People visiting Moscow from abroad usually spend much of the time in the Kremlin and the nearby districts, where they can find many cultural attractions, as well as fashion stores, great hotels and restaurants. Among the features of Russia’s capital city less known to the average tourist are the many monuments and museums dedicated to war history, which in some cases host extremely interesting exhibitions and artifacts from various ages, which would tell the visitor as much as the most prominent attractions in town.
Three I could visit in person are cited in this post, all of them easily reachable with the usual metro rail in a few minutes from the downtown.
The following photographs were taken during a visit to Moscow in September 2015.
Central Museum of the Armed Forces
This is a purely Soviet installation Cold War buffs will definitely like very much… Despite the old-fashioned website – which after all contributes to the picture of a Soviet-state-owned company… – the building was built following WWII, better known in Russia as the Great Patriotic war of 1941-1945. On the outside, besides the entrance there are a missile and a tank. Once inside you immediately find yourself in a large two-levels hall, dominated by a sculpture of Lenin and a huge mosaic wall, plus paintings of battles and other war-themed scenes all around.
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
From soon after your arrival, you get to grips with the only real ‘problem’ of this installation, where – just like many others touristic sights in Russia – everything – including the escape plan in the event of fire… – is written in Russian only. So, from the viewpoint of history, you’d better go prepared if you want to get the most from this exhibition, for you won’t find any understandable written information, unless obviously you understand some Russian.
There are several halls in the museum, related to historical moments from WWI up to the present day. A first notable room presents a lively reconstruction of a WWI trench fight, with lights and sounds.
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
The path through the museum follows the course of history, including the revolution, which put an end to WWI for Russia. Then follows WWII. I have to say I never found a collection of Nazi artifacts so rich as the one preserved here in any other place I visited. Literally hundreds of items, from propaganda posters to flags and banners, weapons, medals, papers,… Also present in due quantity are flags and banners of the Soviet Union, as well as Soviet uniforms, weapons and medals from the age of WWII.
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Probably the most notable items from the time are the red banner raised on the Reichstag in Berlin – the corresponding b/w photograph is today one of the symbols of the end of WWII – and an original metal eagle with a swastika, probably taken from the Reichstag or the Reichkanzlei. The flag and the eagle are put together in a kind of monumental installation in a large central hall, celebrating the victory of the Soviet Union in the Patriotic War.
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
An old coat and a hat belonging to Stalin are also part of the exhibition.
Moving on to the Cold War period, a first focus is on the early history of the Soviet atomic program, leading to the detonation of the first nuclear asset in 1949, and to the testing by the Soviets of the largest thermonuclear device ever. Many models and some documentation are available – I could not understand the details, in that occasion I really regretted having no knowledge of Russian! The development of strategic missiles is covered next, including the much connected race to space.
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
The highlight of this part of the exhibition – at least for western visitors – may be the wreck of Francis Gary Powers’ aircraft, downed in 1959 by a SAM, basically a Soviet invention, during an illegal flight over the territory of the USSR ordered by the CIA. A large part of the fuselage and of the wings can be seen, with technical labels in English. Also part of the ejectable seat and other parts of this Lockheed U-2 are packed together somewhat inelegantly. Some original papers and maps the pilot had with him at the time of the accident are exhibited, together with many photographs. Extremely interesting.
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army Gary Powers U2
Approaching the last stage of the Soviet Union, scale models, mockups and parts of larger nuclear missiles are presented. Also the war in Afghanistan is mentioned and the more contemporary war actions in Chechnya and other theaters following the collapse of the USSR are outlined and artifacts and photographs showcased. A window from the relic of the ill-fated Kursk submarine remembers this more recent tragedy – together with a monument on the outside to the right of the entrance.
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Finally, the backyard is full of interesting items like missiles, gantries, heavy vehicles, tanks and so on. Unfortunately, it started raining heavily at the time of my visit, so photographs were not possible.
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
Moscow Central Armed Forces Museum Red Army
All in all, I would say one of the best museums in Europe on the topic of 20th century war history, and probably the best on Russian/Soviet operations in the 20th century. The presentation may be perceived as antiquated for todays standards, nonetheless this may be appreciated by people who are not totally new to this piece of history and who are more interested in seeing valuable and unusual ‘hardware’. I would recommend at least a full hour for the interested visitor, extendable to 1.5 hours rather easily including a detailed visit to the outside exhibition.
Getting there and moving around
The museum is not far north from downtown Moscow, less than .2 miles from Dostoyevskaya metro stop (line 10). The building can be approached walking along ul. Sovetskoy Armii, on the side of the park. The neighborhood is decent and safe, I had no bad feelings visiting alone.
Museum of the Great Patriotic War
Moscow is scattered with monuments remembering the Soviet effort and the victorious outcome of WWII, but the focal point of the celebration is the park at Poklonnaya Hill with the museum of the Great Patriotic War. The park is an extensive area, built around a perspective leading to the top of the hill, where the museum can be found (website here). This is hosted in the curved building behind the very tall spine which can be seen from the distance.
Approaching from the east, from the famous Kutuzovski Prospekt where many important political players of the USSR used to live, including Brezhnev, it is possible to spot first a huge arch, just in the middle of the road, and departing from it the perspective leading to the hill, just to the left of the Prospekt. To the left of the hill as well as beyond the spine there is a park with several smaller installations remembering war actions involving the USSR and more recently Russia, and following WWII. It is also possible to find there an exhibition with cannons, armored vehicles and other warcrafts.
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
The museum, accessible from the front of the circular building, is intended basically to celebrate the heroism of the Red Army in the war against Germany. It acts as a place of remembrance for the many who never came back, and during my visit there I coincidentally could assist to a ceremony with high ranking military staff celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.
Inside the most notable items are huge and very vivid dioramas – I must say, very well made, especially for the age – reconstructing some scenes from some especially dramatic battles of the war against Nazi Germany.
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
In the crypt it is possible to find the very interesting ‘Hall of sorrow’, a more modern monument to the fallen soldiers, with many crystal drops hanging from the ceiling, representing the tears of Mother Russia. These should be really many, with a proportion to the number of soldiers actually lost in the conflict.
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
The exhibition of artifacts includes a selection of items from various moments and fronts of the war. I could not tour this part freely because of the above mentioned ceremony, but what I could see was interesting. Unfortunately, I could not see the Hall of fame.
Above all, the plan of the whole installation and the Soviet style adopted, not so bombastic in this case, are extremely interesting. Touring the museum may take less than 45 minutes. If you are interested in moving in the park, you may need more. Distances here follow monumental proportions, so monuments are not really close to each other as they might seem on a map.
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Museum of the Great Patriotic War Moscow
Getting there and moving around
The area can be reached easily from Park Pobedy metro stop on line 3. The perspective leading to the museum starting from the arch (and from the metro station) is about .6 miles long.
Museum-Panorama ‘The battle of Borodino’
You can find this museum very close to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War described above. The theme of the exhibition is here the battle of Borodino during the war against Napoleon and the French Army.
Borodino is located about 80 miles west of Moscow. There the advancing French Army faced the full power of the Russian Army. Napoleon himself was present and led war operations, while Kutuzov and Bagration, the top-ranking generals of the Tsar, were among the strategists on the Russian side. The battle was a prototypical battle of the time, with wild fire from cannons, infantry and cavalry, all in the arena. It turned out very cruel, taking a huge death toll on both parts. As a matter of fact, the Russian Army, which had constantly retreated avoiding the contact with the French until that great battle, continued back towards Moscow, which was finally abandoned and set on fire as Napoleon’s Army was reaching it. On one side, the Russians failed to stop the French at Borodino, on the other they set for the French a deadly trap – the French did not quit chasing the Russians until the winter of 1812 finally struck when they were infinitely far from home with no active supply lines, nor food nor resupply storages at hand. The season killed basically 9 out of 10 on the French side, triggering the end of Napoleon’s dreams of power.
The museum was recently refurbished in a modern key, with a detailed description of some moments of the battle on wide screens and interactive panels – again, unfortunately all in Russian. Uniforms, weapons and artifacts add to the visit, but the highlight here is the beautiful panorama painting. This is similar to the cyclorama in Gettysburg, PA, and it is a more than 300 ft long circular painting vividly depicting some important moments in the battle of Borodino. As you can learn from the website, the painting was made in 1912 (before the Soviets) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the battle. The building was renovated in 1962.
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
The visit may not take much, especially if you are not interested in the war against Napoleon, but I would suggest going there even only for the uniqueness of the installation as well as for its artistic significance. In any case, the visit may not take more than 45 minutes, especially if you don’t understand Russian.
Right behind the museum it is possible to see the wooden hut where Kutuzov and his staff discussed and decided for the destruction of Moscow in order to jeopardize the plans of the French to find a shelter there for the approaching winter season.
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Museum-Panorama The Battle of Borodino Napoleon War Moscow
Getting there and moving around
The museum can be reached easily from Park Pobedy metro stop on line 3, like the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. From the metro stop you can walk west on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, and you will soon find the museum on the left (northern) side of the road, about .2 miles from the station.
Following the end of the Battle of Britain, mainly fought in the air in summer-fall 1940, the plans of the Axis for an invasion of Britain were halted and progressively updated and reconfigured. The successful invasion of Holland, Belgium and Northern France had led to a stabilization of the border of the Axis territory on the Atlantic coast of Europe earlier in 1940. Since then and until the counter-invasion by the Allied troops in June 1944, the military command of Germany decided for the fortification of the coast with the Atlantic Wall, a series of naval gun batteries, ammo storages, barracks, radar stations, command and communication centers, and everything else that was needed to detect and contrast an attack from the West, both from the sea and from the air.
But the coast of the Atlantic was not considered only as a border line to be defended. Some large-caliber cannons of the Atlantic Wall built in the region of Calais on the narrowest sector of the English Channel, were capable of hitting targets on British mainland. Furthermore, many port towns on the cost of France were converted into military ports from where the Kriegsmarine operated regularly with various material, including the famed underwater U-Boot forces, running offensive missions against all sorts of Allied ships in various sectors of the North Sea and the Atlantic ocean. Airbases were routinely operated in the regions of Northern France, Belgium and Holland both for bombing raids over Britain and later for fighting missions in defense of the occupied and the innermost territories of the Reich from the Allied bombing runs. With the help of the US, these began to systematically target the Axis in 1943, operating from Britain.
Finally, the newest and most advanced conventionally armed weapons of WWII started to be operated from the coastal area in 1944 by the German armed forces. The famous ‘Retaliation Weapons’, or ‘Vergeltungswaffen’ in German – from which the famous abbreviation ‘V’ of the V-1, V-2 and V-3 – suffered from limited range, and so had to be launched from close enough to their intended target – Britain, by design. Today some relics of the launch sites and some buildings connected with the deployment of such ordnance can be visited when touring the area of the Pas-de-Calais, the northernmost province of France.
The following photographs, taken in summer 2016, portray four notable sites of the kind in that region.
Since 1943 new weapons enriched the arsenal of the German armed forces. The famous V-1, manufactured as Fieseler-103, reached operational readiness and began to be deployed that year. This relatively simple, subsonic, air-breathing – i.e. non-rocket-propelled – flying bomb, while not very accurate, could be deadly against large target cities like London. Its limited range forced deployment in the occupied territories closest to Britain.
Many launch bases were prepared in Northern France, from where Southern England was well within range. The V-1 was used only after the D-Day – the first registered operative launch was on June 13th, 1944, against Britain. By the end of Summer 1944 the Allied had pushed the Germans roughly back to the region of the Ardennes in Northeastern France, on the border with Belgium. Consequently, all bases in Northwestern France were silenced. Later in the war, V-1 were still launched against liberated Belgium and central England, from more inland and further north bases by the retreating German forces. Total launched V-1 were actually in the order of the tens of thousands.
The Ardouval site is possibly the only V-1 site officially opened to the public in France. It is an open-air museum with no fences, so it is open h24 every day of the year. The site was severely hit before by Allied air raids before it could enter service, so no flying bomb was ever launched from it. Actually, the bomb craters can be clearly spotted in the trees all around. Going far from the paved walkways is not advised due to danger of unexploded ordnance.
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
The installation is rather extensive, and traces of some original buildings and service roads remain to this day. Among them a concrete water basin, a generator building, a building with a concrete arch for aligning navigation instruments prior to the launch.
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Two curved trails from the V-1 body storage to the operational buildings and launch ramp can be spotted. The launch ramp was reconstructed, but just besides you can see the launch observation bunker, with a slot for visual checking the launch from very close to the lower end of the inclined ramp.
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Ardouval V1 Site
Barely recognizable ruins of other buildings can be spotted as well. Touring the place is not complicated, thanks to an explanatory panel close to the parking. It is advisable to take a picture of it with your phone, to be sure to see everything the site has to offer. Time required is about 45 min.
Getting there and moving around
The site of Ardouval (Val Ygot) is located close to the town of Ardouval and Pommeréval. It can be easily reached by car from the latter, less than 2 miles from the town center, driving west on the D99. Large free parking on site.
V-2 – Watten & Wizernes
Much more advanced than V-1, the V-2 was the first operational rocket in the world. Invented by the team of Wernher von Braun and tested in Peenemünde, on the border between today’s Germany and Poland, this liquid-propelled rocket came in the latest stage of WWII. The production totalled around 5000 units, and about 3100 were actually launched during the war, basically only from mobile launch platforms. Targets were mainly Belgium and Britain, but the first successful launch took place against Paris in September 1944. As for the V-1, range was among the weaknesses of the design, so that a deployment close to the Atlantic coast was necessary for targeting Britain from mainland Europe.
Mobile gantries were well designed and allowed a relatively fast re-deployment, a critical feature in the last stage of the war when the frontline was moving eastward at fast pace. Despite that, Hitler’s personal preference was with huge, autonomous, fixed launch bases, for which design and construction work began soon after the occupation of Northern France.
Two sites were created. The first was close to Watten, in the forest of Eperlecques – about 40 miles from the coast to the south-east of Calais – and was codenamed ‘Kraftwerk Nordwest’. Work on this monstrous bunker – probably the largest you will ever see from this age – started in early 1943 in a forest, at ground level and with little natural defences.
This installation was designed for the assembly of V-2 rockets arriving by train, and for supplying them with oxygen prepared in place in a dedicated branch of this bunker-factory. The intended role of this installation was the creation of a ‘rocket revolver’, capable of launching rockets at a frequency of 1.5 per hour, 24 hours a day. The Allies did not overlook the potential strategic relevance of the site and bombed it repeatedly. During a raid carried out by US forces in summer 1943 the site still under construction was seriously damaged. Since then it was decided to turn it into a liquid oxygen production factory for supplying other launch sites. Soon after the disembarkment, the place was finally abandoned after being hit by Tallboy bombs by the British. After capture in September 1944 it was decided to further demolish it by testing several new ordnance against a target so hard to crack.
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
The site is open as a regular museum, which can be visited on self-guided tours. A trail in the trees leads you to the main bunker, the tallest part of which can be entered. A V-2 mockup allows you to appreciate the proportions of the building. Some of the tunnels can be seen from the outside.
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Also in place are a V-1 launch ramp, cannons and vehicles. Time required for visiting may vary between about 30 minutes to more than 1 hour depending on your level of interest.
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
Eperlecques V2 Site Watten
The second site was built starting mid-1943 close to Wizernes, and not far from the previous site in Watten. This was codenamed ‘Schotterwerk Nordwest’, and it was intended for the same basic scope of the other, but it had also to be built to avoid heavy damage from air-dropped bombs. The location was extremely favorable, making use of a former quarry, with tunneling in the body of a U-shaped hill. A distinctive feature still remaining today is the concrete dome covering part of the site. The place was stricken with usual and Tallboy bombs after the D-Day. This caused the collapse of the entrances to the tunnel system, and of the side of the hill. The dome moved and banked to on side, but notably it did not break apart.
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
The place is open as a major documentation center. Besides the usual IMAX theatre in a building close to the parking, you can visit on a self-guided tour both the tunnels in the side of the hill and the area below the concrete dome – it can be incredibly hot and suffocating there, where it’s cold in the tunnels. You can find here much information about the history of the site and more in general of the deployment of the V-1 and V-2 in the area. A complete visit without the IMAX may take 45 minute to 1.5 hours depending on your interests.
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
La Coupole V2 Site Wizernes
Getting there and moving around
Both sites are easily reachable by car. The site of Watten is located is about two miles west of the town. You can reach it driving west on the D207 from the crossing between D207 and D300. A road called Rue des Sarts takes to the right after about .6 mile. The local name of the place is ‘Le Blockhaus d’Eperlecques’.
The site of Wizernes is located on the D210 about 1 mile south of Wizernes. The local name is ‘La Coupole’ – the Dome’.
Both sites are clearly signed.
V-3 – Mimoyecques
The hatred against the indomitable British enemy reached a pinnacle with the deployment of the V-3, reportedly Hitler’s favorite, a supercannon capable of shelling London from a distance of around 100 miles. The installation in Mimoyecques, close to Cap-Gris-Nez, about 8 miles southwest of Calais, was single-targeted against the ‘symbol town’ of London, for the cannon could not be oriented – it was built inside a hill and pointed upwards in a fixed attitude. The design was based on the older idea of multiple-charged shells, i.e. shells which were accelerated gradually to a very high target speed while running along an exceptionally long (430 ft) barrel. The site in Mimoyecques, codenamed ‘Bauvorhaben 711’, by design accommodated 25 such barrels, allowing the battery to shoot at the very high rate of 10 shells per minute, all the day round. The tunnel was designed to allow a train entering it.
Work on the site began in summer 1943, but the site never reached completion and was severely hit in summer 1944 by Allied bombing raids. President Kennedy’s elder brother reportedly died in an accident on one of them. It is noteworthy that the novelty and originality of the design disoriented Allied intelligence, who did not understand the role of the installation before capture in September 1944.
The concept of supercannons, albeit never provedly succesful from an operational viewpoint, was destined to emerge again in recent history, with a similar installation proposed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and designed with the help of a Canadian company – its manager being reportedly killed by the Mossad to hamper realization.
Together with the other ‘V sites’, Mimoyecques was almost completely demolished in order to avoid any further strategic use. It is reported that Winston Churchill in person pushed for this, to the aim of preventing the yet-to-be-established government of France from any action against Britain – some speculate that what the Prime Minister likely feared was the establishment of Communist rule in France.
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
This is site is not so famous as the V-2 sites, and not similarly ‘institutional’, yet there are opening times. You can go on a self-guided tour of the tunnels, where you can find many explanatory panels, as well as a reconstruction of one of the barrels. It’s always too warm for me, but I must say this time it was incredibly cold inside… The visit may take 30-45 minutes. Guided tours are available in French.
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
Mimoyecques V3 Cannon Site
On the outside, just besides the tunnel entrance you can find a steel plate once on top of the site armouring the outlets of the barrels. The concrete construction on top of the place lies on a private property. I could only take one pic before being forced to withdraw…
Getting there and moving around
The area is very nice, with the lovely Cap-Gris-Nez and Cap-Blanc-Nez a few miles away. The site can be reached on the D249 between the small towns of Bainghen and Landretun-le-Nord. Large free parking on site.
Not so well-known to the public as the ‘fort city’ of Verdun, the region between that town and the baroque city of Nancy, France, was theatre of fierce fighting in WWI. German troops poured in the area immediately in 1914, and the Fifth Army conquered the region while the advance of the Kaiser’s forces was in full swing almost everywhere between Belgium and the Alps. By the time the line of the front was consolidated at the end of 1914, a salient was established between the villages of Les Eparges and Pont-a-Mousson, extending about 12 miles to the west into French-controlled territory, reaching the small town of Saint-Mihiel. This anomaly in the shape of the front line would be hard to clear, and in spite of several brave actions by the French armed forces, it was to last in place until the closing months of WWI in 1918.
Coincidentally, the United States had started deploying their forces to help those of France, the British Commonwealth and their Allies on the German western front. The silencing of the Saint-Mihiel salient was part of the final assault to the German lines, leading quickly to the end of the conflict, and the first campaign the American Expeditionary Forces of General Pershing were in charge of. The attack was launched on September 12th, 1918 and lasted one week. It involved both ground artillery and troops and the US Army Air Service, and it turned out highly succesful, the salient being totally taken over.
Today the place represents a less-known, highly interesting field of exploration for war historians. This section of the front was the stage of a prototypical static war of attrition, lasting the full duration of the war. French and German trenches faced each other at a distance of a few yards, and they were consolidated and fortified to last for long. Today some of these trenches are still visible, and the region is pointed with memorials erected after the war, just like the theatre of the Somme and that around Ypres (Jeper), north of Verdun (see this post). The difference is the very much lower number of people visiting, which allows a more ‘concentrated’, less ‘touristic’ visit.
A distinctive sight in the region is the imposing memorial to the US forces, commemorating the succesful action against the German army in the salient, and those who died in the operation.
The following photographs were taken during a visit to the area in August 2016.
Getting there and moving around
The area of the former salient is extensive and located in a nice, relaxing countryside, making for a good destination for a bike tour. If you like to concentrate on war relics, I would suggest moving by car from site to site, accessing each site by foot – this was my choice. The war sites are all freely accessible with no restrictions, and none of them requires special physical ability for touring. The only danger to be noted is that of unexploded shells and explosives, which albeit remote is always real in this and all other former WWI theatres of operations. It will suffice avoiding touching any suspect item you may come across. Local explanatory panels and maps can be found in many of these sites, but directions for reaching them only appear very close to the sites themselves.
I listed the sites I’ve explored in this area on the map below. I spent more than half day exploring these sites. I approached from Toul and drove directly to Flirey, which I suggest adopting as a starting point. Then I moved westward via Montsec to Saint-Mihiel. Finally I left north, following the trench of the Calonne and the old service road reaching Verdun (see map).
Your exploration may take less or more than mine depending on your level of interest. There is not a great ‘hardware difference’ between the various trenches, so if you get bored after the first one don’t expect to regain interest from the others… If you – like me – have an interest in retracing the history of the salient and the attacks in its different sectors, then you will likely enjoy your stay in the region.
Most people know of the air bombing of Europe during WWII and of the destruction it caused to many cities on both sides. What is less known is that WWI brought a sometimes deeper and more complete destruction to villages and non-military buildings. Of course, differently from WWII, this was mainly the result of artillery shelling, and this happened only relatively close to the front, as a ‘side effect’ of firing against enemy troops. The village of Flirey ended up on the border between the invading German forces and the retreating French troops. When the line of the front was consolidated, the village was caught in a kind of ‘nobody’s land’, hence suffered the fate of many towns and villages in similar conditions, being rapidly reduced to ruins.
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey
Today a small part of the planform of some of the original buildings is preserved in a dedicated small park. There you will find also informative panels about the history of the salient.
‘Sentier historique 1914-1918’ – historical walkway with preserved trenches
A local society of enthusiasts made a precious preservation work on a portion of the French and German trenches just a few minutes from northwest of Flirey, with the support of local institutions. Here you can walk in the original trenches, getting explanations from some panels placed along the trail. The German trenches are notable for the very advanced design with a serious use of concrete – making their trenches really durable and ‘fresh-looking’ even today.
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
In some points the French and German trenches are placed at a distance of a few yards from each other.
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Flirey Trenches
There is a map at the trailhead (see map above for the position of trailhead). I suggest taking a pic of it with your phone for moving around without difficulty.
Butte de Montsec – Memorial of the American Expeditionary Forces
The American Battle Monument Commission had this monument erected on top of a hill, with a scenic view over Lac de Madine, a local lake, and the hills around it. This is an open air memorial, accessible all day. There is a local office offering explanatory leaflets, but it was closed when I passed by. Anyway, a placard with detailed explanations about the history of both the actions in the salient and the monument is placed at the base of the site. The memorial can be spotted also from quite far away, due to its size and location.
Saint Mihiel Salient American Monument
Saint Mihiel Salient American Monument
Saint Mihiel Salient American Monument
Saint Mihiel Salient American Monument
Saint Mihiel Salient American Monument
Saint Mihiel Salient American Monument
Saint Mihiel Salient American Monument
Saint Mihiel Salient American Monument
Bois brulé – German and French trenches
This is one of three sections of well-preserved trenches closer to the village of Saint Mihiel. Fighting in this area was particularly deadly on the French side from the first days of the war in September 1914 up to June 1915. A refurbished part of French trenches provides an idea of the harsh conditions soldiers had to withstand, especially if you go on a rainy day…
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Also here the enemy trenches are located extremely close to each other. The ground is pocked with craters from artillery shelling.
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé
Trench of the Bavarians and Roffignac
This site is next to the previous one, and you can walk from one to the other following the old trenches. A more heavily fortified section of the German trench lines can be seen here, with engraved German words over the entry to some underground deposits. This section of the trenches, despite being fairly well-kept, was very lonely when I visited, and I came across some wildlife.
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois Brulé Bavarian Trenches
‘Trench of the Thirsty’
This last portion of the trenches in the forest of Ailly (Bois d’Ailly) close to Saint Mihiel was the stage of a heroic battle in September 1914. Trying to gain a favorable position on top of the hills close to Saint Mihiel, in order to enable artillery shelling on the village, the French attacked the German trenches and occupied some of them. Later on, men of the 172th Infantry Regiment were caught in a trap and isolated by German troops, who had advanced to their sides into their former positions. The isolated French soldiers opposed a fierce resistance in very difficult conditions, having no food nor water supplies for three days, and fighting in very warm weather and in a smoky, suffocating atmosphere.
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Saint Mihiel Salient Bois d’Ailly
Albeit partially rounded off by time and rain, clear traces of long sections of these tranches remain today. Two monuments celebrating the heroism of the French troops involved in the battle can be found at the end of the visible line of trenches.
Calonne Trench
When leaving the area of the salient to Verdun, you may choose to follow the old road today numbered D331 (see map above). This dates back to the days of WWI, and is a quick, almost straight road in the trees, which does not cross any village for about 15 miles. It was used as a supply road for the trenches in the northern area of the salient from the city of Verdun. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take pictures, for I was driving in heavy rain.
Note
As remarked before, there are rather few signs for reaching the war sites, and unless you know of them elseway, reaching them may be difficult. I obtained much valuable information from the book “1914-1918 750 Musees Guide Europe”, a specialised guidebook with double text in French and English and maps. You can purchase it from various shops in more tourist-populated places like the Somme, Verdun or Jeper, or online from the Editor’s website. The book was edited by a group of enthusiasts, and together with its twin publication about WWII, they are must-have companions for war historians traveling Europe. I used these books extensively this year and I found the information contained in them very precise and extremely useful.
Probably not so famous for bush-flying activity as other locations on the West Coast, especially British Columbia and Alaska, the easternmost state of the US – Maine – has still much to offer in this sense. Besides the beautiful coast going from Portland to the famous Acadia National Park and the border with New Brunswick, the central and northern part of the state are totally wild areas, with few roads and many lakes, forests, wildlife and breathtaking panoramas you can appreciate from the air.
Similarly to the Rockies in the West, the Appalachians constitute an ideal backbone of all states in the North-East of the US. Of course, being far elder than their western counterparts, the Appalachians seem less massive and their peaks are not so high, yet the almost isolated domes of the last mountains of this range in Maine make for very unusual sights.
The wild features of this land, as in other parts of the US and Canada, make it a perfect place for bush flying and related photo opportunities. Determined to explore this part of the country from the air, in a party of three we found a nice company to fly with, with a base in the nice town of Greenville, ME.
The following photographs were taken during our stay there in 2011.
Getting there
We booked with Currier’s Flying Service – website curriersflyingservice.com. The planes of this company are all beautiful floatplanes, and in summer they can be spotted resting on water in a protected cove – named ‘West Cove’ – on the western border of the town of Greenville, the largest town on the shores of Moosehead Lake.
The small nice wooden terminal of the company is clearly indicated and can be found besides the main road (West Street), just before passing a railway bridge leaving from downtown Greenville heading for N.15 and Quebec City.
Sights
We had booked in advance via phone, and we were greeted by Sue, the wife of the owner, Mr. Roger Currier, who is also the pilot. We profited of a short time waiting for Mr. Currier to have a look at his incredible mechanics shop and hangar, which looked like it had come out of a National Geographic’s documentary or a book on open range explorations!
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Shop
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Shop
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Shop
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Shop
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Shop
Besides an array of radial engines, including one with a fully assembled two-bladed propeller, we could see a hangared Cessna 195 on floats – Mr. Currier owns two of these, we flew on the other white and blue painted one -, a canoe, a historic small truck, and tons of engine parts, propellers, deer antlers, tools and cabinets. Going to the nearby pier, we could see the other aircraft belonging to the company, the Cessna 195 we were to fly on – I had expressly asked for this, due to the extreme rarity of this model on a world scale -, a modern Cessna 180 Skywagon, and a larger and nice De Havilland Beaver, a more common site in the Northwest, as Kenmore Air operates some on a regular timetable even from downtown Seattle.
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Pier
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Pier
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Pier
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Pier
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
After meeting with Mr. Currier we boarded the 195, with me in the front right seat – I am a pilot, so I’m often offered the first officer’s seat on similar occasions, just in case! This aircraft has only one yoke, which can be shifted to the left or to the right, leaving the not-in-command seat with much room. This and the fact that 195 has a high wing with no struts, similarly to the Centurion and Cardinal models, make this airplane a perfect choice for observation and photography missions. Those in the front seats enjoy a great lateral visibility, but the huge radial engine limits the view to the front, at least on water – things improve a bit in flight.
Furthermore, the two seats in the back are arranged in a saloon configuration, with much legroom and very good, unobstructed visibility to the sides – optimal for photography.
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
We taxied on water to the north for a while and took off to the south, making a left U-turn over Greenville and setting course again to the north. Another seaplane hangar, larger than that of Courier, can be spotted close to the center of Greenville. It used to be the home base of another flying service company, named Folsom, once famous for operating one of the few Douglas DC-3 on floats ever manufactured. Also the hangar of Jack’s Air Services can be spotted nearby.
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Pier
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine
Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Following the eastern shoreline of Moosehead Lake stationing at a 1600 ft above sea level, hence at a convenient zoom-lens distance to the ground, I could take pictures of the many coves and bays, including Sandy Bay, Lily Bay and Spencer Bay. From the photographs, it is clear that soon after leaving Greenville you really get into the wild. Looking east you can see in the distance mount Katahdin, the easternmost peak of the Appalachians.
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Spencer Bay Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Approaching Spencer Bay you get a beautiful close view of the Spencer Mountains and Spencer Pond.
Spencer Pond Mountains Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Spencer Pond Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Spencer Pond Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Further north we reached Lobster Lake, again a wild area.
Lobster Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine
Turning west and then south we moved along the western shore of Moosehead Lake. I faced the sun in this part of the flight, and the plexiglass canopy didn’t help with the light, so the pictures are a bit blue-filtered. The most prominent feature of this second part of the flight was Mount Kineo, with the distinctive knife-cut shape, and Kineo Cove nearby.
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Mount Kineo
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Mount Kineo
Getting closer to Greenville we could spot some beautiful homes with direct access to the water, some with a floatplane moored nearby.
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Mount Kineo
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Touching down on water is not softer than landing on a runway – this was my first time – but the aircraft stops quite more rapidly than on a runway.
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Cessna
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
After landing Mr. Currier set off for another trip with two couples from Florida on the Beaver, taking off to the north.
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
Moosehead Lake Greenville Maine Currier Beaver
Before leaving Greenville we had a stop by the Folsom hangar and by the local general aviation airport, where we found Folsom’s famous DC-3. The plane has been converted to the usual wheeled configuration. Furthermore, it looks damaged, resting in a marked right-banked attitude.
Folsom Hangar
Folsom Hangar
Greenville Douglas DC3 Folsom
Greenville Douglas DC3 Folsom
Greenville Douglas DC3 Folsom
Greenville Douglas DC3 Folsom
The flight took about an hour, a very enjoyable experience I would surely recommend if you are visiting this part of the country!
Differently from what one is usually taught in schools, World War II in Europe did not stop in one moment with the death by suicide of the Führer, on April 30th, 1945.
As soon as the advancing Western Allies established strongpoints within the original borders of Germany – as these had been before the war – in 1945 the chain of command in Germany began to vacillate. Rumors about contacts between top-ranking Nazi officials and the SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) have lived to this day, and they are reasonable even though not well documented – as a matter of fact, Hitler dismissed both Göring and Himmler just before his death, on account of unauthorized contacts with ‘the enemy’, promoting Admiral Dönitz to the rank of president of Germany.
The understandable confusion of those days at the ‘top of the pyramid’ is reflected by the local autonomous surrender of substantial parts of the German armed forces around Europe, against the will of the Führer, and even before his death. Literally millions of soldiers were disarmed on both fronts in April 1945, and the process culminated in the surrender of all German forces in Italy on April 29th, the day before Hitler’s death.
The new German president Dönitz acted with the same authority of the Führer in the last stormy days of the collapsing Nazi rule, early May 1945. Under Dönitz’s mandate, between the 1st and 7th of May 1945 some separate surrenders took place, including all German forces in Austria, North-West Germany, Holland, Denmark, Berlin – who surrendered to the Soviets -, Mecklenburg and Pommern north of Berlin, and Bavaria. The German navy ceased war operations on May 5th, by direct order of admiral Dönitz.
All this preceded the ‘official’, authorized, unconditional surrender which was signed on behalf of acting president Dönitz separately by General Jödl in the headquarters of the Expeditionary Force in Reims in the early hours of May 7th, and by Feldmarschall Keitel in Berlin-Karlshorst on May 8th, in presence of General Zhukov of the Red Army. The capitulation called for quitting all military operations at 23:01 CET, May 8th. Both of the signers were arrested soon after, as were Dönitz, Göring and other top German players of the war in Europe.
Today, the two locations where the unconditional surrender(s) were signed are open for visitors. The following photographs were taken during visits in 2015 and 2016.
The headquarters of the SHAEF where the ‘instrument of surrender’ was signed on the western front occupied the building of a high school.
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Today, the building has returned to its original function, but a small part of it with the original room and table have been preserved inside of a museum on-site. The walls of the room are covered with original maps from the time, resembling how it looked like in 1945.
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi Germany Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Other rooms are packed with showcases, where you can see many items, including an official copy of the document signed by Jödl, authenticated by Dönitz, uniforms, original flags and other memorabilia.
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Reims
The museum is rather small, and can be toured in about 30 minutes at most. This excludes the video presentation, which I had not the chance to watch.
Getting there and moving around
The historical place is located to the north of the city center in Reims, very close to the railway station. The exact address is 12 Rue du Président Franklin Roosevelt, 51100 Reims. There is chance of public parking nearby. If you parked somewhere else for visiting historical Reims, I suggest not moving your car, as the museum can be easily reached with a short 5 minutes walk from Porte de Mars, right on the northern edge of the center. Website here.
Berlin-Karlshorst – Deutsch-Russisches Museum
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Soon after the end of the war and the division of Berlin, with the district of Berlin-Karlshorst falling under Soviet rule, the Soviets converted the building where the capitulation was signed for hosting their headquarters. After the birth of the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR) at the end of the Forties, the place was turned into a museum.
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
Besides the very room where the document was signed, you can find some dioramas dating back to the first years of the museum, as well as a specifically designed foyer and a stained glass window portraying the statue of the Soviet Soldier in Treptower Park – dating from the same late Stalin’s era.
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
More recently, the museum has been refurbished and enlarged with very interesting and well prepared exhibits, including many memorabilia items, findings and relics not only from the events of May 1945, but more in general from WWII and the less known eastern front.
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
Nazi German Surrender Museum Capitulation Berlin Karlshorst
Compared to the museum in Reims, this is much broader and richer, going well beyond the preservation of the room and the evocation of the last stage of the war.
Getting there and moving around
The museum is in a nice residential area in southern Berlin. This is not a touristic area, so you’d better go there only if you are interested in this specific museum, cause there is not much else to see. Yet if you are interested in WWII and especially to the eastern front, I would say this absolutely a must – all in all, there is not so much information in the touristic areas of Berlin about WWII, so this might fill the gap.
Anyway, the exact location is Zwieseler Strasse 4. This can be reached with bus 296 from the S-3 station Karlshorst or from U5 stop Tierpark. Alternatively, from S-3 Karlshorst it is a walk of about ten minutes. Finally, if you are going by car – the most convenient way – there is a parking right in front of the building. Website here.
Among the most unequivocal signs of the oppressive communist dictatorship in the former German Democratic Republic – ‘GDR’ or ‘DDR’ in German – are probably the many buildings once operated by the STASI, the German cousin of the well-known Soviet KGB.
Being a state security service by its very name – STASI stands for ‘STAat SIcherheit’, or state security -, this organization was responsible for the capillary control over the behavior of the citizens of the GDR, to the aim of counteracting any threat to the communist rule. It was mainly composed of a para-military staff and of an extensive network of informers – so extensive that actually about 1 out of 180 in Eastern Germany worked for the STASI, while by comparison in the USSR 1 out of 595 worked for the KGB. The main goal of this agency was keeping the statu quo, hence any suspect behavior of East-German citizens, deemed subversive with respect to the communist rule, was reported, investigated and usually suppressed.
People found guilty of acts against the State – i.e. against the communist government – were often sentenced to years of imprisonment. This meant that prisons and camps flourished in the GDR, as people got arrested and at least kept for interrogation just for having received western newspapers or having colored their rooms with posters of American pop singers. How the STASI came to know of similar ‘violations’ was by means of informers, who triggered secret investigations carried out with ‘James Bond gear’, like cameras and microphones hidden in coat buttons and bags. Microphones and cameras were also usually installed in the walls, chandeliers and doors of the houses of suspected subjects.
This huge institution was among the most feared and hated – as well as expensive to run – in the GDR, and soon after the reopening of the border and the demolition of the wall in Berlin in 1989 many of its buildings were occupied by the population. To deny responsibility in the unfair trial, imprisonment and confinement of many citizens, the staff of the STASI began ‘burning’ its archives immediately, but they were so extensive that this rapidly turned out to be impossible. The STASI was disbanded among the first governmental agencies of the GDR in the early months of 1990, even before the two halves of Germany were merged. Finally the archives were made publicly available during the process of the German reunification. Many people came to know they had been carefully observed and spied in every movement during their everyday life.
Today, some of the most prominent buildings once operated by the STASI are open to the public and represent an interesting and worrying memento of this chapter of the history of Germany. The following photographs are from some such sites I visited over the years from 2013 to 2023.
The headquarters of the STASI occupied an extensive citadel composed of many big, multi-storey buildings. Like the KGB, the tasks of the STASI weren’t limited to internal state security, but also to border protection – a very serious business in Eastern Germany, as you can see from another page of this site dedicated to the German inner border – and espionage activities abroad. The various directorates occupied their respective buildings in the citadel. The place is in a semi-peripheral district of former East Berlin named Lichtenberg.
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
The main building hosts a museum of central relevance on the topic, where you can find much data about the history and the impressive size of this agency, as well as spy gear – for instance mimetic microphones for listening to conversations in private houses. The stories of some of the victims of the communist surveillance machine are also reported. Envelope-opening devices and rags for preserving the odor of those arrested for watchdogs are displayed in showcases.
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Probably the highlight of the museum is the apartment and office of Erich Mielke, the director of the STASI from 1957 – well before the wall was erected in Berlin – up to the dissolution of the GDR. Many original directional offices have been preserved and nowadays can be visited.
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
The place is very evocative and retains much of the disturbing ‘GDR atmosphere’, typical to this and other similar installations. The number of visitors is much lower than close to Checkpoint Charlie and the DDR museum near the Berliner Dom, which are mostly cheesy tourist attractions with comparatively little content. On the contrary, in this museum you can still easily perceive the commitment of the GDR goverment towards its own survival, and the proportion of the oppressive apparatus that was created to this aim – here you clearly understand the STASI was a serious business and changed the life of many people.
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
Berlin Lichtenberg Normannenstrasse Stasi Headquarters
After visiting the museum in the central building you may have a look around to the exterior of other buildings in the citadel, today mostly unused, abandoned or partially occupied by private businesses – I guess the place still retains for many people a very negative aura.
Getting there and moving around
Today the citadel can be reached very conveniently by car or with the U5 (between the stops Magdalenen Strasse and Frankfurter Allee). The museum is fairly modern and well presented, but as of 2015 when I visited the ticket could be paid only cash and some explanations were in German only. Inside the museum there is no air conditioning, and it can be very hot and uncomfortable in summer. Parking is not a problem in front of the main entrance or nearby. Website here.
STASI Prison and Restricted Area, Berlin-Hohenschönhausen
The second largest quarters of the STASI are located in yet another outer district of former East Berlin. Old photographs of the area clearly show that this part of the town was interdicted to visitors not connected with the business of the STASI – there used to be fences and gates all around, cutting some of the roads entering the district. Besides some directorates and administrative buildings, this citadel hosted a prison and a labor camp. The former was the main STASI prison in East Berlin, and those who were arrested on account of suspect activities against the State were usually carried here, where they had to withstand interrogations.
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
This place is really grim and appalling. It looks like the staff of the prison had just left. Everything from what you see to the smell of the cells, offices and interrogation rooms is totally evocative of the original GDR atmosphere.
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
The STASI became the owner of the place in 1951, after the Soviets, who had managed the occupied territory directly after the German capitulation in 1945, left control of many administrative functions following the creation of the GDR. Under the Soviet rule, in the years of Stalin between 1945 and 1951, a labor camp was set up here and the main building of the prison – a former canteen for Nazi staff – opened for business. More than 20’000 people passed through this installation between 1945 and 1951, many of them on their way to deportation to the USSR.
Under the control of the STASI, the camp was dedicated to non-political prisoners, where the prison, enlarged in more instances as the STASI citadel was growing up, was for the ‘enemies of the State’. More than 20’000 people were imprisoned here between 1951 and 1990.
The place can be visited only on guided tours, offered on a regular basis also in English. Following the tour you can see various imprisonment cells. The worst – and really inhumane – from the times of the Soviets are in the basement of the main building, with no windows and no ventilation, where many people were crushed together waiting for interrogation or deportation.
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
The majority of the cells date from the era of the GDR, and are more modern. As the main business of the prison was that of extorting confessions, the prisoners were progressively brought in a state of psychological prostration. Preventing any form of communication was part of the treatment, so most cells for newly arrested people were for one person only. To isolate those arrested even more, when moving from the cell to the interrogation rooms and back the wardens observed special red and green lights, telling when there was somebody else in the corridors. This way the inmate would not see anybody except for the warden and the officer who interrogated him during all his or her stay in the prison.
Padded cells with straitjackets like in asylums were used in the process of extorting confessions, when the inmates were treated with drugs causing hallucinations and loss of physical control. These can be seen in the basement of one of the buildings.
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Also visible are some cells with open top for spending half a hour per day in open air.
An interesting item presented in the exhibition is a minivan that was used for taking people quietly to the prison. The appearance and markings are those of a normal cargo van for transporting goods, whereas the interior is structured with micro-cells for arrested people.
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Interrogation rooms are aligned on a corridor, and are extremely essential, featuring a shabby furniture. Greasy traces on the wallpaper and the smell of old fake leather heated by the sun is make the original atmosphere come alive.
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
A further wing is where a clinic for inmates was located. The clinic was of good level, with much technical instrumentation to manage several regular or emergency situations. The office of the director of this wing is another example of pure East German design. Most notably, the once omnipotent Erich Mielke appears to have been interned here following his arrest after 1989.
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
A one-of-a-kind exhibit is a railway truck for inmates. Besides the rather uncomfortable compartment design, with small chairs in a very little space, this transport was made really inhumane through the lack of air conditioning, the windows with bars and even a white glass, which deliberately created disorientation. These trains were artificially put on the lowest priority, so as to make traveling a painstaking experience for inmates.
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
Berlin Hohenschönhausen Stasi Remand Prison
The memorial is not central, so only those really interested in the history of the GDR, and of East Berlin and the STASI usually come here. Nonetheless, it is managed like a good level international museum, with guided tours, facilities for groups and a serious bookshop. Before taking the tour you are offered a movie telling the history of the prison in brief and showing the testimonies of former inmates. All in all a very interesting – and instructive – experience, surely worth a detour from the more touristic districts.
After visiting the prison, you may have a look around to the other buildings in this citadel. You can find a map in a cheap but interesting booklet they sell in the bookshop (‘The prohibited district’, by Erler and Knabe).
Getting there and moving around
The correct address of the prison building is Genslerstraße 66, Berlin. You can reach it easily by car. The neighborhood is primarily residential and not central, so parking won’t be a problem. If you have not a car, you can arrive conveniently with the tram line M5 from the most central districts. The correct stop is Werneuchener Strasse, and from there it’s about 0.4 miles to the gate of the prison. Website here.
STASI Prison Lindenstrasse, Potsdam
Behind an elegant façade like many others you can find in central Potsdam there is a prison comparable in size to the ‘main’ prison in Berlin Hohenschönhausen described above, and mostly unknown to the general public crowding this small and beautiful historical town.
This building was used as a prison by the Kaiser, the Nazis, the Soviets and finally the GDR. It was renovated and modified in many stages during its long history, and during WWII under the Nazi rule, some sections of the courthouse in central Berlin were transferred here, when the original buildings of the Nazi courthouse got damaged as a result of Allied air raids.
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Differently from Hohenschönhausen, the prison in Potsdam is not part of a ‘citadel’, even though the KGB headquarters in the GDR were not far – actually they can be found close to Schloss Cecilienhof, Potsdam, now partly converted to luxury apartments and villas.
Another difference with respect to Hohenschönhausen is the style of the building, which dates back to older times. This is reflected in the plan and in many details of the construction, which at least from the exterior is very elegant.
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Inside you can find Soviet cells in the basement – also here the most inhumane – and other cells packed along narrow corridors on several floors. In the inner courtyard there is a central block of open top cells for ‘recreation’, and traces of the original cameras and surveillance systems.
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Something you may appreciate is the fact that you can visit the place on your own. Paneling with data or telling the stories of former inmates are totally in German, but you are given a leaflet with explanations and a map of the place at the entrance. Also a few original interrogation rooms have been preserved and can be seen.
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
Potsdam Lindenstrasse Stasi Prison Courthouse
The entry price is very reduced, so visiting is of course a must for the committed tourist, and interesting also for the general public. The place is ‘mimetic’ and not much advertised, so you won’t find the usual flocks of visitors, unlike the royal estates in Potsdam… Much recommended.
Getting there and moving around
The precise address is Lindenstrasse 54, Potsdam. It is in central Potsdam, so you may park at your convenience for visiting the district and have a stop there if you like. Similarly, if you are coming with the public transport system just go to the central district and walk to the place. Website here.
STASI Pre-Trial Prison, Rostock
Similarly to the prison in Potsdam, the anonymity of the façade of this building in central Rostock, placed to the back of a section of the courthouse still working today, is really deceiving. A prison capable of hosting more than 100 inmates can be reached today via a small door leading mainly to the offices of the faculty of the local university. Once inside the building you will notice a worrying fence on the side of the stairs going to the first floor, where you can get access to the prison.
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Besides the many cells, it is possible to find a very interesting exhibition on the history of the GDR and of the STASI, with much data and stories from the time. Also many artifacts can be found, like spy gear, rags for preserving the odor of inmates for watchdogs to make capture easier, state bonds used to pay informers, and more.
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
The main function of the prison was that of keeping those arrested for interrogation until they were sentenced. More than 4000 people spent some time in this prison, mainly for ideological crimes, in the years of the GDR.
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
The place can be visited for free with an audio guide also in English. Some parts, including the open-top cells outside and the rigor cells in the basement can be visited only in a guided tour – as far as I understood, these are offered in German only.
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
Rostock Stasi Remand Prison
On the top floor you can see an interesting exhibition on people who escaped or tried to flee the GDR by sea.
Getting there and moving around
Centrally located in Rostock – a lively city on the coast of the Baltic Sea – at a walking distance from Rosengarten. If you are moving by car, you can park on Hermannstrasse, and reach the door to the back of the courthouse block (opposite a small market). The door is heavy, so press it hard, it may be open even if it looks closed. Website here.
STASI Maximum Security Prison ‘Bautzen II’, Bautzen
Originally designed as a pre-trial and short-term court jail by the local government, the prison of Bautzen II was erected under the Kaiser to the back of the courthouse in the homonym town in the southeastern corner of Saxony, today very close to the border with both Poland and the Czech Republic. A larger penitentiary, named Bautzen I and originally conceived as a juvenile jail, was built around the same time in town.
With the advent of the Nazi dictatorship, both facilities began to be exploited for the prosecution of political dissidents, or to isolate elements of ‘inferior races’. Violence, intimidation and extorted confessions began to be the rule. Both branches of the prison of Bautzen fell under Stalin’s control at the end of WWII, and this corresponded to an exceptional increase in the number of inmates, which included a substantial share of former Nazi staff and opponents of the Soviet regime.
After the creation of the GDR, the facilities in Bautzen went on working as primary centers for the confinement of political prisoners, together making for possibly the largest detention center in the country. The smaller jail of Bautzen II, with slightly more than 200 single cells, was turned into a maximum security prison intended for the most dangerous ‘subversive elements’ of the whole state. While Bautzen I is still an active state prison of todays Federal Germany, Bautzen II has been opened to the public as a memorial.
The dreary access from outside is through three gates, and this adds to the perception of the place as really ‘no hope’.
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Similarly to the prison in Potsdam (see above), Bautzen II can be toured on a self-guided basis, without a group. Most parts of the prison are opened, and several cells can be accessed.
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Some of the cells retain the original furniture, even shabbier than the usual communist standard. The metal staircase in the middle of the prison building allows to better appreciate the size.
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Besides rigor cells with additional bars and an incredibly small walkable area, some groups of cells are separated from others, with armored doors splitting the corridors in contiguous isolated sections. This was possibly a special feature of this maximum security prison. You can experience an unreal silence when sitting in a cell closing both the doors of the corridor and of the cell.
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
There are also some ‘common areas’ for inmates to work and stay, and an external courtyard divided in sectors, to allow inmates to spend some time open air, but without the chance to meet or see each other.
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Bautzen II Maximum Security GDR Prison
Getting there and moving around
The prison of Bautzen II is open as a national monument, a website with full information about visiting is here. I noticed that there are descriptions in German only throughout the prison, so you would better go prepared at least on the history of the place – starting for instance from the website – to get the most from your visit. The location is Waigangstrasse 8a, which is behind the courthouse of Bautzen, 0.8 miles to the east of the historical town center, conveniently reachable walking from the railway station and also by car. The area around the courthouse is mainly residential and parking can be found easily. Bautzen I is still today an active regular detention facility and cannot be visited.
A vital center of the Sorbs, an etnic group of Saxony and Brandenburg recognized by the German Federal Government, the town of Bautzen is nice to visit and rich of historical content. It is about 45 miles east of Dresden, and bolsters a picturesque, perfectly refurbished town center with medieval to baroque architectural elements.
STASI Headquarters, Dresden
The STASI headquarters and prison in Dresden have been developed starting 1945, originally as a prison for the Soviet NKVD (later KGB), on the premises of a former factory not far from the river Elbe and the historical district of the town – which would lay destroyed for decades following air raids in WWII. Similar to the prison in Lindenstrasse, Potsdam (see above), the underground floor of the former factory building was turned into a prison, with provision for a number of very basic cells typical to Stalin’s era, aligned on a narrow corridor.
Until the facility was handed over to the newly-formed GDR in 1952, the Soviets interned here mostly German citizens accused of cooperation with the defunct Nazi regime, as well as subversive elements, unfriendly with the Soviet controlling forces. As usual within a dictatorship, indictment was largely arbitrary and sentences extremely harsh – following arrest, most people were deported to forced labor camps of the Gulag system in the USSR, some were brought to Moscow to be hanged, and many were sent to provisional camps established in the ‘Soviet occupation zone’, later to become the territory of the GDR.
In this part of the exhibition it is possible to step in most of the cells, very small and essential.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
A room is dedicated to the Gulag system, whereas another is a memorial for those taken to the Dresden prison and who reportedly did not survive the ordeal of the Soviet detention system, or where sentenced to death on the base of political reasons.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Also visible are some service rooms, like the bathrooms and rooms for the guards.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Along the corridor an emergency cable could be pressed by the guards at any time when in distress, triggering an alarm. From this part of the prison it was possible to access a inner courtyard.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Concurrently with the handing-over to the STASI, the facility was expanded, with offices and a modern multi-storey prison building.
Access for those arrested was via an inconspicuous wooden gate. An apparently innocent cargo van was employed for arrests. It can be checked out and it reveals provision for several segregated micro-cells inside. Once disembarked from the van, some prisoners may have had to wait for the prison check-in process inside mini-cells. Temperature in this area used to be – and still is – terribly hot in the summer.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Once inside, prisoners had to undress and undergo an accurate inspection in the check-in room. They were photographed for records in a special room, where they sat on a chair which was moved by the camera operator to obtain portraits at specific angles. Then prisoners were assigned dresses and slippers for their stay.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
This prison acted as a remand (i.e. pre-trial) prison, with 44 cells on 4 levels.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Cells were for one, two or three people. Single cells were not customary from the 1970s on, except for rigor cells.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
An example of the latter can be seen, with a small chair bolted to the ground and no windows. A special cell was that for writing letters, something that was possible only at prescribed intervals (e.g. once per week) and in this special room – obviously, all communications were checked and censored by the STASI. This cell features a small table, a chair, and a lavatory.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
An uncommonly ‘comfortable’ cell was employed for foreign prisoners, who included those who had tried to help GDR citizens in their escape attempt, and who for some reason had got caught by the STASI. These cells had a window allowing a view of the sky – not possible through the special windows of regular cells – and a larger iron bed, instead of a narrow wooden berth.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Separated boxes in a walled courtyard outside were employed for letting the prisoners spend some minutes per day in the open air.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Walking the prison building you may notice that most of it is still original, including the purely-GDR linoleum floor, and the alarm system. The heavy curtains make the building dark and oppressing. The temperature in the summer is also very hot. The building is very silent, much resembling the original asylum-like feeling.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
A routine operation in a remand prison was interrogation of the prisoners. Prisoners were insistently interrogated by STASI staff before formalizing an indictment. For the purpose, they were taken to the top floor of the building, along a few flights of stairs, up to the the interrogation rooms. Interestingly, the door giving access to this ‘bureaucratic’ part of the facility still bear seals (now reopened), put in the days of the revolution following the demolition of the wall in Berlin in 1989. The offices of the STASI, with material and archives, were sealed for criminal investigation.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Today, in this area a few original relics from the STASI operations can be found, like photographic film, nominal folders, stamps, keys, etc.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
One interrogation room is still visible, whereas many others have been converted and are today employed for thematic workshops by the organization running the memorial.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
As of 2023, the memorial is undergoing restoration, with the reopening of a larger part of the offices planned soon. Momentarily, it is possible to see the original grand auditorium of the STASI, a full-scale theater, with a typical GDR decor and even an original audiovisual apparatus. It is hard to imagine what kind of people could attend some symposium in an elegant room like this, just 50 ft away from prisoners confined in cells, non-criminals confined mostly only because suspected of having some arbitrarily-defined ‘subversive ideas’.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
The quarters of the old NKVD prison are linked to the more modern prison building by a long underground corridor.
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Memorial Bautzner Strasse, Dresden – KGB/STASI prison and headquarters, Dresden, GDR
Getting there and moving around
The former STASI headquarter in Dresden is run as a memorial by a very active society, supported by various preservation bodies and associations. A professional website with much information, including a leaflet with a description of your visit in English, can be found here. A visit may easily take 1.5-2 hours for an interested subject. Many parts of the facility are accurately preserved and make for a very evocative memento. Furthermore, permanent and temporary exhibitions add to the experience and documentary value.
Visiting is possible on a self-guided basis, with explanatory booklets in many languages including English lent for the duration of your visit.
The memorial is located northeast of the historical district of Dresden, right on the northern bank of the river Elbe. The exact address is Bautzner Straße 112a, 01099 Dresden. However, access by car to the inside parking is possible only at these coordinates, (51.06688926262786, 13.782718227181237). Since access is from a major road where a U-turn is impossible, and the entrance to the parking is somewhat ahead of the official address, it is worth employing these coordinates for your nav, otherwise you might be missing the entrance to the parking, being forced to a pretty long tour of ‘one ways’ and ‘no turns’ before you get back to your intended destination.
Memorial ‘In der Runden Ecke’ – STASI Headquarters, Leipzig
Similar to its cousin in Berlin-Lichtenberg, the former headquarters of the STASI in Leipzig has been opened as a memorial. In this case, the building was not made on purpose, but converted from a pre-existing one. A decorated, elegant palace in the city center was chosen for the local brain of the repressive apparatus. The building features an angled facade, since the name ‘on the round corner’ – ‘in der Runden Ecke’ in German.
The entrance hall to the former headquarters has retained much of its original appearance.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
The main part of the exhibition is immediately reached through the original reception office, which has been left willingly untouched since the pre-1989 era – including now dead CC-cameras, and two elaborated majolica murals with emblems of the STASI and some decorations.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
The exhibition takes the ground floor of a wing of the building, i.e. only a small part of the original site. The office of a clerk has been mothballed preserving at most its original, shabby appearance, with a portrait of Honecker.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
In an adjacent room, many rigs for covert mail and communication interception and inspection activities are displayed. These range from steam-pumping envelope openers, to fake postal stamps from Federal Germany, or even from abroad (to send false communications), and even fancier machines for reproducing signatures, looking inside parcels, etc. – every design betraying a really paranoid attention to details, and a true waste of exceptional engineering abilities.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
A complete cell and photo studio – for mugshots – from the now demolished STASI prison in Leipzig has been spared for this exhibition, not much dissimilar from others on this web page (see above).
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
More artifacts on display include audio and image gathering stuff, ranging from micro cameras and recorders, to exceptionally compact, high-precision zoom lenses. Archived rags with the smell of repression victims in case of escape – for dogs – are another specimen from the STASI crazy inventory.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
A room is devoted to the STASI huge paper archive, and to the silly, titanic effort to destroy the evidence of years of illegal spying activity as quick as possible, following the re-opening of the border. The solidified slime obtained from paper fragments is on display. Some very evocative pictures show the immense Leipzig archive and its conspicuous remains after the destruction attempt.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Two more rooms tell about the immediate post-WWII history in Leipzig, with pictures from 1945 with Nazi officials who committed suicide, as well as from the first stage of Allied occupation and Soviet administration – before the GDR was founded.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
An interesting collection of artifacts concerning the Soviet-GDR friendship and alliance is really evocative of a luckily bygone era.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Finally, the corridor is full of interesting pictures, telling about the disinformation role of the STASI, border patrolling, and many other businesses this overpowered criminal organization was in charge of.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
The building is today also seat for an agency managing the old STASI archive for historical purposes. Furthermore, the first floor and the elegant stairs leading to the top can be toured, with some display cases showing attractive Soviet-era artifacts.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
The first floor in particular must have been an official meeting/reception area, or a director’s office. Part of the original furniture is still there, including a mural with the head of Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet Ceka back in Lenin’s time, and an inspirational figure for all fanatics of ‘state security’ in the communist world – an activity which was a synonym for violent prosecution of free will.
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Memorial ‘in der Runden Ecke’ – Former STASI Headquarters, Leipzig, GDR
Getting there and moving around
The memorial is on the border of the pedestrian area in Leipzig city center. It is modestly publicized, but thanks to its accessibility, it might be easily included in a standard visit to historical Leipzig, and it is significantly populated by tourists. Entrance is free of charge, and its professional website is here. Despite the small size, for an interested subject visiting might take 2 hours or more. Free pictures are allowed, and an audio guide in English allows to get much from the visit even for people not speaking German.
STASI Bunker, Machern
The bunker in Machern is an underground facility built for the STASI in 1968-72 as an emergency headquarter, for keeping the chain of command and coordinate operations in case of a potential crisis. It represents a specimen of the level of commitment of the GDR government with respect to the preservation of control, and a witness of the huge budget made available to this particular ministry, inextricably linked to the government itself and pivotal in the survival of the oppressive GDR communist regime over its entire life span.
The crisis in Prague in 1968 possibly triggered the build up of a similar underground network by the STASI, which customarily operated in secrecy. The very existence of the bunker, located some 30 minutes driving from central Leipzig, was unknown to most. The inconspicuous visible part of the facility was deceived in one of the lots in a district of free-time homes for employees of a public company. It was discovered only following the 1989 revolution and the abolition of the STASI.
Compared to underground military installations, either of the NVA or the Red Army, the bunker is rather compact. However, it had provisions for about 100 staff in case of crisis, with a moderate ability to resist military-level attacks, including facing a nuclear war scenario.
The visit starts by accessing the grounds, where an unassuming little country villa of the GDR can be found, which acts as a check-in point, and as a ticket office.
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
Soon you may notice the presence of unusual gear on the premises. These include houses and training gear for dogs, cables for allowing leashed watchdogs along a pre-assigned watch pattern, a concrete sentry box, fire extinguishing gear, piles of fuel barrels, a deck for repairing vehicles, and a rather big grey hangar.
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
The latter hides the blast-proof double entrance to the underground bunker. Before stepping in however, it is possible to check out an impressive amount of spare parts aligned on shelves, with literally tons of interesting military-grade material – most of them clearly marked as Soviet manufacture. Many mystery boxes with writing in Russian can be seen. Rolls of barbed wire, metal nets, camo blankets, and other material for sealing and deception can be seen together with more technical material, including technical instrumentation.
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
A small collection of memorabilia from the STASI years is shown on site, as well as a permanent exhibition with technical schemes and organization details.
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
Access to the underground bunker is via a horizontal armored door and through a long flight of stairs. An airlock with two tight doors was installed for making the place blast-proof and seal it in case of nuclear attack.
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
Dosimeters and showers for decontamination can be found close to the entrances – there are two of them, both inside the same hangar.
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
The bunker was mainly intended as an intelligence center for crisis management. The flow information was guaranteed by a number of communication systems and facilities. Manned stations can still be seen in a number.
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
Beside communication facilities, the bunker features sleeping quarters for the STASI staff, a kitchen/canteen area, and a few offices and private quarters for the decision-makers – senior STASI officers. These offices offer a reasonable level of comfort, typical to the the bunkers from the era (see for instance Kossa and the Polish headquarters near Wolin, but a similar level of comfort could be encountered also on the western side of the Iron Curtain, like here in Britain).
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
The bunker is built mainly around a square corridor, with an array of long and narrow rooms, each dedicated to a specific function.
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
STASI Bunker Machern – Nuclear-proof intelligence headquarters near Leipzig, GDR
Soviet material can be found everywhere, including air filters and heaters.
Different from the previous sites bound to the grim and disturbing history of the STASI and of the communist-led repression in the GDR, this bunker offers an interesting perspective into the para-military domestic activity of this former backbone of the single-party government of that country.
Getting there and moving around
The STASI bunker-museum in Machern is a branch of the STASI memorial in Leipzig (see above). An updated web page on this bunker can be found in the German version of the website of the Leipzig memorial (here), with updated information on the planned dates for a visit. The bunker is regularly open only on a few dates over the year, which are published in advance.
The visit allows to access the grounds, where explanatory panels are available in German, as well as the storage hangar and bunker. In the hangar, visitors are offered a short introductory video (in German). Afterwards, it is possible to visit the hangar and the bunker on a self-guided basis. Reservation is not required, but access is regulated on site by gathering visitors to form small groups, who are admitted to the bunker one by one to avoid overcrowding. Time in the bunker is more than enough to check-out the items on display, taking all the pictures. In all, a visit to this installation may take about 1 hour once on site.
Please note that they accept only cash for the ticket.
The location is in the countryside, about 10 miles northeast of Leipzig along the road B6. It is easy to reach only with a car or similar. There is a large parking there (51.376119908957726, 12.633996194227596), also serving the nature recreation area around. The entrance to the bunker can be reached from the parking with a .5 miles walk along a local road here (51.37857212168658, 12.644452664748663). No parking is possible on that road. Please note that the position corresponding to the bunker marked on Google Maps is largely inaccurate.
The bunker is located very close to the former Soviet base of Brandis/Waldpolenz (see here).
KGB Prison and Headquarters, Potsdam
This memorial is strictly speaking an outlier in this chapter, since it was never a STASI facility. Since their arrival in late April 1945, the Soviets installed a major intelligence and counter-intelligence center in Potsdam. An entire district was severed from the rest of this fashionable imperial town – which had fallen in the hands of the Soviets and later in the GDR. Its perimeter was fenced, the area provided with a guarded gate, and interdicted to everybody except authorized Soviet staff.
In it there were residential buildings, as well as central offices of the secret intelligence and security services of the Soviet Union in the heart of the GDR, and immediately on the border with West Berlin.
Today this exclusive residential area has been returned to its original function, except for a memorial, which has been prepared in the former prison originally built by the Soviets in a pre-existing, relatively little and unassuming building.
The Soviet secret services employed the prison from 1945 to the early 1950s as a remand prison for former Nazi collaborators, but also for German citizens considered dangerous or unreliable for the Soviet system. They were typically sentenced to years of forced labors and deported to the Gulag systems. When the STASI was created and took over the surveillance of GDR citizens, this prison was employed primarily for Soviet citizens considered as dissidents, including military staff. It is estimated that the Soviet population in the GDR totalled half million people in the late 1980s, therefore surveillance was not an easy task for the Soviets, requiring a dedicate apparatus with its own facilities.
The citadel and the prison in it went on operating until 1994, among the latest facilities to be relinquished by the then-Russian government.
The largely arbitrary indictment and sentencing of German citizens interned in this prison by the inhumane bureaucratic Soviet government of the years of Stalin indeed made many victims. Therefore, this place is primarily a memorial.
The shabbiness of the entire construction, typical to Soviet KGB prisons (see for instance here) is really striking. The visits starts on the first floor, where a number of cells can be seen. A rigor cell can be recognized by the lack of any light or ventilation. The ground was typically flooded with cold water, and the walls are covered in rough plaster, so that the prisoner could not sit on the ground nor lean against the wall.
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
On the top floor, former interrogation rooms today host a very interesting exhibition, with rich and detailed information in multiple languages including Russian and English. They cover the activity of Soviet secret services in the ‘Soviet occupation zone’, and later in the GDR and the Soviet enclaves in it. The brutal treatment reserved to many Germans, typically in the immediate post-WWII years under Stalin’s rule, is witnessed through striking documents, accounts and photographs. Among those sentenced to death were even schoolboys who did not want to learn Russian.
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
A focus is put on the structure of the law system of the communist dictatorship in the USSR, as well as on the mechanism of interrogations – including accounts of Soviet defectors.
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
Original memorabilia from the place include coats, special armbands for the staff authorized to enter the citadel, as well as original documents from the various ages of operation of the place.
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
In the basement are group cells intended for many people on their way to deportation. Graffiti from inmates can still be seen in the plaster.
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
A rigor cell which did not allow standing is also part of the exhibition.
A memorial to the victims of Soviet hardship has been installed on a side wall, whereas a modern visitor center completes the exhibition.
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
A thematic walk in the former Soviet citadel highlights through explanatory panels the original function of some of these buildings. Now returned to their original imperial splendor, they carry unsuspected grim memories of the communist era. Among the most notable features is the relic of a former small monument. Looking carefully, some of the houses still bear numbers on the facade according to the Soviet-style numbering of town blocks.
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
KGB Prison and Headquarter, Potsdam – Memorial Leistikowstraße
Getting there and moving around
The memorial is called Gedenk‑ und Begegnungsstätte Leistikowstraße Potsdam, and its professionally-run website is here. The address is Leistikowstraße 1 – 14469 Potsdam. Many parking opportunities on site. Reaching is easy also with public transport from Berlin. The prison is very close to the Cecilienhof palace.
The visit is on a self-guided basis, with much information available through the website, including options for smartphone-guided tour to the prison and to the former citadel. The permanent exhibition (in many languages) is rich and interesting, a detailed visit to the prison and exhibition may take up to 1 hour 15 minutes. A walk in the former Soviet citadel, today very enjoyable, may add 30-40 minutes for the more committed visitor.
A few miles from the city of Soissons, and precisely in the municipality of Margival in the northern French countryside, southeast of the region of the Somme – where the fierce offensive of the British and their Allies took place in 1916 – lies a very little advertised and almost unknown item of great interest for war historians.
It was here, not far from where young Hitler fought for the Kaiser in WWI, that the occupation forces of Nazi Germany started building their headquarters in 1942. The place, not far north from Paris and at a similar distance from the coasts of Normandy and the narrowest section of the Channel, was probably selected also for the existence of a long railway tunnel, with an entrance hidden in a small but deep valley – of use for hiding the special armored train Hitler used to travel over the occupied regions of the Third Reich.
Being intended for acting as a major directional center where the Führer himself should be in charge, the military installation was designed with all that was necessary for leading the German offensive and directing operations on a potential western front, and with some comfort for the top figures of the German government. Similarly to other bases destined to host the Führer, the fort in Margival received a picturesque name – ‘Wolfsschlucht II’ or ‘Wolf’s canyon II’.
The fact that soon after the D-Day operations and the real opening of a western front for Germany the region fell under Allied control meant that the installation was used intensively for only about three months in the summer of 1944 – it had began to be used more considerably from the first months of 1944, when an invasion from the sea began to be seen by the Nazi high command as likely.
Hitler reportedly visited the place only in one occasion and for 1-2 days in June 1944, soon after the successful landing of the Allies in Normandy, electing to concentrate personally on the Eastern front and leaving the command of operations to other generals. General Model resided in the installation in August 1944. Soon after the area was lost to the Allies.
But the history of the place was not over. The bunkers, barracks and service buildings had been constructed by the German paramilitary Todt organization with good care and had survived the war basically undamaged. They were used by the French Army until 1955 before being selected for quartering NATO forces until 1968. Then control was given back to the French Army, who abandoned the place with the end of the Cold War in the early Nineties.
Since then the place has been left deserted and has fallen into oblivion. Only in recent years a local society of enthusiasts has begun a lengthy but precious restoration work, which by now has interested only a limited part of the huge area of this military installation.
Due to the extensive use by western forces in the Cold War period, much of the few remaining interiors date from more recently than WWII. On the other hand, the buildings and their disposition are original from the German master plan.
The following photographs were taken during an exploration of the site in August 2016.
Getting there and moving around
Wolfsschlucht II has three main gates, one to the south in Margival, leaving the D537 as the road climbs uphill in a horseshoe bend, one to the east in Laffaux, leaving the D537 to the right before reaching the town center approaching from north, and the last to the north, on Rue Principale in Neuville-sur-Margival.
I selected the first of the three, for immediately after passing the gate and the former guardhouse there is a free area where you can conveniently park your car. This area is technically inside the old fence, so if there is nobody around to greet you and to ask about, you may be worried about your car being blocked inside if somebody closes the gate. I watched the door closely and decided it had been open for months, so I left my car inside. Soon after I met one of the members of the preservation society, who assured there was no trouble in parking where I had actually parked, so I guess you can adopt the same strategy…
I must mention the preservation society has a website where they advertise guided tours of the place, even in English language (website here). I tried to contact them in advance the days prior to my visit, about twenty-five times via phone, but could never speak with anybody – the line was free but nobody answered. I sent also some emails to the guys on the contact list of the site, and never received an answer. I decided to go anyway, and in the event I could tour the place without troubles, except a few restored bunkers, which are closed and cannot be visited except with a guide I guess.
The place is not particularly creepy. Once there, I found an entire family and various other people touring the area, plus people busy in the restoration of some of the bunkers. The railway track is still active, so there are also trains passing right besides the bunkers.
The bunkers are roughly aligned along a single road leading from the southern to the northern entrance, to the east of the railway track. The length is about 1.7 miles one way, so plan a walk of about 3.5 miles for a round tour of this installation.
Sights
The first large bunker you find when approaching from the southern gate is the ‘Loano’ bunker – all names are from after WWII, where the numbers painted on the bunkers are original German. The distinctive concrete dome and the surface with holds for practicing with climbing and doing exercises is an addition dating from after WWII.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
The road then splits in two. Both ends lead to the northern part of the installation, where the most interesting bunkers can be found. The lower path goes along the railway, and climbs uphill steeply towards the end. There is less to see along that than the other path, going uphill immediately behind the ‘Loano’ bunker.
Along the latter, you can find a series of service buildings, barracks, clubhouses and canteens for troops. Also a former square with a flagpole can be seen to the side of the road at some point. Most of the buildings are totally abandoned. I explored some of them with some satisfaction, but what you can find dates clearly from relatively recent years.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Among other buildings, a partially interred bunker for troops, similar to those you can find in the batteries of the Atlantic Wall, can be spotted in the trees, refurbished but unfortunately not accessible. A distinctive feature of some of the buildings is their ‘partially armored’ construction, with the part reaching to the road made of lighter materials and that closer to the hill made of reinforced concrete.
I guess the iron window frames and blinds date back from WWII.
After a good walk you finally reach a T-shaped crossing and a group of buildings. Among them, the one belonging to the preservation society – ‘Berezina’ bunker. To the east you can spot the only multi-storey building of the complex, which reportedly served as a building for visitors, and actually looks like a small hotel. I don’t think this dates back from WWII, for the style is somewhat ‘un-German’. You can step inside at your own risk, for the building is totally derelict. Baths and canteens are still easily recognizable. To the back of the ‘Berezina’ bunker it is possible to find the entry of a heavy armored bunker, in a refurbished camouflage.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Going back to the T-shaped crossing and taking to the west you find one of the most interesting bunkers, a former communication bunker which was named ‘Patricia’ after the war. This building follows the ‘partially armored’ construction scheme. It is exceptionally long, possibly one of the largest of the kind in Europe.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Inside the building it is easy to distinguish the unarmored part to the front from the armored part to the back, closer to the hill.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Again the inside of the armored part is very similar to the bunkers of the Atlantic Wall, a consequence of both being designed by the same design studio. Remains of cables from WWII and of other equipment from various ages make this visit very interesting. It’s very dark inside the armored part, you will definitely need a torch, and be very careful, cause the pavement is uneven and there are manholes and other strange cavities all around.
The last part of the visit will bring you to the Führer’s quarters. Keeping going uphill, the road will turn north. As you reach the top of a steep climb you will be facing a corner building with three square pillars. This is bunker N.1, where Hitler was in his only visit to the Margival site in June 1944. The very sober decoration of the façade with the three pillars is the only distinctive feature of this building, which is again armored to the back.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Leaving the N.1 building to your left you may take a road proceeding around the hill without climbing. Along this road you see a grassy area with curbs framing a square spot on the ground. This is where a ‘normal’ – i.e. not armored – house for the Führer’s entourage used to stay. Further on, you can find an original Nazi swimming pool, again intended for top-ranking staff stationed in the installation.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Going back to bunker N.1 and taking to the north, you can find large buildings possibly originally hosting command services and canteens. At the time of my visit these were undergoing restoration.
A refurbished bunker with a ‘Tobruk’ shooting post can be found to the northernmost end of the building complex.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
During my exploration I came back to the southern gate and to the ‘Loano’ bunker following the lower road along the railway. Being an active track, it should be approached with extreme caution. It is part of the tour, for it was there from the origin.
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
Margival Wolfsschlucht 2
All in all, this was a stress-free, easy and enjoyable exploration. The site is rich of historical significance and showcases interesting military buildings from the period of Nazi Germany. I would recommend it for everybody interested, including those in lower than average physical condition. Don’t forget guided tours are possible in principle – I wish you are luckier than me in scheduling one!
The Berlin Wall is widely known as one of the most emblematic symbols of the Cold War – a materialization of the ‘Iron Curtain’. The Wall – at least in its preliminary stage – was erected almost overnight in August 1961 by the Government of the GDR (‘German Democratic Republic’, or ‘DDR’ in German), and later developed into a complex and virtually impenetrable dividing barrier with fortifications, multiple fences, barbed wire, watchtowers, watchdogs, mines, truck stopping bars and other devices, isolating the part of Berlin attributed to the US, Britain and France from the Soviet occupation zone.
This monster, which caused many people to lose their lives, or forced them to risk everything – and leave everything behind – in the pursue of freedom, remained in place and was steadily updated until its triumphal demolition in November 1989.
What is less known is that the reason for building the Wall was the urge of the GDR to stop emigration towards West Germany (‘FRG’, Federal Republic of Germany, or ‘BRD’ in German) and the free world. Actually, the Wall was built following a massive emigration wave from the harsh living conditions of the GDR, taking place during the Fifties and mounting until the Wall was built. Literally millions of people fled the regions occupied by the Soviets from the end of WWII in 1945 until 1961.
Consequently, blocking the border only in the city of Berlin would have been nonsense. As a matter of fact, at the same time as the construction of the Wall begun, the government of the GDR started one of the most gigantic ‘border-armoring’ operations in history, by ordering fortification of the whole border line between East and West Germany. The Berlin Wall was actually only the tip of the iceberg, as all the more than 800 miles long border line between East and West Germany, extending from the Baltic Sea to Bavaria and the Czech border, was blocked with the same level of restraining techniques deployed in Berlin, to the explicit aim of preventing people from crossing the fence and going East to West. For the Communist government, East Germany had to be reconfigured basically as a nationwide prison.
This incredible operation, which engaged thousands border troops and tons of equipment, plus required continuous updates of the patrolling technologies, was reportedly so expensive that it contributed effectively to the collapse of the economy of the GDR. It crystallized the so-called ‘Inner Border’ between the two German republics, which had existed since 1945, but had never been so deadly. After the introduction of this strict border patrolling policy the number of people killed or wounded, and of those arrested because trying to cross the border, increased steadily until the re-opening of the border, following rapidly after the demolition of the Wall in Berlin in 1989.
Berlin is today an enjoyable city, full of interesting places to visit and things to do, and its urban configuration, so strikingly bound to the Wall and its history – unlike all other capital cities in Europe, Berlin is lacking a true ‘city center’ – with the passing of time is becoming more uniform. Differences between the two sides, once obvious, now tend to vanish, at least in the most seen parts of the city, with new buildings, fashionable shops and malls, stately hotels and governmental buildings rising where once the Wall had created barren flat areas, not restored for long from the ruins of WWII. Obviously, nothing bad in this process, which also makes Berlin one of the most lively places in Europe in terms of architecture.
The grim atmosphere of the Cold War years can still be breathed in many places in town especially in the former East Berlin, but even close to the few memorials of the Wall scattered over the urban territory it’s hard to imagine how it really felt like being there when the border could not be crossed. If you want more evocative places, you should look somewhere else.
In this sense, the preserved border checkpoints and portions of the fortified Inner Border are much more evocative, and constitute a very vivid, albeit little known, fragment of memory, inviting you to think about the monstrous effects of ideology and dictatorship. All along the former border, especially in the southern regions of the former GDR, you can still spot large areas spoiled of trees, where once the border fences run. Scattered watchtowers are not an unusual sight in these areas, even though many have been demolished immediately after dismantling the border. In some focal places, often corresponding to former checkpoints where important roads crossed the border, the fences have been totally preserved or just slightly altered, for keeping historical memory.
The following photographs were taken during an exploration of some of these sites in summer 2015, winter 2016, summer 2021 and again in summer 2023. The exposition follows a southern-northern direction along the former Inner Border.
Map
The following map shows the location of the sites described below. For some sites you can zoom in close to the pinpointed positions on the map to see more detailed labels. Directions to reach all the sites listed are provided section by section. The list is not complete, but refers to the sites I have personally visited. Border sites in Berlin are not included.
Mödlareuth is actually the name of a small village placed along the former Inner Border between Bavaria and Thuringia. The site is not difficult to reach by car, a 4 miles detour from highway N.9, going from Munich to Berlin. Just proceed to the village of Modlareuth, which is dominated by the ‘Deutsch-Deutsches Museum Mödlareuth’ (website here). This encompasses an open-air exhibition of the former border area, plus an indoor exhibition with patrolling vehicles, artifacts, videos and temporary exhibitions. Large free parking on site.
For photographing purposes, I would suggest approaching from the south, from the village of Parchim via H02. Mödlareuth is located in a natural basin surrounded by low hills, and the H02 proceeds downhill to the site, allowing for a perfect view of the former border area.
Sights
Most of the Inner Border once run in rural areas. In that case, ‘only’ double fences, dogs, watchtowers, truck-stopping grooves and mines were ok. In the less common cases when the border crossed or passed close to villages, something similar to what had happened in Berlin was replicated on a smaller scale, and a further fortification layer in the form of a tall concrete wall, was put in place.
This happened also in Mödlareuth, where the small village was split in two parts by a wall, gaining to this town the nickname of ‘Little Berlin’. The place was rather famous in the West before 1989, and it was visited also by vice-president Bush in the years of the Reagan administration.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
As here one of the relatively few local roads not cut by the Inner Border was left, the village was also place for a border checkpoint for cars.
The open air exhibition showcases what remains of the wall – the most of it was demolished restoring the original, pre-war geography of the town -, as well as a full section of the border protection system and checkpoint. Looking from the West, you had first the real geographical border, coinciding with a creek as it was typical. Beyond it, poles with warning signs and distinctive concrete posts painted in black, red and yellow stripes (the colors of the German flag) with a metal placard bearing the emblem of the GDR. These signs had existed since the inception of the inner border to mark it, and date from older times than the other border devices. Then followed the wall. Behind it, a corridor for walking/motorized patrols and a fence. Then you had a groove in the ground, reinforced with concrete, capable of stopping a truck or a car pointing westwards from the GDR. An area of flattened sand followed next, to mark the footsteps of people approaching the border area. In different times, mines were placed in a much alike sand strip. Then followed a final fence.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Except for the wall, the above description applies with slight variants to all the length of the Inner Border.
The net used for the fences was very stiff and conceived to avoid fingers passing through, this way making climbing very difficult.
A peculiar aspect of the wall in Modlareuth is a small door in it. That was a service door for border patrols, used to access the area between the border line in the middle of the creek and the wall itself, for servicing or arresting Westerners. This happened more than once, not only here – as a matter of fact, walking past the border from the West was as easy as walking past the little creek where the border line passed. This was in all respects entering the GDR, even though the fortification line was about 30 feet further into the East. When this happened you could expect to be rapidly arrested and kept for interrogation before eventually being released in most cases. Servicing, like cutting trees and so on, in the strip between the wall and the real border was reportedly a task for very enthusiastic Communist troops, as escaping to the West from there was again as easy as a leaping past a narrow creek…
The road crossing the border in Mödlareuth is not active any more and is part of the open air exhibition. Actually the former customs house hosts the ticket office. Along the former road it is possible to observe an example of car stopping devices and original ‘stop’ and ‘no-trespassing’ signs.
The area was dominated by watchtowers. There are two in Mödlareuth, one original and inaccessible, the other probably cut in height. Both are of a relatively recent model, with a distinctive round section.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Going to the two main buildings of the museum it is possible to find other interesting items, including models of the site, and pieces of hardware like a sample of the standard border wall, and a vehicle stopping device able to cut the road in a matter of a second at a short notice.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A large depot hosts many vehicles – armored vehicles, 4×4, trucks, and even a helicopter – once part of the border patrols of the GDR, and also of the FRG. Forces of the latter did monitor the border, but as the problem was mainly with the GDR in trying to keep its citizens back, the FRG forces were as substantial as it is usual for a border between states.
There are also original road signs and warning signs, including some in English for US troops.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Finally, the museum offers a well-made 15 minutes documentary, played in English on request, with the history of the Inner Border and of the wall in Mödlareuth, with video recordings from the past which really add to the perception of how the place used to work, and show what it meant for the local population – families split overnight and for decades, as it was the case in Berlin.
When I visited in 2015 the temporary exhibition was unfortunately only in German.
There are information panels scattered all around the village providing an opportunity to better compare today’s village with how it was before 1989.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Leaving to the north-west towards Thuringia along K310, it is possible to spot a part of the most external border fence which has been preserved out of the village. You can walk freely along it. Still in Modlareuth, in the parking of the exhibition a Soviet tank still occupies one of the parking lots.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
I would recommend this place for a visit, it is convenient to reach and extremely interesting for the general public as well as for the most committed specialist. Visiting may take from half an hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, depending on your pace and level of interest. The countryside nearby is lovely and relaxing. The site is fully accessible and well prepared, with many explanatory information. It may be a bit crowded, as people mostly from Germany are visiting it in flocks… yet visiting is very evocative and rewarding.
Eisfeld-Rottenbach
Getting there
The Eisfeld site can be reached easily from highway N.73, less than .5 miles from exit Eisfeld-Süd. Actually, the highway didn’t exist at the time of the GDR, and the corresponding traffic ran on what is today Coburger Strasse. The very location of the former border checkpoint is today taken by a gas station, serving the highway traffic.
On site, you can still find the ‘Gedenkstätte Innerdeutsche Grenze Eisfeld-Rottenbach’, hosted in the original control tower for the border checkpoint. The tower can be visited as an automated museum, meaning that entrance is possible by putting a few coins in an automatic system to unlock the door. Despite being automated, the museum has hours of operations.
Sights
The Eisfeld site is similar to the one in Eussenhausen (see later), being the location of a former border crossing point. Actually, this checkpoint was built in a relatively later stage in the life of the inner border in 1973, to decrease congestion on major crossing points then in existence.
The highway today running nearby was not there in the Cold War years, hence the relatively smaller road running today into the service area and gas station now taking the place of the former checkpoint, used to be a major road linking the FRG and GDR near Eisfeld.
Of course, having been turned into a service station, the original function of the place is somewhat deceived. However, the control tower greeting you when approaching from the south betrays the original identity of this facility.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
The control tower was there to oversee and keep a constant watch on border control and customs operations, taking place on the several vehicle lanes beneath. Today, it is home to a very interesting exhibition on the topic.
Most of the exhibition is centered on pictures from the time of construction, operation and final dismantlement. These are very evocative of the bygone era of the Iron Curtain.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
On the top floor, a scale model of the former border crossing facility can be found. This is extremely interesting to understand the general arrangement of the site, and how traffic flows used to be managed on site. The normal access road from the FRG was interrupted by a preliminary checkpoint, giving access to the control area. Vehicles were split in multiple parallel queues for the official check. The lanes then rejoined and access to the GDR was via a normally-sized road. Basically the same happened in the opposite direction.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Stopping gear for emergency – conceived especially to stop fleeing vehicles – was located in several points, as well as fences all around the area, with watchtowers and more usual stopping systems for men and vehicles. Garrisons and booths were abundant too.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Most of this has gone today, except maybe some of the buildings of the service station, recycled from a different function.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
The control tower is the most conspicuous remain, together with some pieces of the Berlin wall, clearly not from here, but located here for remembrance. Visiting the small museum – unfortunately with descriptions in German only – may take about 45 minutes. Website here.
Gompertshausen
Getting there
The memorial can be found on the local road connecting Gompertshausen (Thuringia) to Alsleben (Bavaria). Parking opportunities on site.
Sights
The memorial Grenzdenkmal Gompertshausen is centered on an early-generation watchtower. The place was unlikely associated to a crossing point, and it is possible that the local road, now passing right besides the tower, was cut in the days of the GDR.
The memorial cannot be toured unless by appointment. However, its location in the middle of a peaceful agricultural area is rather suggestive of the grim atmosphere of the bygone oppressive communist regime.
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Close to the tower, a portion of the fence has been preserved, similarly to the access to an interesting underground facility – with a function which is today hard to guess from outside. A ventilation pipe is clearly visible in the premises, likely connected with this facility.
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Not far from the tower, in the village of Gompertshausen, an attentive eye can spot a (likely) former garrison of the border guards, now in a state of disrepair.
Behrungen
Getting there
Unlike some more prominent museums on this page, the ‘Freilandmuseum Behrungen’ open-air exhibition is not associated to a border crossing point. Actually, the public road giving access to the memorial runs parallel to it. Access is very easy driving from the village of Behrungen (Thuringia, former GDR) along Röhmilder Strasse, leaving the town heading east. The memorial can be found to the south of the road roughly 1 mile from the town. A first part of the memorial is a small preserved portion of the fence line, very close to the road. From there you can spot the watchtower. You can approach the latter by car, driving on the original service road, and park right ahead of it.
Visiting the watchtower is rarely possible. However, you can move around the area and cross the border with a short walk on a trail, to get good pictures anyway. The surroundings of the preserved part are in the middle of a natural preserve, making the visit a possible stop when wandering in this very nice area.
Sights
The installation in Behrungen is basically a preserved section of the original border in the deep countryside, not corresponding to any crossing point. The focal point in the exhibition is an early-type watchtower, which has been restored and hosts a small exhibition, seldom open unless by appointment. The detection sensors on top of the tower are still there, as well as the communication antennas.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A service road with the original prefabricated concrete slabs can departs from the tower.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
As usual in the structure of the border barrier of the GDR, the tower was in the middle of an interdicted strip, between two fence lines – one towards the GDR (north of the tower in this case) and one towards the FRG (to the south of the tower).
Two little portions of the inner fence line have been preserved, and can be seen quite apart from one another along the public road coming from Behrungen.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Besides one of the two fence traits, a smaller concrete shooting turret can be seen. Turrets like this, often covered in camo coat, can be found in a high number all along the line of the former inner border.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A big portion of the outer fence, south of the tower, is also visible in this exhibition. Running along it, a vehicle stopping moat made of concrete slabs is clearly visible still today.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
In the vicinity of this fence, a mine was found by chance as recently as 2001. A commemoration stone was put in place, to stress how the monstrosity of the wall left a long-lasting and unwanted inheritance for the local population and visitors as well.
Unlike in the Cold War years, you can now cross this border, heading south into Bavaria. The original striped concrete post and white signals, showing the actual line of the border – south from the monstrous fence – are still there.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Further south, you can find the original ‘Stop’ line put in place by FRG authorities, with prohibition signs and an explanation of the rules in the border area dating from 1989. This rules were very tricky, especially for the fact that getting past the line marked by the posts, without even reaching to the fence, was already a border violation. This was something that could happen for Westerners just by mistake, but would trigger capture, interrogation and possibly fines by the GDR border control police.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
The silent and peaceful area of the Behrungen site makes for a thought-provoking stop along the former inner border.
Eußenhausen
Getting there
The open-air exhibition of the ‘Grenzmuseum Eussenhausen’ can be reached along the St2445, roughly 1.5 miles north of the small village of Eussenhausen in Bavaria. Crossing the border with Thuringia, the road changes its name into L3019, and the closest village is Henneberg, about 1 mile north of the inner border. The exhibition is arranged on a former apron of the border control area, slightly uphill, but fairly accessible for the general public, and with a large parking ahead. The exhibition is open-air and arguably accessible 24/7 for free.
As of 2021, the large border control area on the GDR side of the border line (i.e. in Thuringia) is basically abandoned and severely damaged. For relic- and ghost-place-hunters or like-minded people, this can also be toured, and makes for an evocative sight. A dedicated parking is not available in the vicinity of this former facility, hence parking close to the official memorial is recommended.
Sights
This border museum is located on a former border crossing point between and the GDR and FRG, likely opened similar to other checkpoints in the 1970s, to reduce the traffic jams created by border controls on major transit arteries. Today, the site is composed of three parts, two of which are officially for visitors, and the latter an abandoned site.
The first and most significant part of the site is made of the (arguably) original road giving access to the large control area. The original external fence of the GDR border area can still be seen along the sides of the road, as well as the original external gate.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
It is likely that this area was originally intended for a kind of pre-check of vehicles, heading inside the GDR from the West. Today, the area has been converted into an exhibition of a wide array of stopping mechanisms and control booths once in place in the area of the border checkpoint.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Among the most striking items are one of the closing bars moving on a rail, and pushed by a still visible hydraulic actuator. The mass of the bar allowed to stop heavy traffic, and hydraulic power allowed for a very quick closure. This item was likely transferred here from the eastern side of the checkpoint, since similar stopping gear was intended to prevent GDR citizens fleeing the country.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Concrete shooting points, rather common along the border line also far from the authorized border-crossings, were often camo-painted. Some have been transferred here. A striped border post is also part of the exhibition.
A second part of the exhibition is a memorial built after the reopening of the border, to celebrate freedom. The meaning of the installations here is not always easy to capture. However, original parts of the fence wall rise the historical value of this area.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Finally, the area once used for controls can be found towards the eastern part of the checkpoint. This area is not open for visitors, but is basically open and unguarded, so a check is advised for more curious visitors. Here a tower was put in place to oversee the operations in the control lanes. This can still be seen, albeit severely damaged.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Close by, the large area once occupied by the control lanes can be seen. Original lamps are still there, but the sun shelters and control booths are totally gone. Looking at a historical picture available on the official part of the exhibition (see above), it is also clear that the bulky building on the side of the apron was not there at the time of border operations. Maybe this was built as a hotel – and construction halted before completion – after the reopening of the border.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A surviving building in this area is that of a small mechanics shop, possibly for the vehicles of GDR border protection corps.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
The Eußenhausen site is interesting for the easy-to-visit exhibition, but also a glance to the currently (2021) abandoned former control area may be really evoking. This short 360° video captures the unreal silence of this once busy border point.
Schwarzes Moor
Getting there
This site is immersed in a beautiful national preserve area, a popular destination for lovers of hiking or cycling activities. This site used to be a sharp corner of the inner border line. Today, the three German regions of Thuringia, Bavaria and Hessen (the former previously part of the GDR) still meet close to this point. The watchtower and the remains on site can be reached with a short walk on an unpaved, perfectly leveled and easy road from a large parking area, put in place for the visitors of the national preserve.
The parking can be reached by car approaching from Bavaria, where road St2287 meets St2288. The closest sizable village is Frankenheim, geographically just one mile north, but connected to the parking via a somewhat longer curvy road. The tower cannot be visited inside, and this small complex makes for a 24/7 open-air memorial, which can be neared without restrictions.
Sights
Smaller than other sites, but nonetheless interesting also for the vantage position on top of a hill and immersed in a beautiful natural preserve area, the Schwarzes Moor site is visible from a distance thanks to a late-generation, slender, square-based watchtower. This has been restored thanks to the intervention of local businesses, and the sight it provides from a distance is quite evocative of how the inner border should have looked like in this hilly countryside back in the years of operation.
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A small remnant of the original fence put on the western side is also in place, right ahead of the watchtower. One of the original gates in the fence was apparently located here, arguably used only for maintenance operations. No crossing was possible in this area.
A striped original ‘DDR’ concrete border post, as well as a few white poles with a similar demarcation function, can still be seen, making for an ideal photo subject – provided you dare to walk on a pasture area generously pointed by the results of cow digestion…
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Possibly less obvious to a less trained eye, a portion of the vehicle-stopping moat, once aligned with the largely disappeared fence, can still be seen, partially invaded vegetation.
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Thanks to its elevated position, the former wide area of the border, once spoiled of any vegetation and today invaded by younger trees, is still visible from the hilltop where the tower is. The original service road running along the fence line, made of typically-GDR prefabricated concrete slabs, helps to capture the shape of the sinuous line of the border.
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A historically relevant stop for those touring this region for the beautiful panoramas and for sporting activities, you will hardly miss this hiking trail head when roaming in the natural preserve.
Point Alpha
Getting there
The place is located between the small towns of Rasdorf, in Hessen, and Geisa, in Thuringia. It is very famous (website here), and official ad signs can be spotted also along highway N.7, going from Munich to Hamburg, near the town of Hunfeld, Hessen. From there it is a 12 miles drive – in a very relaxing, typically German countryside – to the site. Approaching from Rasdorf on the L3170, it is possible to access the site from two sides. If you go straight uphill to the top, you reach the small museum to one end of the site. If you take to the left just .2 miles before reaching the top of the hill, you access the site from the opposite end, where the most peculiar part of the complex – a US Army outpost – is located.
Both items are interesting, and they’re also linked by a walking trail – .25 miles -, running along the former border line. Free parking is available on both ends, so it’s just a matter of what you want to visit first.
Sights
This place is extraordinary in the panorama of the relics of the Inner Border, due to the fact that this portion of the border line was guarded directly by US troops instead of FRG border patrols on the western side. This is witnessed by a small outpost of the US Army which has been since then deactivated and opened to the public. The area – the so-called ‘Fulda Gap’ – was considered by western observers as one of the most likely targets for a possible attack/invasion from the East. This was also due to the fact the US quarters in Fulda were relatively close and there is no natural barrier between this section of the border and that city.
The US outpost is a very interesting prototype of similar installations. Much of the original barracks are still standing. The side of the outpost facing the border is also the place for an observation tower with much communication equipment and an observation deck.
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
The former canteen now hosts a bar. To the back of it you can still see a basketball court. Other buildings include former office/barracks, with a nice exhibition about the history and function of the site, and vehicle depots. There are also some vehicles, including a tank and two helicopters, and tents.
Very close to the tower the American Flag is still waving. The pole is not planted in the ground, in observance to the fact that this is not American land.
Curiously, walking towards the fence from within the fort you can see signs for military personnel, warning about the limits of jurisdiction outside a delimited area, in order to avoid raising diplomatic issues by introducing armored vehicles or similar items in an area too close to the border.
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
After visiting the outpost you can walk towards the small museum, telling more about the history of the Inner Border. The short trail runs along reconstructed portions of the original fence and border interdiction system. Most notably, on the GDR side there is a watchtower of the most modern type, tall and with a square section. Facing the US tower, there is a shooting bunker from the early age soon after WWII, put in place probably before the total closure of the border. Some signs provide scant descriptions, but the function of all devices there is pretty obvious.
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Close to the US outpost on the eastern side of the border it is possible to appreciate very clearly the construction of the vehicle stopping groove.
The portion of the border next to the small museum is preserved as it was before the final blockade – in a first stage, only concrete posts were in place, whereas barbed wire and stop signs were included in the picture. This was before the subsequent modernization, taking place in more stages from the definitive closure with fences, barriers and watchtowers in the early Sixties, until the reopening of the border.
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Similarly to Mödlareuth, this place is easily accessible, fully prepared for the general public and interesting also for people with a specific interest in the matter. The US outpost is a peculiar sight of this border site. In terms of resemblance to the original condition of the border fortification system, in my opinion it is less evocative than other places, but it still provides a good idea of how it may have looked like. The area is really nice to walk, so there is something for everybody here. Visiting may take from half an hour if you skip the museum, to more than an hour, depending on your interest.
Point Alpha is the best preserved among other installations of the kind, which include Point India and Point Romeo further north along the border with Hessen (west) and Thüringen (east).
Point India & Point Romeo
Getting there
The US outposts of Point India and Point Romeo are not located on the same spot, but they are described together here for convenience, especially since there is nothing left of Point Romeo today, except for an info table and a commemorative stone.
Point Romeo can be reached in two minutes out of the Wildeck-Obersuhl exit on the highway N.4. Taking north from the exit along L3248, you will reach the small village of Richelsdorf. Turn left on Shildhofstrasse upon entering the village. Keep on this road for about 1.5 mi, until you see the massive foundation of highway N.4 ahead of you. You should find a small sign showing the direction of the memorial and telling you to go north-west on a narrow road. Turning right according to the sign on this unnamed road, you should find the memorial .3 miles from the crossing. The memorial is open-air and unfenced, with picnic tables on the spot. Reaching is possible at all times.
Point India can be found starting from regional road 7. Reaching the village of Lüderbach and driving along Altfelderstrasse pointing west, you should leave the village behind you as the road climbs steep uphill. Upon leaving the village, you will take a sharp bend to the right, followed by a gentler one to the left, all in less than 300 ft. Upon entering the latter bend, you will see a wide road taking sharply to the left. As you take that road, gently ascending and going to the east, you many notice the path is unusually wide for the non-existent traffic, and for the rural location where the road is. It is such due to its original function, as it led directly into the US outpost. Keep on this road going east for about 0.5 miles, gently climbing on top of the hill, and you will find a dead end with a small parking, and a clear sign marking the original place of Point India. The memorial is open 24/7, including the tower.
The location of the Point India post has been included in a nice nature-culture walking trail in the area. The corresponding map can be found at Point India, as well as in other notable places along the trail. One of them is the East German watchtower in Ifta.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
To get there, you might drive to the village of Ifta, which used to be on the GDR side, and take Willershäuserstrasse to the south. Upon leaving the village behind, as the road enters a small forest, you should spot the watchtower on top of a hill, 0.2 miles to the right of the road up. Take the road climbing to the tower, which is paved in the original concrete slabs typical to all service roads on the eastern side of the former border, and drive to the place, where a small flat area suitable for parking and basic picnic facilities can be found. The tower is generally closed.
Sights
The function of the two outposts of Point India and Point Romeo was similar as that of Point Alpha (see above). The region of the ‘Fulda Gap’, along the border between Hessen in the FRG and Thüringen in the GDR, was considered of high strategic significance, and actively guarded by US forces since immediately after WWII, when the line of the German Inner Border was crystallized. Thanks to the favorable morphology of the terrain in this area, an invasion from the Eastern Bloc was considered especially likely from this sector of the border. As a matter of fact, this idea elaborated on the western side of the Iron Curtain turned out to be a correct prevision of the actual plans for an attack to the West, prepared in the years of the Cold War by the USSR, taking advantage of its own presence in the Countries on the border with Western Europe (see here and here).
Today, the outpost of Point India has been almost completely demolished, and the area returned to nature. From the parking, you can spot the three traces that remain from the observation post (OP), namely the observation tower, the entry sign, and a service building which used to shelter some electrical gear, and currently standing right ahead of the parking area.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
The sign bears an emblem with a motto from the 11th US Armored Cavalry regiment, which took responsibility for manning the observation point. The sign is a copy, but it resembles the original one, and it is close to its original location. The parking is actually very close to the former gate of the camp.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
From the parking, a short walk leads to the original watchtower. This concrete watchtower is the third installed in the observation point premises, its predecessors being a wooden one from the late 1960s, flanked by a metal one in the late 1970s. Both were replaced by the concrete tower you see today, a perfect twin to that found in Point Alpha (see above).
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
The tower can be climbed today, and it is possible to enter the former observation room, as well as the open observation deck.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Inside the observation room, now spoiled of all hardware and turned into a permanently open memorial room, a very informative table with many interesting pictures from the site in the Cold War era can be found.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
From the open deck on top, pointers allow to find a few notable locations in the panorama, including the original line of the border, today rather hard to spot, due to the now grown vegetation, as well as the tall antennas of the FRG-US Hoher Meissner electronic espionage post (in the distance). The village of Ifta, the first met on the East German side, can be clearly spotted.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
With an equipment mainly composed of a ground radar and communication gear, the roughly 200-men staff of the observation point was that of keeping trace of any change along the border in their area of pertinence, including military movements on the communist side of the Iron Curtain.
A GDR watchtower in the vicinity of the US observation post can still be found along the nature trail in the area, of which Point Alpha is a highlight. The tower, similar to that to be found in Hotensleben (see later), and once in many places along the inner border, can be reached also by car, in a few minutes from Point India.
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
The observation point ‘Point India’ is settled in a very nice region, and is an interesting complement to the major site of Point Alpha. Located far from the crowds and with an interesting selection of pictures proposed in the exhibition, it is surely worth a detour for committed Cold War specialists or tourists in the area. A visit may take about 30 minutes.
Geographically placed between Point India (to the north) and Point Alpha (to the south), the Observation Point Romeo shared with them the history, purpose and arrangement, including a concrete observation tower built in the 1980s. However, the site has been completely demolished in 1994, a few years after German reunification.
Today, on the site of Point Romeo is a commemorative stone, and a table (in German) retracing the history of the site with interesting photographs, copies of newspaper headlines from the time, and text.
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
The Point Romeo site is a quick detour from the highway, keeping memory of the service of US military staff in the area for the long decades of the Cold War. Checking out the site may take 10 minutes.
Schifflersgrund
Getting there
The border museum in Schifflersgrund (‘Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund’ in German) is a major installation along the former Inner Border, and is clearly marked with signs when approaching the town of Bad Sooden-Allendorf (FRG), in Hessen, or Sickenberg, in Thüringen (GDR). It is located on a local road connecting the two towns. The memorial site is modern and hosts a rich collection. It is also an active cultural center on the topic, with a central building for temporary exhibitions, and a separated building with a big conference room.
A large parking is available on site. For visiting the museum collection a ticket is required. Furthermore, a nature trail along the former border has been prepared and is clearly marked with tables on way-points. No ticket is required for it. Website with full information in multiple languages here.
Sights
The site of Schifflersgrund is centered around a preserved portion of the Inner Border. Due to the local morphology, as the border ran along the rim of a small canyon, the inaccessible area between the two fences marking the border on the GDR side was unusually large. A section of the ‘external’ fence, immediately past the border line when coming from the FRG, is still preserved, together with an original watchtower. The latter used to sit in the restricted area between the inner and external fences, which was accessible only to the border guards of the GDR. Close to the watchtower, a small section of the ‘inner’ fence, the first met coming from the GDR towards the border line, is also preserved.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Between the two fences, the respect area encompasses the local shallow canyon with the original East German service road, now employed as a cultural and nature trail, running along the ‘external’ fence for some thousands feet.
Access to the area around the tower is possible with a ticket. The main building with the ticket office hosts interesting temporary exhibitions and a book, souvenir & memorabilia shop.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Walking towards the watchtower is across a yard, where an interesting series of vehicles and helicopters once employed along the border by the opponents on the two sides is on display. Vehicles include a Soviet truck with a radar antenna typically deployed for airspace monitoring.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Helicopters of Soviet construction on the GDR side include a Mil-24 attack helicopter, and Mil-2 and Mil-8 utility/transport models. On the FRG side are two US-designed Bell helicopters managed by the Border Guards of the FRG.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
A small but interesting exhibition is related to the last weeks of WWII and the immediate post-WWII period in Germany. The connection with the site is in the fact that a large region, extending as far as Leipzig to the east, was conquered by American forces in the last stages of WWII. Of course, Berlin and the easternmost part of today’s Germany were militarily taken by the Red Army (see this post). However, it was due to international agreements (Yalta and later Potsdam) that the westernmost regions of what later the GDR were handed over to Stalin and communism.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
The same short exhibition mentions the US observation points, soon to appear along the border in the ‘Fulda Gap’ (see above) after WWII.
Approaching the tower, you get through a partly reconstructed double fence, with all the typical gear for stopping potential escapees. This include the infamous automatic shotguns, activated by contact with the fence, and shooting metal balls in proximity to the net.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
From close to the tower, you can get the view of the external fence mostly like it used to be in the Cold War era.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
A small museum building by the tower is adorned with original signs from the border area. These range from ‘danger zone’ signs in German, to border warning signs for the American military staff.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Inside the building is a compact but rich collection of interesting photographs, including always-striking now-and-then comparisons, showing how different the panorama used to look like in the area during the Cold War era.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Uniforms from both sides of the border, as well as memorabilia items are on display, close by to some dioramas and a scale model of the border site.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
An impressive listing of those fallen in the pursuit of freedom from the East-German communist dictatorship completes this well-stocked exhibition.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
A complement to the exhibition in the area around the watchtower can be found in a hangar cross the parking. To the sides of a large conference area are upscaled pictures from the time, as well as a modernly designed exhibition on the Cold War in Germany and the Inner German Border.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
The exhibition is in both German and English, and retraces the post-WWII history of Germany, citing many characters, both well-known (former Presidents of the United States, Soviet Secretaries, etc.) and less-known (local leaders, especially cultural leaders and dissidents from Germany).
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Preserved alongside the explanatory panels are some artifacts and memorabilia items.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Also vehicles one employed along the border are on display.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Of particular relevance is a scraper employed as a mean for an escape attempt by a man named Heinz-Josef Grosse. While working with the scraper in proximity to the ‘external’ fence, the man raised the bucket above the fence, climbed over it and jumped across the fence. Tragically, he was shot dead by the GDR border guards while trying to ascend from the canyon.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Out of the same hangar are an attack helicopter from the FRG and more vehicles from both sides of the border.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
The cultural and nature trail prepared by the organization running the museum in Schifflersgrund is about 7 miles long, and takes you around an extensive area along the former border. However, the preserved part of the ‘external’ fence can be found immediately beside the museum facility, and can be accessed quickly and permanently without a ticket.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Walking along the service road can be a good occasion for taking evocative pictures.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
The place where Heinz-Josef Grosse got killed is marked with a sign.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Further on to the west a wooden observation deck can be employed for getting a bird’s eye view of the area around the former border area. Also here, a table with historical pictures allows to get a clear view of how the place looked like in the Cold War era.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
All in all, the Schifflersgrund site makes for a nice documentation center, and offers a rich and unique open-air exhibition, including a rare preserved portion of the original border fence. The place is a primary memorial about the history of the Inner German Border. A visit may take from 45 minutes, concentrating on the museum only, to 1.5 hours with a short walk along the original fence, to an entire half day, when venturing along the open-air round trail.
Eichsfeld
Getting there
This was a major checkpoint for crossing the border, as the road passing here was often very busy. You can reach this installation on the road 247 between Gerblingerode in Lower Saxony and Teistungen in Thuringia.
The place hosts a modern museum in the former quarters of the GDR border patrol and in its annexes (website here). Furthermore, there is a loop trail along part of the former border, partially preserved in its final conditions to this day. This can be walked for free but it is pretty long, more than 1 hour for a well-trained young man, going up and down the hills to the West of the museum. I found it really much interesting especially for photographs, plus there are many information panels all along the trail, but you’d better go prepared especially on a torrid summer day.
Large parking available in front of the museum.
Sights
This place is the prototype of a checkpoint on a busy road crossing the border line. The main building of the museum has been built in a former customs house. The modern and well designed exhibition tells about the history of the Inner Border.
In a first part the focus is on the border control policy of the GDR – this was incredibly restrictive, as they tried to prevent Westerners from introducing illegal goods as well as western newspapers, books and similar ‘propaganda items’, plus they actively worked to stop people trying to flee th GDR using FRG vehicles.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
This all was obtained with careful control of all vehicles, reportedly generating long queues. Every suspect good triggered a litigation, possibly resulting in access denial, fines, interrogations, … Among the hardware related to the topic, original passport control booths, movable mirrors for looking under stopped vehicles, optical instruments for checking parcels, uniforms, firearms, passports, papers.
In a second part, the museum tells about the Inner Border as a whole, including detailed information on the modernization stages from inception to demolition, and of many technical devices deployed to prevent escape. At some point, the innermost fence was supplied with contact sensors, linked to the watchtowers, telling the patrolling troops where the escapee was exactly. The strip between the inner and outer fences was filled with flattened sand, to make footprints immediately visible. This strip was filled with mines at a certain point. These had to be updated to more recent models later on, and the old ones were reportedly blown. Other deadly mechanisms included small cone-shaped explosive charges hanging from the fence, which exploded shooting plummets over a predefined area in case the fence was touched.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
More information about the border include anecdotes, and numbers about people who died or where wounded trying to flee, and of those arrested for border-related issues. Also documented is the incredible cost of the whole border system, which like the Stasi – the detested internal police of the GDR – employed thousands of people, and necessitated of continuous maintenance and updates.
More about the history of the checkpoint in Eichsfeld and on the days of the re-opening can be found in the museum. A building close to the main hall, once for passport booths, hosts a photographic exhibition, very lively and interesting, about this particular checkpoint and the border re-opening. Also visible are a communication hub and a mechanic’s shop for disassembling suspect cars. In the outside courtyard of the museum some vehicles for patrolling are preserved, together with the original seal of the GDR once proudly standing in the middle of the border checkpoint.
Approaching the trailhead of the loop trail, very close to the museum, it is possible to spot vehicle stopping devices able to cut the road immediately in case of suspect escape situations.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
A short map for the loop trail can be obtained for free in the museum. The checkpoint was like a punch in the otherwise continuous line of border fortification. Part of it can be seen going uphill along the trail. Original lamps shedding light along the border are still standing. Before reaching the watchtower on top of the hill it’s possible to see a well-preserved part of the original border system. Also visible are some shooting posts probably from an earlier time.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Crossing the border and going West – freely possible only today – you can still see a cippus with the ‘DDR’ sign. The sight from the west makes for good photo opportunities of how the border would have been like back in the Eighties, looking from the FRG towards the ‘dark side’. Curiously enough, an observation tower was built on the West looking to the East, reportedly not for military purposes but for tourism. As you can see from the photos in the museum, this was where people from all over Europe came to see in person an open-air prison in the middle of Europe, in the form of a country administrated by a Communist dictatorship.
Typical striped concrete posts with the symbol of the GDR can be seen ahead of the border fence to the West, marking the real geographical border.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
If you ar looking for detailed and well-organized information about the Inner Border, as well as for a nice preserved checkpoint and a portion of the border fortifications, I suggest coming to Eichsfeld. The museum can be visited in half an hour and up to 1 hour. Add about 1 hour for the loop trail. Furthermore, the place is close to the beautiful Harz region, surrounded by a beautiful countryside. It makes for an ideal, unusual detour from that region or from the busy areas of Kassel, Gottingen and Hannover.
Sorge
Getting there
Differently from other sites, there is not an official museum preserving the border here, nor is this place well advertised with road signs. Furthermore, the focus of the place, a former watchtower and a part of preserved fence, can be reached with a walk – on a very well prepared horizontal road, once a military communication road running along the border – about 1.2 miles long each way, i.e. about 2.5 miles both ways, so be prepared.
The trail head is in the small village of Sorge, in Saxony-Anhalt close to the border with Lower Saxony along road 242. After taking to the village from the 242, you need to turn right to reach the trailhead, which coincides with the end of the paved road and a no passing sign. Free parking available there, plus a sign with a detailed map of the site.
Sights
This place has not much to offer in terms of hardware. The inner fence is encountered soon after the trailhead. The road then points into the land strip once going to the outer fence, running on it for about 1 mile, and finally reaching a modern, tall watchtower with a square section. What makes this site interesting is the fact that it is almost desert. During my walk and stay there I encountered two people – from the Netherlands – in total. The area of the former border is deserted and unreally silent – very impressive.
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Further on, former mine fields are presented, plus a strange monument to peace or equilibrium, unclear, but it’s made of stones and does not disturb the panorama.
It is noteworthy that they are keeping the strip around the preserved portion of the fence spoiled of vegetation. This was a distinctive feature of all the Inner Border line which is vanishing with time, as trees and vegetation are often reclaiming those areas.
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
There is actually a small independent museum about the Inner Border in Sorge (website here), where also a border railway station was operated. Due to time constraints I could not visit it.
The most distinctive feature of the place is the characteristic Soviet ‘ghost aura’, making it really grim even in plain sunlight. The chance to walk the trail with nobody around adds to the atmosphere. Of course it requires some extra-walk with respect to other sites, and all in all the hardware it has to offer is not so abundant, so I would recommend visiting only for more committed specialists. The roundtrip time depends on your level of training, but may be easily about an hour.
Hotensleben
Getting there
The village of Hotensleben is on the border between Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, hence it once stood right on the Inner Border line. This town can be conveniently reached about 6 miles to the South of Helmstedt on highway N.2 going from Hannover to Berlin.
The border site is located on the western end of the village, on the L104 heading to Schoeningen. In case you are coming from Schoeningen you will clearly see the installation before reaching Hotensleben. Large free parking by the site.
Sights
As it was often the case for towns close to the Inner Border or crossed by it – see Mödlareuth upper on this page -, besides the usual border devices including fences, minefields, watchtowers, vehicle stopping grooves and bars, also a wall was put in place. To be exact, two walls were erected in Hotensleben, totally enclosing the strip where a service road, a minefield, fences and watchtowers were standing.
Parts of these walls have been preserved for posterity. The outer wall, mostly similar to that you can find in Mödlareuth, is tall and white, whereas the innermost one is made of grey concrete slabs. Watchdogs once stood between the innermost wall and the next fence.
Today the place is totally open access all day around, and it is made of two parts. The southernmost area showcases a modern watchtower with a round section, which has been cut for improving stability as it is not maintained any more. Look for the concrete slabs making the pavement of the service road nearby, and to the manholes with GDR factory labels.
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
The main part is to the north of the road. Here you can appreciate most clearly the geography of the border strip, as it is placed on the side of a hill, over a gentle slope, offering a bird-eye view of the installation. Curiously, the topography of the border devices here is reportedly mostly similar to the one implemented in Berlin in the most recent times – so from here you can have a more precise idea of what was the Berlin wall than from everywhere in Berlin.
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
On top of the hill – a very short walk from the parking – a watchtower of the earliest type, a rather bulky, square-shaped tower, is still standing.
To the outside of the outer wall some border signs remain – as usual, the line ran in the middle of a creek.
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
There is no museum here, just an open air exhibition with some information provided through leaflets you can pick-up close to the parking.
I found this place very suggestive – also due to visiting near sunset, when I spent all my time there totally alone -, and the fact this represents a specimen of the Berlin Wall better than you can find in Berlin itself adds extreme value. It’s unlikely you will find much crowd here, so the place is ideal for photographs as well as for memory and thoughts. As there is no museum and the site is limited in size, visiting may take from 15 to 45 minutes. Would surely recommend for every kind of public, thanks also to the short distance from highway N.2 and from the Marienborn site.
Marienborn
Getting there
This is a gigantic installation also known as ‘Checkpoint Alpha’, which used to work as a major checkpoint for the highway traffic entering the GDR and/or heading to/coming from Berlin along highway N.2, from Hannover and central FRG. It can be spotted to the South of the highway, adjacent to it, immediately after the town of Helmstedt going to Berlin.
The place is accessible in at least two ways. If you are driving to Berlin, you can stop by the service/fuel station about .5 miles after the Marienborn/Helmstedt exit. The service station occupies part of the former site, which can be reached by foot. If you are driving from the opposite direction on N.2 or you are not coming from the highway at all, you may start from the village of Marienborn, take the K1373 in the direction of Morsleben (i.e. to the north), and turn to the left immediately before passing below the highway, keeping on K1373. This road goes west parallel to the highway for about 1 mile, then you clearly see the site to the right. Coming from the town of Marienborn it will be possible to spot also a watchtower of the oldest type along the former border. Scant information from the website here.
Sights
This place is a real ‘Jurassic Park’ of Communism, a true, evoking, grim relic of the Cold War. The installation is big, and today totally disused, but not abandoned. Actually, when I visited in summer 2015 some of the former passport booths were undergoing (slow) restoration, and were not accessible. The former main customs building, once hosting the offices of the guards, today hosts a nice and detailed free permanent exhibition, with some artifacts, explanatory panels and site control devices, plus many self explaining photographs – the only major flaw being everything is in German only. Here you can find a leaflet also in English, guiding you in the exploration of the site. Some report guided tours are offered, by I didn’t try myself, as I expected them to be given in German only.
First of all, the geometry: the place worked as a GDR checkpoint for both directions of traffic. All vehicle traffic was detoured here, both coming in or going out the Communist territory. This was one of the main gates to the Soviet bloc, so this place was reportedly very busy year round, with legendary waiting times to be expected in all directions.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
For those entering the GDR, the main worry for border patrols was the introduction of contraband goods and ‘western propaganda’ in the form of books, newspapers, prohibited goods, religious items and so on. All cars, buses and trucks were accurately scanned.
In order to cope with the huge traffic flow, passports of incoming passengers had to be placed over a treadmill leading to the passport control booths, in order to start passport processing before the vehicle actually reached the booths. This device is still standing.
In the part deputed to controlling buses and trucks it is possible to notice higher banks and ladders for getting a vantage view. Movable mirrors are placed at the level of the canopy.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
I was impressed by the shabby appearance of this control station, especially doors, booths and the material of the canopies… really an anticipation of Communist quality for those coming in. Red emergency buttons all around could trigger a blockade of the control post in case of suspect activities.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Dedicated buildings included a livestock inspection quarter and a depot for inspecting dangerous material, a morgue and a bank – which can be recognized by the window railings. All Westerners coming in the GDR were forced by the law to buy a certain amount of GDR marks, at the exchange rate of 1:1 to FRG marks – due to the almost null value of the former, this was basically an entrance fee to the ‘Paradise of Socialism’.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
The outgoing traffic was scanned as well, in search of potential enemies of the state trying to flee the country. A suspended deck for inspecting trucks is still standing close to the highway. The lanes leading to the control booths are still painted on the concrete of the pavement passing north of the main office building.
Suspect parcels in all directions were X-rayed or optically scanned. At a certain point in history, a well deceived scanning device – the grey ‘booth’ with no windows you can see in the photos – was put in place besides the outgoing traffic lanes, reportedly covertly X-raying all cars leaving the GDR even before reaching the control booths – definitely another era…
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Military troops going to West Berlin were treated more smoothly, but the platform of their dedicated office, immediately nearby the highway, has been demolished.
Original lights all around and deserted garages, barracks and service buildings for the border personnel complete the picture. Also noticeable are the concrete post where the round seal of the GDR was once proudly standing – today there is a unexplicable hole instead of the ‘DDR’ emblem -, placed between the two roadways in the middle of the highway close to the checkpoint area.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Albeit different from all other border checkpoints – no fences, mines or concrete walls – this place is similarly evocative of the oppressive border policy of the GDR, which was evident also to ordinary Westerners trying to reach Berlin by road. This was a place where many people routinely experienced what a restrictive Communist dictatorship really meant. Would surely recommend for people interested in recent history, history of the Inner Border and the GDR, as the place is mostly preserved as it was in 1989, and easy to reach even if you’re just passing by. Exploration may take from fifteen minutes to more than an hour if you include the museum and a careful look to everything.
Schlagsdorf
Getting there
The small sleepy town of Schlagsdorf is less than 10 miles South of Lubeck. It is located in Mecklemburg-Vorpommern, on the border with Schleswig-Holstein. It can be conveniently reached by car from highway N.20 going from Lubeck to Rostock, or from the South via road 208.
The town hosts a small indoor museum in a former customs house, with a permanent exhibition and a cafe opening in the warm season (website here). The museum operates also a reconstructed specimen of the former border fortifications which is accessible by preliminarily purchasing the ticket by the museum office. The open air exhibition can be reached with a .2 miles walk through the village, or by car. Free parking all around.
Sights
The museum is focused on the restrictive customs policy of the GDR, and most notably on the effects of the border on the geography of Schlagsdorf and small towns nearby.
The area is pointed with lakes and creeks, so the geographical placement of the border line was particularly difficult around here. There existed places where the border crossed some rivers or creeks, and special nets were erected there, reaching to the bottom, cutting any communication also by water. These barriers have been demolished now, but this is well documented in the museum.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Another practice of the Communist regime even from the times of Soviet occupation was deportation of the population of some of the villages. Especially in this area, in order to avoid the creation of enclaves where the border line was too tortuous, it was decreed that some rural villages should be simply abandoned. This further dark side of the history of the Inner Border is documented here.
Like in other similar museums, some original signs, uniforms and models give an idea of how the border looked like in the decades when it was blocked.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Photographs of the border re-opening in 1989 and of the natural preserve now having taken the place of those grim installations complete this much interesting exhibition.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
The open air exhibition puts together a small section of the usual external fence, ‘DDR’ posts, mine camps, lights, dog’s beds for watchdogs, local passport control booths and a modern watchtower.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Some beheaded GDR sculptures are there too, together with other stopping devices, like barbed wires forming a horizontal net at the level of the ground, which couldn’t be spotted in tall grass and made walking the area difficult and dangerous.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
This border section was reportedly not here in origin, but closer to the small lake to the south of the village, where the border line actually ran. A trail with explanatory panels goes along the former border line bank of the lake. I didn’t go myself as when I visited in winter the temperature was several degrees below freezing…
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
In the village you can spot manholes with ‘Made in GDR’ labels, and also some garden fences made with the same net originally used for the outer fence of the border fortification – this is recycling!
I would recommend visiting to everybody even only slightly interested. The place is surrounded by a very nice and relaxing countryside, with various opportunities for enjoyable walks and other sports. Plus, the place makes for a short detour from historical Lubeck and its many attractions. Visiting both indoor and outdoor may take from 45 minutes to less than 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Kühlungsborn
Getting there
The coast town of Kühlungsborn in Mecklemburg-Vorpommern is a nice location, very busy with sea tourism. Being on the so-called ‘sea border’ of the GDR, i.e. on the Baltic sea, it was guarded similarly to the Inner Border. Approaching is necessarily via the L12 or L11.
The place can be rather crowded even far from the peak season, plus the watchtower and the small museum nearby are right behind the beaches, totally inaccessible by car (website here). Just park where you can, reach the beaches, enjoy the panorama, and go to the small central square where ‘Strandstrasse’ meets ‘Ostseeallee’. The latter points directly into the sea, and actually ends in a nice pier. To the west of the small square the watchtower can be easily spotted.
Sights
This place witnesses a less known aspect of the GDR border, which actually was constituted also by the Baltic Sea, from the outskirts of Lubeck – still in the West – to the border with Poland.
Similarly to every other part of the border with the West, several people tried to flee the country also by sea when the border was blocked. The border patrolling policy of the GDR was really restrictive, and the sea border was no exception. Several watchtowers were erected all along the coast, and motorboats patrolled the coasts continuously to stop any illegal traffic.
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
The modern, round-section watchtower makes for a strident sight in the otherwise pleasant, typically North-German background of the village of Kuhlungsborn.
When I visited in spring 2016 the small museum was closed for the season. I had much information through a recently visited remand prison of the Stasi (the internal police of the GDR, a kind of Communist Gestapo) in Rostock, which was hosting a rich exhibition about the ‘sea border’ (see the governmental website, this is slightly off topic but extremely interesting, website here). In any case, there are explanatory panels with photos also outside of the watchtower, allowing to get some information.
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
I would recommend visiting if you are going also for enjoying the town and beaches, or if you are a very committed specialist of such places. The museum is rather small in size and the hardware is basically the tower itself. Nonetheless, the striking contrast with respect to the background makes this place also rather evocative. I guess visiting may take up to 30 minutes including the museum.
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Like other satellite countries in the Soviet empire, the German Democratic Republic – also known as ‘Eastern Germany’ before the Nineties, ‘GDR’, or ‘DDR’ in German – hosted two armies, which not necessarily occupied the same installations, nor had access to the same resources.
Speaking of air forces, up to the dissolution of the GDR after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, there were two distinct bodies operating from airbases all over the country, namely the Air Forces of the National People’s Army (‘Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee’ in German), which was the national air force, and the Soviet Air Force (‘Voyenno-vozdushnye sily SSSR’ as they would pronounce it in Russia).
While East German military forces were composed of local personnel, Soviet forces were mainly composed of troops coming from the various republics of the Soviet Union. Operations of the two military powers were of course coordinated, but the two organizations were split, and both had their airbases.
Most airbases in the GDR actually developed on the area of former airfields from before WWII, but some peculiarities in the way they were refurbished and equipped after the conflict reflected the needs of the new respective owners.
Signs of this difference can be spotted exploring some of the surviving relics of these now inactive sites – for Soviet bases, writings in Cyrillic alphabet, Lenin’s sculptures like you can find in Moscow, and typically more barracks with more amenities for Soviet soldiers, made to let them have what they needed without passing the gate of the base.
The following photos were taken during visits to four former Soviet airbases, Merseburg, close to Halle, visited August 2015, and other three between Berlin and the Baltic, Wittstock/Dosse, Rechlin/Laerz and Ribnitz/Damgarten, visited April 2016. More airbases are covered in other pages on this website (see this post, and also this). Ribnitz/Damgarten in particular is partly abandoned, while an interesting museum has taken the northwestern part of its premises – the museum is covered in another post.
This site is located halfway between Berlin and Hamburg, just a few miles to the East of highway N.24, close to the junction with N.19 going North to Rostock.
The site can be easily reached by car. You can spot it very well on Google Maps and plan your trip – just search for Wittstock/Dosse. There are actually two airstrips concentrated in a rather small area, placed along an east-west line. The easternmost one is a still active, general aviation grass strip (Berlinchen).
The former Soviet airbase is the one to the west. It has been converted into a solar power plant, like most similar sites in former East Germany. Solar panels occupy the area of the former runway and taxiways, but the hangars and former barracks have not been included in the conversion plan – at least that was the picture in April 2016.
The access road you should go through is the one to the west of the airbase, going straight to the former barracks from road L153. You can park your car immediately after turning away from the L153. Actually there is a ‘no passing’ sign for cars, so you’d better go by foot to avoid misunderstandings. As it’s often the case with airports, be prepared to walk a lot, cause distances are not short.
On the pros side, apart from the grim appearance of the Soviet relics, the area is very peaceful and the countryside is relaxing and nice to see. During my stay lasting a couple of hours, I encountered only a few people out for a stroll in the countryside with their dogs, two technicians with a minivan going to the plant and some folks training their rescue dogs.
Sights
The former installation is totally deserted, and some of the residential, i.e. not technical buildings are really just waiting for the right day to collapse. There are danger signs scattered all over the area. Walking around should already give you an interesting and unusual picture of a ghost base from the Soviet era. I know of people who went inside most of the buildings, exploring them thoroughly. Personally I would recommend to think about it more than once before going in, especially the barracks, where concrete walls look really rotting – don’t forget it was made with Soviet quality… Risk connected with collapsing structures is not a remote issue here.
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
In the photos it is possible to see the hangars – very large – some rather old and small shelters, and the barracks. I don’t know the specific history of this airbase – I’m currently trying to find a book on the matter, but it seems out of print and very difficult to find. Anyway, it is apparent that there are at least two groups of barracks built up in very different architectural styles, suggesting the base was built and later developed further. The two-storey buildings in a typical German style were probably built in the early days of the base, possibly before or during WWII. The cubic-shaped, all-concrete residential buildings are in pure functional Soviet style, and may date from the late Fifties or later.
The hangars – as I wrote these are not shelters – are very large and tall, suggesting they were used as maintenance shops. If this was the real role for this base, meaning it was a reference point for many others on the territory, this might justify the uncommon size of the barracks and living quarters.
A building probably used for movable service equipment and vehicles can be spotted among the hangars. It can be distinguished from the buildings connected with sheltering aircraft by the very (very) low ceiling. Interestingly, traces of a translation of the most typical German road signs to Russian can be still spotted on an inner wall, together with other less clear writings – unfortunately I don’t know Russian. The emblem of the Soviet Army (‘CA’) can be spotted on one of the doors of the same building.
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Two pinnacles of the exploration can be found very close to each other. The airbase apparently hosted a rather large indoor ‘sporting club’, with basket courts and other sport equipment. Most of the wooden floor in the gym is still there, with also other remains – including a Soviet newspaper from 1989 with stains of wall paint, probably used when repainting the walls. Curiously, the building hosting the gym is aligned at the level of the hangars, nearby the apron, and not among the barracks.
Moving through a courtyard just outside of the gym, it is possible to spot an incredible statue of Lenin, still perfectly preserved except for the missing face and inscription. Looking better at the statue, it is possible to notice it was placed in the middle of a perspective, leading to the statue from the main road crossing the service area of the base. Nowadays the perspective is less visible, due to newly grown trees.
All in all, the place is pervaded by a grim aura, the almost unreal and unnatural quietness of the buildings and maintenance shops making the site really unique and very evocative.
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Wittstock Dosse Soviet Airbase
Note
Comparing the satellite photos with those above, it can be clearly seen that almost all trees have been cut and vegetation has been wiped out. The presence of some sorts of roadworks service trailers, even though apparently not recently used, may indicate some work is going on, and maybe there are plans to demolish the remaining buildings soon.
Rechlin/Laerz
Getting there and moving around
This base can be reached driving on road 198, between the villages of Rechlin and Mirow. Rechlin hosts also a museum dedicated to aeronautics which is covered in another chapter. This is indicated with an official sign when you are close to the airport. That museum is not located in the area surrounding the airport. The former airbase can be reached with a pleasant 10 miles drive from Wittstock/Dosse (see previous section).
Rechlin is still operating as an active general aviation airport – with the name Mueritz Airpark – but during my exploration I saw no flying activity. Anyway, no solar cells here.
Compared to other bases, this place is much more populated. To the west of the airfield, accessible from the road running along the western limit of the airfield, it is possible to visit a very small air museum – a different entity from the one in Rechlin. Very few aircraft can be spotted just besides the main building, including a Dassault Atlantique formerly of the GFR (German Federal Republic, or ‘West Germany’) Luftwaffe, a Lufthansa Training Beechcraft King Air and some Soviet or GDR aircraft and helicopters – markings have been removed making identification difficult. There are also some jet engines, and other service material and pods partly of Soviet origin. The visit of this museum may not offer much to the more experienced aircraft enthusiast, but approaching the museum can be done driving on the path of a former taxiway, still retaining its typical Soviet pavement made of concrete slabs.
Luftfahrtmuseum Laerz rlm
Luftfahrtmuseum Laerz rlm
Luftfahrtmuseum Laerz rlm
Luftfahrtmuseum Laerz rlm
Luftfahrtmuseum Laerz rlm
Luftfahrtmuseum Laerz rlm
Luftfahrtmuseum Laerz rlm
From the area of the museum it is possible to take pictures from the distance of a peculiar installation which at the moment occupies a group of relatively modern aircraft shelters on the northern part of the airfield. The function of this place, which is fenced and cannot be accessed freely, and is named ‘Kulturkosmos’, is not very clear. From the distance it looks like a kind of hippie village or stuff like that. Unfortunately, they occupy a part of the former installation encompassing some pieces of military history and taxiways, which would have been otherwise extremely interesting to explore.
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Kulturforum
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Kulturforum
An interesting part of the former military installation in Rechlin is to the south of the runway, and can be approached driving along 198 from Rechlin in the direction of Mirow. After passing the runway – you can clearly spot it to your right, as the road runs along the perimeter of the base in this part – and after passing a crop, it is possible to spot a large unpaved road taking to the right. It is basically the first road to the right after passing the runway, about half a mile from it. There is room for parking at the beginning of the unpaved road. There are no ‘don’t’ signs here, but you might prefer parking here and going by foot as the road is bumpy and there are no other parking places next.
Sights
The road points straight into the base. As usual with airports, expect long walks. After about half a mile, you reach a wreck of a gate, intended to stop larger vehicles, but it can be crossed by foot or bicycle – say a MTB. Already before going through the gate it is possible to see a large and relatively modern aircraft shelter. The size – its height in particular – suggests it was made for larger aircraft – possibly MiG-23/27 – with respect to those of the early jet age, albeit MiG-29 needed yet another size. The gate of the shelter used to be moved with dedicated motors, which are still there but not functioning. Somebody is using this as a hay storage depot.
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
A very mysterious building is located next to this isolated Soviet shelter. It appears as a very large concrete building having collapsed, or more likely blown up. The size and appearance are similar to the partially demolished bunkers you can visit in Hitler’s ‘Wolf’s Lair’ in northern Poland, so I guess this was built during the Nazi era. Furthermore, there are various writings in Cyrillic alphabet on the walls, including years from the age of the Soviet occupation. They are most probably ‘souvenirs’ from Soviet troops. I guess the Nazi or Soviets actually blew up this large building, which was never totally wiped out nor reused.
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Going further towards the runway – there are no prohibition signs, but I would recommend staying at a respectful distance from the runway, as this is an active GA airport – you come across a small door leading to a subterranean passage. This cannot be explored, as it is full of debris and dirt, but gives you an impression of what was the complexity of this installation. By the way, from, satellite images it is clear it had two crossing runways at some point in its history, so at some point it used to be much larger and prominent than it’s looking today.
Further on, you cross a former taxiway, today covered in dust, where really many couples of rather old Soviet aircraft shelters are still in place. There are herds of grazing cows around, and most shelters are used for storing hay.
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Taking to the left (south-west-wards) along this road, between the first and the second shelter on the left, you find a narrow paved road heading South-East. It is marked by a small electric cabin painted in a camo colorway – Soviet – now disconnected. Following this road for more than half a mile – the road bends right at some point – until its end, you pass besides some deserted service buildings, including some garages possibly for service vehicles, and finally you reach a very interesting item.
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
From the side it looks mostly like another aircraft shelter, but there is no taxiway and the entrance is very small, and there is a small and bulky security door instead of the usual shelter door. This is actually a former deposit and shelter for weapons, possibly not conventional ordnance to be mounted on aircraft. In front of the weapon bunker there are more service buildings and a truck loading platform, probably used to move ordnance that was transported by road. Similar bunkers can be found only in Finsterwalde and Brand over the territory of the GDR (see here).
This bunker is probably larger than it looks, as vents can be spotted on the ground pretty far from its perimeter.
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Rechlin Larz Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
All in all, this site is less grim than Wittstock/Dosse, and may be less evocative of the Cold War times, but it is not dangerous at all, and still retains some mystery and has very special items to show. By the way, while walking the southern part of the installation I didn’t meet a person, but came across much wildlife, including deers and birds of prey, much surprised to see somebody around! There are also partly signed trails in the trees, just for ‘normal’ trail hiking. The countryside all around is relaxing and enjoyable.
Note
The area of the former airbase is in the focus of an ambitious design, intended to create luxury living estates in most of the shelters which will be directly accessible with private aircraft, mostly like John Travolta’s house in Anthony, FL. It’s unclear how long the completion of the project will take – no housing had been erected as of May 2016. Nonetheless, some lots have been reportedly sold, and the former airbase may not remain accessible for long.
Ribnitz/Damgarten
Getting there and moving around
This former Soviet airbase, reportedly very active in the last days of the Soviet occupation when Soviet Forces were moving back into the inner Russian territory, was only partially explored during this trip (April 2016). It is located less than 20 miles east of Rostock, close to the coast of the the Baltic Sea. It can be easily reached by car, immediately to the west of the village of Damgarten.
About one third of the runway to the East is covered with solar cells, plus part of the area is used as a storage of road materials or by local farmers. There is also a small museum of technology in one of the former hangars (website here). So there are tons of activities in the area of this former military installation.
The most important thing to know – which actually hampered my plans – is that the main gate of the base, which can be reached following the road signs leading to the museum of technology north of the base, is open to the public only when the museum is open. Needless to say, this was not the case when I visited. Due to the fact that there were workers going in and out at every moment, there were CC cameras, and somebody also photographed my plate with his cell phone while I was taking pictures of the external wall, in order to avoid misunderstandings I renounced to step inside. Hence I couldn’t explore the northernmost part of the complex, which I expected to offer something very similar to Wittstock/Dosse in terms of appearance and significance – large maintainance hangars, former barracks and sculptures with some typical Communist pomp. The large and many buildings and the abandoned railway track leading directly into the base – you can spot it to the right of the main gate – suggest that this installation was probably of some strategic relevance.
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
I tried to approach the site from the North, experiencing a public road made of concrete slabs which was too obviously of Soviet manufacture. To the north, the base is surrounded by a concrete wall. There are some unofficial pedestrian accesses I was tempted to use, but there were signs warning about danger of unexploded ordnance. I thought it was not advisable to explore further.
Then I moved to the south of the airbase, which is basically unguarded and unfenced, to the aim of photographing at least the taxiways and the former control tower. The former south entrance of the base can be conveniently reached by car on a paved road starting from Puttnitz (to the South of Damgarten) leading to an aparted residential area. The road reaches a dead-end by the former entrance to the base – differently from the northern one, it is now totally deserted.
Sights
Walking to the north towards the area of the base from the road leading to the southern gate you cross a small forest and reach the former fence of the base, where barbed wire has been removed and only concrete posts are still standing. From here you can rapidly reach a groups of former service buildings which are numbered and placed on a circle. A paved road can still be seen, even though the area is being vehemently reclaimed by nature.
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
These buildings were probably service buildings for vehicles, ordnance or other material. It is unclear why they placed them around a circular track, but I guess this was a typical Soviet construction technique, for I found similar assemblies also in other bases.
From the circle it is already possible to see the taxiways and the area of the runway covered by solar panels. Walking north, it is possible to spot some smaller mystery buildings. Once on the taxiway, you notice the view of the northernmost part of the site is obstructed by a heap of debris, which probably was not there when the base was operative. From this point to the south of the runway, it is possible to spot the former control tower looking north.
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Ribnitz Damgarten Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
With a walk to the east along an unpaved trail it is possible to reach a ditch from where you can see some old-fashioned shelters on the northern side of the solar plant.
All in all, this place has much more to offer than what I was allowed to see without disturbing local activities. I kept out of any prohibited area, yet I took care not to be spotted by anybody. I would recommend to try visiting during the opening times of the museum of technology, in order to be allowed in the installation without going undercover. This way you would be granted access to the northernmost part of the complex, which is probably also the most interesting.
Merseburg
Getting there and moving around
This former airbase is still an active airport for general aviation, so access is not totally free, albeit the place is not very active. On the plus side, the formerly interdicted area has been greatly reduced since the conversion to civil airport, and now it is even possible to move with your car on some of the former taxiways once used by aircraft. There are various activities on the field of this airport, including companies offering skydiving experiences and an air museum. There are also various deposits of hay in the former aircraft shelters, and parts of the former free areas of the airport have been reassigned as land for agriculture.
Due to the many activities on the field, arriving with a car is very easy. The airport is located between the small town of Merseburg and less than 3 mi south of the big city of halle, in a very well served area. I arrived from L172, running along the airport to the north, from where you can already spot the shelters. There is a traffic light where L172 turns into a local road, with signs with the name of some companies having their quarters in buildings near the airport, taking to the south of L172.
Soon after turning on this street going south along the eastern border of the airfield (named ‘Fischweg’), it is possible to spot a strange-looking road taking to the right – from the concrete slabs making the pavement, you soon realize it is a former taxiway of a Soviet base. You can drive this road which reaches to the base of skydiving and general aviation activities.
Going back to the ‘Fischweg’ road and going further south, you pass a round about and reach the air museum – which regrettably I couldn’t visit because I was slightly late – with a Tupolev 134 in the colors of the former flagship company of the GDR ‘Interflug’ parked in the courtyard, and visible from the outside.
From nearby the museum it is possible to spot a former taxiway going west. I guess it is not possible to go by car, as it points straight into the base and reaches to the runway. On the other hand, going by foot should not be a problem, but unfortunately there are no old buildings at all to the south of the runway.
In order to get acceptable photos of the more recent shelters, it is advisable to go back to L172, turning south on the 91 crossing the village of Merseburg, and turning west on ‘Geusaer Strasse’, a local paved road going west to some small and aparted residential areas (Geusa and Atzendorf). After about 1.25 miles going west on this ‘Geusaer Strasse’ you reach Geusa and you find a local street called ‘Rohrwisenweg’ taking slightly to the right. After .25 miles you find a narrow paved road to the right going straight north. It is impossible to miss it, as at the beginning there is a large scrap dealer. This road is only for locals and agricultural traffic, there is a conditional ‘no passing’ sign, but I encountered no problems driving all the way to the other end, which is again on the L172 to the north of the airport. You might take the same road directly from the L172 in the opposite direction, but due to the intense local traffic, you have more chance to be noticed ignoring the ‘no passing’ sign taking that road to the south.
This connection road is aligned in a north-south direction and runs along the western border of the airport. From there with an average zoom lens you can take pictures of the more recent aircraft shelters. Getting closer by foot might be possible, but I couldn’t find a good place for parking safely, and you should keep in mind that this is an active airport, so you’d better avoid misunderstandings with the locals.
Sights
As mentioned in the previous instructions, the main attraction is the opportunity to drive on the former Soviet taxiways. I was very worried about having a flat tire, but I noticed there were many cars at the opposite end of the road going to the local GA terminal.
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
In the old-fashioned aircraft shelters located in this area it is still possible to spot some writings in Cyrillic alphabet. There are also unsheltered parking aprons for single aircraft. You may like to photograph your car in a place where once stood a Soviet MiG-17!
I won’t cover the air museum (website here) as I unfortunately couldn’t step inside, having arrived after last admittance time. In one of the pictures you can see the Tu-134 of ‘Interflug’ mentioned above.
The last photographs show the larger shelters as you can see them from the distance, from the connection road to the west of the airfield. Merseburg hosted MiG-29 in the latest stage of the Cold War, so I guess these shelters were large enough for hosting also that type of aircraft.
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
Merseburg Flugplatz Soviet Airbase
All in all, this former airbase is not very ‘dark’ nor difficult to visit, on the contrary there are many people and activities around. The countryside is not much interesting, as the area is mostly urban, being in the outskirts of Halle. So, it is not a great place for a relaxing walk. Notwithstanding its original size, the site has less to offer than other Soviet airbases – no barracks or service buildings -, but on the plus side you can move around by car getting pictures of what is still in place without spending much time exploring the site by foot.
Probably the most famous air museum in Russia – and formerly in the whole USSR – the Central Air Force Museum in Monino doesn’t need a presentation for aviation enthusiasts from every part of the world. As a matter of fact, still today this is probably the world’s largest collection of military and experimental aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union.
Similar to many air museums in western Countries, this aircraft collection has been located on the premises of an active airbase since it opened its doors back in 1958. For this reason, in the years of the Soviet Union and even for some time after its collapse, the collection couldn’t be visited without prior permission. A specially restrictive visiting policy was applied to foreign visitors, due to the technological content of the exhibition. Today things have greatly improved in this respect, and visiting is absolutely free for everybody, both Russians and foreign tourists, like it is the case for most similar sites in the West.
To be sincere, I expected something like what you can find in former peripheral Countries of the Soviet bloc – an array of rotting fuselages, landing gears, rusty jet engines and no information around. It turned out I was totally wrong. What caused my inaccurate prevision was I had failed taking into account the singular passion and nostalgia that Russians show still today for their Soviet past, at least when it comes to military power and technological glory. In this respect, many other more ‘western’ and politically correct neighbor Countries in Europe, like Italy and France, have a much colder attitude towards aviation and their own past aeronautical endeavors.
So, at Monino the conditions of the aircraft both inside and outside are extremely good, especially if you consider the harsh weather that aircraft bodies have to sustain in the terrible Russian winters. From photographs on the web you can rapidly realize most aircraft are covered in snow in winter, so visiting may be also not much rewarding in that season. I visited in September, and except for a Soviet-grey, cloudy day I could enjoy a normal visit.
From the technical viewpoint, the collection is composed of many aircraft and engines up to WWII, hosted indoor, plus a huge outdoor collection of aircraft covering the majority of military models deployed by the Air Force of the Red Army over the years of the Cold War, in their respective roles – strategic bombers, fighters, …
Also some really rare prototype aircraft are part of the exhibition – some of them, like the Tupolev Tu-144 and the Sukhoi Su-100, are unique and very famous. There are also some iconic (gigantic) Mil helicopters, and some liners. There is much information around for less experienced enthusiasts, almost all placards both in Russian and English – a very rare sight in English-unfriendly Russia! If you can speak or understand Russian – unlike me – you can also have guided tours with former Air Force staff, which are reportedly much interesting.
The following photos were taken during a visit in September 2015.
Getting there
One of the reasons for so few interested people actually include Monino in their visit plan is the fame of the place as almost unreachable, inconvenient and expensive. This fame is due to the many companies on the web chattering about permissions, passport requests, tickets in advance, many hours to get to the place and so on. These companies usually ask for many hundreds dollars for taking you on the trip.
These are genuine tourist traps. There is no need for any permission, the place is not any more an active base (since long) and you are not asked any document. Plus, getting there with the local railway system serving the greater Moscow area is very easy – the train has Monino as destination – and the totally inexpensive trip takes about 1h 20min, only due to the countless stops.
First of all, note that I don’t speak russian nor can I read the Cyrillic alphabet. Nonetheless, I managed to get to this place about 20 miles from center Moscow to the East without troubles and traveling solo.
Trains going to Monino depart Moscow Yaroslavskaya in central Moscow rather frequently, about two to four times per hour – accurate timetable available briefly googling for local trains from Moscow to Monino. The terminal is the local railway terminal, placed right behind the main cottage-like building of the railway station (from where you can go as far as Vladivostok…). You can buy a ticket from one of the countless automatic vendors – in Russian, impossible for me – or from one of the countless ticket offices – this was my option. I got a ticket for both ways – you just have to say “To Monino and back”, even though Russians are not friends of English, this request was immediately understood by the officer. The fare is very cheap. The line I considered terminated at Monino, reached after many many stops and about 1h 20 minutes later. Note that the railway ticket is required also for leaving the station on arrival, so you’d better keep it safe.
If all you had seen before in Russia is St. Petersburg and central Moscow, you might be a bit shocked, and feel like you had leaped in the past and well back into the Soviet era – large and cheap concrete buildings, partially paved roads, many elderly people walking around along silent streets and more bicycles than cars around. Sure the village is nothing special and far from monumental, but it’s not dark nor scary or unsafe. Plus you can notice signs of its past vocation, as ghost insignia and abandoned control booths typical to a former military installation can be spotted immediately close to the railway station and around the village, together with a Lenin’s statue still proudly placed in a small square on your path to the museum.
The only problem is that there are no signs for reaching the museum – not any until you are in front of the gate -, which is about .7 miles from the station to the other end of the village (South). You can take a (rare) taxi, or enjoy the walk. The latter was my option. The road is extremely straightforward. Actually it’s basically straight. If you don’t have a digital map, you can simply print the Google map of Monino with a satellite view of the buildings – this again was my option – and this is definitely enough to get to the place. I prepared this small map with the path I’ve followed and some notable sights.
The ticket to the museum is less than 3 dollars, very cheap.
For going back you just reverse the plan. Travel time in total for the trip both ways may be 3h 10min, including train and transfers between the gate and Monino station by foot. Adding about 3 hours for visiting the museum with a relaxed pace, a visit to Monino from central Moscow may take about 6 hours, so you may plan something more than half day for this visit.
Opening times can be obtained from the official website http://www.monino.ru, some Google-translation is needed if you like me don’t know Russian.
Sights
Including descriptions of all aircraft in Monino would be impractical and probably uninteresting. For this reason I will include only photographs and some comments. For an almost-full list of the aircraft in Monino, with something about each of the preserved exemplars, I would recommend the book in English A guide to the Russian Federation Air Force Museum at Monino by Korolkov and Kazashvili, published in the US.
In the blue-roofed building of the ticket office some early aircraft engines and panels about the history of aviation in Russia are presented.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Then you can enter the neighbor hangar, with some unique aircraft from up to WWII. These include an exemplar of the world-famous Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
The rest of the exhibition is hosted on the other side of the road. Immediately past the gate on one side you have probably the world’s largest helicopter, the twin-rotor Mil Mi-12. Facing this monstrosity, some iconic bombers, including the Tu-4, i.e. a licence-built Boeing B-29, and a prototype Tupolev Tu-22M, with ancestral engine fairings later replaced on the production version. Also notable are a Tu-22, Tu-128 – a really massive interceptor – and two very famous Soviet prototypes, the Myasischev M-50 and the Sukhoi Su-100, with its characteristic Concorde-like deflectable nose.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
In a hangar nearby it is possible to find some further experimental aircraft, including rocket-propelled aircraft, high-atmosphere balloon capsules and other curious items.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Placed on an off-limits grassy area nearby the hangar there are some very uncommon aircraft awaiting restoration, and on the other side a good collection of Mil and Kamov helicopters, including the Mil-24A featured in the third chapter of the John Rambo series, a Mil-10 flying crane helicopter and a huge Mil-6 which used to work as a flying command station.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Nearby is the ‘Yakovlev alley’, where most aircraft from this high-tech design bureau are presented.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Approaching the far end of the exhibition grounds you can spot some of the Soviet ‘big ones’, including an Antonov An-22 Anthei, an Ilyushin Il-76, an Il-62 and a very rare Tupolev Tu-114 turboprop with counter-rotating propellers. This was among the fastest-flying propeller-driven aircraft in history.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Recently added to the collection, on one corner of the exhibition are two truly iconic Cold War veterans, a Tupolev Tu-142 and a Tu-22M Backfire, both retired production exemplars.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Other interesting items are a rare Beriev Be-12 huge seaplane, a pretty old Ilyushin Il-18 and a Il-2, and obviously the world-famous prototype Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic liner.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Before taking to the ‘MiG alley’ and ‘Sukhoi alley’ reaching to the exit, three unique prototypes should not go unnoticed, namely the Lavochkin La-250 supersonic interceptor, with a 1956 variable incidence delta wing, the high altitude Myasischev M-17, a twin tailed, ultra-high aspect ratio wing, the Buran flight emulator, created to reproduce the flight dynamics of the ill-fated Buran orbiter in terminal maneuvers, and the Bertini-Beriev VVA-14 ekranoplane. The latter was off-limits when I visited, and could be spotted sitting derelict in the backyard, awaiting restoration.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Approaching the exit you can notice a full array of MiGs, including some more rare to find in the West, like the MiG-25 ‘anti-Blackbird’ Mach-3 interceptor, and various Sukhoi designs ranging from early prototypes to the more modern exemplars. Among them a Lisunov Li-2, a licensed Douglas C-47, was undergoing active restoration when I visited.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Finally, some photos of the ‘pleasant village’ of Monino, a former militarized village.
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
Central Museum of the Russian Air Force Monino Moscow Soviet Aircraft
