoned, Soviet or Polish. They include the abandoned Soviet command bunker in Legnica, the partly abandoned Soviet airbases of Chojna and Kolbrzeg, the Museum of the Polish Artillery in Torun, the Polish command bunker on the island of Wolin (‘Vineta Battery’) and the one-of-a-kind nuclear fallout control bunker in Kalisz. The war cemetery in the fortress of Poznan is also portrayed as a special feature – a unique testimony of the dramatic history of Poland in the 20th century.

Photographs are from a trip to the area in 2020.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Soviet Northern Group of Forces Command Bunker, Legnica
Chojna Abandoned Soviet Airbase
Kolobrzeg Abandoned Soviet Airbase
Museum of Artillery, Torun
Nuclear Fallout Control Bunker, Kalisz
Vineta Battery – Polish Army Command Bunker
Poznan War Cemetery & Soviet Memorial

Sights

Soviet Northern Group of Forces Command Bunker, Legnica

The role of the town of Legnica in Poland during the years of Soviet occupation was comparable to that of Wünsdorf in the German Democratic Republic (see this post). It was here that the Northern Group of Forces, i.e. the branch of the Red Army stationed in Poland, had its headquarters. Just like Wünsdorf, operations in Legnica could count on dedicated high-security facilities.

A complex of underground halls, connected by a network of tunnels, formed a nuclear-proof command and control center, capable of fully operating for more than a week without resupply from the outside world. Different from Wünsdorf, this extended network was prepared in the trees at a certain distance from the stately ‘official’ buildings of downtown Legnica, precisely west of the small village of Wilkocin.

The secret bunker in Wilkocin is actually formed by two separate items, once in the middle of an extensive fenced and strongly defended area, totally impenetrable and guarded by watchmen and watchdogs.

The western item, isolated in the sand dunes typical of this area, yet actually not far from the village of Wilkocin, was partly visible from the surface. The codename of this installation was ‘Syrius’, and it was a reserve command post for the western war theater, i.e. the war in central Europe, to be fought along the border with NATO forces, in case the Cold War should have turned ‘hot’.

A group of apparently normal buildings form the visible part of this complex. The latter might have been more numerous, and perhaps demolition works have stricken in the recent past – the site is basically abandoned since the early 1990s when the Soviets quit. Traces of colored floor tiles, electric wires with voltage indications in Russian – many items recall more or less explicitly the Soviet tenancy of this place.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

A small water tank/pool and some service buildings can be found in the area at the base of the low-rise mound where the biggest building of the complex is.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Traces of the original camouflage can be seen still today on the walls. Also the building date – 1983, a relatively recent date – is clearly reported on a sidewall.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The invisible, underground part of this complex can be accessed from small hatches, surfacing all around the main building, and even inside it – albeit the latter have been obstructed for safety, since the building is really rotting.

The underground part of the complex is basically made of a long straight corridor, giving access to an array of halls placed at a 90 degrees angle with respect to it. These halls vary in size. Some of them are really small, and were possibly intended for storing supplies, for sleeping stationing troops, or as technical rooms.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Traces of direction signs in Russian can be seen on the walls.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Some of these smaller halls are also interconnected, creating a kind of labyrinth. Tight doors were likely installed between adjoining rooms. They are gone now, but the passages between the rooms in the bunker are very small and make moving around difficult.

Not all of the halls were on the same level, so stairs can be found here and there.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

To the far end of the main corridor, a much larger hall greatly resembles the military air control center in Wünsdorf, perhaps its intended purpose in the days of operations.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Behind this larger hall, technical rooms might have been designed for gear to support control and monitoring operations – computers, projectors, etc. A long tunnel takes you outside directly from this area.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Back inside, the main corridor ends in a descending flight of stairs, giving access to another roomy hall. There used to be (likely) a massive tight door here, as suggested by traces in the walls.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

This final hall is rather peculiar, having a kind of smaller control cabin in it.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

From the outside, the cusp profile of the latter hall surfaces from the side of a hill, taking the shape of a hangar with two entrances – possibly a garage for radars or antennas, linked and providing data to the adjoining hall, likely a control room.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

A walk of about 1 mile to the southeast of the first item takes you to the second bunker in the secluded area of Wilkocin. Codenamed ‘Tuman’ (meaning ‘fog’ in Russian) in Soviet times, this was the central communication node of the Northern Group of Forces. Differently to the ‘Syrius’ item, this second facility was built totally underground.

The only surfacing components are an array of bulky but relatively small concrete constructions, possibly the base for electric/electronic gear like aerials, capacitors, or something alike.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Concrete hatches give access to very steep, narrow and long staircases, taking you down into the core of the hill.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The ‘Tuman’ item is basically articulated along two long parallel corridors, with halls between them.

The function of the halls is today hard to guess. Some unusual features, maybe associated to the original role of the corresponding rooms, are the different, often bright colors of the walls and ceiling, ranging from orange, to lurid green, to sooth black.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

In some spots, the pavement is covered with ‘elaborated’ tiles, unexpected in an underground military facility.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Traces of hardware are relatively few, and include a few lamps, metal pipes emerging from the walls, and some cabinets with writing in Russian.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The numerous interconnections between the halls, tunnels and passages in this bunker result in a very complicated labyrinth!

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The majority of the halls are similar in structure. A couple are roomier and feature a significantly taller ceiling.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The sand of the dunes outside has somehow managed to come in one of the halls!

The secluded location of these mysterious and silent bunkers, isolated deep in the trees and far from any populated settlement, makes for a very thought-provoking walk.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Getting there and moving around

This site is an interesting example of ‘semi-wild’ conservation. It is advertised by means of dedicated explanatory panels in the village of Wilkocin, and can be reached leaving your car there and taking well-maintained trails to the two items. Actually, both bunkers are also sanctuaries for bats. Once there, you can explore the underground networks without restrictions, and modern emergency exit routes are also visible on the walls. However, the tunnels and halls are completely dark, and there is no map. Visiting is at your own risk. So a torchlight and a good sense of direction are required if you are visiting alone. Yet given the limited size of these bunkers and the many exits, you are not likely to run into any trouble. In my view, this is a good compromise for interested people to visit these historically relevant installations, which are not being demolished, but left to interested people without spending a cent of public money to preserve them.

Due to the size of the area and the walk required to reach the points of interest from the parking in Wilkocin, you might easily spend 4 hours exploring this site thoroughly. Due to the location, pretty far from everything, it is likely you will not meet a single person for the whole duration of your stay – this may add much to the ghost aura of the place. Cell phone coverage is so-so, and obviously null inside the bunkers. You might better go with some offline maps (Google maps of the area are fine, as you are not required to move out of technical roads, clearly visible from satellite pictures).

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Airbase

The western districts of Poland hosted basically all Soviet airbases to be found on the territory of this country. This was clearly connected with the strategy of the USSR in case of a war in Europe. Having most offensive forces ready for action along the border with the West meant a significant time advantage in the quick invasion of core Europe and the rush to the North sea, which were in the plans of the top-ranking military in Moscow in case of an outbreak of hostilities.

Actually, the Soviets did not have trouble in finding suitable locations for growing modern airbases in this area – the Luftwaffe had in this district an outstanding number of airfields. Chojna, known as Königsberg before 1945, was one of them.

The Soviets took control of this airport in February 1945, and since them it became one of the most developed in Poland. Today, the airport is basically closed except for minor ultralight operations. However, its original size and prominence can be appreciated moving around its premises – today possible, as the former taxiways and service roads have been turned into car traffic roads, albeit not much used except by the local companies who have taken over some of the original hangars.

Among the many interesting sights of this former airbase, the runway is – as of 2020 – basically intact! This makes for a very unusual and impressive sight – the length of the runway is remarkable, since the airbase was potentiated over the years, and in the closing stage of the Cold War, the Soviets operated from here with massive Sukhoi Su-27 fighters (late 1980s).

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

Differently from western standards, the Soviets always preferred runway surfaces made of relatively small adjoining concrete slabs.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

In connection with the operation of larger fighters, in the form of Su-27, Chojna was one of a handful airbases in the Soviet empire to receive the AU-19 type shelter, the biggest in the inventory of the Soviet air forces.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

Only a few of these hangars were built, and today some of them in Chojna have been sadly demolished.

Along the main taxiway running parallel to the runway, smaller AU-11 shelters can be found – their size being compatible with MiG-15 or MiG-21, both types operating from Chojna over the years – converted for storage by local companies or private owners.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

A larger maintenance hangar has been taken over by a major engineering company.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

Another remarkable feature of Chojna is a well preserved ‘Granit’-type bunker. This type of bunker was the lightest and cheapest in the Soviet inventory. It could serve different functions, from theater missile storage, tactical nuclear ordnance storage, reinforced command bunker, etc.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

The actual function of the bunker in Chojna is shrouded into mystery, but similar bunkers can be found in association with tactical nuclear deterrent in Poland (see this post). This might suggest the presence of air-dropped nuclear weapons in this airbase, at some point in history.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

Despite too populated and lively to evoke a thick Soviet ghost aura (unlike several bases in the GDR, see for instance this post), Chojna is definitely worth a quick visit for the many unique spots it still offers, as well as for the ease of touring it moving around by car.

Getting there and moving around

Chojna is pretty close to the German border, some 30 miles south of Szczecin. The airbase is located south of the town, with now public roads providing access from the former Soviet village originally for the troops, today normally inhabited by the local population. A visit of less than one hour may cover most of the spots. The ‘Granit’-type bunker can be found in the south-western corner area of the base, with access just south of the western extremity of the runway.

Kolobrzeg Abandoned Soviet Airbase

The airport of Kolbrzeg is actually not really abandoned. Originally a Third Reich’s Luftwaffe installation, the Soviets took over this airfield, located right on the Baltic shoreline, potentiating it through a much longer runway, and turning the original German one into a taxiway and apron.

Today, the long Soviet runway is still used for general aviation operations, with private Cessna and Cirrus aircraft flying to this touristic location.

Kolobrzeg Soviet Airbase Poland

However, the airport was too big for the traffic it needs to support today. Hence large parts of the former area have been opened to public car traffic, and abandoned shelters from Soviet tenancy can be found scattered around.

The area of the apron, with large concrete slabs making the pavement, can be freely walked and allows to appreciate the big size of this air base.

Kolobrzeg Soviet Airbase Poland

Part of the original technical hangars, likely dating back to Hitler’s era, have been re-used by local companies.

Kolobrzeg Soviet Airbase Poland

Similar to Chojna (see above), Kolobrzeg once had a ‘Granit’-type bunker built on its premises. Unfortunately, this was selected for demolition, and nothing remains of it today.

Kolobrzeg Soviet Airbase Poland

Getting there and moving around

The airport of Kolobrzeg can be found about 3 miles east of the village, along the Baltic shoreline. The former German-then-Soviet village is today a tourist destination (name Podczele), thanks to the proximity with the beach. You may have a quick visit by car to the airport area, moving along the old Soviet taxiways, before parking on the former apron and going to the beach.

Museum of Artillery, Torun

Just east of remarkable UNESCO-town Torun, the small collection of the Museum of Artillery makes for an interesting detour from the touristic path. This museums occupies the westernmost building of the School of Artillery of the Polish Army, still active today.

The collection is clearly centered mainly on artillery, documenting the history and potential of this branch of the military with an interesting collection of shells, fuzes, warheads, cannons, howitzers and firearms mostly from the 20th century and up to our days.

Museum of Artillery Torun Poland

Being a Soviet satellite for the whole duration of the Cold War, Poland received war material made in the USSR in large lots. Among the artifacts on display, didactic cutouts of Soviet warheads from theater missiles are extremely interesting.

Museum of Artillery Torun Poland

Computational range-finding gear of Soviet make is also on display.

Museum of Artillery Torun Poland

The diversity of shells and fuzes is always striking – some of the fuzes look like high-precision clock mechanisms.

Museum of Artillery Torun Poland

To the outside, you are allowed a view of the courtyard of the school of artillery (inaccessible at the time of my visit), with a collection of heavier weapons. It appears however that the collection is loosing some of the items on display in the Cold War years, maybe for restoration, or for displaying them in other collections.

Museum of Artillery Torun Poland

In a small depot on the side of the museum building it is possible to find a restoration shop, where they are actively working on the refurbishment of some heavier pieces of artillery.

Museum of Artillery Torun Poland

Getting there and moving around

The museum can be accessed at this coordinates: 53.019260130760934, 18.623310804318898. It is a about .5 miles northeast of the central touristic district of Torun. You will find a rather unapparent pedestrian gate with a doorbell. You will be immediately admitted upon ringing the doorbell. Parking is not easy in the area. Visiting may take about 30-40 minutes for an interested subject. Unfortunately, explanations are in Polish only, but the museum staff is welcoming and they will try their best to let you get the most out of your visit. Website here.

Nuclear Fallout Control Bunker, Kalisz

Really a one-of-a-kind witness of the Cold War on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain, the perfectly restored and preserved bunker in Kalisz can be found in the basement of a standard residential home.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

The secret bunker unveils today a complex and careful administration of the Polish territory, in view of a possible nuclear war to be fought in this country. This installation, run by the Polish government since the 1960s, besides serving as a crisis reporting point, was a central node for the administrative district having its capital city in Kalisz. The main standard function of the bunker was that of collecting and elaborating meteorological information from several sub-nodes of the reporting network, thus elaborating a map of the winds which was regularly updated.

The scope of this very precise meteorological forecast was that of estimating the likely evolution of a potential nuclear fallout, in case of a nuclear attack. Based on this information, the national Army could be sent in a direction or another, avoiding contaminated hot spots, evacuation operations of the local population could be carried out with a good knowledge of the actual risk, and so on.

The bunker could also trigger a nuclear attack alarm for the population of Kalisz, and it could host the local government representatives to ensure the survival of the chain of command.

The bunker is about 5.000 square feet, on a single underground level. It is articulated along a single corridor, with several rooms accessible on the sides. A unique feature – most of the original hardware is still there!

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

Designed to be autonomous in a nuclear fallout scenario, the bunker could be accessed via an airlock closed by tight doors, and had its own power generator.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

Another room hosts battery packs, again for power supply.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

The bunker was constantly guarded, and linked with the communication network of the Polish government. A communication room, today still featuring its original telephone console, served this scope. The shift spending the night there could make use of a basic bedroom.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

The core of the bunker can be found to the end of the corridor.

Here a set of telephone booths were used by the personnel of the bunker to collect information from peripheral reporting points, dislocated on the territory controlled by the Kalisz bunker.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

The information were gathered and reported on a paper map on a pivoting table on the wall. This table was then turned by 180 degrees, the info was received by the commanding staff in an adjoining room – so that decisions were not heard by the low-level operators of the telephone booths.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

A highlight of this already impressive show is the still powered reporting & control console, which allowed to issue orders to other nodes of the network. A custom-built map of the district controlled by the central bunker in Kalisz, with multicolored lamps indicating the status of each peripheral node, can be still operated (even though the outgoing links are now severed), providing a very lively evocation of how the bunker control room looked like in the days of operation.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

The command room nearby, where people in charge could elaborate their tactics, still resembles its original appearance, with example maps of the meteorology report on a large table.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

Another interesting room is the air-filtering room, another essential element in assuring the survival of the bunker staff in case of an attack.

Kalisz Fallout Shelter Poland Schron Przeciwatomowy

All in all, this is really a unique top-level relic of the Cold War, also witnessing the almost paranoid effort devoted to the detailed preparation of a nuclear war, which luckily never materialized.

Getting there and moving around

The address of the bunker museum is Graniczna 20, 62-800 Kalisz, Poland. There is no sign to reach it, and it is rather mimetic – it was built for deception, and it is still hard to spot it these days! The official page is not clearly defined, but you can find some information here and here, or by searching the web for the Polish name of this site, ‘Schron Atomowy Kalisz’. Actually, the house is today used by a charitable foundation for mentally impaired people, who contributed to the restoration process.

Visiting is only possible on a guided tour, which is offered by the staff of the charitable foundation – very knowledgeable and friendly. To visit during the hours of operation, just drop in the house and find a person from the staff. I was offered a shining personalized visit by a brilliant guy speaking a perfect English.

Visiting will take about 45 minutes. Parking is possible on the street around the house, located in a nice residential borough. Highly recommended for everybody with an interest in the Cold War period!

Vineta Battery – Polish Army Command Bunker

The stronghold of Swinoujscie on the coast of the Baltic Sea, today right on the border between Poland and Germany, was formed at a time when the region was still part of the German Empire, and later of Hitler’s Third Reich. At that time, the name of the town was Swinemünde. Military facilities built in the years of the Kaiser included a massive fortress overlooking the seaport. In the years of Nazi dictatorship, right before the beginning of WWII, a larger area on Wolin island was put under military control to the east of the town, and a powerful battery with four coastal guns was put in place. A prototype of the numerous batteries soon to be built along the Atlantic Wall (for instance in France and Denmark), in Swinemünde the guns were protected by sturdy concrete bunkers open to the sides. These firing positions were complemented by a dedicated command command bunker, with range finders and aiming gear, communication gear, receiving data from a ‘Würzburg Riese’ radar in the vicinity. Also ammo storage bunkers, and half-interred concrete barracks for all the troops stationed on site were part of this fort.

Two batteries were actually built in close vicinity to one another, Goeben and Vineta, complemented with different types of guns.

Due to the evolution of the front line during WWII, these batteries saw little action. They were involved in the final attempt to repel the invading Red Army from the innermost German territory, in the closing stages of the war in 1945. Captured by the Soviets and stripped of any valuable hardware, these batteries were ceded back to the newly re-formed communist Polish government.

Under the dark clouds of the Cold War, the configuration of the new borders between the opposite blocs put the Baltic coast again on the front line. Vineta battery was heavily militarized again, and the Polish army created here a forward command post, reinforced to sustain a nuclear attack in the event of an armed conflict against NATO forces. The four firing stations of Vineta were partly interred and converted to serve as nodes in the command post, and in the 1960s finally linked by a long underground tunnel. The aiming station became the control room for the theater of war coordinated from Vineta.

The fort was one of the few high-level command posts in Poland, a top-secret location, visited since the 1960s to the 1980s by the top-ranking military staff in Poland including Wojciech Jaruzelski (at the time minister of defense, later secretary general of the communist party of Poland in the 1980s), during frequent war drills.

Left by the government after the end of communism, today the Vineta facility has been restored and opened to the public.

The original fence is still in place, and the entrance gate has been surrounded by a few original military vehicles, as well as a tactical missile!

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

From this fence a walk in the trees drives you through an inner guard line. Further on, you meet the sequence of former gun batteries, today barely visible after the Polish redesign of the Cold War years, when the bunkers where more thoroughly interred for a more effective protection.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

You get access to the Cold War bunker from the far end of the complex, corresponding to the former easternmost gun position. Here also a major entry checkpoint from the Cold War era can be found, with a double gate and turret.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

A long tunnel connects all posts in the battery, and was put in place by the Polish army in the 1960s.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

One of the four firing stations was turned into a communication center during the Cold War. Much original communication gear is still in place, and the sight is made more vivid by leaving much of the electric cabinets with lights on, as in the days of operation!

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

Original instructions and notice boards complete the scene.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

A second former gun station was converted into a medical facility, with nuclear decontamination gear, as well as field emergency and medical rooms.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

Interestingly, some rooms in the naval gun bunkers have been restored to their original Third Reich appearance, when they were used to store gun shells, or as sleeping rooms for the troops, and for food storage.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

Possibly the pinnacle of the visit is the command center, to be found in the former range finding and aiming station of the battery. The former German bunker was turned by the Polish army into a military reporting and command center for the Baltic theater of war.

Access from the tunnel link is via a blast-proof tight door.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

A short corridor interrupted by lighter tight doors gives access to a communication room and another technical room to one side.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

To the far end of the corridor, you finally reach the main control room. The dome once used for the aiming gear was removed and closed, creating a roomy vault. This makes the bunker less oppressive than similar places elsewhere (see for instance here). However, the almost triangular plan of the room is a bit unusual.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

Computers and communication gear are all aligned along the side walls, where also large transparent panels with maps and instructions can be found. All gear is original, and make the sight very evocative!

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

In a bay to the side of the room, further communication gear can be found, likely for receiving reports and issuing cryptographed orders.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

A very interesting original map created in the 1970s by a renowned strategist of the Polish army, colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, is one of the very interesting items on display. It portraits the likely tactics of a NATO attack to the Eastern Bloc as imagined by the communist side, and the corresponding war plan for the front in the central regions of Europe. Targets to be attacked with nuclear warfare are clearly evidenced on both sides. It is noteworthy that most of the targets for the Warsaw Pact forces are close to the coast of the North Sea, in Belgium and the Netherlands. This is in accordance with the general Soviet plans in the event of an escalation of the Cold War in Europe – pushing through central and northern Germany, to the coast of the North Sea.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

Conversely, a major direction of attack for NATO forces is from Denmark towards the Baltic coast in Poland. Also, nuclear targets for NATO include locations in the easternmost districts of the GDR, as well as in western Poland, in order to slow down the push of communist troops towards the west. Interestingly, in the GDR, two target areas for a nuclear attack include that of the airbases of Wittstock and Lärz, as well as the area of Templin, Vögelsang, Fürstenberg and Lychen.

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

The display is completed by two further rooms, a top-secret map room for the council of war, and an adjoining ‘residential’ room for the convenience of the commander of the war theater. A lay-figure of minister Jaruzelski can be found today!

Vineta Battery Polish Cold War Command Bunker Underground Citadel Poland

With the help of a dim lighting recreating the atmosphere, the location is very evocative of the years of military tension of the Cold War. Really a must see for everybody interested in that era!

Getting there and moving around

Despite being a top-ranking touristic destination, access is a bit deceptive. As of 2020, you need to park here (53.897569360523896, 14.333278841237572), go by foot past a working railway yard, and reach the original entrance some 0.3 miles north, with a walk along a very easy unpaved road.

The place can be toured on guided tours only, with a closed number of guests, entering on a first come, first served scheme. The friendly guide gave most speeches in Polish only, but after knowing I could not understand, he also provided info just for me in very good English. No credit cards accepted at the entrance booth. The tour takes about 1 hour, and is totally recommended for anybody with an interest in history, as well as of course for Cold War-minded people. Website with information here.

Poznan War Cemetery & Soviet Memorial

One of the largest cities in Poland, beautifully restored Poznan offers a remarkable list of points of artistic and historical interest. Comprehensibly in the list of overlooked spots in this vibrant town, a witness of the troubled 20th century history of Poland can be found in the war cemetery of Poznan, located in the peaceful park of the fortress.

Pushed from the sides by the central empires and by czarist Russia, Poland obtained an official status following WWI, only to find itself entangled in a defensive border war against the Russian Bolsheviks immediately after. The latter were fighting fiercely at that time, to impose their rule everywhere in the former territory of the Russian Empire, as well as the adjoining provinces historically under Russian influence.

Poznan Citadel War Cemetery and Soviet Memorial Poland

World War Two, of course, is the responsible for most of the graves in the cemetery, which albeit in different sectors, is the resting place for soldiers of all Nations involved in the fight.

These include British troops. The corresponding sector has taken the typical official style of British war cemeteries (see this post).

Poznan Citadel War Cemetery and Soviet Memorial Poland

German troops are present, and of course Soviet troops as well. Some of the Soviet soldiers were decorated with the ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ order, duly recalled in their gravestones.

Poznan Citadel War Cemetery and Soviet Memorial Poland

The end of WWII in Poland is celebrated as a victory of the Red Army, helped at that time by the Polish Army – the history of the latter in WWII is particularly complicated, since the Polish State was basically forcibly dissolved in the initial stages of WWII, by agreement of then-non-belligerent Stalin and Hitler, thus leaving the national army more or less without a chain of command and a definite territory to defend. A monument to this cooperation can be found not far from the war cemetery.

Poznan Citadel War Cemetery and Soviet Memorial Poland

Much more noticeable, a focal point in the fortress park is a tall obelisk, a monument to the Red Army. This was built soon after WWII, in the years of Stalin’s apotheosis. As a result, similar to other likewise monuments in Europe (like in Berlin, see here), quotes of Stalin can be found close to the base, next to an interesting Soviet-style bas-relief.

Poznan Citadel War Cemetery and Soviet Memorial Poland

Getting there and moving around

The citadel is a huge park north of the city center. Very popular among the locals, it offers plenty of parking opportunities around. The war cemetery is located next to the Soviet monumental obelisk, which can be spotted from a distance. A walk in the war cemetery may take around 15 minutes, a possible part of a longer walk in the park.

Soviet ‘Monolith’ Nuclear Bunkers in Poland – Survivors & Ghosts

November 18, 2020November 19, 2020 CarloR1 Comment

Since the beginning caught in the storm of WWII, Poland saw its border changed again in 1945 by the Western Allies and the USSR – the lack of natural borders meant that fate for this Country several times over the centuries. Furthermore, as a massive flow of Soviet forces had been pivotal in repelling Hitler’s forces, similar to other nations sharing a border with the USSR, Poland found itself deep in the sphere of influence of Stalin’s Soviet Union. A communist dictatorship was installed starting 1945, due to last until the end of communism in Europe in 1989.

As a matter of fact, Poland turned out to be by far the most populated and largest of Eastern Bloc countries. Strategically placed in the middle between the USSR and free Western Europe, with a wide section of the Baltic shoreline and a huge, mostly flat territory, similar to the German Democratic Republic nearby, Poland was the theater of a significant militarization effort by the Soviets. Not only the Polish army received Soviet war material in large stocks over the full span of the Cold War, but the Red Army also actually had significant assets scattered over Polish territory – its huge Northern Group of Forces being stationed there, with tanks, aircraft, dedicated bases, firing ranges, as well as several tens of thousand troops and their families, making for a kind of military colony of the USSR.

What is possibly less known is that also Soviet nuclear weapons were stationed in some satellites of the USSR, like the GDR (see this and this chapters, for instance), Hungary (see this chapter), and of course Poland.

Some elements of the global picture have been introduced in another chapter, dealing among other things with a Basalt-type bunker built for storing air-launched nuclear systems, on the premises of the Soviet airbase of Wiechlice (Szprotawa). Yet as can be argued from the general map of of nuclear depots known to Western intelligence, dating from 1979 (‘Warsaw Pact Forces Opposite NATO’, Vol.I-II, CREST record number 0005517771, declassified and released in 2010, here), there were also three major depots of the Monolith-type in Poland. Similar to Stolzenhain and Lychen in the former GDR (see this post), these depots were larger, multi-chamber storage facilities, intended to store primarily missile warheads for longer periods, for instance to complement the SCUD launch system for theater missiles.

The uniqueness of Poland in the panorama of Cold War archaeology lies in a generally positive attitude towards preserving some traces of this dramatic piece of recent history, when the map of Europe was markedly different from now, and the western world found itself multiple times on the verge of a nuclear confrontation, to be fought on the very territory of now wealthy Core Europe. As a result, an impressive number of war museums putting on display military stuff from all the 20th century can be found scattered over the broad territory of today’s Poland.

Even more important, a certain number of former Soviet military installations are being either actively preserved, or at least not condemned through demolition works or re-assignment to improbable new uses. This is despite a totally justified negative attitude towards the Soviet occupation forces and communist dictatorship. This attitude marks an unusual difference between the cultural attitude of the fierce Polish people towards recent military history and Soviet occupation, with respect for instance to Germany or Hungary, where the comprehensible dislike for the Soviets has taken a shape in leaving behind – i.e. more or less demolishing – every trace of a Soviet military presence, and especially in the former, reducing military museums to a minimum.

Among the most prominent Cold War relics you can find in Poland are the three Monolith-type nuclear warhead bunkers mentioned above. One of them – the Podborsko site – has been restored with 90% original material, and makes for a world-class, top-tier museum in the panorama of Cold War military history. The other two, Brzeznica-Kolonia and Templewo, have been left to nature and have now become ‘Soviet ghosts’, but they are advertised with panels, providing some info, and while access is not encouraged, a quick look inside the bunkers, as well as freely walking in the former premises of these bases, is of course possible.

This post covers these three Monolith-type sites, with a focus on the unique preserved Podborsko site, which needs to be on the shortlist of everyone with an interest in Cold War technology, as well as in the history of the nuclear stockpile. All sites were visited, and all photographs taken, on a trip to western Poland in summer 2020.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Podborsko – Objekt 3001
Brzeznica-Kolonia – Objekt 3002
Templewo – Objekt 3003

Sights

All three sites are in northwestern Poland. GPS coordinates are provided in the respective sections. Despite being not too much afar from each other, due the relatively slow connection roads in the area, visiting all three places in one day is not possible. Furthermore, the area is quite dense in both general interest and Cold War related destinations, so I would advise planning a trip to this region of Poland and listing these sites among other destinations.

Podborsko Site – Objekt 3001

A good specimen of a Monolith site, Podborsko – or Objekt 3001, as per the official military listing of the Cold War years – was centered on two large half-interred bunker, each with two big side-wards opening tight doors at ground level, providing access to the interior with the trolleys used to move the nuclear warheads from the transport trucks to the cellars.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

For an increased protection in case of an attack to the site – likely listed among targets of strategic value by Western Countries – a second tight door was put immediately next to the external one, creating a tight, blast resisting and insulated airlock between the interior of the bunker and the outside world.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Both doors to the two ends of the airlock can be – and are – opened via a manual crank system. Two men are needed to actually move the doors however – they are really heavy! A servo-assisted system was in place originally.

An interesting detail is the original sensor for the door status, part of a security system of the base.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Similar to their US counterparts, the Soviets took the problem of security of the nuclear arsenal pretty seriously. Each door on the path followed by the warhead from the outside to the cellar, including the airlock doors as well as the cellar doors inside the bunker, were associated to a trigger. When the corresponding door was opened, the trigger sent a signal via a dedicated cable link to the headquarters of a dedicated branch of the Red Army offices in Moscow, Russia, which was kept constantly updated on the status of each critical door in the depot. The link was via purpose-designed vacuum-protected cables – the actual wiring ran along a vacuum manifold, so that in case of the cable was bitten and the vacuum manifold collapsed, an emergency signal was immediately sent to the nearest nodes of the network, allowing surveillance staff to intervene promptly.

The opening of and closing procedure of the airlock doors involved communication with a post in Moscow too, which started with the local guards communicating their intention to open the doors via a system housed in a blue cabinet besides the tight door. As the signal traveled from the bunker to the headquarters and back, the opening of an airlock was not a quick operation! Original writings in pencil can still be found in the cabinet.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Past the airlock, you land on an elevated concrete platform. From here the warheads were moved to the underground floor via a mechanical crane. This is still standing today, with limit indications in Russian.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

From the platform you get an excellent lookout of the bunker structure. You can see a twin suspended platform to the opposite end of the underground floor, with a tight door shut closed. Along the long sides of the main hall, on the underground level you see several doors. On the right hand side, big sliding doors painted in white give access to the cellars, where the warheads spent most of their time in rest. On the opposite side are smaller man-sized doors, giving access to the technical area, with provision for the men of the permanent bunker watch.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

The stairs leading downstairs are among the few complements to the original structure – they have been put in place to ease visiting. Originally, the underground floor could be reached from the suspended platform only via a lateral manhole with a vertical metal latter.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

The warheads are long gone today – the site was built in the late 1960s, and was emptied of its strategically relevant content in the late 1980s, to be finally ceded back to the Polish government after the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Europe. The cellars today are mainly empty, and used to showcase interesting items related to the site.

First, you can see a scale model of the entire site. In Soviet times, the place was a full scale military base. It included a separated area with living facilities for the troops and their families, who ran the base with both technical and surveillance tasks. Today, this area has been taken over by the government, and used as a prison – Podborsko is rather secluded and far from populated areas on the Baltic coast. Furthermore, as said there used to be two twin bunkers. Today only one has been restored, whereas the other is sealed and waiting for reuse. Between the sectors of the base multiple fences with barbed wire, concrete walls, foxholes and other deterring/defense devices and systems were in place, making the innermost part of the base with the bunkers rather inaccessible.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

An original armored cabinet from the time of operation is still in the corner of a cellar, its original use is uncertain.

In another cellar you can find everyday items and relics from Soviet presence in the area. These range from toothpaste to children’s toys. Also more military-related items, like cartridge boxes and even original Soviet military dog tags have been found scattered over the area!

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

You can also find weapons, a scheme of the base in Russian, anti-radiation suits, and parts of the body, control and guidance systems of a Soviet SCUD theater missile – the corresponding warheads being the main business in Podborsko. There is also a copy of the plan of an attack scenario for Western Europe, showing some targets on the respective sides of the Iron Curtain.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

One of the cellars has been left empty, with a mock-up of a warhead, resting on one of the original trolleys. This is particularly evoking, despite being just one out of the high number of warheads usually stored in a cellar. The actual number of warheads residing in each Soviet storage over the years is still today not totally clear. However, reportedly former Soviet staff support there was in a single Monolith bunker in Poland enough nuclear material for the whole attack plan over Europe, meaning a number of several tens warheads per site.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

The trolley is original as said, and it shows the function of the slots on the ground of each cellar, which allowed anchoring the trolley firmly in position. This was possibly needed also in the extreme case of a blast hitting the bunker, so as to avoid any unwanted displacement of the trolleys.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

A fourth cellar displays a set of panels, outlining the history of the Cold War.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

As said, the security triggers telling the status of the door can be found close also to each of the sliding doors of the cellars.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Before moving to the technical area on the other side of the bunker, a look to the central hall reveals a number of original material. In particular, you can find an interesting set of instruments, handles and gauges packed together in a metal cabinet. Their function was that of monitoring the state of each warhead. Nuclear material needs to be stored in precise conservation conditions, so warheads were kept in dedicated cases. These were inspected regularly by connecting them to the monitoring system and recording the corresponding gauge readings. Traces of the positioning markers for an inspected trolley can be found close to the cabinet, painted on the ground.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Another conspicuous sight in the main hall is the heating system, needed to keep the inside atmosphere at a constant assigned temperature and humidity level, to guarantee the health of nuclear material. A big array of heat exchangers takes the top part of a side wall in the main hall.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

The technical part is made of two main parts, and is accessible on the long side of the hall opposite to the cellars. One part is made of a blind sequence of three narrow compartments. Here you can find a case for manipulating dangerous chemicals, with protection gloves once protruding inside. Nearby, a sink and some cabinets recall a medical room.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

This area was designed to manipulate and check the triggers of nuclear weapons in use at the time of construction of the Monolith bunkers (late 1960s). These made use of reactive materials, thus requiring some precautions and a complex maintenance procedure. They were phased out soon after the construction of the site though, so this part of the bunker was basically unused since that time. A tight door connects this area to the main hall.

The second part of the technical area is arranged along a U-shaped corridor, starting and ending in the main hall. Similar to the previous technical part, a small sealed door connects the corridor to the main hall.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

The first technical rooms you meet are related to climate control.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Next you find a big water tank. Close by there is a single toilet. This was reportedly seldom used, as drainage did not work properly due to the underground placement. Watchmen during their shifts in the bunker went out for their physiological needs.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Going in and out for pedestrians was made possible through a man-sized airlock. This is perfectly preserved in Podborsko, similar to the passage leading up, by means of very steep metal ladders.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Another interesting sight in the technical area is the air filtering room, which is close to the small living area for the watch staff. In case of an attack to the facility, making the area poisonous possibly also due to fallout, this huge filtering system allowed the troops inside to survive for some time.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

The electric control room is in almost mint condition. Only the major connections to the external power lines – not there any more – have been cut. Same electric connections still bear their original hand written identifiers!

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

An original – and rare – handbook with some illustration of standard trolleys is among the artifacts to be found in this incredible exhibition.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Concluding the technical part, a massive Diesel power generator, with its ancillary air pumping and exhaust expulsion systems, is still there in a rather good state.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Back outside, the Podborsko site features also a Granit-type bunker, perfectly preserved with its metal doors – seldom found elsewhere. Granit bunkers were much softer in construction than the Monolith-type, and they might be used for storing assembled missiles, command posts and more. The one in Podborsko is another Soviet mystery – it is hard to tell to what purpose it was built, probably in the late 1970s-early 1980s.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

The second bunker, very similar inside to the main one, is sealed and waiting for restoration. You can walk the exterior, where some remains of the truck loading/unloading platforms can be found. Traces of a fence line can be seen to the back.

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Getting there and moving around

The Podborsko site is a branch of the ‘Muzeum Oreza Polskiego w Kolobrzegu’, called ‘Cold War Museum Podborsko 3001’ (‘Muzeum Zimnej Wojny Podborsko 3001’ in Polish). The town of Kolobrzeg is on the Baltic coast, roughly a one hour drive from this bunker, and hosts other branches of this nice museum (a tank and artillery collection, a marine branch,…). The dedicated website of Podborsko is here, to be Google-translated from Polish. The Podborsko site is open on a regular basis at least in summer, and also by appointment. I guess the visit may take about 1 hour once on site.

My visit was a special one though, as I had the chance to join in for a special thorough visit of the site, prepared for Dr. Reiner Helling, a nuclear scientist from Germany, and one of the most knowledgeable historians in the field of Soviet military presence and nuclear assets in Europe. Dr. Helling extended the invitation to me, so I had the unique chance to take a private, tour with the local curators of the branch, Mr. Mieczysław Żuk and Mr. Pawel Urbaniak. We spent some hours touring the site inside and out – special thanks to all three for an unforgettable experience!

Podborsko Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War Museum

Getting to the bunker is easy by car. Driving will be along an original Soviet service road, which can be faced with a regular city car. You may park once on the spot once there.

Brzeznica Kolonia – Objekt 3002

The site in Brzeznica Kolonia can be found close to the former Soviet village of Klomino – pretty famous in its heyday among the urbex community – and in the vicinity of the airport of Nadarzyce, still active today.

The site has been largely wiped out, but the bunkers and a little more hardware survive, in a ghost condition. However, the site is advertised with some explanatory panels, and it is also quite popular among the locals, which come here to take a couple of pics in a weird scenery.

One of the most portrayed items on the premises of this site is the Granit bunker, which is today lacking its original metal door. Similar to Podborsko, this ‘soft’ bunker was added at a later stage, and its function is to be guessed. Interestingly, some painted stripes can be found on the pavement, possibly marking the position of some trailer or gear.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Similar to Podborsko, the two major Monolith bunkers are arranged with their respective axes crossed. The eastern one can be accessed from its southern door pretty easily. Inside, it reveals its similarity with Podborsko, except for having being spoiled of any metal part – from the doors to the heat exchangers – and having hosted a wildfire or similar, as can be guessed from the sooth on the walls and ceiling.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Getting to the underground level from the suspended platform is not safe if you are going alone, like me, as the original metal ladders have been taken away. However, hard spoiling has to be expected also in the technical rooms.

Walking on top of the bunker, you find traces of the man-sized side entrance, completely interred.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Ahead of the bunker and to the back, traces of the loading/unloading platforms for trucks can be still recognized.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

The westernmost bunker is easy to access from the eastern gate. Inside, it has been spoiled of any metal, similar to its twin brother. It is in a generally better shape though, without sooth on the inside walls.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

In both bunkers, traces of original painting can be found.

In between the two bunkers, a number of smaller buildings are still to be found, including – apparently – a water tank, and some sentry boxes.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Also, more than in Podborsko you can appreciate a network of foxholes, which despite fading in nature, can be clearly noticed departing from the main roads once crossing this military installation.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Back to Nadarzyce nearby, you can get access to the former ghost town of Klomino. The majority of the original Soviet blocks have been wiped out, but most incredibly some of them have been restored and are today inhabited. This, and the very bad access road, make this place worth a visit only for completing the tour of this once big Soviet installation, without adding much. There is really not much left to see in Klomino.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Getting there and moving around

As said, the bunkers are pretty popular among the locals, who go there by mountain bike or car. The site can be accessed via an unpaved service road, totally safe also for a standard car, taking south from Nadarzyce. The parking point is here 53°25’51.0″N 16°34’43.6″E. There are also some picnic tables, an explanatory panel and some warning signs.

Brzeznica Kolonia Klomino Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Templewo – Objekt 3003

Similar to Brzeznica Kolonia, the Templewo site has been largely reclaimed, and is now partly preserved as an unusual spot in the wilderness. The base has completely gone, but the the monolith bunkers are still there.

They can be found following an original Soviet paved road.

Templewo Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Both Monolith-type bunkers can be accessed with little difficulty, despite the gates having being mostly interred, like for Objekt 3002.

Templewo Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

With respect to the latter, they appear in a generally better shape, albeit stripped of any metal hardware. Again, going down to the underground level is not recommendable if you are exploring alone, as there are no ladders from the suspended platform.

Templewo Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Taking a detour from the Monolith bunker area reveals an extensive network of trenches and foxholes, with abundant traces of – dangerous – barbed wire.

Templewo Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Finally, a single Granit-type bunker, added to the site at some point similarly to Podborsko and Brzeznica Kolonia, has been completely taken away. Only the side embankments can be seen today, wet and with a slimy puddle in between.

Templewo Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Warhead WMD Monolith Depot Poland Cold War

Getting there and moving around

The site can be reached by car, shortly north of the road connecting Trzemeszno Lubuskie to Wielowies. A parking area, part of the former base, is here 52°25’16.2″N 15°19’10.6″E. No special car needed, you can drive the original Soviet service road with a standard city car. From the parking, you may move north for a very short walk. You will soon find mild warning signs concerning the bunkers.

The area is located next to a huge military proving ground, so loud bangs might be heard quite easily, and you will see signs telling not to go south with respect to the access road to the former nuclear installation. However, the bunkers themselves are out of the danger area, and totally open and accessible.

The Red Army in Hungary – Airbases, Bunkers and Ghost Towns

October 5, 2020September 22, 2023 CarloRLeave a comment

Similar to other satellite countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia and the former German Democratic Republic, for decades after WWII Hungary was under the strong influence and de facto military control of the Soviet Union. As a result of the anti-communist revolution of 1956, when the Soviet nearly lost control of the country for a while, a massive Soviet force was stationed in Hungary to prevent further turmoil – the so-called Southern Group of Forces – acting in parallel with the local Hungarian Army, although in a coordinated fashion.

This was reflected by the turning of several existing airfields and training grounds from older times into modern Soviet bases. Their premises, and the territories around them, were completely severed from the rest of the Country, leaving the Soviet forces with a great freedom of action concerning the deployment of unspecified numbers of troops, tanks, aircraft, communication gear, and even nuclear warheads. Furthermore, the families of the Soviet troops stationed in the Country were hosted in dedicated purpose built – or purpose converted, pre-existing – villages.

All this left traces of course, and after the end of communism in Europe, and later the collapse of the USSR, the majority of these installations were either abandoned or converted to some other use. Abandoned – i.e. not converted – Soviet bases and installations in Hungary were pretty many. Today, many of them are being demolished, or are still standing, but severely damaged after years of disrepair. Actually, the best preserved installations are those waiting for conversion or for some yet-to-be-defined destiny, and currently under custody of private owners or the state.

This post is about some of these installations, and it focuses especially – but not exclusively – on storage bunkers for nuclear warheads. Besides being especially appealing to mystery-hunters and urbex explorers, such places are an interesting testimony of the serious attitude of the Soviets towards a war in the European theater. This was considered a likely event in many instances over the decades of the Cold War, from the 1950s to the years of President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative. The money spent over the years by the Soviet Union to build up a dedicated military infrastructure, and the deployment of tactical warheads close to the designated targets in western Europe to prepare for such scenario, show that the USSR did not think of fighting a nuclear-based final battle just as a mere theoretical exercise.

Photographs were taken in August 2020.

Sights

Based on a CIA report dating from 1979 (‘Warsaw Pact Forces Opposite NATO’, Vol.I-II, CREST record number 0005517771, declassified and released in 2010, check it out here), there used to be a small yet significant number of bunkers for the storage of the Soviet nuclear stockpile in Hungary. The following map, taken from this report, shows their approximate location and type.

Soviet Nuclear Bunkers Hungary CIA 1979 Report

Despite a clear correspondence of each symbol with a Soviet bunker construction type is not readily available, it is possible to reconstruct the information as follows.

The only solid triangle corresponds to a Monolith-type storage bunker, the largest and most sophisticated type of storage in the Soviet standard inventory, made for long-term storage of nuclear warheads. This site is located close to the village of Urkut, in the middle of an extended region, once the largest part of Hungary managed exclusively by the Soviet military. In this area you can find also the headquarters of the Soviet forces in Hungary, the Southern Group of Forces, located in the small village of Hajmasker, as well as the airbase of Veszprem, with an annexed village with housing for military staff and their families.

Monolith-type bunkers were seldom built on the premises of airbases or other military bases. They were prepared mostly in secluded area, shrouded in the vegetation, so as to avoid any unwanted attention as much as possible. They would store high-yield warheads for theater missiles (e.g. SCUD missiles). Urkut is no exception, as there are no airfields close to it. It is shrouded in the vegetation, and far from any village of significant size.

Back to the map, round dots represent Basalt-type storage bunkers, which are most commonly to be found close to airfields. This type of bunker is significantly large, and capable to store air-dropped/launched tactical weapons with nuclear warheads. Two sites are shown on the map, of which only the one on the premises of the former airbase of Kunmadaras could be located.

Finally, the squares correspond to Granit-type storage bunkers. These were of much lighter construction with respect to Monolith and Bazalt, and their purpose could be that of hiding either missile launchers of various size, or command/communication posts. Much has to be guessed about the actual function they had in all places where they were built. In Hungary, three such bunkers are reported on the map, of which the easternmost is on the still active airport of Debrecen, the westernmost is on the small local airport of Heviz (formerly Sarmellek), and the latter is presumably on Tokol, a major airbase in the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary capital city.

In the following you can find some pictures from the storage sites of Urkut, Kunmadaras and Sarmellek, plus pictures from the Soviet bases of Veszprem, Tokol and Kalocsa, and from the former Soviet headquarters in Hajmasker.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Urkut Monolith-Type Nuclear Storage Site
Soviet Headquarters at Hajmasker Castle
Veszprem Abandoned Airbase & Ghost Town
Tokol Airbase
Basalt-Type Nuclear Storage on Kunmadaras Airbase
Kalocsa Airfield & Anti-Aircraft Defense Area
Heviz Airport (formerly Sarmellek Airbase) and Granit-Type Bunker

Urkut Monolith-Type Nuclear Storage Site

The Urkut site is also familiarly known as ‘little Moscow’, due to the fact that this site hosted also a very small, perfectly Soviet-style quarter for the troops working on the base, or being trained in the local training center. The site is in a wide and pleasant valley with a north-south alignment. There used to be two access roads which today take from the main (and only) road running along the mostly uninhabited valley, connecting Urkut (to the north) and Nagyvazsony (to the south). The two access roads take you to the main gates, placed to the north and south ends of the complex.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

Similar to other nuclear sites based on the Monolith-type bunker model (see for instance this post for an accurate pictorial description of another one), security was clearly a major concern. Still today, walking in the trees and approaching the base without going the official access roads, you will meet four external fences.

The outer one is made of concrete posts and barbed wire, but today this is mostly gone – which makes it practically more dangerous, as the few remnants of suspended barbed wire are barely visible, and much leftovers are partly hidden by the abundant low-growing vegetation.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

Next you will come to a concrete wall made of prefabricated slabs, with traces of barbed wire on top. This is still today basically impenetrable.

Once in, you will find two further lines of barbed wire, suspended on concrete posts. This double fence of barbed wire is still in very good shape, and creates a watch corridor.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

Inside the perimeter, you can spot a network of trenches and foxholes.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

In Urkut, the training grounds and bunkers are close to the northern gate, whereas to the south you can find the former living quarters for the troops. A prominent training hangar can be found in the northern part of the base.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

Inside, a perfectly conserved mural with the heads of Marx, Engels and Lenin, and Moscow’s Kremlin in the background, is still hanging on top of the main gate.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

Along the hangar, a corridor with classrooms clearly shows the intended function of the building.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

Not far north from this major attraction, you soon meet a smaller technical building, and the southern Monolith bunker close by. Bases centered on the Monolith type typically had two independent twin bunkers built onsite, usually with their axes tilted by 90 degrees, so as to minimize the chance of a single bomb effectively striking both bunkers. This is not the case in Urkut though, as both bunkers are built along an East-West direction. Urkut is different from other Monolith sites also for having been built on the slope of a hill, so connection roads are never flat.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

The warheads reached the bunker by truck. A covered loading/unloading platform can be found on both opposite entrances to the bunker. For the southern bunker, you can see in the pictures the platform is still in very good conditions, with colored signs on the pavement for facilitating movements. Even the lamps are still there!

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

The main access to the bunker was via an airlock, with two gigantic square-shaped blast-proof doors on each side. In this pictures you are seeing the western access to the southern bunker.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

The innermost part of the Urkut bunkers is inaccessible, as the inner doors of the airlocks are shut. Yet it is possible to get access to the airlocks. For the southern bunker, going to the eastern access you find a covered platform similar to the western one, yet here the roof has partly collapsed.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

You may open the outer door of the airlock, and get access. Here you can see writing in Russian. The state of conservation is generally speaking extremely good.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

On one side of the eastern loading platform, you can see a standard Soviet military transportable trailer, maybe a local operation control center.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

In order to get to the northern bunker you need to climb uphill, crossing some further inner fences – it was typical to Soviet bases having multiple fences inside military bases, separating parts with different functions and levels of security.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

While loading platforms of the southern bunker are tilted by 90 degrees with respect to the axis of the bunker, for the northern bunker they are aligned along the same direction.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

The eastern access to the northern bunker features is fairly well conserved. Also here, it is possible to access the airlock, but the inner gate is sealed.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

On top of the northern bunker, you can find the ‘pedestrian access’ to the underground cellar. The gates used to carry the warheads in and out were usually kept closed, and the troops or technicians staying inside the bunker, which had provision for a few men overlooking the sensitive ordnance 24/7 in shifts, could enter and leave the bunker via a more modestly sized hatch. This could be reached from the top of the bunker, descending very steep stairs to the level of the bottom of the internal chamber. There you had an airlock, with tight doors the size of a man. These are closed in Urkut, but you can see the external tight door in its original yellow coating with conspicuous writing in Russian.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

The soft construction protecting the access to the stairs is today severely damaged.

Finally, the western entrance to the northern bunker is very similar in shape to the eastern one. The northern gate of the complex is not far from here.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

Also here, the airlock can be accessed, but the bunker cannot be entered.

Urkut Soviet Abandoned Central Nuclear Warhead Storage Monolith Cold War Base Hungary

All in all, the Urkut site is in an exceptionally good condition in the panorama of Soviet remains. A conversion into a museum would be highly desirable, and would require a very little effort. The fact that the bunkers are closed clearly suggests the inside was not touched, so maybe only basic renovation would be required to make the place a top-notch attraction for Cold War history enthusiasts.

Getting there & Moving around

The site is either on private land or state-owned. In any case, it is not officially accessible. The access roads are guarded, with people (and watchdogs) living on site. Car access on the access road is not allowed either. Walking on the site you may find several vibration sensors with cable connections likely to the booths close to the main access. For these reasons, further indications on access will not be provided.

Soviet Headquarters at Hajmasker Castle

Similar to Wünsdorf in Germany (see this post), Hajmasker Castle was built just before WWI, the focal point of a large military settlement of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During WWII, it was used as a military command center, and as a local headquarter of the German Army in the latest stages of WWII, when the willingness of a part of the Hungarian establishment to put a quick end to the war by negotiating a peace treaty with the Western Allies caused the Germans to take direct control of that war theater.

After the defeat in WWII and the Soviet invasion, since 1945 the castle hosted the headquarters of the Soviet military in Hungary – just like Wünsdorf in the German Democratic Republic. Again in a totally similar fashion, the symbolic end of Soviet dominance in Hungary was marked by the last train for the Soviet staff leaving Hajmasker for the USSR in 1990.

As said, the castle is what remains of a larger military village. The building is really sizable, with a characteristic prominent tower on the front facade.

Hajmasker Soviet Headquarters Hungary Veszprem

Walking around the castle you can find a theater hall opposite the tower.

Hajmasker Soviet Headquarters Hungary Veszprem

The walls are pierced, so you can see inside, without getting access to the hall, which appears really one step away from collapse. To the back of the castle you can find traces of a large apron for military use, and direct access to the railway nearby.

Hajmasker Soviet Headquarters Hungary Veszprem

Back to the tower, the original gate is not made for large vehicles, and the gracious artistic style of the construction clearly suggests a pre-Soviet design.

Hajmasker Soviet Headquarters Hungary Veszprem

Climbing upstairs, you meet long corridors with traces of the offices of the top-ranking men from the Soviet military. Hajmasker is strategically located close to the region where the Urkut site is (see above), and where the former base of Veszprem is also located. The place is less than one hour from Budapest.

Hajmasker Soviet Headquarters Hungary Veszprem

The view from the top floors of the building further reveals the size of the castle, together with the poor state of conservation.

Hajmasker Soviet Headquarters Hungary Veszprem

Ahead of the entrance, a Soviet-style apartment block can be found, still inhabited today. Smaller buildings are all around the castle, both modern or from the age of the castle. You can find also the flat building of a former canteen, clearly Soviet-designed and today abandoned.

Hajmasker Soviet Headquarters Hungary Veszprem

Getting there & Moving around

The place is located at the following GPS coordinates: 47.148319, 18.026145. The castle is formally off-limits, but it is totally abandoned and accessed by writers, creepy-ambience-lovers, as well as by the local population. You may park right ahead of the gate among the cars of those living in the local neighborhood. You will be spotted for sure when accessing, but nobody will likely interfere, as access is totally easy (no fences, no barbed wire,…), despite being formally prohibited. Enter at your own risk, as the building looks really rotting, with the roof partly collapsed, exposing wood and bricks as construction materials – considering their age, the high rise of the building and total disrepair over the last decades, this means high risk.

Veszprem Abandoned Airbase & Ghost Town

The old airfield in Veszprem acted as a major helicopter base during the Cold War, but style of the some of the older buildings betrays its 1930s origin as an airbase with annexed training academy. Of course, the Soviets enlarged its structure, and possibly as late as the 1980s they built massive housing in their typical poorly original style.

In the 1990s, with the change in the global strategic situation following the Soviet demise, the Hungarian government got rid of many military infrastructures, and Veszprem was on the list. Since then, the airport was turned into a short-lived base for commercial transport run by a private company, and as of 2020 it is at the center of a dispute, where the local municipalities are trying to get the land for other uses.

What you can see now reflects this state of things – trucks coming and going everywhere between the old buildings of the former airbase, with some demolition work being carried out and some gigantic commercial storage being built close by. The air-side of the airport appears basically dead, with no flights coming or going, not even small private aircraft operating around it. However, a control tower is still on site, so technically speaking the airport appears to be open for operations.

The place deserves a visit especially for getting a glimpse of the large structure of the maintenance hangars. From the outside, they can be spotted from a distance thanks to their tall curved rooftops.

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

The hangars have been divided internally in smaller spaces at some point. Getting access is possible in some of them, by the sight is rather desolating since the roof has mostly collapsed, and vegetation is taking over wildly inside.

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

Towards the airport you can spot more technical buildings, surrounding a wide apron. These technical buildings are apparently from a later era. The metal doors of the big curved hangars are such that getting larger helicopters in and out would not be possible. Maybe they were actually sized for the smaller aircraft of WWII, and their use was somewhat changed in a later time.

Between the hangars and the runway, you can find an impressive number of smaller maintenance buildings and garages, likely for trucks.

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

In some of them, a few signs in Russian can still be found.

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

Open air as well as indoor platforms for truck servicing are also there in a number.

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

Going even further towards the runway – and very close to it – you may find a light, partly wooden construction, with extensive remains of writings in Hungarian, including boards and stuff related to air operations. Here you see also some ‘modern’ writing in English. This is probably a kind o clubhouse of a local flying school from more recent years, likely the 1990s or later.

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

Looking at the satellite map of Veszprem airbase, you will notice a number of buildings put like spokes on a wheel. These were probably part of the original flight academy. These are today in a very bad shape, totally emptied and waiting for demolition. You can still appreciate the sober, yet stylish construction typical of the late 1930s, with some elements in common with Berlin Tempelhof (see this post).

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

‘Pravda’ paper was used for gluing the wallpaper in most Soviet bases, and Veszprem is no exception!

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

Farther away from the runway, you can easily spot massive buildings from Soviet times, like those you could find in Pripyat (see this post), and almost in every larger city of the former USSR.

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

Further buildings feature a rather peculiar style, with stone decoration you would not expect in military buildings. The fantasy of such decoration is not in support of a Soviet make, so these buildings might be from an older era too.

Veszprem Abandoned Soviet Base Ghost Town Hungary

Getting there & Moving around

As said, this former airbase is technically an active airport, so the area of the runway is likely not safe to go. Yet the level of security is close to null, and you would likely be able to invade the air side before being stopped. However, no aircraft was spotted for the whole length of a multiple hour visit.

The older buildings, including the hangars, as well as the more modern housing from Soviet times, are in a really bad shape, and mostly dilapidated by looters and spoiled by writers. The more modern truck garages and the buildings closer to the runway are in a better shape.

Access by car from the south-western corner is not prohibited, so this may be a good way to get close to the buildings. Large parking opportunities, as the place is mostly unguarded and uninhabited. Just be sure not to interfere with local businesses. Even when spotting your car, the locals will not care about you (this was my case at least), so the place can be visited without much tension. However, for historians this place has not much left in store, and it may be visited mostly for the massive ensemble than for specific highlights.

Tokol Airbase

The former airbase in Tokol is today an active airport. The base used to be a major Soviet asset in the Cold War years, and home to a number of squadrons from the Soviet Air Force and the Soviet Army as well, operating everything ranging from helicopters up in size to transport aircraft. Its extensive premises have been divided, and the state is basically renting most of the hardware – including the former aircraft shelters and aprons – and land to a number of private enterprises, either connected with aviation or not.

The runway is still active for smaller general aviation aircraft, as you can see from the pictures. The place is really a suggestive scenario for pleasure flights, especially for history-fond pilots!

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

During our visit we had the chance to access some of the largest air shelters, built in the 1980s for aircraft the size of a MiG-29. There are at least five of them, along with more common and smaller ones.

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

Designed for the case of a scramble, these shelters allowed an aircraft to start its engines inside.

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

To this aim, the back of the shelter is not closed, but it features a large exhaust deflector tunnel, bent towards the side of the hangar, with a metal door closing it when not in use.

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

The front gate of the shelter is blast proof, an its thickness is actually really amazing!

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

The hangar we accesses shelters a couple of nice historic aircraft today. Traces of writings in Russian are a testimony of the previous owners.

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

Several abandoned buildings, including a rather large one with a small control tower, possibly from an older era – judging from the style similar to some German airfields from Hitler’s times (see this post).

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

One of the smaller shelters hosts another private enterprise, operating a unique airworthy Aero L-29 trainer from Soviet times. The same hangars offers a rich collection of Soviet signs on the walls.

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

Tokol features a number of older control towers – the reason is hard to guess…

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

Climbing one of them, we could get a very good view of the western part of the airfield, with many shelters around. Rather unexpectedly, the tower features an official writing in Chinese – maybe for potential Chinese customers?

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

Away from the runway, the airbase unfolds with a network of service roads and a number of buildings from Soviet times, today still in a very good shape, albeit shrouded by vegetation.

Tokol Budapest Abandoned Soviet Base Aircraft Shelter Hungary Cold War

Getting there & Moving around

Tokol is an active airport, fenced and guarded. Getting in is basically not possible, unless you have a valid reason to enter. We had the chance to get in thanks to the invitation of the owner of the historical Aero L-29 mentioned above, who is also the tenant of the corresponding old aircraft shelter.

Basalt-Type Nuclear Storage on Kunmadaras Airbase

Kunmadaras used to be a major Soviet attack base in Hungary. The place was base for Sukhoi Su-17, Su-24 and MiG-27. This clearly justifies the construction of a Bazalt type storage, for aircraft-dropped nuclear weapons.

As the base is home to some residual, non-military activity and consequently at least lightly guarded, it may be interesting to concentrate on the most unusual nuclear bunker, located in an isolated spot, some .75 miles north of the runway and far from the most active areas.

The road connecting the airport to the bunker, detached in a fashion similar to other Soviet bases (see here and here for more examples), is today completely invaded by vegetation, leaving only a narrow passage to get access to the wide apron where the bunker entrance is located.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

A loading platform for trucks can be spotted to the side of the shelter, ahead of the apron.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

The six pillars, once covered with a roof and holding a crane for loading operations, are still prominently in place.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

The entrance to the bunker is partly hidden by overgrown vegetation. The external curved tight door is gone, similar to the square shaped one deflecting side-ward and creating an airlock by the main entrance. Access is henceforth very easy.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

To the side of the entrance corridor, the technical rooms have been spoiled of any hardware, yet the original paint is still in place, as well as writing in Russian. The metal staircase leading to the rooms for the air conditioning plant on the upper floor has been taken away, making the upper level inaccessible. Air conditioning was pivotal in nuclear storage bunkers, due to the need to store the warheads in specific temperature and humidity conditions.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

Going further in, you finally get close to the gate of the storage chamber. The two halves of the massive curved tight door once closing the chamber have been taken from their posts and left on the ground. This provides a glimpse of the monster size of these blast-proof doors.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

The chamber has turned very humid, and is totally dark. With the help of a torchlight or a camera flash, you can see the walls are still largely covered in their original coat, with painted frames and numbers possibly marking the position of fire extinguishers.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

Electric line or pipeline holders painted in green can be found on one side. Also the pavement features a peculiar colored pattern, painted on a kind of linoleum, today covered in dust and dirt.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

The concrete wall to the back of the chamber has been torn down, and some stones and land have come into the chamber. Bazalt type bunkers had only one main gate to the front.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

Back out, to the north of the hangar, traces of the original barbed wire can be found in the impenetrable vegetation.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

Going north from the shelter, pointing away from the base, you can get a distant view of conspicuous housing for the troops and their families – today completely abandoned.

Kunmadras Abandoned Soviet Airbase Nuclear Atomic Warhead Bunker Bazalt Hungary Cold War

Getting there and Moving around

As said, the main gate east of the base is guarded, as private companies have taken over part of the premises. However, the nuclear bunker is located north of the airfield, at a safe distance from the former airbase and the businesses going on there today. You may reach close to the base by car along an unpaved road used by local farmers, going parallel to the northern side of the base, keeping about 1 mile from it. This is not suitable for city cars though, so maybe you can stop when you feel appropriate, and go by foot.

To access the bunker area from the road (i.e. from north), you need to go through a field of turn-flowers. My advice is to go along the side of the bunker area to the south of it, and taking the old connection road going from the base to the bunker pointing north – trying to penetrate the area directly from north is made extremely difficult, due to the incredibly dense vegetation.

The area of the bunker is totally abandoned, so you can take your time when visiting the place.

Kalocsa Airfield & Anti-Aircraft Defense Area

Kalocsa airfield, located just northwest of the homonym village famous for the paprika business, was used by the Soviets as a helicopter base. Today, this relatively small airfield is very active with smaller general aviation flights and flight school activities, henceforth it cannot be toured freely.

Kalocsa Abandoned Soviet Airbase Anti Aircraft Defense Missiles SAM Hungary Cold War

However, to the northwestern corner, you may easily access the area of a former SAM base, likely put here to defend the airfield from air raids. The area features a number of small almost-circular embankments, with concrete platform at the center. This is where the missile would stand. Looking closely, you may see the concrete ducts for cables and pipes connecting the control trailer to each missile.

Kalocsa Abandoned Soviet Airbase Anti Aircraft Defense Missiles SAM Hungary Cold War

The area of the embankments is connected to an abandoned command building via a narrow paved road. To the western side of the building, traces of a small monument can be found.

Kalocsa Abandoned Soviet Airbase Anti Aircraft Defense Missiles SAM Hungary Cold War

Just south of the command building, a hangar made in 1970 – as the sign clearly says – is today used as a stable.

Kalocsa Abandoned Soviet Airbase Anti Aircraft Defense Missiles SAM Hungary Cold War

Getting there & Moving around

Access to the northwestern corner of the airfield is easy moving by car along an unpaved road going along the western side of the airport, and accessible from a public road running south of it. The area of the missiles is formally on the airport, so you should be careful not to interfere with any activity. More importantly, you are likely on a farmer’s land, so enter at your own risk.

Heviz Airport (formerly Sarmellek Airbase) and Granit-Type Bunker

What is today a small civil airport, surrounded by an array of rotting buildings, used to be a prominent Soviet air base, reportedly operating even the MiG-29 type in its heyday.

Being an active commercial airport, access to the air-side is not possible. Yet the premises of today’s airport are more modest in size than those of the original airbase. As a result, you may get access to a part of the former airbase without interfering with airport operations.

Many local businesses have taken over most of the former shelters for fighter aircraft.

Heviz Airbase Hungary Soviet Abandoned Airport Atomic Nuclear Warhead Bunker Granit

Significant houses and garages, in the shabby pure-Soviet style, are now abandoned, and make for a creepy sight.

Heviz Airbase Hungary Soviet Abandoned Airport Atomic Nuclear Warhead Bunker Granit

Going along a former service road, taking south from the control tower, you end up in the land of a farmer. Where the road ends, you can easily spot beyond the fence marking the current perimeter of the airport, the entrance and the typical round shape of a Granit bunker. The original metal door typical to this type is missing, or maybe it was never installed.

Heviz Airbase Hungary Soviet Abandoned Airport Atomic Nuclear Warhead Bunker Granit

As said, Granit bunkers could be used for a variety of purposes, including storing command and control facilities, or as communication bunkers. The fact that the CIA listed this site as a nuclear depot may be also due to the fact that the Granit bunker made the place ‘nuclear-ready’.

Getting there & Moving around

As said, this is a commercial airport. The entrance to the former airbase gives access to the control tower as well as the small modern terminal area – a new building to the northeast of the runway. As said, the Granit bunker can be reached by taking the service road from the control tower to the south. This is surrounded by desolating dumps and half-demolished buildings. While technically out from the active airport area, you are still likely moving on private land, so enter at your own risk.

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

December 23, 2019July 29, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

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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.

The Atlantic Wall in Denmark

December 1, 2019 CarloRLeave a comment

A pleasant country in northern Europe, Denmark is geographically surrounded by the North and Baltic seas, and shares its only land border with Germany. In the late 1930s, this meant having a very dangerous dictatorship as the only neighbor, and no possible direct help coming by land from other allies. Without natural defenses against and attack from the south, the Kingdom of Denmark was militarily occupied basically in one day, on April 9th, 1940. This happened through a joint operation carried out by the land, air and naval forces of Nazi Germany.

A quick historical overview

The interest of Germany in controlling Danish territory was mainly strategic. It served as a springboard to attack Norway further north. The latter was in itself more interesting to the economy of the Third Reich, as it was rich of natural resources, including raw materials not available in Germany. These were so needed by the Führer, who was dreaming of making Germany independent from international supply trade.

Furthermore, controlling both Denmark and Norway meant control over the eastern coast of the North Sea, and a chance to control the only access to the Baltic Sea. The USSR was not a declared enemy before 1941, but withdrawing from the mutual cooperation pact with Stalin – signed in a hurry just days before the invasion of Poland in September 1939 – at some point, and openly attacking Russia, had been in the mind of the Führer since he first put on paper his worrying geopolitical thoughts. By controlling the Baltic, Hitler could control sea trade to non-freezing ports of the USSR, which in 1940 had already taken over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in agreement with Germany.

As a matter of fact, the conquer of Norway was not without significant losses for Germany. This was also the result of Britain starting to militarily oppose Germany. The two countries had been already at war since September 1939, but without any serious confrontation having taken place for months.

Since then, the British – and later also the American – threat from the west had to be faced through the fortification of the western coast of the Third Reich, which by the end of the summer of 1940 extended roughly from the Pyrenees in southern France to Kirkenes in northern Norway. This highly visionary task was taken up very seriously by the German military-economic machine, and produced the ‘Atlantikwall’ – which translates pretty obviously into the ‘Atlantic Wall’. This long defensive line had to be built all along the coast, and was mainly based on a catalog of standardized reinforced concrete constructions, to be reproduced in great numbers. Construction was coordinated by the main contractor, the German ‘Organization Todt’, which made extensive use of subcontracted local companies in the various occupied states where construction had to take place.

Despite the majority of the elements in the line were reinforced barracks for troops watching the coastline, ammo and supply storages, command and communication bunkers, canteens, and other service buildings, there were of course also a number of heavier constructions. These included coastal gun batteries, to counter attacking ships, lighter gun batteries, to stop troops attempting a beach landing, aiming stations, to adjust the line of fire of gun batteries, anti-aircraft guns to defend the line from air attacks, and some technical buildings serving as bases for advanced radar systems. The latter were among the most useful and widespread items along the line, as German technology developed fast during the war, to produce powerful detection systems against air and sea menaces.

Needless to remember, similar to many pharaonic works conceived by the Führer and his entourage, the Atlantic Wall was never completed, and it failed to spare the Third Reich from total annihilation. The once-modern military installations along the western coast of Europe soon became obsolete, as war changed face at a quick pace following WWII, with new weapons and techniques. Furthermore, the front line of the new Cold War shifted geographically to the middle of Europe. A tangible sign of enemy occupation, the massive bunkers of the Atlantic Wall met different destinies depending on the country. However, albeit only rarely preserved, thanks to their bulkiness and sturdy make, they are in most cases still visible.

About this post

Being the first land along the western coast to fall under German control, work on the Atlantic Wall started in Denmark earlier than anywhere else. Today extensive traces of the line are still pointing the shores of the North Sea.

A few focal points are preserved as first-class museums. These include the strongholds of Hirtsthals and the huge battery at Hanstholm, in Northern Jutland. The latter had been designed around a cluster of four monster coastal guns, to the aim of controlling the passage through the Skagerrak channel, providing access to the Baltic Sea. A twin battery – Vara – was built to the north of the strait in Norway.

Closer to the German border, the area of Blavand – featuring also the famous ‘Tirpitz battery’ in its arsenal – is another example of a partly preserved portion of the line. Bangsbo fort in Frederikshaven has been partly refurbished and opened as a museum, after being used by the Danish military for a while. There you can find one of the few remaining examples of an Atlantic Wall installation with its original guns still in place.

Smaller strongholds, opened as smaller scale museums or left to more adventurous explorers, often feature unique special constructions, which justify a detour at least for more committed war historians. These include the Skagen battery, the disguised bunkers in Thyboron, and the complicated Stauning battery, built on two opposite coasts of a closed firth.

All these sites – and a few more – are covered in this post, which is based on photographs taken in August 2019. Denmark is officially protecting the installations of the Atlantic Wall as historical buildings – unlike France, for instance – so visiting even abandoned sites maybe rewarding, especially if they are out of the mainstream touristic routes. Unfortunately, many bunkers now closer to crowded touristic areas have been damaged by vandals.

Sights

Map

The sites covered in this post are listed on the following map. Sites opened as museums are pinpointed in red, wild sites are marked in blue.

The sites are listed in the post following the coastline of Jutland from its southwestern end.

Blavand – Shore Battery & Military Area

Located about 50 miles north of the German border along the coast of the North Sea, the small town of Blavand sits on a promontory protruding towards the sea, and protecting the access to the port town of Esbjerg – still today a major commercial port of Denmark.

The area of Blavand saw the construction of an incredible number of Atlantic Wall elements, which grew up in more instances during the war years.

Close by the parking ahead of the lighthouse on the very tip of the promontory, you can find trailheads leading to the southern and western shores of the promontory.

The southern shore makes for a typical North Sea landscape – an endless sand beach. What makes it different from others is the number of light bunkers placed along the shoreline. Despite little imposing, this model – type ‘F’ – was purpose built for the wide shores of Denmark in 1944, in view of a potential enemy beach landing. These firing positions were armed with machine guns, and placed at pre-determined intervals – about 1’500 ft – matching their accuracy range.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Many bunkers are slowly sinking in the sand, and only small parts of them can be seen emerging from the ground.

Others have been turned into strange sculptures, adding a horse head and tail.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Under favorable tide conditions, you may enter some of the bunkers. There you can appreciate their simple structure, with a defensive embrasure by the entrance (looking towards the coast) and loopholes to the sides of the firing chamber.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

On the beach close to the lighthouse you can find a very big bunker with a wide hollow cave on the inland side, which used to support a searchlight.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Along the western shore you can find more massive bunkers. These include four former coastal gun batteries. These heavier constructions have assumed strange attitudes, after sinking in the sand somewhat irregularly over the years.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Looking towards the inland from the beach, you can spot an aiming/fire control positions, with a distinctive bulbous roof and a long curved slot on the facade.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Your walk along the northern shore may be interrupted by safety warnings concerning mine threat. As a complement to the defensive potential of the Atlantic Wall, extensive minefields were set up on most of the Danish beaches. This turned into a big issue soon after WWII, when an extensive demining action had to be carried out.

Furthermore, part of the Blavand promontory is occupied by a military firing range. When training exercises are taking place, special warning lights are lit and flags are raised, to delimit the territory where you should not venture.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

In the dunes slightly inland from the shoreline, it is possible to find another big number of bunkers. They are not always visible from the distance, and entrance is in most cases from one side only – the only side emerging from the sand.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

A very distinctive item is the colossal platform for a ‘Mammut’ type long-range anti-aircraft radar. This used to be operated by the Luftwaffe, whereas other bunkers in Blavand – like elsewhere along the Atlantic Wall – used to be run by other branches of the Germany military.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The base for the radar is in itself a rather complex bunker, with several cavities and extensive piping, once needed for power cables feeding the antenna, as well as other wiring.

Close by, a smaller radar base bunker used to be operated by the German Navy. Also here, holes and passages for cables can be found in the walls and roof.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

It is noteworthy how many bunkers feature traces of original decorations, like painted walls, fake wallpaper, frescoes and small frieze lines. This is typical to many other installations of the Atlantic Wall.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Metal hardware can be found in the form of a bulky aiming turret emerging from a bunker.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

In another instance, a mortar mouth pops out from the ground.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The underground bunker underneath the latter can be explored with some difficulty – there are also quite annoying bats inside -, but it reveals an aiming wheel with original markings in a reinforced concrete dome!

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

An interesting sight nearby the lighthouse is the tower once supporting a ‘See Riese’ radar. The protruding arms once sustained a wooden platform for military operators.

Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

The area of Blavand is rather extensive and rich of diverse installations, so notwithstanding the general bad shape of most of the bunkers, visiting may easily take 3-4 hours for a committed tourist, getting inside most of the items. A good starting point is the free parking by the lighthouse, provided you come early especially in summer, cause it tends to get more and more crowded along the day.

Blavand – ‘Tirpitz’ Coastal Guns

Despite at least some of the bunkers on the shores of Blavand being in a relatively good shape, there is a part of the Atlantic Wall which is officially preserved as a museum. This is one of the two unfinished bunkers intended to support a set of massive 38 cm coastal guns.

These guns – four, two for each bunker – were originally intended to be put on board battleship Gneisenau. The latter got damaged in port, and the guns were diverted to coastal use. The decision to build the Tirpitz battery to protect the port of Esbjerg came relatively late during the war, in 1944. As a result, construction of the battery supporting structures was not completed when the war ended, and the four never installed guns were scrapped – except one, which can be admired in Hanstholm (see below).

The name ‘Tirpitz’ attributed to this battery is of uncertain origin, and sometimes this installation is also referred to as ‘Vogelnest’.

The museum has been built only in the southernmost bunker. The installation is very modern (and crowded), and it has been designed as a thematic museum in five sections. Two of the most interesting are about the Atlantic Wall and its impact on local life, and on the extensive mining and demining operations on the shores of Denmark.

Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Other sections are related to amber trade and local seamen activities.

Finally, you can get access to the base of the gun turret. Photographs are bad here, due to very poor lighting and limitations on camera use.

You can see a central round dome, surrounded by an external corridor. Traces of a post-war explosion can be noticed looking at the metal part of the construction.

Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Outside of the museum you can find a cannon cut in pieces, plus rigs used for construction. The bulky concrete arms protruding from the roof were meant to support the crane for mounting the cannons.

Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

With a five minutes walk from this bunker, you can get to the northern battery. This is not preserved, and the entrances have been bricked up. Yet you may better appreciate the size of the bunker from this exemplar than from the one turned into a museum.

Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

The museum is located east of Oksby along Tane Hedevey, a local road connecting Blavand to Esbjerg. There are signs along the road, and a large parking ahead of the entrance. The museum is very modern, and may turn very crowded in summer. Website with full information here. You can visit on your own with an audio-guide. The visit to the military-related sections may take about 1 hour.

Adding a walk to the northern battery will take further 20 minutes at most, as there is no chance to step in.

Stauning Battery

Construction of this battery started in the second half of 1944, and consequently it was only partially completed before the end of the war. The geography of the Stauning battery is rather peculiar. The intended design was based on four coastal guns to be placed on the inland side of the Ringkobing firth – basically a lake with a channel-like small mouth connecting it to the sea. On the other coast of the firth, i.e. very close to the North Sea in Hvide Sande, the aiming station for the battery was finally built.

In the event, only one of the reinforced concrete gun positions reached completion, whereas the other three cannons were kept on basic, not reinforced aprons. The gun bunker is the only exemplar of this model built along the Atlantic Wall, and was designed around a 19,4 cm gun manufactured in France.

Located far from the shore in a secluded area of the countryside, this battery is in a relatively good shape, and thanks to the hard soil its position has not drifted since it was installed. You can even walk on top.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

More elements are scattered in the bushes and over the private pasture nearby. Among them, a firing position presumably for anti-aircraft or light field guns, and corresponding ammo storages.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

There is also a reinforced concrete barrack or command post. This can be toured inside, revealing some metal piping still in place.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Traces of gun concrete platforms – likely gun firing positions – blown up after the war can be seen, similar to many smaller cubic buildings of uncertain purpose.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

A couple of unattractive half-interred ‘living bunker’ can be found too, another design present only in Denmark – the type was named ‘Falkenhorst III’. Inside, traces of original wall paintings can be easily spotted.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

There is actually a fire direction post of some sort in this part of the battery too. This is a square-based concrete booth, with an adjoining living bunker.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The aiming position in Hvide Sande is rather easy to find, on top of a mound close to the city center. There are actually two concrete accesses on the eastern side of the hill. The one closer to the top gives access to the metal dome you can spot on top of the mound.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Climbing up to the dome is possible along a rusty ladder, going through a narrow vertical passage. Once there you can see the mounting of a telescope for measurements. There are side slots looking outside, and an original marked wheel to provide measurements. You can also spot small foldable wooden tables (or perhaps jump-seats).

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Downstairs, there are a few panels explaining the history of the battery.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The second concrete entrance gives access to a ‘living bunker’ for the troops, with explanatory panels on the history of the place.

Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

The inland part of the Stauning battery with the gun station is located close to Stauningvej 55. You may park your car not far north from this address, on a wide lot close to the entrance of a local residential area. Most notably, this battery is about .5 miles from the beautiful Danish Museum of Flight (see this post). Exploring the battery may take 1-1.5 hours, as the place is totally wild and inconvenient to visit.

The Hvide Sande point is on the northern rim of the channel linking the firth to the North Sea. You can see the mound close by a major round about, where road 181 meets Troldbjergsvej. There are several parking options nearby. The place is technically not abandoned, but there was no ticket/staff, and it was totally dark when I visited. You would better take a small torch with you.

Sondervig

Just as an example of how extensive the construction of the Atlantic Wall was in Denmark, you may have a look to the beach in Sondervig, where people spending the day by the sea are accustomed to the view of the monstrous German bunkers pointing the shore.

Atlantic Wall Sondervig Beach Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

You may find a parking spot in Sondervig and access this famous touristic beach by foot.

Thyboron

The coastal battery at Thyboron has a unique place in the panorama of Atlantic Wall buildings. Here a sort of sample list of possible deceptive techniques were tested on otherwise normal bunkers. The usual constructions pointing the shore have a strange appearance here, thanks to the imaginative talent of a Danish architect – who turned out to be a spy working for the Allies.

At least two gun batteries bear a special roof, resembling that of a house. Also thanks to erosion, they now have even odder shapes, resembling some Star Wars spaceship.

Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

An observation bunker bears a tiled roof. Surprisingly, an apparently original fragment of telegraph wire can be found inside.

Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Given the position of the bunkers – lying isolated on a deserted beach – it’s pretty difficult to suppose this kind of deception was ever effective…

There are also some more straightforward constructions around, some of them in a relatively good shape. The cusped lintels above most doors and openings are typical to elements of the Atlantic Wall in northern countries, and are made for protecting the passages against snow and icing rain.

Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Just inland from the ‘sample list’, you can find a large underground bunker, somewhat difficult to access – it is sinking in the sand. Conspicuous traces of original wall painting and even writings in German can be found on the walls.

Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The message in German is a warning message, telling to stay away of the walls in case of bombardment. This warning sign is rather ubiquitous in Danish bunkers.

Close to the the city center – and actually a part of the Coastal Center, a museum for children dedicated to the life along the western coast of Jutland – it is possible to find another bunker deceived as a wooden house! This deception technique is far more convincing than those on the shore…

Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

To visit the bunkers on the shore you can reach a convenient public parking at the southern end of Vesterhavsgade, southern Thyboron. Visiting these bunkers may take about 45 minutes for a committed tourist. To get to the Coastal Center you may follow the signs and park at your convenience ahead of the building. The deceived bunker can be seen from the outside of the museum, so getting the ticket is not needed if you are not interested in the rest of the installation.

Extra feature – Sea War Museum, Thyboron

Thyboron has a prominent place in WWI history, being the Danish village closest to the area of the Battle of Jutland, one of the very few naval battles of that war, and one of the top-ranking in history for the number of vessels and tonnage involved, and for the casualties – almost 9’000 seamen were killed.

The battle was fought between two major formations of the the German Kaiser on one side and the King of England on the other. Started almost by chance, as the two opposing factions appeared on the same sector unaware of each other, the fighting was so intense that cannon fire was heard along the shores of Thyboron for many hours. The battle ended with a tactical defeat on the British side, but the Kriegsmarine of the Kaiser avoided any other serious clashes with the British for the rest of the war – in this sense, this was a British strategic victory.

Today, a monument dedicated to those who perished in the Battle of Jutland occupies a wide area over a promontory in northern Thyboron, close by the Coastal Center (see above).

Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark

A nice museum dedicated to sea war has been put in place nearby. On the exterior you can find old mines, torpedoes and even parts of relics taken from the bottom of the sea.

Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark

Inside you can find many unique artifacts, including cannons, insignia, and everyday items from ships taking parts to the Battle of Jutland.

Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark

Also unique are parts of early submarines dating from WWI, recovered from the sea thanks to novel investigation and capture technologies.

Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark

The museum is at large dedicated to naval battles and ventures of WWI. A section is dedicated to the most modern sea archaeology techniques.

Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark

Outside of the museum, you may spot a few Atlantic Wall bunkers as well, likely converted into more modern military installations in a post-WWII period. They are apparently run as museums, but they were closed when I passed by.

Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

The Sea War Museum is located very close to the Coastal Center in central Thyboron. Dedicated free parking right ahead of the entrance. Visiting may take about 1.5-2 hours for more committed subjects, despite the small size. The museum is stacked with extremely interesting details, the exhibition is rich and well made. Really an interesting detour for anybody interested in sea war. Website here.

Agger

Agger is located north of the Thyboron Channel, and can be reached with a five minutes ferry ride from nearby Thyboron. The long, windy, wild and distressing beaches south of the village of Agger are not really welcoming, nor easy to visit. Yet here you can find some unique and imposing elements of the Atlantic Wall.

These include a firing control bunker of the Navy. A feature often found also elsewhere, you can see some of the concrete bunkers are made of joined blocks. Light can be seen coming from the thin slots between the blocks in some occasions.

Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Another special construction here is the support tower for a ‘Seetakt’ radar. The tall concrete tower is assembled together with a bulkier concrete base.

Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The assembly has slipped to the shoreline, and today it can be neared only in favorable tide conditions. Furthermore, it is sitting in a banked attitude, making it looking really derelict.

Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Thanks also to a rather bad weather, these elements of the Atlantic Wall looked really eerie when I visited!

Getting there and moving around

The Agger site is wild and not signaled. The area is part of a national preserve, and part of the endless beach is a stage for kites, surfing activities and other beach sports. There is an official parking at the western end of Lange Mole Vej, less than five minutes by car from the ferry terminal to Thyboron. From there you should go to the beach and walk north for about 15 minutes to get to the tower, the highlight of the show.

You may spot it from the distance. I could not get in the tower due to unfavorable tide conditions, but visiting inside may not take much time, for the expected condition is not good, with little left to see.

Hanstholm

The Hanstholm battery is one of the most developed of the entire Atlantic Wall. As pointed out in the introduction, together with the sister site ‘Vara’ in Norway – about 80 miles north – this battery was centered on four massive 38 cm cannons, installed to obstruct surface passage through the Skagerrak, and de facto controlling the access to the Baltic Sea.

An initial battery based on less powerful 17 cm coastal guns was put in place as soon as 1940. The gigantic 38 cm guns arrived only later and were tested, but never used in action. The metal parts of the firing stations, including the turrets and guns, were eventually scrapped in the early 1950s. Over the years, this huge installation, with more than 300 bunkers fell largely into private hands, and today many former storage bunkers are used as warehouses for machinery and goods by local owners.

Nonetheless, battery Nr.3 has been turned into a modern museum, after being largely refurbished to its original splendor. As such, it is a one-of-a-kind museum, with thousands of visitors per year. Two more turrets and a number of bunkers are left to explorers. While they are not actively maintained, they are still in a rather good shape, and responsible exploration is even supported with some indications.

The area of the Hanstholm is almost 4 square miles. In order not to get disoriented, a good starting point is the museum in and around turret Nr.3. There you are greeted by a pretty unique 38 cm cannon! This is actually from the Tirpitz battery (see above), but it is exactly the same item once installed in Hanstholm. The size is really remarkable, especially when compared to more modest and usual 15 cm coastal guns, on display.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The modern museum offers a quick recap of the history of the place, with memorabilia including everyday items, letters, maps and original weapons.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Once you are done with that, you can get access to the underground part, where you first meet the ammo storage rooms, on the side of a long corridor aligned along a narrow gauge railway track. This was used to connect the firing stations – i.e. the four bunkers with the guns – to larger ammo storages scattered around the are of the fort.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

There are two major adjoining rooms along the corridor, each dedicated to a different part of the cartridge. The piercing part – the ‘bullet’ – and the exploding fuse were kept separated from each other. This is similar to naval guns, and typical to larger calibers. The complicated railings hanging from the roof were made to allow moving the parts of the cartridge by means of movable cranes.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

In action, the bullets and fuses were loaded on a slide, and from there on trolleys which would enter the turret from below. Today, as the turret is not there any more, the trolleys are in an open air corridor, apparently without any sense. It is noteworthy that the inscriptions and frescoes are all original, albeit refurbished.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The structure of the firing station and of the Hanstholm fort can be better appreciated from the drawings and models below.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

A second part of the firing station is the bunker for the complement of men needed to operate this complicated cannon. The place was permanently watched, with shifts spending the night in underground quarters. Those pertaining to firing station Nr.3 have been refurbished, and provide a vivid impression of the original appearance. There are sleeping and living quarters, as well as large, military style showers and toilets.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

There is also a complete power station, with two Diesel generators, a mechanics shop, water tanks and more.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Out of the Nr.3 firing station you are encouraged to tour at least part of the site along a series of prescribed trails. Among the items you meet on this tour is one of the ammo storages. It is not dissimilar from the ammo storage part of the firing station. The ammo parts were loaded on a railway car passing through, and from there moved towards the gun turret.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

There are also many smaller storage and service bunkers, some bearing interesting original inscriptions inside.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The Hanstholm fort was defended by field cannons and anti-aircraft guns. Emplacements for the latter can be spotted around in more instances.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Another suggested part of the visit is firing station Nr.4, which is not really preserved, but is not in a generally bad shape either. You can get in only if you have a torchlight. Visiting may offer something very similar to Nr.3, except everything is more derelict – but for this reason, may be more authentic.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

In the living part, you can find inscriptions in German and traces of the original wall paint. With a general knowledge of the plan from the visit to Nr.3, you may easily recognize the corresponding rooms – power station, toilets, living rooms, etc.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

To get to the ammo storage part, you can walk along the round corridor outside. No trolleys left here, differently from Nr.3.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Inside the ammo storage rooms, you notice that the inscriptions have been largely canceled for some reason, but the slides as well as the frescoes above them are still there.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Still part of the suggested itinerary, you can find a control station, in a rather bad shape, and more interestingly a very peculiar building, located on top of a cliff.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

This was a fire direction station. Due to the high-tech nature of the Hanstholm battery, fire direction worked on what can be considered archaic computers! The building has many floors. There is provision for a permanent team of technicians, hosted in living and sleeping quarters downstairs.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The top floors used to host the computing machines, which were fed by measurements from instruments mounted in metal domes, facing on the roof of the building. The room for the computing machines is rather dark, and due to the black walls it is difficult to see anything even with a torch.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The Hanstholm site offers several ancillary bunkers open to the public. Among them, one for a generator, supplying the whole fort in case of a grid failure.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Another bunker is an ammo storage, with a big concrete arch outside, for a moving crane operating above railway cars. Narrow gauge railway tracks can be seen still today in this part.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The pivot in the middle of firing station Nr.2 has been interred after the war, but the living/sleeping quarters for the troops and the ammo storage parts can be visited, albeit they are not connected any more by a direct passage.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

A visit to this firing station is very interesting, for writings are in a generally better shape than in Nr.4, even though this too has not been refurbished.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

In the ammo storage part, writings are especially abundant. You can see also traces of the original telephone wiring.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The last firing station, Nr.1, is not accessible, even though not interred.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

As said, there are many other bunkers an remains around, which are typically not accessible, especially the farther you go from the museum. They are now largely on private land and used for something else.

Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

The Hanstholm strongpoint is a must for everyone interested in the Atlantic Wall! The museum is modern, completely accessible, with a convenient parking and all usual facilities. Website here.

The refurbished part is basically only firing station Nr.3, but many other bunkers, like the fire control center, as well as firing stations Nr.2 and 4 are open for explorers, and they have not been spoiled by vandals. You need to go with a torchlight and proper clothing, but the visit may be very rewarding.

Many more bunkers around are closed to the public, as they are now private property and used for other purposes.

Due to the enormous size of the area, visiting may easily turn into a full-day or even multi-days business for an enthusiast. For the general public, a visit to the museum and one of the trails may take a 2-3 hours depending on the level of interest.

Hirtshals

Similar to Hanstholm (see above), the area of Hirtshals was soon selected by the Wehrmacht for a coastal fortification, thanks to its strategic position overlooking the mouth of the Skagerrak strait.

The first four 105 mm field guns were positioned here as soon as summer 1941. They occupied open-air concrete aprons, which still today bear trace of the original camouflage paint and deceptive net.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

A peculiarity of this fort is its extensive network of trenches, which connect all the battle stations to the living quarters for the troops and the service buildings, like the canteen-bunker and the hospital-bunker.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

On top of the steep cliff dropping to sea level, you can find the bunkers for the guns. These were moved from the open aprons in 1944, into purpose built reinforced concrete firing positions. A special feature here is the steep flight of stair giving access to the gun area from behind. This construction was made necessary by the particular morphology and rock type of the cliff.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

You can spot significant traces of the original camo paint, and the letters ‘St’ on many walls, meaning ‘Ständig’, i.e. resistant in German. These letters were used to mark those buildings capable of sustaining shelling and bombing raids.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

A bulbous roof allows to easily recognize the fire direction station.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

A more rare item in Hirtshals is the base for the ‘See Riese’ radar. This is a hexagonal concrete hollow platform. The bunker underneath it would serve to host a Diesel power generator.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Back from the coastline, you may enjoy a long exploration of the trenches and of the many restored bunkers. Many bear original markings and paintings.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

In some rare cases, you can also find original decorative paintings, likely made by the soldiers stationed in the bunkers.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Restored bunkers include a ‘living bunker’, but many other installations are in good conditions, like interred shelters, ammo storages, etc. Traces of cables, armored doors – some of them with glass lights – and telephone wires can be found in many bunkers.

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Furthermore, in Hirtshals you have the chance to get a bird’s eye view of the fort, by climbing on top of the local lighthouse!

Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

The Hirtshals site is an open-air museum. There are technically opening times, but the area is not fenced, so if you are looking for a visit to the exteriors, you can walk around freely at any time. The museum has a website here, and guided visits are offered in many occasions. Many bunkers were closed when I visited, and they might be visible only with a guide. Some other bunkers are open and lighted, whereas the majority are basically left to explorers – open and not lighted – but rather accessible and very easy to visit, maybe with the help of a small torch. There is not a clear entrance (the area is not fenced), nor permanent staff on the site.

There are explanatory signs for basically all of the bunkers, in double Danish/German language.

The parking is ahead of the lighthouse, which is a different entity and operates with opening times you can find here. The parking is large and free. Climbing on top of the lighthouse is possible at a small fee – apparently only Danish Crowns cash accepted.

Together with a climb on top of the lighthouse, the visit may take from 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on your level of interest.

Skagen

The Skagen area is mostly famous for its location on the very tip of the Jutland peninsula, the natural northern end of continental Europe, and ideally as the geographical point where the North Sea and Baltic Sea join together. The long and quiet shores there and the population of seals contribute to making Skagen a prominent touristic attraction, often crowded with visitors from Denmark and abroad.

What people going there may not expect is the presence of a number of massive firing positions from the years of the German occupation! These are concentrated along the eastern coast, and include firing position for 120 mm coastal guns, overlooking the Skagerrak strait.

Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

There are also a fire control bunker, which has drifted to the shoreline, as well as radar support bunkers.

Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Unfortunately, these installations have been left to the elements and – most sadly – to vandals. Except for their huge size, there is not much left to appreciate.

But there is more related to the Atlantic Wall in Skagen. A former hospital bunker has been partly refurbished and converted into a very interesting smaller museum on the local battery.

Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Inside, you can first appreciate the special size of the doors and corridors, made to allow moving stretchers around.

Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Put on display are several items related to the history of the Skagen fortress. There are uniforms from the time, photos from the years of operations, and everyday items left over by the Wehrmacht.

Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Some of the rooms have been reconstructed, and provide a vivid impression of the original appearance.

Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Among the exhibits are also some relics from a downed British aircraft.

Getting there and moving around

Visiting the Skagen battery is easier from the small parking Hvide Fyr, Fyrvej, 9990 Skagen. This parking is free. Going on the Baltic shore from the parking means a five minutes walk along a prepared path. A quick walk with a look to the abandoned battery would take about 20 minutes.

You may either walk to the tip from there, or better move your car to shorten the walk, going to the huge dedicated parking area where the road N.40 ends. This parking is not free.

You will find the Skagen Bunker-Museum in the former hospital bunker immediately to the southwestern side of the parking. Website here.

Visiting may take about 30-45 minutes, an interesting small detour from the local natural attractions.

Bangsbo

Comparatively less fortified than the North Sea coast, the eastern cost of Jutland is the place of a primary military and commercial port named Frederikshavn. This is also a starting point for travelers going to Norway from central Europe.

Here the Germans installed one of the few strongpoints on this side of the peninsula. What makes the so-called Bangsbo fort unique among the Atlantic Wall installations is the fact that three of the four original guns in the coastal battery are still in place!

The main area of Bangsbo fort, where the coastal battery is located, can be found to the south of the town, and is somewhat similar to Hirtshals (see above). Both are located on top of a cliff, with a significant area to the back dedicated to command, living and service bunkers.

Today, some of these bunkers have been completely refurbished. These include the command bunker for the local commander of the Kriegsmarine (the German Navy). This is super-interesting, with many artifacts from the time, from military gear to swastika-marked dishware, from maps to photographs of general Rommel – who superintended the construction of the Atlantic Wall – visiting the installation, and much more.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Much interesting is especially the reconstruction of the command/meeting room.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Scattered over the premises of the military area are cannons and several strange items, like a tank turret intended to be placed on top of a defensive Tobruk.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

There are a refurbished hospital bunker and reconstructed living quarters.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The firing control post roughly at the center of the area is another highlight, having been completely refurbished, with plenty of Nazi insignia and original material.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

To the back of the bunker are a living and command area, whereas the front part is an observation deck.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The firing positions with guns are numbered from Nr.1 to 3. They are based on 15 cm coastal guns, installed in 1944, replacing older and smaller pieces.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The guns can be walked around. The cartridge supply slides to the back of the firing chamber are still in place.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Guns Nr. 1 and 3 are similar, whereas the central gun was taken from a Danish cruiser cannibalized by the Germans in Kiel during the war. Today, it bears a greenish paint.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

There used to be a fourth cannon with a field of fire of 360 degrees. Trace of a platform can be seen, as well as an anti-aircraft gun.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

The fort shares a border with an active military area, so a part of the original installations cannot be visited. Others are open only for those visiting on guided tours. These include a radar-supporting station. Others can be entered, but are basically empty.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

A minor part of the Bansgbo fort is located north of Frederikshavn. It is a partially preserved anti-aircraft firing station. This was made of four firing places and a central fire direction point. The latter is still visible at least from the outside.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

One of the anti aircraft guns is also in place. The rest of the installation has been filled with land and made inaccessible.

Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall

Getting there and moving around

The major part of Bansgbo fort can be found south of Frederikshavn. It can be accessed from Bakkevej, which ends with the parking of the museum. Website here. The area can be walked and accessed with a ticket. There are picnic facilities and a small shop. Guided tours are offered at pre-defined times, see the website. You can get a good impression even by walking around on your own, but some bunkers can be accessed only with a guide. I did not join a guided tour, and all the pictures above are from a self-guided visit.

The site is not huge, but very interesting thanks to preservation efforts. It may easily deserve a 2 hours visit.

The anti-aircraft site is located north of Frederikshaven, and can be reached from Nordre Strandvej. You may park on the large free parking made for the local beach. This smaller installation may be visited in 10-15 minutes without a ticket.

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

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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

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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

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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.

World War II and the Cold War

Traces in Sweden

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Aeroseum – former Säve Air Force Base – Göteborg

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Maritiman – Göteborg

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Visitor center & Focke-Wulf FW190 exhibition

Torpedo Battery

Sea Mines & Area Control Center

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A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

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Shelter Albrecht

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Granit Bunker and Hangars in Jüterbog/Altes Lager

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Military Hospital

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Soviet Cemetery

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Railway Yard, School and Command Building

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Soviet Ghosts in Germany

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Soviet Northern Group of Forces Command Bunker, Legnica

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Chojna Abandoned Soviet Airbase

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Kolobrzeg Abandoned Soviet Airbase

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Museum of Artillery, Torun

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Nuclear Fallout Control Bunker, Kalisz

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Vineta Battery – Polish Army Command Bunker

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Poznan War Cemetery & Soviet Memorial

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Podborsko Site – Objekt 3001

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Brzeznica Kolonia – Objekt 3002

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Templewo – Objekt 3003

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Urkut Monolith-Type Nuclear Storage Site

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Soviet Headquarters at Hajmasker Castle

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Veszprem Abandoned Airbase & Ghost Town

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Tokol Airbase

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Basalt-Type Nuclear Storage on Kunmadaras Airbase

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Kalocsa Airfield & Anti-Aircraft Defense Area

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Heviz Airport (formerly Sarmellek Airbase) and Granit-Type Bunker

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Soviet Ghosts in Germany

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Soviet Nuclear Bunker Stolzenhain

Control and Reporting Center Schönewalde

Holzdorf Air Base

Falkenberg Air Base