As mentioned in previous chapters on the same topic – you can find the first and second here – the territory of the GDR was cluttered with an uncommonly high number of military bases, run either by the local Armed Forces of the GDR (‘German Democratic Republic’) or by the Soviet Union. This was also due to the great strategic relevance of the area, placed right in the center of Europe and on the border with ‘the West’.
Soon after the reunification of the two halves of Germany and the withdrawal of the Red Army after the collapse of the USSR, most Soviet/Russian bases in Germany were deemed unnecessary by the new federal government, hence they were converted into something else. Airbases have been turned most typically into solar powerplants or, more rarely, into general aviation airports. Armored cavalry training areas have been largely cleaned up, and allocated as land for reforestation.
Despite large parts of these installations having been recycled to some other function, substantial traces – and sometimes even more – of these once prominent and populated bases can be found still today. These include many technical buildings, like aircraft shelters, hangars for maintenance, weapon storages, bunkers, … as well as housing and buildings for the families of Soviet troopers. Needless to say, this kind of stuff is of primary interest for urban explorers and war historians as well, for these places – besides being really creepy and often preserving a ‘Soviet ghost aura’ which may appeal to a part of the public… – are usually full of lively traces of the Soviet occupation, like signs in Cyrillic alphabet, murals, monuments and Lenin’s heads, which make for an interesting memento of the recent past, when the map of Europe looked pretty much different from now.
In this post you can find a pictorial description of a visit to the two airbases of Sperenberg and Finsterwalde, south of Berlin, the airbase of Grossenhain, close to Dresden, plus a quick chapter on the former tank regiment base of Zeithain, close to the sport town of Riesa – not an airbase, but convenient to visit and well worth a quick stop when going to Grossenhain. Photographs have been taken in spring 2017.
As for the second chapter, some historical photos from the collectible book Rote Plätze – Russische Miltärfluglplätze Deutschland 1945-1994 have been included to allow for a ‘now and then’ comparison. I do not own the copyright for those pics.
The Soviet airbase of Sperenberg stands out in the panorama of the facilities of the Red Army in the GDR for two reasons.
Firstly, it was not an attack base, but the primary logistic airport of the Soviets in Eastern Germany. The place was developed with air transport in mind, so differently from most bases around, there are no shelters for deadly MiGs or Sukhois ‘mosquitos’, but instead enormous open-air aprons, hangars and parking bays for Antonov and Ilyushin monster-size transports, as well as for bulky Mil helicopters. The place even bolsters a small passenger terminal for military staff, a truly unique feature. The proximity to Wünsdorf, a small town in Brandenburg which since the end of WWII and until 1994 hosted the headquarters of the Soviet Forces in Germany (covered in this post), may have played a role in defining the function of this base.
Secondarily, Sperenberg was simply shut down at the time of the withdrawal of Soviet/Russian forces, but was never converted into something else – at least at the time of writing. This makes it truly a one-of-a-kind item for lovers of ‘ghost airbases’, for here everything, including all taxiways and the runway, is still there. Nature is fiercely reclaiming much of the area, which is nowadays completely surrounded and partly submerged by a wild forest – making the silent remains of the base look even more creepy, unnatural and haunted…
The installation is also very big – similar to an average-size civil airport – , and besides the airside part, there is also an extensive array of residential buildings for the troops. For the major point of interest of the place is the preserved – for now… – airport infrastructure, I concentrated on that, neglecting the barracks and housing. This was also due to the latter being closer to the old main gate to the base, and standing to the available information there are rangers and local citizens who sometimes keep that part under watch. With only a basic knowledge of German, I think it’s better to take all countermeasures to avoid misunderstandings, thus enjoying a reasonably safe and undisturbed exploration…
Sights
In order to reduce the chance of a contact with the locals, it makes sense to intrude into the perimeter from the northeast, heading southwest directly to the center of the airport, leaving the housing part to the east. This will result in a multi-miles walk in the trees, along former service roads, now seldom used by woodcutters. Sooner or later, you will meet the original fence of the base, with concrete posts, barbed wire and an unpaved service road for service cars running all around it.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
In order to make your way through the wilderness, unless you are from that very district and have a (very) good knowledge of the area, you will need a GPS. I profitably used the Ulmon app on my iPhone. It worked perfectly, all paths were precisely indicated. The external fence around the northwest area is very well preserved. The function of the first group of buildings I came across with is not very clear. You can clearly spot them on aerial photos of the base, to the northwest of the main part of the apron, connected to the airside area with a long straight service road aligned in a northwest-southeast direction.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
I guess the facility may have been a former fuel deposit – there is a large maneuver area possibly for trucks, an inner fence for further protection, a water deposit, possibly for firefighting, and a strange array of aligned pipe ends made of concrete, pointing vertically.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Going southwards to reach the apron area, I came across an abandoned… Soviet boot, plus some more mysterious buildings, clearly blown up at a certain point in history, and possibly not built by the Soviets. These resembled in shape the cannon bunkers placed by Nazi Germany on the northern coast of France, constituting the backbone of the ‘Atlantic Wall’. Maybe residuals from an even farther back era?
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
After crossing another fence – again, concrete posts and barbed wire – and going through a really wild trail in the trees, basically not signed except for traces of animals everywhere, I appeared on the apron in the northwesternmost part of the airport, with a huge array of parking bays for transport aircraft. Reportedly Antonov An-12s and Tupolev Tu-134s used to be placed in this area, as you can see also from historical pictures.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
The proportions of the abandoned airport are really striking. Taking a closer look at many of the parking bays, it is possible to find substantial traces of the original delimiting and direction strips for aircraft. The apron is made of the typical Soviet slabs, not coated with asphalt as typical for most airports in the West.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Moving south from the parking area, which unwinds along an east-western direction – as it is clear from the aerial pictures – , walking along a connection taxiway it is possible to notice its uncommon width, which is not typical to attack bases, but necessary for a transport base operating with Soviet giants.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Accessing the southern east-western taxiway from the west, it is possible to find a very special feature of Sperenberg – the passenger terminal. The small terminal is located to the north of a dedicated apron for passenger/mail loading and unloading.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
The terminal area is made of two main buildings. One is probably older, with a large glass window looking to the apron. A gazebo and some small walkways suggest the place was intended for waiting, and for ‘quasi-civil’ operations.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
The main terminal bears the date ‘1986’. From historical pictures, you can notice that it underwent some modifications during the few years of operations, which ceased by the year 1994. In particular, the central window on the front façade, made for the baggage treadmill, was bricked up at a certain point.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
The inside of the building has been totally spoiled, except for some wallpaper on the ceiling.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
A couple of strange movable structures, possibly extendable covered passages for passenger loading operations, can be found on the apron and in the trees besides the former terminal. Also these can be spotted in one of the aerial photographs. They are full of unofficial mottos and signatures of Soviet troops, written in Cyrillic.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
From the area of the terminal it’s a – relatively – short walk to the western end of the runway.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Moving eastwards from the terminal along the southernmost main taxiway, you come across several interesting items, including a Soviet control tower and many parking bays for large helicopters.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
The only hangar on the airport can be found on a very wide taxiway connecting the two parallel east-western main taxiways. The hangar, albeit appearing rather big at a glance, was probably used for maintenance of helicopters and smaller transports, as large Soviet transports need a much bigger size. Traces of a motto on the front of the hangar, obviously in Cyrillic, can be seen today.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
This also are quite mysterious, for on the photos from the last days of operations the inscription cannot be spotted. It was probably covered in Russian, post-Soviet times, reappearing now as the paint coat is fading.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Also in the area around the hangar another control tower, possibly from an older age, can be spotted, but not accessed.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Taking again to the east along the southern taxiway, more helicopter parking bays can be found, and finally another large aircraft parking area. From pictures from the time, this area was used for parking mainly An-12s, some of them with the tail leaning over the grass. Many interesting strips and indications for aircraft can be found in this area, with writings in Cyrillic, together with strongpoints for anchoring aircraft to the ground.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
From the end of the taxiway, where more interesting signs on the ground can still be found – one of them telling ‘cars must stop here’ – it’s again pretty easy to come to the eastern end of the runway. The connection taxiway descents gently towards the runway.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Here some of the original lights can be found. Some slabs close to the end of the runway appear highly damaged, like they were stricken from above. Possibly some overweight plane heavy-landed here at some point?
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Leaving north from the eastern end of the runway, crossing both main east-western taxiways, you can point back to the fence of the airport. Going further east you would reach the housing area, which I did not explore. Going north I came across an abandoned railway track, and a railway/truck interchange area. Finally, I reached the usual barbed wire and I left in the trees. I had to walk again along a very nice multi-miles track in the wilderness back to where I had parked.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Now that I was fine with the goals of the exploration, I moved to the main gate – where you are quite exposed and it’s easier to get spotted – to take some pictures from the outside. These can be compared to an historical pic from post-Soviet times – see the Russian Eagle to the left of the gate.
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base
Another set of exciting pictures from the air, taken during a special flight over this area, can be found in this chapter.
All in all, I would say Sperenberg was among the most interesting Soviet airbase in the GDR I’ve ever visited. You can really feel the ‘Soviet ghost aura’, for the place looks really like it was simply closed up and forgotten. And I didn’t even look at the housing part. The wilderness around is really nice to walk in spring, you will see many birds, deers and some say they have spotted boars. I walked something around 12 miles in the area, my stay lasted a full afternoon, and I noticed only a few people having a look around, far in the distance. So if you are looking for an evocative walk, mixing the pleasure of the countryside to serious, top-quality urban exploration in a former military setting, this is really a place to be!
Getting there and moving around
Sperenberg is located about 20 miles south from downtown Berlin. The unattractive village bearing this name can be conveniently reached by car, and the main gate to the base can be found to the west of it. If you don’t want to access the base from here – which may attract some unwanted attention – you may elect to go to the area of Kummersdorf a few miles north, park your car and cut through the wilderness to reach the area of the former airport. For doing that you will need a map. The Ulmon map on my iPhone was perfect for guiding me on the task, all major and almost all minor service roads were perfectly signed. Due to the size of the base, you may choose to reach the perimeter from different directions, especially if you are more interested in some part than another. It used to be a full-scale transport airport, so expect to walk a lot if you – like me – want to have a look to everything. Being placed in the deep countryside of Brandenburg, finding a parking place should not be a problem.
Grossenhain
The former base of Grossenhain, close to Dresden, has been in the focus of an important conversion plan. Much of the facilities – especially the many hangars – have been converted into something else, including busy factories and warehouses. The area of the airport has been reduced, and the majority of the original buildings – some of them dating back to the Nazi era – demolished. A small flight club operates from the southeastern quarter of the base, using the original runway. From a bird’s eye view, the area for flight operations has been sensibly reduced, but thanks to the conversion, most hangars are still in place, so it’s easy to get an idea of how the base looked like in the past.
Historical pictures show that this airbase was used for open days in the years of the GDR, and in the transition period between 1989 and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Similarly to other bases in the GDR like Rechlin/Laerz, Jüterbog and Merseburg, this attack base hosted a model GRANIT special weapon storage (‘Sonderwaffenlager’). This is still preserved today, and makes for the most prominent feature of this base.
Sights
Three items make this base really attractive. First and foremost, a bunker for storing special weapons. Perhaps a unique case in the former GDR, the bunker has undergone a complete refurbishment, and it now appears like new.
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
The two imposing doors are preceded by a barbed wire fence. It is inaccessible, but it can be easily photographed from the outside. There is even an explanatory panel, both in German and Russian, with photographs from an older time.
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
A second sight of interest is the former gate guardian of the base. It is a MiG-17 of the Aviation of the Red Army. It is placed on a concrete post – designed in a pure Soviet-style – with writings in Cyrillic. Pictures from the day of operations suggest a different background than the rotting hovel now behind it. The gray sky on the day of my visit added to the Cold War atmosphere of the place.
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finally, another sight of interest is a wooden round table from the age of the Nazi dictatorship, used to align flight instrumentation. It is very large, and perfectly preserved. An explanatory panel can be found also besides this item.
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base
All in all, while not a place for a real exploration – the area is very busy and not abandoned at all – Grossenhain offers some very unique items, keeping memory of its strong military past, surely worth a detour for the committed specialist.
Getting there and moving around
Grossenhain is about 20 miles north of Dresden, and just 8 miles north of world-famous Meissen – the birthplace of the Meissen pottery. The still active ‘flugplatz’ – local airport – is immediately north of this averaged-size village. Access is via the road N.101 or N.98, surrounding the airport area to the west and south respectively. There is no barrier except for the small flight club, many public roads have replaced the original taxiways and service roads. You can move in the former area of the airbase with your car and park at your convenience. Just be sure not to interfere with the many businesses in the area, especially big trucks going in and out on smaller roads.
Finsterwalde
This once prominent, very large airbase, is still in operation as a local airport. During the Cold War, this place was selected for storing nuclear warheads with a specially built facility. Other two installations of the kind existed over the territory of the GDR, namely Brand and Rechlin/Laerz.
Sights
The airport area is largely inaccessible, for the airbase is still an active general aviation airport. Among the most visible items in this part, a great example of a control tower from the years before WWII. It has been perfectly refurbished. Nearby are some very big hangars, today hosting some private business. Closer to the apron, some shelters from Soviet times are possibly used as hangars – they were shut when I visited. I could see a Transall C-160 parked outside, a really ubiquitous military transport in Germany, likely not any more managed by the Air Force.
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
The ‘ghost part’ of the base is located to the south of the airport. The ideal trailhead is a former railway station and interchange platform. From historical pictures, it’s easy to see this was very busy supplying materials to the base, where also extensive housing could be found in Soviet times.
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Going south following a former service road, still used by woodcutters and acceptably maintained at least for an easy 0.8 miles walk, you can reach the old bunker for nuclear ordnance. It is preceded by parking areas, demolished truck depots and many service roads. The assembly should have looked like the one in Brand, but most of the buildings today are gone.
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
The bunker is not interred, so the size can be appreciated from the side. Unfortunately, the bunker has been left open, and at some time in its history it must have been set on fire, so the walls inside are covered in black soot, and exceptionally dark – unfortunately I couldn’t take an acceptable picture even with a torchlight. More recently, it has been used as a dump for common waste. The area is far from hygienic, with piles of garbage here and there. Furthermore, on the outside it was covered by stupid and ignorant graffiti.
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
On the plus side, the crane for maneuvering the ordnance ahead of the main door is still in place with its original roof. Also visible is the truck unloading dock, ahead of the entrance to the bunker.
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
To the west of the area of the bunker, along the public road giving access to today’s airport, some of the original Soviet housing can be seen, apparently still inhabited in some parts. The base offers also some aircraft shelters close to the southeastern corner, but these are used as storages, and they are fenced and inaccessible.
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base
Another set of exciting pictures from the air, taken during a special flight over this area, can be found in this chapter.
Generally speaking, Finsterwalde deserves a visit for the still active part of the airport, and for the unique nuclear bunker – even though it is the worst preserved of the kind in the GDR, the ‘Soviet ghost aura’ can still be perceived. A visit of about 1-1.5 hour, including a walk to the bunker and back, may be enough for the entire installation.
Getting there and moving around
Finsterwalde is located about 20 miles east of Cottbus, and about 55 miles south of downtown Berlin. The town of Finsterwalde has also another GA airport, to the northwest of the urban area. The former base is located south, and can be reached looking for ‘Fliegerstrasse’ if leaving the city to the south on ‘Dresdner Strasse’, or for ‘Sudstrasse’ when leaving on the L60 to the southeast. In any case, less than 2 miles south of the city center. Parking is possible besides the control tower, or close to the former railway station. As written above, the place is not abandoned, there are small businesses all around and even some fields of solar cells. Anyway I didn’t attract any unwanted attention when exploring the abandoned building of the railway station – even though I am sure I was spotted by the cars passing by – and when heading by foot in the trees to reach the nuclear bunker.
Zeithain
Sights
The countryside around the small sleepy town of Zeithain was once busy with tank operations, with extensive training grounds dating from before WWII. The Soviets maintained the original function of the installation. More recently, the area was mostly cleaned up, almost no buildings remain and trees have grown covering the once barren area for maneuvers, but the partially fenced former military zone still hides an item of great interest from the Cold War age.
It is a complete Soviet commemorative monument. The first part is a very unusual statue of Lenin, in a somewhat informal pose with a hand in his pocket. The centerpiece is a mural with a map showing the trail followed by the Soviets to reach Berlin during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 – which is how Russians call WWII. The mural is extremely well preserved, I would say it was refurbished at some point in recent history.
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
The third and most impressive ingredient is a 6 feet tall head of Mother Russia. I would say this is the most beautifully made Soviet sculpture I know of in the GDR. It makes for a good rival, and possibly a winning one, for the three majestic Soviet monuments in Berlin, but with less pomp and more art. Really something with an artistic value.
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
The fourth and last component of the monument is another mural with portraits of Soviet soldiers and an inscription in Cyrillic.
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
The ensemble is really impressive, the silence and remoteness of the place clearly adding to your perception of it. A walkway leading to the center of the monument can be seen still today.
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
As I wrote, there is something strange in this particular monument, for it is too well preserved for an outdoor monument left behind since at least 1994. I guess somebody has been taking care of it in more recent times. Nonetheless, nature is wild around it, and overgrown trees partially hide the perspective.
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
As a practical indication, I must admit I took a high risk visiting this place, cause the former perimeter of the base is fenced, and I believe the grounds are now in private hands. The original entrance to the base – you can see the original control booth and the gate – was open when I arrived, but an unlocked padlock was hanging from the door. I heard some cars and trucks moving out when I was taking pictures. So basically I think I intruded into a private business, at the high risk of remaining locked inside – together with my car… I would suggest moving in by foot, in order to make escape easier, just in case you get locked in!
Getting there and moving around
The base of Zeithain is located about 3 miles north of central Riesa, a mid-sized town in the countryside 30 miles northwest of Dresden.
Getting to the entrance of the base maybe a bit tricky, for the area under the administration of Zeithain covers an extensive part of the local countryside, so if targeted with ‘Zeithain’ your nav will probably point in the middle of nowhere and pretty far from the base.
A time-saving way to reach the place is as follows. Start from the junction between the N.98 and N.169, located east of a small town. Take to the north on the N.169. The road goes off with a gentle bend to the right immediately after the junction. Then it becomes straight, and you will have a fuel station to your right, and a road departing to the left – ‘An der borntelle’ is the name of the road. Take it as it goes straight northwest for less than half a mile, till a sharp bend to the left. At the level of the bend, a smaller road – ‘Abendrothstrasse’ – goes off abruptly to the right. Take it, and again less than 0.5 miles ahead the road splits in two, the main road going slightly to the left. Leave the main road and keep going straight. You will see a gate and a wall to your right. This is the entrance to the former training base. I skip providing any further details about how to move on from there, for as I have explained I realized this is probably an actively managed private property. Visiting and taking pictures may take 15 to 30 minutes.
Riesa
Sights
This sleepy town, mostly famous for sports than for everything else, may be interesting for the location, very close to Zeithain – see description above – and for the presence of one of the remaining statues of Lenin in the former GDR. This statue is part of the local Soviet cemetery. Such cemeteries are not so rare and scattered over the immense territory conquered by the Soviets in Europe during WWII. Besides fallen soldiers buried in war cemeteries, due to the great number of Soviet troopers and their relatives in the GDR, I guess it was not uncommon for them to be buried abroad.
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
The cemetery is still maintained today, and the statue still looked after as a part of it. This makes it pretty uncommon, for all other statues of Lenin in the GDR have been removed or abandoned. There is clearly some controversy about its placement in a public park in a town of today’s Germany, so it is possible the monument will be relocated at some point in history. For now, together with the ‘Socialist housing’ right behind it in the background of the cemetery, the monument makes for an unusual picture – a Soviet-style ‘postcard from the GDR’.
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin
Getting there and moving around
The small cemetery and monument are located to the southwest of Riesa, and can be reached easily where Poppitzer Strasse and Mergendorfer Strasse meet. You can park at your convenience close by. Visiting will not take more than 10 minutes.
‘The lost city of Vogelsang’ – this is the complete name often attributed to this former Soviet installation built under Stalin’s rule in 1952, located about 35 miles north of Berlin in the former territory of the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR, or DDR in German). Actually, the base was among the first three of the kind in size, housing about 15.000 Soviet troops of tank and artillery divisions, service staff and their families – much more residents than the majority of ‘normal’ cities in the region.
In the case of Vogelsang, two facts add to the usual grim aura of a deserted Soviet base.
Firstly, it was never much publicized among the locals, being large enough to contain all services needed by the troops and their families – it was basically a ‘secret base’. The trees now invading all free areas between the skeletons of the remaining buildings were not there until the early Nineties, when Russian troops left the former territory of the GDR – during 1994. Yet even when it was active, the place was hidden from the eyes of those passing by, thanks to the very rich vegetation. Its very location, pretty far away from everything, surely helped in shrouding it into secrecy.
Secondarily, at least in one instance in recent history, in the years of Khrushchev, of the latest Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, this place was used for the deployment of an arsenal of strategic missiles pointing to European targets, reportedly in core Europe and Britain. Much confusion exists about dates and many details are missing – the deployment was so secret that even the government of the GDR didn’t know about it, so the existence of the base and its role are a somewhat ‘inconvenient reminder’ of the recent past for Germany. Today this base is still really hard to spot.
Anyway, I visited the site several times between 2016 and 2020, and I took the following photographs. While from the sequence of my visits it is apparent that the installation is quickly decaying, thanks to the combined action of the government and of ignorant writers, both showing a bothering null respect for history, there is still something left to see. I give also some basic info for getting to this site on your own.
Getting there and moving around
The village of Vogelsang can be reached by car from downtown Berlin in about 1 h 30 min – the road distance is about 40 miles, but a substantial part of the itinerary follows local roads, resulting in a pretty long time needed. Be careful when pointing your nav, for there are several towns named ‘Vogelsang’ in Germany. This one is in Brandenburg, located north of Berlin, along the road 109. The closest major town is Zehdenick, a few miles to the south of Vogelsang on the same road 109.
As usual with military bases, there is a railway track reaching Vogelsang, and getting there by train is of course possible. During my stay I heard the whistle of various trains passing there – even though I noticed only a very small station and nobody around, so possibly there’s no ticketing service. I noticed the scheduled time for arriving by train from Berlin is identical to that needed moving with a car. If you don’t want to be forced to stick to timetables, I suggest going by car.
Once there, I parked my car on the grass close to the only crossroad in town – where the 109 is crossed by Burgwaller Strasse. I parked behind the info table – there is obviously no info on the base, just about ‘regular’ nature trails in the area. Nobody complained about me parking there, and I found my car intact about six hours later…
Burgwaller Strasse crosses the railway and heads straight into the ‘zone’. Please note that soon after crossing the railway a) the road is not paved any more, b) there are prohibition signs about vehicle traffic, so you can’t go further with a car.
For moving around you will need an electronic map and possibly a GPS, cause the site is huge, and the area is covered with trees and vegetation, and many former roads are not visible any more, so getting lost is pretty easy. Moreover, from Google maps you can’t spot much from above, because of the trees. This makes a GPS + map of the site very important for the particular case of this site, differently from other bases.
I used my iPhone and it worked perfectly. Just install the free Ulmon (aka CityMaps2Go) app (app website here) and download the offline Brandenburg map – this provides an incredible detail. Furthermore, there is a strong Internet signal over most of the base – strangely enough, the area is well covered.
Anyway, if you don’t want to depend on the Internet once there, you can pinpoint the places you are more interested in on the offline Ulmon map before going – I did also this as a backup, cause I didn’t know whether Internet would be working.
I suggest not to overlook this point. Thinking back, I would have hardly made it without a cell phone with a GPS + map. You have to walk in the trees quite a bit before reaching any buildings. The trees hide everything and you can easily get disoriented – wasting much time moving around. Everything is solved with a GPS and a good map.
Over five visits, I spent almost 20 hours touring the place. During my first visit (lasting about 6 hours), I just concentrated on the southernmost part of it, which is of course the richest in remains, electing not to reach the launch pads closer to the village of Beutel (see this chapter). On that first visit, I walked approximately 11 miles standing to my iPhone, so be ready to walk. Even though there are no great physical barriers for moving around, the place is really abandoned and vegetation is wild. Probably you will need to walk in nettles and brambles at some point, so choose your clothes and shoes carefully.
On the plus side, you will see much wildlife!
Many interesting sights are outdoor, some are indoor. As usual, all abandoned buildings, except perhaps the nuclear storage bunkers that are very sturdy, must be considered dangerous. You should observe through the windows or enter at your own risk.
Sights
Missile Launch Pad
This is the southernmost, isolated launch pad on the site. You can see a concrete platform at the level of the ground about 20 feet long, with metal holding points. It was used to anchor missile-carrying trucks before tilting the missile canister vertical and preparing for launch. It is highly probable that the missile system intended to be installed here was the R5 ‘Pobeda’, NATO codename SS-3 ‘Shyster’. The relatively small range of this missile is in support of a deployment in a region so close to the border with european NATO Countries (see this chapter also for a general map of the missile installations in this area).
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The road leading to the missile pad and from there to the main complex of the base today is barely visible. Traces of a barbed wire fence, delimiting the external perimeter of the base, can be found here, together with a network of trenches and dips once needed for the missile launch system (which included technical trailers with generators, control system panels, …).
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The territory of the base is scattered with tokens from their former owners, from mugs to batteries, to military material of all sorts.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Southeastern Inner Access Post
Walking along the barbed wire fence from the missile launch pads to the core of the base, you will come across a long concrete wall. Soviet bases are often divided into sealed sectors. Access to the ‘service part’ of the base, with living quarters, schools, … was past this wall. The gate has disappeared, but you can find traces of it where the wall is interrupted and a concrete-paved road points into it. A cage for watchdogs can be found close to this checkpoint.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
In a first building for the guards, with window railings, look for Russian writings even on the ground.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Buildings by the entrance post include a garage with writings in Cyrillic, with an apron for maneuvering trucks or cars. On the cranes inside the garage, you can find inscriptions by the Soviet troops occupying the base. Leaving this type of ‘autograph’ was typical for Soviet troops (see for instance the traces left in the theater of bases in Poland, here).
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Nearby the entrance, a clubhouse, visitor center, or something alike can be found, with a pleasant architecture – large windows and a bar.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Entertainment Quarters
Two main buildings here, a movie theater and a clubhouse.
The theater is still in good shape. Some of the original lights and traces of the performance program board can be seen outside.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The road leading to the front entrance is still visible, but the façade is not imposing any more, for trees are now hiding it.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Signs and propaganda posters in Cyrillic alphabet and with photos can be spotted here and all around the base.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The café, with an original banner in Cyrillic, can be spotted to the left of the theater, close by a small warehouse with a loading platform.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Some kitchen furniture and gear can be still spotted around.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Between the theater and café buildings, you can find an incredible Soviet sculpture. The most striking feature you can see in the pics is a portrait of Lenin!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The Lenin panel was moved in 2017 to a Soviet-themed museum in Wünsdorf (see this dedicated chapter about this incredible place and its museum). The rest of the mural was there as of 2019, still reasonably resisting to the weather and spoilers.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Mural monuments are among the most interesting features of Vogelsang. Not far from this base, you can find another example of these Soviet creations described in this chapter.
Children School
This is rather creepy – even the curtains are still in place on some windows…! On the ground floor you can access a small gym.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Much of the heating system – made in Germany – is still in place.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
On the first floor some very interesting murals can be easily spotted, together with traces of a small theater and special classrooms for language teaching and other purposes.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Soldiers Sports Ground
This has been turned into a corn field. Something of the original tribunes still stay, with original decoration made from parts of machinery I guess.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Water/Heating Plant
A small water pumping/heating plant occupies a building nearby the gym (see next section). Traces of the original hardware can be found, with writing in Russian.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Also a small living room, likely belonging to a technician looking after plant, is part of this small construction. Traces of the original curtains are still there! Unofficial writing in Cyrillic can be found on the concrete wall making for a small backyard to the plant.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Soldiers Gym
Very creepy! Gym apparel, subscription forms, record boards and gym gear still around…
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
To the back you can spot a former Turkish bath with no roof and trees in it.
Soldiers Barracks
There are pretty many buildings of the same kind aligned along a still visible concrete paved road between the school and the training center. Many of these buildings look like being close to collapsing. Some interesting halls and various items can be found in some of them.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Soldiers Canteens & Training Center
There are various canteens and entertainment centers scattered over the territory of the base.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Some nice murals in pure Russian naïve style can be found in some of the buildings. Some of the halls are very very large.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Among the most notable features in Vogelsang, a peculiar tank simulator and a small but very deep pool, for training purposes, can still be found in a dedicated training building.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Unfortunately the door appears to be blocked by a collapsed roof or something, but you can reach or at least see the features of interest through broken windows.
Base Headquarter
The headquarter of the soviet base in Vogelsang sit in a two-levels building with an imposing facade. Today you can see the remnants of a porter’s office, giving access to the main staircase.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Climbing to the upper floor, you reach a hall with a wooden canopy. Two corridors leading to the offices of the military staff depart from there.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
From a 2020 visit, this building has taken a particularly rotting appearance, and maybe it is not going to last for long.
Mural of Soviet Triumphs & Soviet Soldier, plus Buildings Nearby
This is an incredible mural, about 60 feet long, with various symbolic scenes – army power, technology and agriculture, family and helpful society and housing for everybody.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
A collection of Soviet emblems follows. This mural contributes greatly to the uniqueness of Vogelsang in the panorama of Soviet bases!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Turning your head 90 degrees to the right from this mural, you will see an artistically pleasant giant head of soldier, embossed on the side of a building. Differently from the mural nearby, this is of some artistic value. The head was still there during my next visits, even though writers have attacked the base of the wall where it is standing, and the plaster is starting to fail. Who knows how long this old guardian will stand, recalling the past splendor of Soviet Vogelsang with his sad expression?
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Close by, it is possible to find scant remains of other propaganda gears, like a three-steps stand for speaking, a bigger one in the shape of a Red Banner flag made in concrete and bricks, and an adjoining painted mural with planes, ships and soldiers. Unique!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
In this area you can find also some service buildings in a relatively good shape. Among other things, there is a (likely) central laundry, with (possibly) ironing machines still in place.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Still in the area, some buildings appear to host small apartments. As usual in Soviet bases, Pravda and other news adorn the walls – they were used to hang wallpaper, but this has largely gone today, and old news have faced again. Just reading the publication dates and titles, or looking at the pics, can be really intriguing.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Some of the buildings hosted nearby the mural hosted technical services, like boilers for centralized hot water supply, or similar. You may spend some time exploring this area, finding some curious rooms – and even a well preserved sauna!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Underground Cellar with Mural
An interesting sight for braver – maybe crazier – explorers can be found in the underground cellar, in the basement of a canteen building, among the service buildings just described.
There a big plaster (?) mural can be found, painted in bright colors, with missiles, soldiers, the Kremlin in Moscow and a huge red banner with hammer and sickle! The state of conservation is exceptionally good.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Also very interesting are the inscriptions left by troops stationed at Vogelsang, apparently coming from districts like Kishinev (now Chisinau, Moldova), Chelyabinsk (Russia), Krim (Crimea), Yakkabag (Uzbekistan), Donbass (Ukraine) – all around the USSR! The years reported range between 1989 and 1990. The mural might date from just little earlier, hence it may be relatively new, justifying its still good condition.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
It is not a long walk from the surface, you just need to descend a short flight of stairs. The only thing is that the cellar is flooded, so you will need to explore it moving around in a kind of pool of clean but cold water, reaching up to your crotch! A good torchlight is mandatory. Other adjoining rooms display further inscriptions in Cyrillic.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Mirage Mural & Most Peripheral Buildings
A painted portrait of a Mirage 2000 was made on the back of a fence wall not far north from the mural of the Soviet triumphs, close to a watchtower. A data sheet in cyrillic alphabet is painted besides, and another aircraft is visible on another part of the wall.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Pretty curious about the choice of the Mirage, among all ‘enemy aircraft’ of Western powers. May be this was just the beginning of a gallery of portraits? As of 2019, I could not find this any more, maybe it is now gone.
As a matter of fact, this corner of the base is now close to an area to the north end of the base, where demolition works have stricken hard, flattening huge lots once occupied by many more buildings.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
On the border of the surviving group of buildings, you can find some interesting items, including a garage, and another 3D monument, on the side of a secluded flat area now invaded by vegetation, which might have been a square or a small outdoor sporting facility.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Northeastern Gate Area and Defense Bunker
On the northeastern corner of this major remaining part of the base, just north of the school and theater you can find traces of a kind of park, with a network of walkways sided with hedges. Today, the plants used for hedging are overgrown, but you can still clearly recognize the original patterns. Furthermore, there are street lamps still standing an showing the way!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
On the northern end of this once pleasant area, you can find a half-interred bunker. The entrances are bricked up, so you can’t get in. Considering the position, close to service buildings for everyone in the base, like canteens, gym, school, etc., this bunker might have been a defense bunker for the people of the base, in case of an attack.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
A lonely gate and fragments of the wall surrounding this sector of the base can be found not far from here, a rather evoking sight.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Bunkers for Nuclear Warheads
These are located to the south-west of the base, pretty far from the living quarters and training centers, and closer to the limit fence of the and to the road and railway. A long concrete-paved road connects these two sections of the base.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Two bunkers can still be seen. They are very large and covered with land and vegetation. They have security gates at both ends. On one end, there are cranes probably for moving the nuclear warheads between trucks and the bunker. On the other end there is a small service building, attached to the side of the bunker.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The ventilation system is huge, with large openings, valves and extensive piping.
At the time of my first visit one of the two bunkers could be entered with no difficulty by the back gate. The thickness of the gate is impressive. Inside there are multiple interconnected cellars running along the main axis of the bunker, separated by walls and gates. Approaching the other end, where the entry gate to the crane area is blocked closed, there are rooms and ventilation control gears.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The inside of the bunker is very dark, but surprisingly it is far less wet than expected. Probably at least the construction layers for climate control are still working properly.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Since 2017, both bunkers are closed, but as you can see from the pics below, the exterior is still basically intact. Writings in Russian can be found on the gates of the bunkers.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Scattered around the bunkers are some guard turrets overseeing the area, walls enclosing it in a perimeter, as well as protected entrances to some subterranean passages. In front of the blocked entrance of the bunker you can walk in, there is a mystery wall of ceramic brick, whose function I can’t guess.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Warning: in the area between the two bunkers I almost stepped on much dangerous debris, like pieces of rusty barbed wire and similar items. Carefully watch your step.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
North of the bunkers a large garage for trucks can be found. The bunkers just described were for warheads only. The missiles used to be stored in dedicated bunkers, once located besides the trucks depot (trucks were used to take the trailers carrying the missiles to the launch pad).
These missile storage buildings have been partly demolished, leaving some concrete slabs once making for a pavement. Some further bunkers have been interred (filled with land). I took some pics from the top of these old halls, by letting the camera down a loophole on the rooftop.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Cutting from the bunkers directly south to the road going back to the village, you cross the former perimeter of the base. From the inside you cross a wall, two lines of poles with traces of barbed wire, and a ditch. Thinking back, mines might have been buried between the two lines of barbed wire…
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Southeastern Corner and Carved Graffiti
An incredible testimony of the people once occupying the base came as a surprise during a short detour in the trees from one of the major roads crossing the base, approaching the southeastern corner of its large premises. A group of graffiti carved in the trees by the presumably young Soviet soldiers stationed there, totally in Cyrillic with names and year, left a vivid trace of archaeological value in this region of Germany. Some inscriptions date back to the 1960s!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Approaching the railway track an unusual parking can be spotted, where only the lights are still in place. Totally disproportioned to the size of the town, it was probably connected with the military base, and is now deserted. A now dead railway crossing can be found too.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Final Comments
You can’t see anything unusual at a glance when passing by the very small village of Vogelsang. To say it all, you can hardly spot todays village itself – a handful of small houses along the main road.
This would be good for urban explorers and war historians, as it should protect what remains from writers and other spoilers. Paradoxically, it is not protecting the site from disappearing at a quick pace, as the German government is reportedly promoting reforestation in the area, and buildings are being demolished little by little.
It is a pity, for this former base is rich of examples of Soviet ‘art’ and of other very rare artifacts, which after all are now part of history, and perhaps should deserve more consideration.
Since my first visit some years ago, some buildings to the north have been demolished, and the bunkers closed forever. Ignorant writers and spoilers are taking their toll, too. In 2020 there were huge construction trucks and teams with heavy machinery working in the northwestern part of the base. Recent updates from fellow explorers reported that not much remains of the northwestern part of the base. Remarkably, the mural with the Soviet soldier has been demolished, and so the painted underground cellar, between 2020 and 2022.
This was partly expected, but as of 2022 it looks like we are getting close to the point when the present chapter will be a memento of what used to be in Vogelsang. There is still something left to check out there, but possibly not even such to justify a specific tour and the inconvenience of reaching this wild destination.
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.
Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY
Second Edition - 2024
DON'T LEAVE IT AT HOME! AVAILABLE in PAPERBACK or KINDLE from your national Amazon store!
