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WWI Battlefields – Somme, Arras and Ypres

CarloRLeave a comment

Historians defined World War I as the first ‘worldwide conflict’. There is probably no better place to appreciate the multi-ethnic provenance of the two opposing formations than in the region between Amiens, France and Ypres, Belgium.

Along this sector of the front, which did not move much between 1914 and 1918, Germany alone fought against the allied forces of France and their mainly African colonies, Belgium and the British Empire, which included Britain, Canada, Newfoundland, India, Bermuda, Rhodesia, New Zealand and Australia. Even the Army of South Africa found its way to the battlefield of the Somme in 1916, and the United States contributed to the last battle of Ypres and to the final rush against the German positions in 1918.

The contributions of all these Nations are remarkably represented by memorials and war cemeteries, which since then point the map of this area remembering the history of those fateful years and the fierce battles which took place – most notably the Battle of the Somme, the three Battles of the Artois with the Battle of the Vimy Ridge, and the five Battles of Ypres.

The fury of the Somme offensive, which took place between July and November 1916 and procured 1.1 million casualties – including more than 300’000 killed – on both sides, meant the region is particularly dense in memorials, which in some instances include little sections of the once extensive labyrinth of trenches. Due to the quality of the soil, these trenches have largely disappeared here, differently from the case of the region of the St. Mihiel salient, south of Verdun (see this post). Besides the overwhelmingly high cost in lives of the few miles of terrain gained by the Entente, this battle is famous also for the first ever use of tanks.

The battles of the Artois for the control of the area north of Arras were fought between 1915 and 1917, and here was recorded one of the top average deaths-per-day rates of the war, in the order of 4’000 on the side of the Entente.

The town of Ypres found itself on the line of the front from the first offensive of the Germans, when they tried – and failed – to reach for the coast of the North Sea in 1914. The region south of there saw continuous action until the final ‘100 days’ campaign of 1918, which actually broke the German lines and convinced the Kaiser to withdraw his troops, putting and end to the war. Ypres is mostly famous for the first ever use of lethal gas to drive enemy soldiers out of the trenches. More than 400’000 soldiers were killed on that sector of the line of the front, during at least five massive operations scattered over four years of war.

This chapter presents some notable war sites in this extensive region, which is easily accessible between Paris and Brussels, and today well prepared for tourism and very nice to visit – a pleasant countryside with many small and picturesque villages. Photographs were taken in 2016, during the first centennial of the Offensive of the Somme.

Map

Instead of looking how to reach for each site listed below in its dedicated section, you can find here a comprehensive map where you can see their respective locations at a glance. None of these sites is difficult to reach, provided you have a car – the most time-effective way to move around in that region. You can find a parking nearby each point of interest.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Sights in the Somme

The battlefield of the Somme Offensive stretches roughly over a triangle between Amiens, Bapaume and Peronne. The offensive took place between July and November 1916, and was conceived to decrease the pressure of the Germans in the area of Verdun further southeast, where the French were facing the mighty blows of the German war machine. This offensive was operated by the British and French on two split parts of the sector.

This battle is among the most famous in WWI due to several reasons. One is the atrocious death toll on both sides in face of the very little motion of the front line, which was pushed some miles towards the east. It was also the first battle where the Kitchener’s Army saw serious combat – this name is attributed to the corps of the British Army formed as a result of the recruiting effort of the ministry of war of the time, Lord Kitchener, soon after the first phases of WWI. These mainly very young, non-professional soldiers participated in the thousands in this bloody offensive.

After the offensive, the front line remained stable roughly until 1918, with hostilities lasting in the area until the end of the war.

There are many commemorative monuments, cemeteries and museums on the area of the battlefield. A nice institutional website made for tourists and listing many sights is here. Further information on the British website here. I suggest devoting at least a full day moving around the area with a car without the need to rush. Most sites are open 24 hours, while museums and documentation sites clearly have opening times. The following are just some major sites which are surely worth visiting in this region.

Museum ‘Somme 1916’, Albert

This is the ideal starting point for the exploration of the battlefield of the Somme. The small town of Albert is just where the line of the front ran at the beginning of the battle of 1916. This proximity meant the village was on the line of fire of the artillery of both Germany and the Entente. As a result the village was largely destroyed during the war. The museum has been built in a tunnel under the local church, rebuilt in the 1920s. The tunnel was dug as an air shelter in the 1930s, in preparation for another war soon to strike in the region…

The exhibition has three highlights. The first is a vivid reconstruction of several portions of the trenches on the sides of the two opponents. Some special features including optical equipment and weapons of the respective formations are displayed. Shelters, medical rooms and firing positions are all part of the tour. Germany and the British Empire are especially represented, for together with the French on a lesser scale, they were the most involved in this bloody battle.

Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Somme Albert WWI
Somme Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI

A map of the battle and some ‘war bulletins’ telling the number of shells shot and the number of casualties help understanding the huge cost of every inch of terrain gained by the Entente during the four months of the offensive.

Secondarily, many items left behind from the days of operations have been collected and are showcased. These include many weapons and shells, plus material dug out from the ground, like helmets, knives, pots, buckles, tags and even still branded canned food!

Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI

A collection of different fuses illustrates the many possible functions of the shells.

Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI
Museum Somme 1916 Albert WWI

The third interesting feature of this place is of course a very realistic reinstatement – with lights and sounds – of the ‘environment’ of a trench during war operations. This is impossible to capture in pictures, but it is designed very well and makes for a very evocative introduction to a visit of the area.

The museum has its own website here.

Lochnagar Mine Crater, Boisselle

The first and most spectacular phase of the Somme Offensive was probably its very beginning. During the months preceding the attack – starting early in the morning of July 1st, 1916 – the British prepared a series of underground tunnels, coming close to the German positions, and stored a number of colossal mines there. The attack began at 7.00 am, with a shelling over the German positions so intense that it was heard in London. About 30 minutes in this firestorm, 19 mines placed beneath the German lines were detonated within a couple of minutes.

Somme Battlefield WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI
Lochnagar Mine Crater Somme WWI
Lochnagar Mine Crater Somme WWI
Lochnagar Mine Crater Somme WWI
Lochnagar Mine Crater Somme WWI
Lochnagar Mine Crater Somme WWI
Lochnagar Mine Crater Somme WWI

The first of these mines was responsible for the Lochnagar crater, about 450 ft across and 220 ft deep, and obtained firing some 27 tonnes of explosive! At the time it was the most intense and loudest ordnance ever fired. Today you can still appreciate the size of the crater as you walk all around it.

Pozières

A group of interesting memorials is located around the village of Pozières, which was geographically in the center of intense action. A small memorial of New Zealand can be found nearby the former place of observation bunker called ‘Gibraltar’. Only part of the foundations of this observation post can be seen today.

Gibraltar Pozieres Observation Post Somme WWI
Gibraltar Pozieres Observation Post Somme WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI
Gibraltar Pozieres Observation Post Somme WWI
Gibraltar Pozieres Observation Post Somme WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI
British Memorial Somme WWI
British Memorial Somme WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI
Somme Battlefield WWI

Another sight is the local Australian memorial, and the unusual memorial of the British Tank Corps, with miniature models of the tanks used in the battle.

Australian Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Australian Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Australian Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Australian Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Tank Corps Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Tank Corps Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Tank Corps Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Tank Corps Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Tank Corps Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Tank Corps Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Australian Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI
Australian Memorial Pozieres Somme WWI

Only about 30 tanks could take part to the offensive. Used in action nearby here for the first time in history, while possibly not decisive in this particular battle, tanks undeniably confirmed their potential in breaking through the enemy lines, without fearing the barbed wire obstacles and machine gun fire. Tanks were soon to be developed further, and participated in the last offensives of the war in the hundreds.

London Cemetery and Extension, Longueval

This cemetery is mainly dedicated to the British soldiers of the ‘London’ Division, mainly responsible for the conquer of the High Wood, a fiercely contended group of trees placed on top of a low hill, taken and lost several times in the battle of 1916. It is one of the largest among the many war cemeteries in the region.

London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI

It is composed of a smaller part built soon after the Somme Offensive, and of an extension added around the original nucleus, for more graves which came later during the war. Looking at the graves it is possible to notice that many of the soldiers buried there are unidentified – ‘A Soldier Known Unto God’ is the inscription you find often times.

London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI
London Cemetery and Extension Longueval Somme WWI

The cemetery was enlarged again years later after WWII, as more British soldiers were lost in the war against Hitler’s Germany in the area.

Delville Wood South African National Memorial, Longueval

This memorial has been erected in the 1920s on a land assigned in perpetuity to South Africa by the French government of the time. The memorial is the main WWI monument to the Army of South Africa in Europe, commemorating their service and the death of more than 10’000 throughout the war.

Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI
Delville Wood South African National Memorial Somme WWI

A British cemetery can be found cross the road, facing the South African monument, where a further memorial to the troops of New Zealand can be reached nearby following the local indications.

Thiepval Memorial, Thiepval

The grandest memorial in the battlefield of the Somme, Thiepval was completed in the early 1930s and inaugurated by the Prince of Wales and the president of France to commemorate the soldiers of the British Empire who died in the area and whose burial site is unknown. More than 72’000 names are graven on the sides of the memorial.

Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval Memorial Somme WWI

The memorial serves as a joint French-British monument, and a number of soldiers of both nationalities are buried nearby.

Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI

Close to the memorial there is an interesting documentation site, with a very vivid and modern pictorial reconstruction of the trenches.

Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI
Thiepval British Commonwealth Memorial Somme WWI

The location on top of a hill on the very battlefield of the Somme Offensive makes this place really evocative, notwithstanding the many tourists.

Auchonvillers

Not far from Thiepval it is possible to find the village of Auchonvillers, where on private land – actually in the garden of a local teahouse – there is a small part of a preserved covered trench.

Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
aAuchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI
Auchonvillers Trenches Somme WWI

In the vicinity of the village it is easy to spot the Ulster Tower. This was built in the 1920s to commemorate the contribution of the ‘Ulster’ Division of Northern Ireland, and is an almost exact copy of a tower in Bangor, Ulster.

Ulster Tower Somme WWI
Ulster Tower Somme WWI
Ulster Tower Somme WWI
Ulster Tower Somme WWI
Somme Memorial WWI
Somme Memorial WWI
Cruachan Scottish Memorial Somme WWI
Cruachan Scottish Memorial Somme WWI
Cruachan Scottish Memorial Somme WWI
Cruachan Scottish Memorial Somme WWI

Not far between Thiepval and Beaumont-Hamel, one of the countless smaller monuments is a Celtic Cross bearing the inscription ‘Cruachan’, the war cry of the Campbell clan. It commemorates a number of Scottish Divisions fighting in the battle.

The Newfoundland Memorial Park, Beaumont-Hamel

This is one of the largest preserved trenches of the Somme area, and one of the only two Canadian historic landmarks out of mainland Canada. The park has original trenches on display, some of them preserved, some today barely visible. The site commemorates the action of the Newfoundland Regiment, which had one of the highest casualties tolls of the war, being reduced to less than 20% in the first day of combat during the Battle of the Somme – almost 700 casualties.

Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI

A 1:1 size statue of a caribou, the mascot of that territory which at the time was not part of Canada, is prominently standing on top of a hill in the park. Scattered around are other monuments, two small cemeteries and the ‘Danger Tree’, a copy of a dead tree originally standing there and helping the German artillery adjusting the sight and better directing their fire, thus causing more casualties in the nearby spot.

Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI
Newfoundland Trenches and Memorial Beaumont-Hamel Canada Somme WWI

Red Baron’s Crash Site, Vaux sur Somme

The site of the crash of Manfred von Richtofen, aka ‘The Red Baron’, is in a field nearby Vaux sur Somme.

Red Baron Manfred von Richtofen Crash Site Somme WWI
Red Baron Manfred von Richtofen Crash Site Somme WWI
Red Baron Manfred von Richtofen Crash Site Somme WWI
Red Baron Manfred von Richtofen Crash Site Somme WWI
Red Baron Manfred von Richtofen Crash Site Somme WWI
Red Baron Manfred von Richtofen Crash Site Somme WWI

There is only a small placard on the road, remembering the fatal crash due to Australian machine gunfire. This happened in April 1918 though, much after the end of the Somme Offensive in summer-fall 1916.

Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux

This is the main commemoration site of the Australian troops in WWI in Europe. It was erected here due to the proximity with the sector of the front assigned to Australia during and after the offensive of 1916. A successful battle was fought there in 1918, in the final months of the war.

Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI

It was the last major commemorative monument to be completed in the area, being unveiled in the late 1930s at the presence of King George VI. Also men from the air force are commemorated and buried there. The names of thousands of soldiers without a grave are listed on the sides of the monument.

Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI
Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux Somme WWI

While the architecture was somewhat contested at the time, the location is gorgeous, overlooking the southern area of the battlefield of the Somme. The monument was hit during WWII, and traces of the bullets can be seen on the side slabs of the monument.

Australian Corps Memorial, Le Hamel

This monument commemorates the effort of the forces of the Entente in the battle taking place here in summer 1918, when the war was still fiercely raging in the area notwithstanding the approaching end. The monument has been erected close to a small section of trenches, of which traces can be seen nearby. Flags of some of the participants to the struggle on the side of the Entente are present.

Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI
Australian Corps Memorial Le Hamel Somme WWI

When I visited there were some poppies in a field nearby the monument. Poppy flowers, rather common in the region, were the only flowers on the devastated no man’s land between the adversary trenches. These flowers came to represent the sacrifice especially of the British soldiers, and the poppy was adopted as an official symbol of war veterans in the 1920s.

Sights in the Artois

The French city Arras in the heart of the region of the Artois found itself on the front line as it got stabilized already in 1914. Three bloody offensives which caused the French huge losses were launched in the region in 1915. The front moved a few miles forth and back, without any decisive breakthrough on either side. In April 1917 a major battle was fought in the area, which led to the conquer of the Vimy Ridge. At that time, the British had taken over responsibility for that sector of the front. The area is especially famous for the underground tunnels, dug by both opponents to place mines and for sheltering and storage purposes, thanks to the soft chalky soil typical of the region.

Wellington Quarry, Arras

These tunnels were carved in central Arras mainly by men of the New Zealand Tunneling Company, who included enlisted natives from the Pacific islands. Works were started from an existing quarry. Some areas are really spacious, while parts of the extensive tunnel network are narrow and made only for trolleys. Original inscriptions can be seen on the walls, as well as everyday items collected by archaeologists.

Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI
Wellington Quarry Arras WWI

The quarry is managed by a local society and can be visited on guided tours. Full information here.

Memorial and Commemorative Park, Vimy

This large area, now belonging to Canada, surrounds the Vimy Ridge, where the homonym battle was fought in 1917, leading to the conquer of this piece of territory by the Entente. Actually, the uncontested protagonists of this offensive were the Canadian Divisions. Many soldiers coming from different territories of Canada overwhelmed the German defenses in a well prepared and coordinated attack. Together with the Newfoundland memorial in the Somme (see above), these are the only two Canadian national landmarks outside of mainland Canada. There is a visitor center with Canadian Rangers, offering information and guided tours.

A first part of the site is composed of a preserved group of trenches, which are partly open-air and partly underground. The extensive network of tunnels in the area was prepared in advance, and provided a protected area for billeting troops as well as for storing materials, goods and medical facilities. Visiting the underground part is possible only on guided tours.

Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI

Surface trenches are have been refurbished, but the majority of the grounds are preserved in the sense that nobody is allowed to walk on them, also for the very high danger bound to unexploded ordnance – warning signs can be found almost everywhere. You can still see strange grooves in the ground, either grenade craters or trenches.

Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI
Canadian Memorial Vimy France WWI

The most visible part of the site is the Vimy Memorial, built right on top the Vimy Ridge and inaugurated in the mid 1930s by King Edward VIII and the French president. It commemorates the service of the Canadian Divisions in Europe during WWI. Thousands of names of Canadian soldiers lost and whose burial is unknown are listed on the monument, which is a fine example of architecture from the time.

German War Cemetery, Saint-Laurent-Blangy, Arras

Despite the most visited are the war memorials and the annexed cemeteries of the Entente, all along the front are also a number of German war cemeteries. One is located close by a more apparent British cemetery northeast of Arras, along a road called Chemin de Bailleul.

Vimy France German Cemetery WWI
Vimy France German Cemetery WWI
Vimy France German Cemetery WWI
Vimy France German Cemetery WWI
Vimy France German Cemetery WWI
Vimy France German Cemetery WWI
Vimy France German Cemetery WWI
Vimy France German Cemetery WWI

The smaller number of cemeteries and an equal number of soldiers killed meant German war cemeteries are more crowded. In this small cemetery about 22’000 mostly unknown soldiers are buried. Some of the gravestones tell about the Jewish ethnicity of some of these German soldiers.

Sights around Ypres

Moving north from the Somme along the line of the front, passing Arras and crossing the border with Belgium, the very nice and relaxing countryside would not easily recall the deadly battles fought in the area during the full scope of WWI. The city of Ypres was involved in five great offensives between 1914 and 1918 – sometimes associated also to other ‘official names’ by historians – and similarly the salient to the east and south of the town, stretching over the Flanders region to the border with France, was fiercely contended for the duration of the war.

‘In Flanders Fields’ Museum, Ypres

An excellent starting point for the exploration of the WWI sites around Ypres is this modern museum, located in the central square of the beautiful medieval town of Ypres. Actually, the exhibition can be found in a medieval building once hosting a kind of stock exchange, among the oldest in the world.

The museum starts from setting the scene and telling about WWI. Further on, the focus is on the German offensive in Belgium in 1914, and the actions around the town of Ypres, where French, Belgian, British and later American forces were active against the Army of the Kaiser.

Ypres
Ypres
Ypres
Ypres
Ypres
Ypres
Ypres
Ypres
In Flanders Fields Museum Ypres
In Flanders Fields Museum Ypres
In Flanders Fields Museum Ypres
In Flanders Fields Museum Ypres
In Flanders Fields Museum Ypres
In Flanders Fields Museum Ypres

The museum is very modern, you are given a special bracelet giving access to multimedia explanations along the self guided tour. Visiting may take more than 1 hour if this is the first site of the kind you are visiting, may be less if you go with some preparation concerning WWI facts in the area. Full information here.

Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres

The Menin Gate was originally one of the gates of the town of Ypres, fortified by Vauban in the 17th century, along the road going to the village of Menen. Incidentally, this was the gate through which many of the soldiers billeted in Ypres and going to the trenches nearby were to walk through. The location was chosen to be transformed into a memorial for the troops of the British Empire. This was unveiled in the 1920s, and more than 54’000 names of soldiers of the British Empire lost in the battles around the Ypres salient without a grave are listed.

Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI
Ypres Menin Gate Memorial WWI

A short commemoration ceremony – the ‘Last Post’ ceremony – is celebrated every evening at 8 pm by the gate.

British War Cemeteries, Ypres

Similar to the battlefield of the Somme, many war cemeteries can be found in the region around Ypres. At least one of them can be found in the medieval town, with a scenic view of the moat running around the ancient fort. As typical, some graves belong to unidentified soldiers.

Yrpes Cemeteries WWI
Yrpes Cemeteries WWI
Yrpes Cemeteries WWI
Yrpes Cemeteries WWI
Yrpes Cemeteries WWI
Yrpes Cemeteries WWI
Yrpes Cemeteries WWI
Yrpes Cemeteries WWI

Memorial Museum ‘Passchendaele 1917’, Zonnebeke

The battle of Passchendaele was an offensive carried out by the forces of the British Empire with the support of the French between July and November 1917. Often identified as the Third Battle of Ypres, it turned out to be one of the bloodiest battles on this front, where a gain of around five miles in favor of the Entente was paid with about 520’000 casualties, equally shared between the two opponents.

In the town of Zonnebeke it is possible to find a very well designed museum and memorial of this battle. Besides showing the facts of the battle and the devastating effects in the area, the museum has on display a huge collection of original war equipment, including an incredible collection of different types of shells.

Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI

Another uncommon sight is typical WWI gear – gas masks. As a matter of fact, Ypres is associated to the first ever use of poisonous gas in military history. This is not accurate, since poisonous gases had been used in more instances since ages, and actually had been banned by international agreements in the early 20th century. Furthermore, the first irritant gases was used with limited effects by both the French and Germans earlier in 1914. Yet it was during the Second Battle of Ypres in April-May 1915 that the Germans attacked with a specifically designed and mass-scale produced chlorine gas, turning what had been an expedient into a new substantial part of their arsenal. Chlorine gas, with a distinctive brownish appearance, is very effective against the lungs and other mucosa membranes, and being heavier than air it forced men to leave the trenches where it had been poured.

Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI

Soon after the introduction of lethal gas by the Germans, the Entente started producing similar weapons. More and more gases were experimented with, but also the corresponding countermeasures. Gas masks became part of the regular equipment of soldiers since the first attacks. These were very effective too, but filters were made to measure with respect to specific gases, so they had to evolve as new gases were used. Furthermore, gas masks were heavy, they limited sight and motion, and made breathing much more difficult. Plus they did not offer protection against skin burning gases. So, while casualties due to gas attacks turned out to be high but not outrageous at least in face of what had been expected by their designers, the use of gas contributed in changing the face of the war, and made things harder especially for the morale of the troops, which started feeling much more vulnerable even when crouched in their trenches.

In the museum you can see a collection of original models of gas masks, and you are provided a description of the appearance, effects and even a reproduction of the smell of the most widespread gases used during WWI. There are also reconstructed dugouts and underground shelters where you can move in, to experience their small size.

Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI

The open-air part offers a reconstruction of a section of the original system of trenches, including some typical features like wooden or metal reinforcements. Many interesting technical details are provided during the visit.

Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI

There is also an American prefabricated house from the time, representing many similar items which were provided by the US following the end of WWI to help civilians after the devastation brought by the war in the area.

Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI
Memorial Museum Passchendaele Ypres WWI

This very nice and modern museum is very easily accessible, full information here.

Tyne Cot War Cemetery, Zonnebeke

This is one of the largest war cemeteries of the British Empire in the world, totaling more 11’900 graves from WWI. The majority of these men were lost during the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917. Before completion of its monumental part, the site was visited by King George V back in the early 1920s.

Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI
Tyne Cot Cemetery German Bunker Ypres WWI

The walls of the cemetery include two blockhouses, originally parts of the German rear lines and conquered during the actions of 1917. The place is associated also to a small and modern visitor center. Website here.

German Trenches ‘Bayernwald’, Heuvelland

This open-air park is centered on a section of refurbished and preserved trenches of the German Army, originally occupied by the divisions of Bayern. Not far from this site it is possible to see the craters of two German mines.

German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI
German Trenches Bayernwald Heuvelland Ypres WWI

The site is really interesting to visit. Entrance is at a small fee, but tickets are on sale by the local Tourist Office in the small village of Kemmel, about four miles from the actual site.

US Troops Memorial Ypres WWI
US Troops Memorial Ypres WWI

Along the road connecting the two, it is possible to spot a memorial for the troops of two American Divisions who fought in this area.

Christmas Truce Memorial, Comines-Warneton

This site is just one of the points where this unique event took place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1914. In the days before Christmas, the Germans had started putting candles on the rims of the trenches and singing carols, which were heard by the British, who on their turn started singing similar carols in their language. An unofficial de facto ceasefire became effective, during which soldiers from both sides started fraternizing, taking pictures of each other, exchanging trinkets and even playing football. Some corpses were removed from no man’s land by both opposing formations. There was no artillery fire in many sectors of the front, especially those around Ypres.

Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI
Christmas Truce Trenches Ypres WWI

This happened only in 1914 though, when it was thought at least among the troops on both parts, that the war would not last long. Later in 1915 actions started getting bloodier and it was realized that the war would cost much more and would last much longer than expected, and even this little shred of humanity was lost in the firestorms.

What you see is just a preserved piece of opposed trenches, really close to each other in this sector, and a British war cemetery nearby.

Ploegsteert Memorial and ‘Plugstreet 14-18 Experience’, Ploegsteert

This nice commemorative monument of the British was built for the more than 11’000 soldiers lost in the nearby sector of the front between 1914 and 1918 whose burial site is unknown. A Last Post ceremony is held here once per week.

British Memorial Ploegsteert Comines Ypres WWI
British Memorial Ploegsteert Comines Ypres WWI
British Memorial Ploegsteert Comines Ypres WWI
British Memorial Ploegsteert Comines Ypres WWI
Irish Peace Tower Messines Ypres WWI
Irish Peace Tower Messines Ypres WWI

Besides the museum there is a small war cemetery and a modern documentation center, mainly centered on multimedia exhibits telling the facts of this sector of the front in WWI, and trying to describe the everyday experience of those fighting in the trenches. Full website here.

Not far north, moving towards the border Ypres, it is possible to spot the Irish Peace Tower of Messines, built close to the homonym ridge where a battle was fought. This tower commemorates the sacrifice of those from the Irish Island in WWI. It was unveiled in 1998 at the presence of the Queen Elizabeth II, the President of Ireland and the King of Belgium. The design recalls that of a round tower, some of which can be found in Ireland. The stones for construction were transported from the ‘Green Island’.

Extra feature: WWI Commemoration Monument, Detmold, Germany

Touring the nice city of Detmold, not far west from Hannover, I could spot a commemorative monument to the local division of the German Army, dedicated to the soldiers killed in action during WWI. Many campaigns named after the homonym sites in northern France and Belgium are listed on the sides of the monument.

Detmold German WWI Memorial
Detmold German WWI Memorial
Detmold German WWI Memorial
Detmold German WWI Memorial
Detmold German WWI Memorial
Detmold German WWI Memorial

Regierungsbunker – Federal Germany’s Atomic Shelter

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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

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Soon after the end of WWII it was realized that nuclear weapons could pose a real threat to the survival of the governmental chain of command. The US nuclear shots in Japan in August 1945 had demonstrated the destructive power of nuclear ordnance, which might wipe out the political brain of an entire nation in a moment, typically by hitting its capital city.

The Soviets carried out their first successful nuclear test in 1949, when Stalin was still in charge. Due to limitations of the range of aircraft at the time – when long-range missiles were yet to appear on the scene – an attack to the continental US was a remote threat, but things were very different for all countries in Western Europe. Thanks to the annexation of large parts of Eastern Europe and the establishment of puppet governments in many others further west, Stalin’s rule now extended well into central Europe. Bombers taking off from communist Poland, Czechoslovakia or the German Democratic Republic could easily target large cities of every neighbor nation, including Britain, France and of course Federal Germany.

To mitigate the risk of loosing control of the nation in case of a Soviet nuclear attack on the capital city Bonn, the first chancellor of the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer, approved the plan for a nuclear-proof bunker in 1950 – the so-called ‘Regierungsbunker’. Essential governmental functions could be maintained and military operations coordinated from inside.

Albeit greatly reduced in size, the place is today open to the public and makes for an interesting witness of the Cold War. This brief chapter shows some photographs of this bunker, and some more from the German Museum of Contemporary History, a very nice and modern museum on post-WWII Germany, recently opened in the former federal capital Bonn.

Sights

Governmental Atomic Bunker – Regierungsbunker

The design of the bunker was completed in the 1950s, and was based on the extension and conversion of preexisting unfinished railway tunnels in the valley of river Ahr, some 10 miles south of Bonn. These tunnels had been built during WWI as part of a projected railway to help supplying the war front. Works were halted in 1918. Years later, the place was deemed ideal for a secret government bunker, since the distance from the capital city could be covered very quickly, but the facility was sufficiently far from the likely target of a nuclear attack, and hidden deep in the countryside for a more effective deception.

The approval for construction works on the bunker failed to come quickly though, and the project was put in practice in the early 1960s. By that time war technology had changed significantly, both in terms of the yield of nuclear warheads and range of strategic missiles. It is highly controversial whether this underground bunker would withstand more than the original design yield of 20 kilotons, which after the improvements of the 1950s was now on the lower end of the scale. Yet it was thought that a direct hit on the bunker was unlikely, so the design was deemed suitable for the task of protecting the head of the political and military hierarchies in case of an attack on nearby Bonn.

Anyway, the bunker was excavated extending the original tunnels into a complex of two sub-systems, with a total length of about 10 miles of reinforced concrete underground passages. The insulation and ventilation system was a major concern to avoid contamination in case of a nuclear attack. A complex system of tight doors forming airlocks with decontamination rooms was a substantial feature of the design, together with the emergency exit system.

It became operative in the mid-Sixties, and in case of an attack it could be fully autonomous for 30 days, sheltering about three thousands people. NATO training operations and simulations for crisis management were carried out regularly. The cost for running this extensive structure was enormous, and it was shut down in 1997, a few years after the USSR had dissolved and the capital of Federal Germany had moved to Berlin.

The bunker was dismantled, cleaned and a very small part – about 0.2 miles out of the original 10! – reopened as a museum.

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

Visiting is only possible on guided tours. After an explanatory video on the story, you are driven along the tunnels of the bunker. The most notable features are the super-thick tight doors. You meet the most impressive at the beginning of the tour. It is cylindrical, and it was operated by a dedicated hydraulic system, which could seal up the bunker in just seconds. The thickness and weight of these doors were designed to both withstand a blast and to insulate the bunker.

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

On the tour your are given a demonstration of the emergency alarm – with original lights and sounds – which announced that the doors would be shut soon.

Nearby you are shown the decontamination facilities, with showers and an adjoining medical room.

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

Most of the offices are gone today, but some have been reconstructed or refurbished. They are mainly related to the control of the many gates and systems necessary for bunker operation.

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

Artifacts on display from older times are really iconic from the Cold War, and include an anti-radiation suit and gear for measuring radiation levels.

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

Further on, you can see a reconstructed NATO situation room with original signs and maps. Note the names of many Forrestal and Nimitz-class carriers, true icons of the Cold War and all operative at the time (see this post US aircraft carriers). The borders of the USSR were very close to Central Europe!

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

There are many pictures of the original state rooms, intended for emergency parliament operations. Broadcasting facilities from the Cold War years are also displayed.

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

To the far end of the bunker it is possible to have a look on a dismantled part of the tunnels. Today the whole 10 miles network should look like that, empty and dark. There used to be an upper floor in the tunnels, but this was demolished except in the part now open to the public.

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

In the last part of the tour you move to the upper floor, where you are shown example bedrooms and a medical facility. A small exhibition about the bunker appearing in the news closes the experience.

Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn
Federal Germany Government Atomic Bunker Regierungsbunker Bonn

All in all, notwithstanding the crowds, this is a primary relic of the Cold War in this part of Europe, extremely interesting for anybody with an interest in recent history and the confrontation between the two blocs.

Getting there and moving around

The bunker is a famous local attraction for Germans. You can find moderate (to big…) crowds of visitors at least in the warm season. The visit is tuned on German-speaking visitors, but you are provided a detailed paper guide in English on request, and this allows you to enjoy the visit if you can’t understand German. Furthermore, tours in different languages are available for groups by prior arrangement. Moving around in large groups can be a problem especially if you want to take pictures – the only decent examples I could take on the tour, lasting about 1 hour, are shown on this page. The location is Am Silberberg 0, 53474 Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. There is a small parking at the same level of the entrance. Visiting does not pose any physical difficulty. Full visiting information in English on this website.

German National Museum of Contemporary History – Haus der Geschichte, Bonn

When Nazi Germany capitulated, Europe had to face a scenario which had never been experienced before. Thousands of foreign soldiers were scattered over the former territory of the Third Reich, taking control after the collapse of the German government. They were from many nationalities, and diplomatic issues surfaced already in the first weeks following the end of the war, especially between the Soviets and the US-British-French occupation armies.

Furthermore, Germany had been for long under an inhumane ideological dictatorship, so a new form of democratic government had to be established from scratch – at least in the opinions of most western allies, while Stalin on the other hand was not in favor of that idea. To guarantee peace, normal rights to the population of Germany and to start the reconstruction of the many destroyed towns and cities, it was necessary to transfer power back to German politicians and to feed the economy, but as control was contended among the former USSR and western allies, there were no generally accepted formal procedures to manage such scenario.

The fact that for years there had been no place for political parties except Hitler’s NSDAP made things harder, for new political forces had to be formed from nothing, finding gifted elements not compromised with the Führer and his ranks, and capable of leading a nation in an extremely difficult social and economical condition.

Who these people were and what happened in the turmoil of the post-WWII years is the first topic of this modern museum. The irremediable divergences between the East and the West were especially visible in Germany, where the Cold War was not just a name, but caused the country to be split in two very different parts, with two enemy governments and a heavily guarded, impenetrable border dividing them (see this post). The years of the ‘two Germanies’ up to the collapse of communism in Europe and in the USSR is the second big topic of this museum.

Following a well designed route going up in a modern building built for the purpose, the fascinating history of Germany in the Cold War years is revealed through artifacts, flags, portraits, political propaganda items, official documents and much more. The museum is far from superficial, describing facts in good details and allowing to appreciate the complexity of diplomacy in this particular confrontation. You may come to understand how Germany was actually the front of a new type of war between the East and the West, which lasted for decades, strongly influenced international economy, changed the way of life of millions and had its victims on both sides.

Among the oldest artifacts on display there are multi-language leaflets distributed to the population soon after the German capitulation in WWII, decreeing the end of the Nazi rule, the abrogation of the entire system of laws, and the transfer of power to the occupying armies.

German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte

From the early Cold War period there are authentic autographed copies of the constitution of Federal Germany, an instrument of accession of Federal Germany to the NATO alliance, candidate flags for the newly created Federal Germany, original paintings and sculptures portraying Stalin, mugs celebrating the friendship between the communist party of Germany and the Soviet Union. Even a piece of Gary Powers’ downed Lockheed U-2 is part of the show (the greatest part is on display in Moscow, see this post).

German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte
German National Museum of Contemporary History Bonn Haus der Geschichte

The museum is also stacked with pictures and items of everyday life. It often hosts conferences and temporary exhibitions. All in all, a very interesting museum and a must-see for anybody with an interest in the Cold War and in the very special role of Germany in the second half of the 20th century.

Getting there and moving around

The museum is in the former governmental part of Bonn, which has been converted into a top-level executive area, with modern buildings hosting the headquarters of big companies, convention centers, opera theaters, museums and so on. The exact address is Willy-Brandt-Allee 14, 53113 Bonn, website with full information here. The museum is not big, but the duration of your visit may vary greatly depending on your level of interest, from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours. The museum was free when I visited. It is very popular among Germans. If you come by car, there is a big parking about 0.3 miles to the south, serving this museum, the local railway station and the art museum nearby.

Secret Soviet Missile Bases in the GDR

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Driving less than one hour north from Berlin, Germany to the beautiful region of the Oberhavel, you can find some largely forgotten relics of an untold chapter of the Cold War, when Khrushchev secretly deployed nuclear missiles to hit European targets, for the first time outside of the Soviet Union – years before the Cuban missile crisis.

History – in brief

Germany held an undisputed lead on missile technology at the end of WWII. Similarly to the US, the missile program of the USSR started soon after Hitler’s army was defeated, and benefited from the capture and transfer of hundreds of German rocket scientists. These German engineers started by reproducing the German A-4 – also known as the in-famous V-2 -, the worlds first surface-to-surface missile to reach mass production. The corresponding Soviet design was named R-1, and similarly to the original A-4 it had a very short-range – less than 200 miles – and a payload too low for carrying a nuclear warhead, hence it could not be used to pose a strategic threat to the western enemies even in Europe from within the borders of the Communist bloc.

After long and intensive research efforts towards the increase in range, payload and accuracy of rockets, and aimed at improving yield, mass efficiency and miniaturization on the side of nuclear weapons, the Soviets finally could deploy the first intermediate range strategic missile, in the form of the R-5M – or SS-3 Shyster in the western databases – by mid-1956. With a range of 800 miles and a payload of 2800 lbs, this 60 ft-long missile could carry a single 300 kilotons nuclear warhead with basically autonomous inertial guidance, and radio correction to increase accuracy. Similarly to the A-4, propulsion was based on alcohol as fuel and highly volatile liquid-oxygen as oxidizer. Operation and maintenance of this high-technology surface-launched system was a very complicated task, requiring well-trained, specialized staff in large numbers. Several Engineering Brigades were established during the Fifties for this purpose, and their numbers and relevance went on increasing with time, as the range, yield and number of strategic missiles was rising with no pause in the following years.

For the USSR, already led by Khrushchev at that time, the commissioning of the R-5M platform meant that for the first time targets in the enemy Countries of Western Europe could be placed under the menace of a nuclear attack, carried out by means of missiles traveling at a speed so high that made them virtually undetectable and unstoppable. The Soviet Union now owned a strategic missile force, but the problem of range was still hard to tackle.

It was at this point that, after years of cogitation and secret papers, the deployment of the R-5M to the ‘border Countries’ of the communist empire started to take a tangible form. The reason was simple – while the range of the Shyster was not enough to reach any target from within the USSR, it could hit at least Britain, Northern France, Belgium and the US bases in the western half of Germany from some ‘satellite Country’, namely from the territory of the German Democratic Republic.

After inspection, the area between the small towns of Fürstenberg and Vogelsang – isolated in a pretty large, wild and unpopulated area, deep in the countryside about 35 miles north of Berlin and 12 miles from each other, but linked to the railway system – were selected by the higher ranks of the Soviet Army in 1957 for the deployment of missile launch facilities for the R-5M.

Construction works were started in total secrecy, enlarging and modifying Soviet military installations where some tank divisions were quartered. Even the top levels of the government and military staff of the GDR were unaware of the operation – codenamed ‘Atom’ by the Soviet high command. The Soviets carried out much of the work themselves, but they could not avoid to involve local civil workers for ‘unclassified tasks’, and they eventually came to suspect that something unusual was going on. Agents of – at least, but probably not only – the secret service of Federal Germany transmitted the news to their headquarters beyond the Iron Curtain. Yet documents become available decades after, following the end of the Cold War, show that not much detailed information existed in the archives of the intelligence of Western Countries about this deployment – further highlighting the ‘top secret’ level of the operation. This was actually the first deployment of Soviet strategic weapons outside the USSR ever, years before the more famous operation ‘Anadyr’ causing the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 – a scenario very similar to operation ‘Atom’, but with the US instead of western Europe directly within range of Soviet missiles.

Barracks, recreation and service buildings, concrete launch ramps, connection roads, bunkers for atomic warheads, and everything that was needed both for storing all subsystems and for supporting launch operations was built during 1958 both in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg. Two artillery units and two specialized accompanying technical units arrived in January 1959, together with 12 missiles transported by train, as reported again by secret agents. At the same time, upon reaching completion of the construction works all civil workers were dismissed, and today we know that the nuclear warheads arrived under heavy escort in May 1959 by train.

As typical in the chess game between the two superpowers in the years of Khrushchev, Eisenhower and Kennedy, after years of preparation operation ‘Atom’ was suddenly interrupted only three months after the Shyster had become operative in the GDR, in August 1959. An order to withdraw immediately was issued, and all missiles and related units were temporarily relocated in Kaliningrad, Russia, from where they were short of range and not any more a threat for the West.

But this is not the end of the story. In March 1959 the new R-12 missile, also known as SS-4 Sandal and later deployed to Cuba, became operative with a range of 1300 miles and a single high-yield, 2.3 megaton nuclear warhead. In September 1961 the Khrushchev administration issued an order to deploy a missile regiment constituted anew for the purpose with R-12 missiles to the GDR – an operation codenamed ‘Tuman’ (‘fog’ in English).

The high-ranking staff responsible for the operation inspected the bases of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg the same month, and issued orders for some preparation work to be carried out for making these facilities suitable for the new R-12 missile. As a result, two launch pads were set up in the trees between the two military bases. Each of them comprised light service buildings, concrete platforms for the launch gantries and support vehicles, fuel storages, guard bunkers. Gravel roads were prepared to connect the launch platforms with the two main bases, where Sandal missiles could be hidden and sheltered in the bunkers already manufactured for the Shyster.

The staff of the new regiment was engaged in intensive training activities and launch simulations in the USSR until the end of 1961, and all material and troops were kept ready for moving by train at the railway station of Zhitovichi, Belarus, at that time inside the Soviet Union, to the now ready bases in the GDR.

Again, after all preparations the order to deploy was never issued, and by mid 1962 ‘Tuman’ was halted and the special regiment disbanded. This second attempt to place Soviet missiles out of the USSR was canceled just months before the deployment to Cuba, and soon after the R-14 missile had become operative in April 1961. This missile, known as SS-5 Skean, had the same warhead but roughly twice the range of the SS-4 Sandal, mainly thanks to a different propellant. With this system all western Europe could now be targeted from behind the border of the USSR, making deployment to satellite Countries in Europe unnecessary.

Similarly to operation ‘Atom’, even though preparation works probably did not go unnoticed by the few people in the area, this story remained basically undisclosed until at least the mid 1990s, after the – by then – Russian armed forces left the territory of the former GDR, and both Vogelsang and Fürstenberg, which after the early Sixties had continued to work as military bases for some Soviet tank divisions, were finally shut down and abandoned.

Sights

As argued in other chapters on this website dealing with former Soviet installations over the territory of the former GDR, todays Germany – comprehensibly – does not seem interested in preserving any legacy of this inconvenient past. For the case of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg, the remoteness and amenity of the area has facilitated a new birth of these two as well as other nearby centers, which are today lovely destinations for local tourism especially from Berlin, with nice lakes, cycleways, many canals and hiking trails in the trees. As these two military bases with their weird stories have been a well kept secret since their inception, there is probably no reason for the local communities to publicize them now.

As a result, both bases are being strongly reclaimed by nature, and little remains today of these once prominent – albeit secret – installations.

Yet from a historical perspective the missile installations in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg make for a proof of the seriously dangerous and determined attitude of Khrushchev and the Soviet Union towards increasing the power of the USSR on the international scene by means of military actions. Especially in 1959 with the deployment of the Shyster, the stage for a crisis with an unpredictable outcome was prepared in Europe, but for some reason luckily this was not exploited. Furthermore, this happened some years before the Cuban missile crisis, incorrectly accepted as the first such experiment in Soviet history.

Both bases in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg present some traces of the activity of the missile units. While most of the buildings connected with the missile operations have been demolished, including unreinforced hangars for storing the missiles, bunkers for nuclear warheads can be found on both sites – these are much stronger, and demolition work would be very difficult, so these hangars have been simply closed and left there. Vogelsang is covered in a dedicated chapter, while the scant remains of the Fürstenberg barracks and the nuclear storage there will be shown in this post.

Possibly more intriguing – for more dedicated explorers – and difficult to find are the rocket launch pads. Two launch pads for the R-5M exist, on the premises of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg bases. Eight further pads are placed in two groups of four, in the large territory extending between the two military bases. These are totally abandoned, forgotten deep in the trees, possibly the only tangible testimony of the planned deployment of the SS-4 Sandal in the GDR. These are also covered in this post.

Photographs were taken in August 2017.

Map

Due to the wild vegetation and to the shape of the launching pads – which are concrete slabs today mostly covered by a thin layer of mud, moss and lichens – spotting these ‘archeological findings’ is getting more and more challenging. To ease the search I created a Google map of the launch pads. No coverage of what remains of the nearby bases of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg is provided on the map, as whether those places are interdicted to the public or free to visit is a matter of discussion.

Besides the position of the pads themselves, you can find what are car-accessible roads to get near to pinpointed POIs and suggested trail/trail-heads.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

R-5M/SS-3 Shyster Missile Launch Pad and Nuclear Bunker, Fürstenberg

There is one missile launch pad in Fürstenberg, built for the Shyster missile. The local road along the western border of the military base divides its premises from the launch pad, which today can be neared with walking on an easy trail which was probably a Soviet gravel road in its origin, wide enough to allow moving the missile on a trolley.

Like all other launch pads in the area, the central piece is a narrow rectangular concrete slab about 30 ft long, with a prominent metal crown set in it, with a diameter of about 5-6 ft. The crown is a piece of technology, even though today it is covered in rust and with an unattractive brownish color. It was used to anchor the small gantry put under the missile to keep it in the launch position. The missile was transported on a trolley in a horizontal position, and lifted to a vertical attitude before launch.

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

The most visible difference between the launch pads for the SS-3 Shyster and for the SS-4 Sandal – the latter being a couple of years younger, as shown above – lies in the metal crown. The crown of the Shyster is smaller and more like a polygon, where that for the Sandal – see later – is more round shaped, mostly resembling a watch bezel.

The concrete slabs had to withstand the intense thrust and heat of the missile without breaking into pieces. I guess – but I am not sure – some of the piping leading to these slabs – not visible here but next to other launch pads – may have been installed for a water cooling system.

The launch pad is the most visible item of a more complex system, comprising fuel and oxidizer storages, an electric generator, a control cabin and other gear. All this was placed in partly interred dugouts, which in Fürstenberg are today basically all gone.

On the premises of the Fürstenberg base and very close to the launch site there are two bunkers, possibly for the missile and nuclear warheads. The size and construction of the larger bunker, which has two doors on the two faces, suggests a use as a missile storage bunker, possibly suitable both for the Shyster and the Sandal, which despite the totally different performance were not so different in shape and size.

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base

Today both bunkers are totally closed and inaccessible, the smaller one – possibly for warheads – has been turned into a shelter for bats. You can see the inside of the batbunker through the batslot!

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base

Conspicuous traces of the barbed wire fences and prefabricated concrete wall marking the perimeter of the area are still in place.

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base

Housing at Fürstenberg Military Base

Similarly to Vogelsang (see here), in Fürstenberg there are traces of what was once a large Soviet base, with housing for many people and service buildings. There are buildings in at least two styles, suggesting construction works were carried out in different stages. Multi-storey buildings are more recent, and similar to those you can find in the former airbase of Brand (see here) – among others.

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base
Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base

A large part of the buildings has been demolished, and there is comparatively less to see here than in Vogelsang. Yet the place looks haunted also in clear air and bright sunlight, so the area may be worth a visit for the enthusiasts of Soviet ghosts!

R-5M/SS-3 Shyster Missile Launch Pad, Vogelsang

A portrait of the launch pad in Vogelsang from another visit is provided also in a dedicated chapter of this website. For completeness, here are some new photos.

While similar to the that of Fürstenberg, this launch pad is far better conserved, but not easy to spot from the access road of the base. The system of trenches and dugouts for all technical gear needed to prepare and control the launch can be spotted very easily all around. Note the polygonal shape of the metal crown typical of the Shyster system.

Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

There are also traces of military material, possibly unearthed due to some more recent demolition work, like old ‘CCCP-made’ batteries, metal boxes, protective metal panels and more.

Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

Some of the trenches have been flooded, and you would better go prepared to face thousands of biting midges and mosquitoes – take it seriously, otherwise you are not going to withstand their attacks for more than 5 seconds!

Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

Visible traces of the barbed wire fence from Soviet times can be found along the access road.

Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

In Vogelsang the location of the launch pad is much farther away from the nuclear warhead storage and missile deposit area than in Fürstenberg, and from the housing and service buildings of the military base. Everything is more scattered, and much more walking is needed to find this launch site, due to its distance from the local road.

R-12/SS-4 Sandal Missile Launch Pads, South-East of Fürstenberg

A first set of four launch pads for the Sandal missile can be found in a small area deep in a forest, on a flat terrain. This was associated to Fürstenberg for supply. The pads are placed at a walking distance from each other. Differently from the Shyster sites, the Sandal sites are not close to any building, and the gravel connection roads are in many cases not visible, or they have been more recently modified by the forest service. Plus they are not maintained in any way, and are today barely visible.

Searching for these findings is very funny if you like this kind of activities. You will definitely feel like Indiana Jones – or Lara Croft – while searching for the missile launch pads, but you have no chance to find them unless you have a GPS. You won’t need more than an iPhone with a decent free GPS app and good deal of patience, but without both ingredients you’d better give up from the start. Look at the pictures where I have my iPhone in one hand to see the ‘exact’ coordinates – some tolerance is needed, since my free app was not professional, and the trees above are very effective in jamming the satellite signal.

Of the four pads in this first site – possibly identified as BSP-1 by Soviet staff – I explored only three due to unfortunate time constraints. Proceeding from the west to the east, on site number 3 on the map I could not find even the concrete slab of the launch pad! Only a small unreadable metal sign has been left for posterity.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Launch pad number 2 on the map can be spotted once you are close. The concrete platform is partly unearthed and the corners can be seen. A gap in the trees on the area also help to find the perimeter of the rectangular concrete slab, which is otherwise shrouded by low vegetation.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

The metal crown of the SS-4 Sandal is bigger and different in shape from those of the SS-3 Shyster, as anticipated – it is almost circular, not polygonal. I found exactly the same type of metal rig in some much bigger launch bases for SS-4 missiles in Latvia (see here).

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

The trenches and shallow dugouts for all components of the missile system can be spotted all around, albeit made mimetic and very difficult to capture with a camera, due to the underbrush hiding them and smoothing their profile. The trenches and the concrete pad are connected by a system of concrete pipelines. Metal frames with hinges, once made for doors giving access to the pipelines, can be spotted very close to the concrete platform. Maybe these were used also for a water cooling system to avoid the explosion of the launch pad, subject to the exhaust of the rocket engine at launch.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Walking to the the launch pad number 1 on the map you may come across what remains of a concrete booth, possibly a control cabin.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Launch pad number 1 is very similar to number 2, but here part of the side of the platform is unearthed and clearly visible.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

It is noteworthy that no trace exists of any serious fence around the Sandal launch sites, differently from all other Soviet installations of various kinds I have visited all over the former GDR. Recalling the SS-4 launch sites were never operative, perhaps the Soviets did not really complete the construction works, and the cordoned area was marked only with some ‘soft barrier’ which could be removed leaving no trace.

Please note that the access road to get near to this site is car-accessible, but it is narrow, unpaved, with muddy spots, covered with fallen leaves and in some sections with sand. I could reach my destination with a station wagon without particular difficulty on a dry day in summer, but I would say the best vehicle type for this roads in any weather would be a smaller, possibly AWD car. Needless to say, you will need some form of protection for your feet and legs to approach the launch pads, but there are no bad insects in the area.

R-12/SS-4 Sandal Missile Launch Pads, North of Vogelsang

The second Sandal launch site – possibly named BSP-2 by the Soviets, but historical sources are not very clear – is associated to Vogelsang, which is roughly 4 miles south, from which it should have been supplied. Despite the similar role, this installation is very different from the previous one.

The launch pads are almost square, not rectangular. The missile facilities are built on top of a steep small hill, not on flat terrain, with the four launch pads much closer to each other than in the previous site. They have been put along a circular pattern, not straight as for the previous installation. It looks like this site was developed further than the previous one, for much more conspicuous remains of dugouts, and even what seems to be a guard post with a firing loophole, can be spotted here.

Starting from the easternmost pad number 1, the concrete platform is pretty well conserved and the metal crown for the SS-4 is easy to find. There are traces of metal wiring, and concrete pipelines all around.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Approaching the northernmost launch pad – number 2 on the map – it is possible to see remains of large dugouts, possibly for fuel deposits or other technical stuff.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Number 2 is poorly conserved and difficult to get access to. The terrain around is muddy and covered by a thick forest of 3-feet high nettles. The metal crown has almost disappeared under a nice layer of moss.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Launch pad number 3 to the west is connected to what looks like a nearby pool by a concrete pipeline, suggesting a cooling system, but maybe this was a dugout for a generator or something electric, with wiring connecting this gear to the missile through the concrete pipe. Also here the metal crown is today barely visible.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

The last launch pad – number 4 on the map – is located to the south of the site, and poorly conserved. It was partly covered by a pile of cut branches when I visited. A strange item nearby the platform, where part of the metal crown can be spotted pretty easily, is an angle-shaped iron bar with a big bolt in it, emerging from the ground – and almost killing me, making me stumble!

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Except for the obvious need for proper walking gear, this place is easy to reach by foot along a nice, prepared nature trail – see map.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg
R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

The SS-4 launch pads are not publicized nor maintained, perhaps even somewhat voluntarily hidden, but the trail passes very close to them, so getting near is easy. There is a small lovely pond at the base of the hill, and the area is pretty wet. As a result, also here there are thousands of biting insects around – don’t forget your insect repellent!

Templin Soviet Airbase – Totally Gone

As a Cold War historian, aviation enthusiast, archaeologist, dark tourist or Soviet fan (?), you may be tempted to go to the nearby super-base of Templin, once one of the largest and more advanced Soviet airbases over the territory of the GDR.

Well, don’t waste your time. Sadly, the area of the base – in all its extension – has been converted into a gigantic solar power plant, owned and run by Siemens. It is totally fenced and full of obstacles, prohibition signs and CC-cameras. The scant remains of some housing are not accessible. There is also a small circuit track on the old apron, where some companies offer extreme driving experiences. Nothing interesting here, not any more.

Templin Former Soviet Base
Templin Former Soviet Base
Templin Former Soviet Base
Templin Former Soviet Base
Templin Former Soviet Base
Templin Former Soviet Base
Templin Former Soviet Base
Templin Former Soviet Base

The Salpa Line – Finland’s Anti-Soviet Barrier

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Possibly one of the world’s best preserved military installations from WWII, Finland’s Salpa Line – the name ‘salpa’ meaning ‘latch’ – is a defense line composed of about 700 reinforced concrete bunkers with anti-tank cannons and machine-guns, more than 200 miles of anti-tank obstacles, roughly another 200 miles of trenches pointed with over 1200 machine gun nests, 500 artillery positions and more than 700 quartering dugouts. All this, and everything necessary to operate this enormous war machine, including hundreds of miles of new roads, electric cables, dams, telephone lines, etc., was built to defend the border between Finland and the Soviet Union.

History – in brief

The Winter War

Finland enjoyed the rigors of WWII since 1939, when following the Ribbentrov-Molotov pact between Nazi Germany and the USSR, it was agreed off the records that this Country should enter the sphere of influence of Stalin’s communist dictatorship. Finding no other way to submit the Finns, Soviet troops attacked Finland from the East all along their common border, from the Gulf of Finland up north to the Barents Sea, at the end of November, 1939.

This rarely told chapter of WWII is known in Finland as the Winter War. Finland, which on a September 1939 map looked somewhat larger to the east than it looks today, fought fiercely against a numerically much superior enemy, which at the time was not engaged on any other major front. Despite the very difficult situation, with no help – except limited arm supply – from the outside, the motivated Finnish Army led by General Mannerheim recorded some marked victories especially in the central sector of the border, and managed to avoid a complete defeat. This unexpected military resistance, and the promise of Britain and France to support Finland had the war continued further, led the USSR to agree upon a peace treaty as soon as mid March 1940, basically crystallizing the military situation reached at the time. As a result, the border moved west by about 60 miles in southern Finland, with the loss of the Karelian Isthmus and the city of Vyborg, the access to lake Ladoga, Finland’s Eastern Karelia – simply known as Karelia in Russia – and a large territory in Lapland, mostly uninhabited. Finally, the peninsula and port town of Hanko, 70 miles west of Helsinki, was ceded to the USSR for 30 years.

Building the Salpa Line

It was at the end of the Winter War that Finland’s government, following the suggestion of General Mannerheim, took the decision to built the Salpa Line, to defend the new border against any possible attack of the Soviets.

Construction work on this impressive system, made not only of a chain of forts, dugouts and barracks, but also of an extensive network of communication and transport infrastructures, was carried out mainly between spring 1940 and summer 1941, Finland’s so-called Inter-War Period. Up to 35’000 workers – mainly civilians from private companies – were involved, roughly bringing the defense line to completion by mid 1941. The line was designed primarily to protect the most populated and easily accessible part of the Country in the south, and a major concentration of strong points was erected along todays border line with Russia, between the Gulf of Finland and the town of Joensuu.

At the same time, a smaller branch of the Salpa Line was erected on a much smaller scale on the new border with the USSR, along a 3 miles line cutting through the Hanko peninsula.

The Continuation War

In the period between the end of the Winter War and the surprise offensive of Germany against the USSR in June 1941, the Nazi Wehrmacht had successfully annexed Denmark and Norway to the Third Reich, thus becoming a neighbor state for Finland, just like the Soviet Union. In the process, Finland allowed Germany to transport troops and material to northern Norway moving on national land, and receiving arms in return. In the same period Hitler refused to endorse further Soviet attacks against Finland, thus further narrowing the diplomatic distance between Germany and Finland, which nonetheless managed to remain independent throughout WWII.

When the war broke out between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, Finland took the initiative and attacked the USSR, soon regaining control of basically all territories lost in the Winter War, including the port of Hanko, by the end of 1941. The German Wehrmacht attacked the Soviet port town of Murmansk and the nearby area, rich of natural resources, from the northernmost Finnish region of Lapland.

Due to the quick movement of the front line back east, the Salpa Line saw basically no fight, and was maintained until the end of the war with the Soviets in 1944 as a rear defense line.

This phase is known as Continuation War, and quickly turned into a war of attrition along a stable border line. This equilibrium was cracked when the military situation started to get worse for Germany after the defeat of Stalingrad in early 1943. After months of negotiations with the USSR to put an end to the conflict, following a massive Soviet attack on the Karelian Isthmus in August 1944 and the second loss of Vyborg, an armistice was signed in September between Finland and the Soviet Union, in favor of the latter. It restored the border line as it was at the end of the Winter War and imposed a long-term lease of Porkkala – a peninsula on the Gulf of Finland 30 miles west of Helsinki – instead of Hanko. Also included were heavy war reparations and the neutrality of Finland with respect to further Soviet campaigns. Plus the immediate expulsion of all German forces from Finnish territory.

Nonetheless, differently from almost any other Country touched by the Red Army in the events of WWII, Finland managed to retain its complete independence from Stalin’s communist empire, and part of the credit goes to the existence of the Salpa Line, a major deterrent against any further Soviet military aggression.

The request to severe any contact with Germany led to the final chapter of WWII for Finland, the Lapland War, when the Armies of Finland and the USSR attacked the Wehrmacht in the north of the Country, starting a campaign lasting months until the final defeat of Germany, causing the total destruction of many villages and of the town of Rovaniemi.

Sights

As a result of the course of events, Finland’s fortified line of defense did not see any direct military action. This spared it for posterity as a notable example of military technology of the Forties. Of course, as war technology evolved rapidly soon after WWII, the Salpa Line rapidly became obsolete and was largely abandoned. Most dugouts, soft construction works as well as most wooden, unreinforced positions have been reclaimed by nature. Only traces of the trench lines exist today, except in those spots where they have been explicitly preserved for the public.

Heavy positions are a totally different matter. Except for a few mainly in the northern part of the Country, blown up by the Soviets in the months of the Lapland War to help expelling Nazi troops from the Finnish territory, most bunkers and strong points are still there, basically intact. The majority has been abandoned, but due to a demolition work being an economy nonsense, they can still be seen today.

At least two small groups of bunkers in the very south of the Country have been turned into top-level museums on local military history, with a modern visitor center, guided tours and so on. Some bunkers, like in Joensuu, can be visited as little local museums. A good number of the reinforced concrete installations have been left open for interested visitors, stripped of any dangerous military hardware, sometimes even partly refurbished, and in most cases they can be freely accessed – provided you find them. Some are included as checkpoints along official multi-miles hiking trails, which are among Finland’s top tourist attractions. More often, either you know where they are in advance or you will hardly find them in the wilderness.

For reaching most of the non-advertised bunkers of the Salpa Line, you need to drive to very secluded locations along unprepared roads. If you like this kind of archeology, this adds much to the fun!

The good news is that Finland considers the Salpa Line a historical landmark as a whole, thus any damage or alteration is strictly prohibited and severely prosecuted. So you are not to see your search frustrated by finding a bunker covered in graffiti or used as a shelter by ravers or drug addicts – as it is often the case with the much similar Atlantic Wall in France. This is also because except for a few cases the superstite installations are located far from any urban center. By the way, Finland boasts one of the Europe’s lowest crime rates, so exploration is made potentially dangerous only because of intrinsic – rusty barbed wire, mimetic manholes, narrow passages, total darkness … – or natural causes – badgers, boars and bears!

In the following a description of a few notable points of interest along the Salpa Line is presented. The list is extremely far from complete, as it would take at least several months of dedicated work to explore the Line in its entirety! Yet this selection provides a good specimen of all basic types of sight you can find along the line. Photographs were taken during a visit in summer 2017.

Map

The following Google map was created based on the very useful information provided on this website, which is an excellent starting point for any exploration of the line. Basic info on the corresponding Salpa Line sites are provided on it almost one by one, and pinpointed on a map, but apparently there is no comprehensive map on that website. The website is also Flash-based and totally ‘iPhone unfriendly’ – it simply doesn’t load on my iPhone 6S. So I can’t take any credit except for having put together all points and having made them smartphone accessible. The red signals refer to points pictorially described in this article. The area of Hanko and the museums of Mikkeli are not covered in the map, whereas some sites will be described in another chapter.


The list below is ordered roughly from the south to the north.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Virolahti Bunker Museum, Virolahti

This site – Virolahden Bunkkerimuseum in Finnish – is among the southernmost of the Salpa Line, conveniently located on the busy E18 connecting Helsinki to St.Petersburg. The museum is a good starting point for getting an idea of the features of the line. There is a visitor center with a modern setup, where you can see a collection of light weapons from both the Finnish and Soviet sides – actually many Soviet weapons left behind by the retreating Red Army at the beginning of the Continuation War were later reused by Finland’s Army. Much information is provided in a synthetic and readable way – both in Finnish and English – on the construction of the line and about the war history of Finland, with a focus of what happened along the sector of the front closer to the Gulf of Finland.

Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum

The outside part is organized along a short trail in the trees. The first main stop is a reconstructed trench, with an example of a spherical soft concrete bunker type, conceived to cover dugouts. Nearby you can see two small heavy metal turrets. These were designed to be partly interred, to form an armored machine gun nest. The thickness of the metal construction is stunning! There is also a line of stones put in the terrain, a typical anti-tank obstacle to be found in many sites of the Salpa Line.

Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum

A German-made Pak-40, 7.5 cm anti-tank cannon in perfect condition is presented in a reconstructed open-top field fortification.

Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum

Nearby, you can access a perfect example of an anti-tank bunker. Three main areas are featured in this type of bunker. First, a relatively large living and sleeping area, with bunk beds for troops, a big stove, a water sink, and an air pump. Second, a firing room with a 45 mm anti-tank gun permanently installed, with the barrel leaning out of a suitably designed blind window. Third, a firing room with a machine gun, with the barrel leaning out of an open slot cut through the thick concrete wall of the bunker. Both the cannon and machine gun fire basically in the same direction, from the front facade of the bunker, whereas the only way in is through a sealed door to the back.

Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum

The bunker is provided with a metal observation turret on top, accessible through a ladder mounted in a very narrow vertical tunnel with a sealed door.

Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum

Another original bunker you can visit in Virolahti is a quartering bunker, capable of sleeping 40 people. The construction is similar to the large living area of the previous bunker, but this is larger.

Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum

Examples of original trenches which have not been refurbished can be spotted as smooth grooves in the ground between the reinforced bunkers. Finally, there is also a collection of cannons – some of them very old – and machine guns, from the USSR, Finland, Sweden, France and Italy. Heavy cannons from various ages were provided by France at the time of the Winter War, and put in place along the Salpa Line in more points, so they can be spotted pretty often in Finnish museums.

Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Virolahti Bunker Museum

Not a part of the museum, it may be interesting to check out what the frontier with Russia looks like today. You can come pretty close to the border zone driving south of E18, along the unpaved Kurkelantie road going to the small villages of Reinikkala and Kurkela. There is a well signed respect zone instituted along the border line, which cannot be accessed without all necessary papers and permits.

Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone

Nonetheless, the striped posts marking the border can be spotted with a zoom lens from the distance. I can’t guess whether in Soviet times the border did look like this, or instead it used to appear less penetrable. Of course it may be just a matter of appearance – when I was there, I personally didn’t even think to try coming close to Russia without an explicit permission, so I don’t know what may happen should you try to get near the border by entering the respect zone by foot!

Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone
Kurkela Finland Russia USSR Border Zone

The Virolahti site can be visited in something less or something more than 1h, depending on your level of interest. It is flat and easy to tour, with a large free parking nearby. Website here.

Salpa Line Museum, Miehikkälä

This is probably the biggest exhibition on the Salpa Line, and the most visited also. The visitor center proposes a series of itineraries for touring the site on a self-guided base. The highlights are anti-tank and machine gun bunkers, a plane spotting wooden turret, trenches of various types, cannons and more. Together with Virolahti (above), it is surely a place to be if you want to capture at a glance what the Salpe Line is all about.

The Miehikkälä site is unique in its own respect due to the morphology of the territory, with a rocky cliff prospecting on an area of wavy land. The two main armored positions with an anti-tank gun and a machine gun are atypical, dug deeply in the rock, accessible from the top of the cliff, with the barrels leaning out at the level of the surrounding terrain. The bunker with the anti-tank gun features an observation/firing turret directly accessible from the firing room through a very long vertical passage. In the living quarters there is a collection of rifles.

Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum

The bunker with the machine firing chamber presents preserved sleeping and living quarters, and an observation turret.

Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum

Ahead of the rocky cliff you can find two armored turrets like in Virolahti, and an example of the most typical anti-tank barrier of the Salpa Line, made of aligned big rocks put in the ground. This is a distinctive feature of the Salpa Line, and following the rocks may help to find the location of more secluded bunkers in other sites.

Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum

Another interesting item is an old Soviet T-34 tank with the corresponding shelter.

Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum

To the back of the cliff you can find a German-made Pak-40 anti-tank cannon in an open-top field fortification. Looking in the direction of the barrel, you can see a long grove aligned with it. This is a tank trap, where the tank was forced to slow down trying to cross the grove right on the line of fire of the anti-tank gun.

Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum

In a second part of the site it is possible to find a group of rare concrete trenches, mostly similar to WWI constructions you can find in northern France (see this post), a housing bunker with a water reservoir on top and a standard anti-tank/machine gun bunker. These could be seen only from the outside when I visited.

Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum
Miehikkälä Salpa Line Museum

The museum is not difficult to find, and there is a large free parking on site. The visit may take from less than 1 hour to more than 2 hours, based on your interest. While not difficult to tour for an average physical condition, you’d better go prepared to climb many stairs, move along narrow passages and walk short trails going steeply uphill. Website here.

Hostikka Site

The Hostikka site, deep in the countryside north of Miehikkälä, is composed of a handful of bunkers scattered a few miles apart along the roads in the municipality bearing this name. On each site there is a complete description in Finnish and English, and a map. Most sites can be freely accessed, a few are normally closed and can be opened on request, usually visiting with a ranger. A comprehensive map in Finnish can be found here.

From the south, item B186 is a massive anti-tank/machine gun bunker which is normally closed. The guns can cover a flat field ahead of the facade of the bunker.

Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland

A bare 300 ft north along the unpaved main road you meet B182, a machine gun bunker which can be toured freely. You can recognize the sleeping quarters and the observation tower. Climbing on top, you can appreciate the mimetic installation of the bulbous top of the armored tower. There is also what appears to be a firing hole close to the main sealed entrance.

Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland

All armored doors are still there, together with an extensive piping system.

Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland

Driving north for about 0.3 miles crossing the small village of Hostikka, you can find another site, with a preserved trench system, a machine gun and quartering bunker, open but unfortunately severely flooded, and item B166, a huge cave. This is not the only cave excavated in the rock along the Salpa Line. This multi-entry cave was intended for sheltering 80 people and providing access to open-top cannon/machine-gun dugouts. It was never finished, it is uninsulated and very wet.

Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland

The road going to Kirppu passes by items B150 and B132, standard anti-tank/machine gun bunkers. They are usually closed, but can be climbed and walked around.

Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Hostikka Area Finland

All these bunkers unwind along a north-south direction, and are easily accessible parking nearby each site. Visiting may take 15 to 30 minutes for each open site, especially if you want to take pictures inside, less for closed bunkers where you may want to have a walk round. For inside pictures a tripod is mandatory, and a torchlight highly recommended.

Lusikkovuoren Cave

This cave can be reached driving for less than a mile on a secondary road departing eastwards from 3842 in Suo-Anttila. The cave is usually closed and sometimes used for public exhibitions or performances – a very suggestive location! -, yet the place deserves to be seen also from the outside. There are actually two neighbor entrances to the cave, which has been carved deep into the rock at the base of a cliff. The cave, intended to be used as a logistic interchange point, a headquarter and a weapons storage, was never completed. There are draining holes and a concrete pavement inside.

Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave
Salpa Line Lusikkovuori Cave

Hidden in the trees, far from any village, from the outside the cave really looks like a location from ‘The Lord of the Rings’!

Askola Site

The Askola site can be spotted while driving roughly halfway between Luumäki and Lappeenranta, along a busy road called Lappeenrannantie, next to the shore of lake Kivijärvi. There is a parking area just ahead of it. Heading straight to the big bunker you see from the road, you can find a map of the site. There is an uncommon concentration of armored positions in a small area between this trail head and the newly built highway N.6 to the south.

Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta

Despite the majority of the bunkers being normally unaccessible, there are some interesting uncommon sights here. The first is a reinforced dugout, where one of the bulky armored metal turrets you can see in the museums of Virolahti and Miehikkälä is interred in its intended working position. The turret can be accessed from behind and below, and a machine gun is mounted inside.

Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta

Furthermore, there are at least two original tank turrets recycled as reinforced firing positions. These turrets are apparently from BT-7 Soviet tanks, probably lost to the Finnish Army during the Winter War or the Continuation War.

Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta

More standard bunkers and dugouts can be found, but in some cases they can be barely neared due to wild vegetation.

Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta
Salpa Line Bunker Site Toikkala Lappeenranta

About 0.8 miles to the west along the Lappeenrannantie road, you can find a small concrete dam – actually it lies in the courtyard of a private house… This is part of a system made to control the water level in the lake for military purposes.

Salpa Line Lake Kivijärvi Dam
Salpa Line Lake Kivijärvi Dam
Salpa Line Lake Kivijärvi Dam
Salpa Line Lake Kivijärvi Dam

Moving eastwards towards Lappeenranta, in the small village of Rutola it is possible to find another machine gun/housing concrete bunker, with an anti-tank barrier on the shore of the lake. This also lies on private land.

Salpa Line Bunker Rutola
Salpa Line Bunker Rutola
Salpa Line Bunker Rutola
Salpa Line Bunker Rutola

A visit to this site may take a 1-2 hours or more, depending on the level of detail and your ability to move around.

Syysphoja and Puumala Site

Along the beautiful scenic road 62 going from Imatra to Mikkeli it is possible to find two easily accessible forts of the Salpa Line. The first is located on Salpalinjantie road, departing north from the main road east of the village of Syyspohja. The facade of this well deceived anti-tank/machine gun fort, dug in a pile of land and hardly visible from the distance, is partly covered with stones. There are also partly refurbished dugouts and wooden obstacles, plus a long line of anti-tank stones.

Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja
Salpa Line Bunker Syyspohja

West of the village along Töntintie road – very narrow and unprepared – it is possible to find a small Soviet monument to war prisoners interned in a local prison camp.

Salpa Line Prison Camp Memorial Soviet Syyspohja
Salpa Line Prison Camp Memorial Soviet Syyspohja
Salpa Line Prison Camp Memorial Soviet Syyspohja
Salpa Line Prison Camp Memorial Soviet Syyspohja

Another preserved bunker can be found right in the center of the nice village of Puumala, along road Pappilantie. The bunker is basically unaccessible, but very easy to walk around. In a receptacle besides the main entrance there is also a Soviet anti-tank gun, probably captured by the Finnish army.

Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker
Salpa Line Puumala Machine Gun Bunker

General Mannerheim Headquarters and Communication Bunker

Among the highlights of the lively town of Mikkeli, you can visit here the preserved headquarters of the Finnish Army. The office of General Mannerheim and other top-ranking military staff, plus a fully equipped ‘op-center’, were installed in a local children school. Today a few rooms, including one with many original maps and Mannerheim’s personal office, are the ‘main course’ of the museum, and can be visited.

General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli

There are also informative panels, many pictures and some memorabilia belonging to General Mannerheim.

General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Headquarters Mikkeli

Almost cross the the road from the entrance of the headquarters, you can find another strictly related museum. It is a cave were the communication central of the headquarters used to be and work during WWII. This ensured an uninterrupted communication link not only with the Salpa Line but also with all positions on the line of the front. A part of the cave has been carefully refurbished to resemble what it looked like in the years of operation, including much communication hardware from the time, whereas another part has been left empty.

General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli
General Mannerheim Finland Army Communication Bunker Mikkeli

Both museums can be visited according to the respective timetables (website here for the headquarters, here for the cave). Total visiting time for both attractions is about 1.5 hours.

Raikuu Site

Two Salpa Line sites are located close to the small village of Raikuu, both easily reachable driving on reasonably prepared, unpaved roads.

The first is a massive and pretty rare heavy artillery position. There used to be four such positions scattered in the nearby area, two equipped with 299 mm mortars, two with 152 mm naval cannons. This is the only partly refurbished position. The base for the central revolving pinion where the cannon was anchored can be clearly seen, as well as rooms for the cartridges and for artillery troops.

Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position
Salpa Line Kerimäki Cannon Position

The second is a group of three reinforced concrete bunkers, maintained to a very good condition and different from one another. The first two are a machine gun and an anti-tank cannon bunker respectively. The military equipment has been taken away, but the different shape of the barrel hole and the supporting structure for the machine gun or for the anti-tank cannon make them easily distinguishable. The machine gun bunkers bears traces of camouflage on the front facade.

Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker

Some of the original ventilation pipelines are still there, and clear traces of the wooden structures can be seen on the walls.

Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker

The last bunker is partly accessible from behind descending along a steep staircase. This bunker is leaning on the side of a rock, and is well deceived in the bushes.

Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker
Salpa Line Kerimäki Bunker

The site is completed by an anti-tank wall of unusual construction, made of smaller stones put together to a very big overall thickness.

Salpa Line Kerimäki Anti Tank Wall
Salpa Line Kerimäki Anti Tank Wall
Salpa Line Kerimäki Anti Tank Wall
Salpa Line Kerimäki Anti Tank Wall

This site is very nice to visit, it is pretty remote so probably you will stay alone and undisturbed. Total time for visiting both including transfer by car may be 1.5 hours if you want to take pictures, or much less if you just want to have a look around.

Joensuu Bunker Museum, Joensuu

The museum in Joensuu is somewhat smaller than those in Virolahti and Miehikkälä (above), and when I visited it was already closed for the season – in mid-August! The good news is that in case you find it closed, you will miss only a visit to the inside of the bunker, pretty standard and similar to those you can see also elsewhere, whereas the outside can be toured for free at any time.

The first sights are two Model 1877, 90 mm French field cannons provided in a number during the Winter War and extensively used in the following years. Close by there are some steel turrets for protecting dugouts to form armored machine gun nests. These turrets, similar to those you may see also in some other Salpa Line sites, were supplied in very limited numbers and were produced in two shapes – you find both here – and three different weights. Those presented here are all intermediate-weight exemplars, weighing more than 5 and almost 8 tonnes respectively for the round shaped and the two-lobed model. The thickness is incredible, and these turrets could withstand a direct hit of a 45 mm anti-tank gun!

Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum

On the perimeter there is a Soviet 45 mm anti-tank cannon in a wooden open-top field fortification.

Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum

There are two concrete bunkers, put side by side on a promontory. One is equipped with both an anti-tank and a machine gun, the other only with a machine gun.

Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum

There are also well preserved dugouts and a line of rocky anti-tank obstacles.

Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum
Salpa Line Joensuu Bunker Museum

The site is easy to access, with free parking, and compact in size, so less than 1 hour is needed for a visit if the inside is not accessible. Some opening info here.

Huhmarisvaara Artillery Position

Many cannons of French design can be found scattered over the Finnish territory. Except relatively few offered by the French at the beginning of WWII before France was conquered by the German Wehrmacht, the majority are actually Russian cannons from before the the Revolution. When turmoil started to spread in Russia in 1917 leading to the anticipate end of WWI, Finland took the initiative and declared independence from the agonizing empire. As a result, many weapons and military stuff stationed over the territory of the newly constituted Nation were recycled by the Finnish Army.

Salpa Line Huhmarisvaara Cannons
Salpa Line Huhmarisvaara Cannons
Salpa Line Huhmarisvaara Cannons
Salpa Line Huhmarisvaara Cannons
Salpa Line Huhmarisvaara Cannons
Salpa Line Huhmarisvaara Cannons
Salpa Line Huhmarisvaara Cannons
Salpa Line Huhmarisvaara Cannons

Many such cannons were later to be placed in the fortifications of the Salpa Line. In Huhmarisvaara, roughly 13 miles north of Joensuu, a concrete fortification for a number of cannons was prepared on a vantage position overlooking a local lake. One of the three Russian-made Model 1892, 152 mm cannons remaining in Finland can still be found in this location.

Vanntajankannas Site

The northern part of the front saw an active participation of the German Wehrmacht in the years of the Continuation War. Possibly one of the northernmost heavy installations of the Salpa Line was located about 5 miles southeast of the town of Kuusamo, close to the administrative border with the Lapland district. The Germans – with the forces of the Organization Todt – built also a railway line about 85 miles long in a north-south direction, with the northern terminal in Kuusamo. The railway helped to supply the army groups operating locally.

The history of this installation, today preserved as an open-air museum with a well maintained walking trail about 3 miles long, is a bit different from others. Soon after the armistice which drove Finland out of the war with the USSR, the German forces, which had to be expelled from the Country, started retreating north towards occupied Norway. They found shelter in the fortifications of the Vanntajankannas site for a few weeks, before loosing them to the Red Army. Soviet soldiers were forced to leave by the end of 1944 in accordance with the armistice agreement, but they blew up every hardware in the Vanntajankannas area before retreating to the USSR.

What can be seen here is what remains of some big concrete bunkers, of the types you can find elsewhere along the Salpa Line. The remains of the bunkers are scattered along the trail. Close to the trailhead there are also scant remains of the local railway station along the German-built line going to Kuusamo.

Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail

The anti-tank line of stones is still clearly visible. In many points the trenches, open-top passages and soft machine gun nests have been refurbished to look like the early Forties when they were built.

Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail

In the most remote part of the site it is possible to spot remains of the original concrete preparation station, used to supply the construction works, and a small concrete sauna for workers and troops – not really welcoming in these days!

Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail
Salpa Line Lahtela-Vanttaja Trail

This site is very nice not only for war history but also for the beautiful landscape, with incredible colors. You can also experience a walk over the marshes typical of this region of Finland. The trail is easy, there is a small free parking nearby the trailhead. I would recommend about 1-1.5 hours to enjoy the hiking trail and taking pictures of both the landscape,  the destroyed forts and preserved trenches.

Harparskog Line, Hanko Peninsula

The southern branch of the Salpa Line, also known as Harparskog Line, is composed of a group of bunkers concentrated in the small area around the village of Harparskog – on the Hanko peninsula -, which found itself on the border with the USSR for the first time following the peace treaty ending the Winter War. The annexation of Estonia to the USSR and the control of the Hanko peninsula gave the Soviets the control of the Gulf of Finland, which culminated in Leningrad to the east.

Hanko was evacuated by the Soviets in late 1941 during the victorious phase of the Continuation War.

Similarly to the rest of the Salpa Line, the smaller line in Harparskog featured all types of heavy concrete bunkers, plus dugouts, field fortifications and trenches. Today you can find at least one of the bunkers preserved as a local small museum, plus plenty of barely maintained but mainly accessible bunkers, stripped of most military hardware but still in a very good condition.

The bunker museum was closed when I visited, so here you have a view of the outside only.

Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland

Some of the accessible bunkers are aligned along an unpaved road towards the northern shore of the peninsula, north of the village. A commemoration stone with an explanatory panel clearly marks the trailhead.

Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland

Besides some more standard bunkers, it is possible to find here a big assembly composed by at least two large bunkers excavated in the stone. The passages leading to the entrances are carved deep in a local cliff, resulting in a very suggestive fort, a mix of natural and artificial defensive positions. Inside this fort it is possible to see also an original stove, ventilation ducts and an air pump.

Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland

Further on you can find an anti-tank line, and also a larger deposit and a cave – unfortunately closed.

Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland

Exploring this area can be very rewarding, due to the tranquil location and the beautiful, wild natural landscape.

Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland
Salpa Line Bunker Harparskog Hanko Finland

There is much more to see in the area, and for a complete exploration I would suggest about 5-6 hours. The sector to cover is not large and for some parts you can move with a car, but the concentration of material is unusually high and well preserved. If you elect to concentrate only on a part of the line, the necessary time may drop to 1-2 hours for getting a good idea of the main features of this site and taking some good pictures inside. Don’t forget a tripod and a torchlight, for it’s totally dark inside most bunkers, and you should wear a pair of appropriate shoes, for there are mud deposits on the floor and the terrain around the bunkers is totally uneven.

Hanko Front Museum, Hanko

A museum on the vicissitudes of the Hanko peninsula in the years 1940-41 has been established and recently refurbished. It will show up along the main road connecting Harparskog and Hanko, around 2 miles from Harparskog.

The inside part presents an interesting descriptions of the timeline and facts of the Soviet occupation. There are many interesting artifacts from the time, including everyday hardware, light weapons, propaganda leaflets in Russian, maps and many historic photographs. It is interesting to note that the weapons put in place by the Soviets included huge railway cannons, definitely easier to move compared to fixed installations of similar size.

Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR

There is also a room with a collection of heavier weapons.

Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR

On the outside there are some reconstructed trenches, a Soviet 45 mm anti-tank gun in a reconstructed field fortification, and some other weapons, especially water mines. Active archeology work is going on in the area, and some recent findings, like pieces of artillery and parts of tanks, could be seen when I visited. A short trail in the trees reveals some dugouts and allows to explore the area nearby the former border. Finally there is a 152 mm coastal gun, reportedly the world’s last of the type with this field mounting.

Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR
Hango War Museum Salpa Line Finland USSR

The museum is not large but very rich, so I would suggest 30 minutes to 1.5 hours for a visit depending on your level of interest. Website here.

The Estonian Aviation Museum

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A nice and lively university town in the heart of the Estonian countryside, Tartu has really something for every kind of tourist – including those interested in aviation history. The Estonian Aviation Museum, or ‘Eeesti Lennundusmuuseum’ as they write it in the tricky local idiom, boasts a substantial and heterogenous collection of aircraft preserved in exceptionally good condition, which will not leave indifferent even the most knowledgeable aviation expert.

Having being for long a socialist republic in the realm of the Soviet Union – and today sharing a border with Russia – Estonia had access to massive surplus reserves after the end of the Cold War, so it is no surprise that Soviet aircraft are well represented in an Estonian museum. This already might appeal to western tourists, for the exotic, menacing silhouettes of MiGs and Sukhois are not often to be found except in less accessible spots in the former Eastern Bloc. Yet some more unexpected and rare models have been added over the years, including some SAAB aircraft from Sweden which are authentic collectibles.

The following photographs cover almost every plane that was there in summer 2017.

Sights

Most part of the collection has been preserved in a cleverly designed structure, made of small open-walled hangars with translucent canopies. The aircraft are illuminated by natural light, helping much when taking pictures, but they are not exposed to direct sunlight, rain or snow, which tend to damage both metal and plexiglas on the long run. Furthermore, the lack of doors and frames allows you to move around freely, and the place is not suffocating nor excessively warm.

The aircraft are basically all from the Cold War era, but some of them have outlived the end of the USSR and were retired more recently. The portraits are grouped here roughly based on the nationality of the manufacturers or aircraft mission.

Designs from the US

The American production is represented in this museum firstly by a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, operated by the West-German Luftwaffe. The General Electric J79 turbojets have been taken out of the airframe, so you can see them separately.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom with J79 engine
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom with J79 engine

A pretty unusual sight, also the antenna and electronic group in the nose cone have been taken out and are on display. This Phantom is a F-4F, a version specifically developed for West Germany from the basic F-4E. The former inventory number was 99+91.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Radar Avionic Targeting
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Radar Avionic Targeting
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Radar Avionic Targeting
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Radar Avionic Targeting
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Radar Avionic Targeting
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Radar Avionic Targeting
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Radar Avionic Targeting
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Radar Avionic Targeting

Another iconic model on the menu is a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, formerly from the Italian Air Force. This exemplar is actually an Italian-built ‘S’ version, and among the latest to be retired by the Aeronautica Militare. The engine, again a J79, is on display elsewhere in the museum. An unusual crowd of instruction and warning stencils populate the external surface of the aircraft.

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Italian Air Force

Soviet Military Models

The majority of the aircraft on display were designed in the Soviet Union or other countries of the Warsaw Pact.

Two aggressive aircraft include a MiG-21 and a MiG-23. The first, present here in the colors of the Polish Air Force, is a MiG-21bis Fishbed, the latest development of this fast delta-wing fighter/light-interceptor.

MiG-21 Fishbed Polish Air Force
MiG-21 Fishbed Polish Air Force
MiG-21 Fishbed Polish Air Force
MiG-21 Fishbed Polish Air Force
MiG-21 Fishbed Polish Air Force
MiG-21 Fishbed Polish Air Force

Possibly one of the most ubiquitous fighters of the jet age, the MiG-23 Flogger is part also of this collection. The aircraft you see in the pictures is a MLD variant, representing the last upgrade of this iconic fighter, which was also the basis for the very successful MiG-27 design.

MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force Tumansky R27
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force Tumansky R27
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force

It bears the markings of the Ukrainian Air Force, therefore it is likely an ex-USSR aircraft. The engine is sitting besides the aircraft, and two rocket canisters are placed beneath the fuselage, close to the ventral GSh-23 twin-barreled cannon.

MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force
MiG-23 Flogger Ukrainian Air Force

A less usual sight is a MiG-25 Foxbat, a super fast interceptor/recce aircraft. Conceived in the late Fifties when the race for speed was in full swing, it was developed into a high performance platform to counteract the threat of the SR-71 Blackbird. It was built around two massive Tumansky R-15 afterburning turbojets, rated at a pretty high wet thrust of 110 kN, resulting in an incredible top speed around Mach 3.2! The aircraft is pretty sizable, and you can appreciate that looking at the picture of the main landing gear – search for the cover of my Canon wide lens close to the ground and compare sizes!

MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia

The menacing silhouette of this huge bird, with red stars on the vertical fins and a bare metal fuselage, will likely make relive in you an ‘Iron Curtain feeling’!

MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia
MiG-25 Foxbat Red Army Tartu Estonia

One which will not go unnoticed is a Polish Air Force Sukhoi Su-22M4 Fitter in a flamboyant, very colored livery. This massive fighter-bomber represents the export version of the Su-17M4 built by the USSR for domestic orders.

Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force

Despite the shape, roughly similar to that of the MiG-21 also on display, the size of this aircraft is much bigger – you might think of Su-22 as a case for a MiG-21…

Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Polish Air Force

Soviet bombers are represented by a pretty rare Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer, which is today still in service in Russia. The example on display bears the markings of the Ukrainian Air Force, meaning it was once a Soviet aircraft.

Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)

This massive twin-engined beast outsizes all other military aircraft on display. The aircraft is on display with three support tanks under the fuselage and the inner wing pylons.

Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer Ukrainian Air Force (ex-Soviet Red Army)

A less common sight is a Yakovlev Ya-28P Firebar, a long-range intercept version of this multi-role platform from the early Sixties. This design is very interesting, with a four-points undercarriage and a very long nose cone, where a radar system for a target-tracking and missile guidance system was located. The two turbojet engines are mounted in cigar-shaped underwing pods. The relevant sweep of the wing suggests a significant speed capability, yet many variants of this aircraft were developed to exploit also its good range performance. The antenna originally placed in the nose cone is on display besides the aircraft, which bears original Soviet markings.

Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer-E Soviet

Soviet Transport Aircraft

Two aircraft which could not find their way in covered shelters mainly due to their bigger size, are a Tupolev Tu-134A-3 and a Yakovlev Ya-40. Both can be accessed, so you can get a view of the inside, including the cockpits.

The Tu-134 twin jet, with its distinctive glass bulge in the nose ahead of the cockpit, has been for long a ubiquitous aircraft in the USSR and in many countries of the Eastern Bloc. The exemplar on display was taken over by the Estonian company Elk Airways, created after Estonia left the USSR.

Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia

Notwithstanding this, the aircraft betrays its Soviet ancestry and ownership in every particular, from the all-Cyrillic writings to the hammers and sickles here and there, from the design of interiors to the exotic cockpit, painted in a typical lurid Soviet green and with prominent unframed black rubber fans for ventilation.

Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia
Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Elk Airways Estonia

The Yak-40 is an interesting three-jet executive/small transport aircraft. The one on display went on flying for at least some good 15 years after the collapse of the wall in Berlin.

Yakovlev Yak-40 Soviet Executive
Yakovlev Yak-40 Soviet Executive
Yakovlev Yak-40 Soviet Executive
Yakovlev Yak-40 Soviet Executive
Yakovlev Yak-40 Soviet Executive
Yakovlev Yak-40 Soviet Executive
Yakovlev Yak-40 Cockpit
Yakovlev Yak-40 Cockpit
Yakovlev Yak-40 Soviet Executive
Yakovlev Yak-40 Soviet Executive
Yakovlev Yak-40 Cockpit
Yakovlev Yak-40 Cockpit
Yakovlev Ya-40 Tartu Estonia
Yakovlev Ya-40 Tartu Estonia

The internal configuration features an executive room ahead of a more usual passenger section and tail galley. The style of the cabin and of the pure analog cockpit is really outdated for todays standards!

Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin Soviet
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia Executive Cabin
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia
Yakovlev Yak-40 Tartu Estonia

A rugged workhorse still flying today in many countries is the Antonov An-2, a single propeller, radial-engined, biplane tail-dragger transport. There are two of them in the collection. One is under a shelter and can be boarded. The interiors are very basic, but the visibility from the cockpit is very good especially for a tail-dragger with an engine on the nose.

Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2
Antonov An-2
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Tartu Estonia
Antonov An-2 Cockpit
Antonov An-2 Cockpit

Swedish Aircraft

An unusual chapter in air museums except in Sweden is that of SAAB aircraft, which are represented in this collection by two iconic models, a Draken and a Viggen, and an extremely rare, very elegant Lansen. All are in the colors of the Royal Swedish Air Force.

The Saab 35 Draken features a very distinctive double-delta wing, and was developed in the Fifties for reaching a high supersonic speed. The design turned out to be pretty successful, and was operationally adopted primarily as a fighter by Sweden and other European countries as well.

SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force

The one in the collection is painted in a bright yellow livery. The infra-red pod under the nose cone of this aggressive attack aircraft looks like the lidless eye of an alien!

SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force Radar
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force Radar
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force
SAAB 35 Draken Swedish Air Force

The Viggen is a an attack aircraft from the late Sixties, developed for the domestic military needs into some sub-variants. With the JA 37 version displayed here, the Viggen went on to constitute the backbone of the intercept fleet of neutral Sweden, and was retired only in the early 2000s. The aerodynamic configuration features a prominent canard wing, and the Viggen was notably the first in such configuration produced in significant numbers.

SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force
SAAB JA 37 Viggen Swedish Air Force

The most unusual of all three SAAB designs on display is surely the SAAB 32 Lansen. A very neat design from the Fifties, loosely recalling the Lockheed P-80 and the Hawker Hunter, the Lansen was a jet fighter of the early Cold War developed specifically for Sweden and gaining a good success. The ‘E’ version on display was converted from the original fighter variant (‘B’) for the ECM role, and kept flying almost until the end of the 20th century. The green painting of the Royal Swedish Air Force is really stylish, definitely adding to an already elegant design.

SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force with RM5/Avon engine
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force with RM5/Avon engine
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force
SAAB J32 Lansen Swedish Air Force

Soviet Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM)

Curiously enough, an extensive collection of SAMs is part of this rich collection. All major missiles from SA-2 to SA-6 are represented, some of them in multiple exemplars. The size of these missiles, especially the oldest, is really striking. They are stored outside, besides some cases for missile transportation, deployable radar antennas, and what appears to be a flak cannon from Hitler’s Germany – a bit of an outsider…

Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-2
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-2
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-2
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-2
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-3
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
SAM Container
SAM Container
German Flak Cannon
German Flak Cannon
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-2
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-2
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-5
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-4 SA-6
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-4 SA-6
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-4
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-4
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-6
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-6
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-4 SA-6
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-4 SA-6
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-4 SA-6
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Russian SA-4 SA-6

Jet Engines

Many of the engines of the aircraft on display have been taken out of the corresponding airframes and put on display besides the plane where they used to belong, or in a dedicated part of the museum together with others. The J79 belonging to the Italian-built F-104 can be recognized from the Italian plaques on many components.

Soviet Jet Engine Tartu Estonia
Soviet Jet Engine Tartu Estonia
Soviet Jet Engine Tartu Estonia
Soviet Jet Engine Tartu Estonia
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
General Electric J79 Turbojet McDonnell Douglas Phantom engine
Soviet Jet Engine Tartu Estonia
Soviet Jet Engine Tartu Estonia
Soviet Jet Engine Tartu Estonia
Soviet Jet Engine Tartu Estonia
General Electric J79 Lockheed Starfighter engine
General Electric J79 Lockheed Starfighter engine
General Electric J79 Lockheed Starfighter engine
General Electric J79 Lockheed Starfighter engine

Many soviet engines bear markings in Cyrillic, and one of them, a larger turbofan which does not fit in any bird on display, has been cut to show all components.

Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia
Soviet Turbofan Cutaway Tartu Estonia

More…

More aircraft in the collection include some Mil and Kamov utility helicopters, a BAe Hawk of the Finnish Air Force and other trainers mainly from countries of the Warsaw Pact, some of them now on the civilian register.

PZL TS-11 Iskra Polish Air Force
PZL TS-11 Iskra Polish Air Force
PZL TS-11 Iskra Polish Air Force
PZL TS-11 Iskra Polish Air Force
Crop Duster Tartu Estonia
Crop Duster Tartu Estonia
PZL Wilga Tartu Estonia
PZL Wilga Tartu Estonia
PZL Wilga Tartu Estonia
PZL Wilga Tartu Estonia
Jodel DR-1050 Ambassador
Jodel DR-1050 Ambassador
Aero L-39 Albatros Ukrainian Air Force
Aero L-39 Albatros Ukrainian Air Force
BAe Hawk Finnish Air Force
BAe Hawk Finnish Air Force
Aero L-29 Dolphin
Aero L-29 Dolphin
Aero L-29 Dolphin
Kamov Ka-26
Kamov Ka-26
Mil Mi-2
Schweizer 269
Kamov Ka-26
Mil Mi-8 Tartu Estonia
Mil Mi-8 Tartu Estonia

A further notable aircraft is a Dassault Mirage IIIRS from the Swiss Air Force – with multi-language French and German stencils all over.

Dassault Mirage IIIRS Swiss Air Force
Dassault Mirage IIIRS Swiss Air Force
Dassault Mirage IIIRS Swiss Air Force
Dassault Mirage IIIRS Swiss Air Force
Dassault Mirage IIIRS Swiss Air Force
Dassault Mirage IIIRS Swiss Air Force
Dassault Mirage IIIRS Swiss Air Force
Dassault Mirage IIIRS Swiss Air Force

There are also some anti-aircraft guns, armored vehicles, tanks, and other curios items to whet your appetite!

T34 Soviet Tank Tartu Estonia
T34 Soviet Tank Tartu Estonia
Rockets Tartu Estonia
Rockets Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Military Transport Tartu Estonia
Military Transport Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Anti Aircraft Gun Tartu Estonia
Autonomous Aircraft Drone Tartu Estonia
Autonomous Aircraft Drone Tartu Estonia

Getting There and Moving Around

The museum can be reached 10 miles south of central Tartu on road 141, about 15 minutes by car from there. There is a free parking area nearby the entrance. As remarked, the collection is well-kept and somewhat publicized locally. There is a website with all information in English. The time required for visiting may vary from 45 minutes for a quick tour to 2.5 hours for photographers and those with a specific interest in the matter.

Soviet Leftovers in Latvia

CarloR3 Comments

Similar to the neighbor republics of Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia was occupied by the Soviets a first time in 1939 and again in 1944, when after some years of occupation by Hitler’s forces the Red Army started to successfully repel the German Wehrmacht from within Russia back towards Poland and central Europe. Differently from other European Countries later to become satellites of Moscow’s central communist power, the three ‘Baltic States’ were directly annexed to the Soviet Union.

History – in brief

As a matter of fact, the process of annexation was not a very peaceful one. Having had already a short but intense experience of the Stalinist dictatorship as a consequence of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact before the German invasion in 1941, as soon as it became clear that Stalin’s forces would regain power hundreds of thousands from the Baltics left the Country for abroad, while the communist regime rapidly started to put in practice its deadly ideas, with the collectivization of all private activities, abolition of free elections and non-communist associations, and the imprisonment and deportation of all who disagreed with this plan.

The reason for the different fate of these Countries – annexed – with respect to those of central Europe – which became satellites of the USSR – may be understood on one side looking further back in history – the territories of the three republics had been for long under the direct influence of the Russian Empire. On the other hand, as testified by the relevant military presence in these areas since immediately after the beginning of the Cold War, the government of the USSR considered the Baltic region of high strategic value. Taking control of the coast of the Baltic States, and also thanks to the annexation of the region of Hanko in Finland, the USSR could protect the access to the Gulf of Finland and Leningrad, profit from military and commercial ports which do not freeze in winter and deploy strategic military resources – especially aircraft and missiles – within range of most European capitals.

Bases for all branches of the military flourished in all three new Soviet Socialist Republics. Soon after the fall of the Wall in Berlin, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were the first of the USSR states to declare independence from the Union in 1990 – almost two years before the actual collapse of the USSR – following massive protests which unveiled the high level of intolerance for the Soviet rule. As a result of the withdrawal of Soviet/Russian forces, these three small republics found themselves in control of many military installations, totally disproportioned to the new size and needs of the new states, and making for a not-so-welcomed memento of many decades of hardship – as a matter of fact, some measures to limit the spread of Russian influence in culture and politics have been implemented in all three states, which also joined NATO and the European Union as soon as possible.

Sights

The attitude assumed towards the huge military assets left from the Cold War has been slightly different in the three republics. All three are basically getting rid of them, Estonia being the quickest – not much remains there of the many missile bases, and the once prominent strategic air base in Raadi has been totally closed down and partially converted into a museum on national history. Until some years ago many missile sites remained in quite a good shape in Latvia, but most of them have been actively demolished in recent years, including the most iconic Dvina silo sites – as of 2017 the job was completed and no Dvina complex remains in Latvia. Yet visible remains of surface bases and many ghost towns and bunkers are reportedly still there, and while some can be visited ‘officially’ as museums, many are left to urban explorers and archaeologists, while some hardware like warehouses and service buildings has been reused by local companies for storing logs, gravel and other raw materials. Lithuania bolsters possibly the last surviving Dvina missile complex in Europe, which has been turned recently into a museum on the Cold War, totaling 20’000 visitors per year. The demolition process is perhaps slower there.

Prisons constitute non-military but possibly more disturbing leftovers from the communist era. There are some in the Baltics – as basically everywhere in the former eastern bloc including Eastern Germany – all opened as museum, and in one instance also partially turned into a curious and evoking ‘jail hotel’.

This post presents some highlights and examples of remains from the Cold War era from both military and non-military sites in Latvia. Photographs were taken in 2017, during a visit to this lively and nice country in Northern Europe.

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Zeltini Nuclear Missile Base

This missile base is one of the best conserved in the three republics. The storage and launch complex was originally built for the R12 liquid fueled, 2.3 Megaton single-warhead nuclear missile, known in the West as SS-4 Sandal. This missile system – the same deployed to Cuba in 1962 – was pretty modern for the end of the Fifties, yet it lacked the extra range required to reach strategic targets in Europe from deep within Russia. This made the Baltic region very interesting for the military, and a place of election for installing missile complexes in that age.

The base of Zeltini is one of three missile launch sites around the town of Aluksne, in northeastern Latvia. This base was updated and kept in an active state until the end of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal of the Red Army towards Russia, who obviously carried away all the weapons and technical rigs. Soon after, the locals started to take away anything of any value, including extensive piping, cables, any metal and so on, leaving basically the empty buildings and bunkers. More recently, as typical also to other such places in Latvia, private businesses were allowed on the premises of the former installation. A timber storage and processing facility today occupies the area where the nuclear warheads used to be stored, separate from the missiles.

The complex in Zeltini could accommodate four missiles in two couples of neighbor storage bunkers, built about .3 miles apart, and launch them from two twin surface launch pads. At least two launch pads can be seen today. They are large flat area with a pavement made of concrete slabs, recognizable by a steel crown on the ground with an approximate diameter of 5-6 feet. This was used to anchor the low gantry holding the 72 ft long missile in vertical position when being readied for launch.

One of the pads is in the center of the best preserved part of the site – the southeastern one -, but the position of the missile gantry is today occupied by a pretty big head of Lenin, reportedly moved here from Aluksne after the end of communism, sparing it from being blown up.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

The grounds around this launch pad are rich with interesting bunkers, which once hosted support machinery and control gears, including anything necessary for missile servicing, launch preparation and control.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

There are bunkers of basically two types – smaller ones with a single entrance on one side of a cusp-roofed tunnel and a lower height, and bigger ones, much roomier, longer, and with doors on both sides of the barrel-vaulted tunnel.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
AZeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

A ubiquitous feature of these missile complexes are concrete T-shaped frames planted in the ground. These were used to carry miles of pipings at the time when the base was active.

Aligned with the main axis of the launch area it is possible to spot the corresponding missile bunker ‘N.3’, which is unfortunately locked. The construction and size are like those of the bigger support bunkers, the only visible difference being the slightly wider doors on the front façade, and the absence of a back door on the other end of the bunker.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

Many traces of plaques with mottos and citations in Russian from Lenin & Co. can be found on the exterior of the bunkers, whereas tons of ‘Warning!’ signs and other technical information are painted in the inside.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

A second launch pad can be seen in the in the northwestern part of the military grounds – with no Lenin’s head. Here traces of stripes on the ground for easing maneuvers or indicating the place to park ancillary rigs – like generators, gas tanks,… – can still be seen. Also here the corresponding ‘N.2’ missile bunker is locked.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

In a land strip where nature is growing wild between the two main launch areas, it is possible to spot a little bunker with a kind of concrete sentry-box. This was presumably a storage bunker for light weapons, a small reinforced shelter for watchmen, or something similar. Wooden shelves can still be found inside.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

Another interesting sight is what appears to be a ‘living bunker’. This is half interred, with small doors on both ends and a sequence of rooms aligned on a long corridor. The center room is the biggest, and may be a canteen or something alike. There are traces of a decorated white and blue linoleum pavement, but there are also very unique frescoes on the walls. These include an artist impression of the SS-4 Sandal missile and also of the typical mushroom-cloud produced by a nuclear explosion!

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

A conspicuous part of the Zeltini base is the command area with living quarters for the troops. This is the part you see first when entering the base. The buildings here are totally abandoned and possibly dangerous to access.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

There is not much left inside, but relevant remains of plaques with inscriptions and artistic drawings can be found on the walls outside. A highlight of the area is a former small park with a typical communist monument – a distinctive feature of all Soviet bases. The small park is a bit creepy, there are still benches around a former flowerbed, and a rain shelter, all now emerging from a field of nettles! The monument is basically a long wall with the silhouette of a stylized head. The inscription is fading, but the face painted on the red head can still be seen.

Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Zeltini Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

Getting there and moving around

The former missile base of Zeltini can be easily found driving on the P34, about 1.2 miles west of the town, exactly where P44 leaves from P34 to the north. There is also an official sign on the P34 pointing the way in. The area is preserved to some extent, and some of the former connection roads inside can be seen on Google Street View, yet the grounds are unfenced and there are no opening times. You can go in and move with your car, the only risk is that of getting a flat due to the road not being very clean.

Close to the head of Lenin there is also an explanatory panel with some quick notes and a basic map. A museum can be found in Zeltini, which was not opened when I visited, and they reportedly offer also guided tours of the place. This might be interesting especially for those less used to exploration activities, and possibly also to get access to the missile bunkers, which are usually closed. I couldn’t arrange a guided visit though, so I don’t know what they are offering on guided tours.

Some timber companies work in the former base, and you should not interfere with their operations, nor intrude in those parts of the base which are now used by them. Apart from this, this installation is rich of interesting sights and not much risky nor too big or difficult to explore, and it will make for a good 2 hours (minimum) exploration even visiting on your own, without accessing the locked or forbidden parts.

Note: Nearby Dvina Missile Site, Tirza – Completely Destroyed

There used to be other two ‘sister sites’ of the Zeltini complex in the area around Aluksne. One was in Strautini, a design very similar to the one in Zeltini. To my information this has ceased operations but is still today part of a military installation, so it cannot be approached. The second one was built in Tirza, and it was a Dvina site, i.e. a complex of four interred silos built for a suitably modified version of the R12 missile, called R12U. This kind of missile site started to be installed in 1964. Standing to the Google map of early 2017 the Tirza site should have been still in relative good shape. Unfortunately, in very recent times the local government hit very hard, having the site totally destroyed, flooded and buried under a monumental pile of land. The photographs below show what remains of this site – literally nothing.

Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Tirza Dvina Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

Even though the silo may have represented an uncomfortable reminder of the relatively recent occupation by the Soviets, as the only remaining site of the kind in the country it should have deserved possibly a different treatment – similar to the site in Siauliai, Lithuania, recently turned into a museum on the Cold War. Another option – probably the most obvious – would have been to leave the site to nature, as it happened in most cases to former Soviet installations scattered around Europe, at no cost and without any relevant risk for the local population – the site in Tirza was extremely remote, hidden deep in the trees, far from the main road and from any village of appreciable size, in a part of the country of limited touristic interest. Only those interested, like explorers and historians, would have looked for it. The choice of the government, which judging from the proportions of the demolition work must have implied the use of a very relevant amount of money for the job, appears really hard to justify – especially in face of an infrastructure system still well below the European standard.

Anyway, as a practical suggestion, don’t waste your time trying to reach the Tirza site – Dvina missile complexes are not to be found in Latvia.

Skrunda Military Ghost Town

Located in the hilly countryside of southwest Latvia, about 50 miles from the port town of Liepaja, the area around the village of Skrunda has been for long a primary strategic site for the USSR. Due to the geographical position on the northwestern border of the Union, this place was selected for the construction of an early warning radar device – a system capable of detecting incoming enemy ballistic missiles, leaving enough time for deploying countermeasures and for retaliatory actions. The type built in Skrunda was called Dnestr-M, and was the first early warning system type deployed by the USSR. Actually, the Skrunda radar site, codenamed RO-2, was the first to become operative in 1971, marking the foundation of the entire Soviet ABM (anti-ballistic missile) system. This was just a component of a series of similar sites intended to cover the entire border, constituting a ‘invisible fence’ against missile attacks from the US and their Allies.

Early warning radar systems are not just small radar antennas like those you can see in airports. Instead they are very (very) big and powerful systems, digesting a huge flow of electric energy to stay alive, and where all the required hardware – including the antennas – is often stored in suitably designed, tall and imposing buildings. The RO-2 system was made of two Dnestr-M fixed antennas, each assembled in a special construction 650 ft long and 250 ft tall!

The staff required for running the facility and all connected businesses was numerous, so a military village was built anew in Skrunda deep in the years of the Cold War just a few miles north of the old town. The village was intended for troops, technicians and their families. The relevance of the Skrunda site is testified also by the selection of that area for the installation of another antenna of the type Daryal-UM, with a range of almost 4’000 miles, 1’000 more than the Dnestr-M system. The decision was taken in the late Eighties, and the Daryal-UM system in Skrunda was never operative.

Following the collapse of the USSR an agreement was made between the governments of Latvia and Russia to gradually phase out the early warning systems in Skrunda, which had to be kept under Russian administration for some more years. As a result, the village of Skrunda was inhabited until 1998 by Russian troops.

After the demolition of all early warning hardware formerly agreed upon and the withdrawal of the Russian army, the military town of Skrunda was left in a state of disrepair. The Latvian government tried to sell the property in more instances, while some of the worst conserved buildings have been demolished. More recently the local municipality took control of the area, and there are plans to find a new function for the remaining part of the ghost town. Also the Latvian army is active on it. In the meanwhile you can tour this ‘domesticated’ ghost town – which can be accessed officially paying a small fee at the entrance – you are even given a map of the site!

Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia

The fact that you pay for a visit takes away much of the ghost-town-aura typical to other similar places in the former Eastern Bloc – here you know you are not alone. Nonetheless, what makes this place impressive is the size of the buildings, now totally empty, and the imposing ensemble they form together.

Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia

Besides the residential buildings, the bulkiest and more numerous, there are a hotel, a school – which cannot be accessed due to the collapsing roof -, a market and many other services you may expect to find in a typical modern neighborhood.

Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia

Also impressive are the club with a big gym and the frescoes in it. An obelisk monument can be found in the square ahead of the gym.

Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia

On the tiles on the blind side of one of the residential buildings it is possible to spot a giant, now fading portrait of a Soviet soldier.

Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia

The residential and service complex with its distinctive tall buildings occupies the northern part of the ghost town of Skrunda, while the southern part is composed of lower buildings formerly for barracks and military services, including a canteen, a command building and a small military prison.

Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia

The face of the command building bears inscriptions in Cyrillic, which are now barely visible. From historical pictures it is possible to see that at some point the Red Banner was changed into the Russian flag you can spot today.

Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia

Most of the buildings in this area are in a really bad shape, and many are inaccessible due to piles of waste material packed inside. Among the most unusual sights here, stickers of ‘Western propaganda symbols’ – including an iconic Arnold Schwarzenegger in James Cameron’s ‘Terminator’! – inside the door of a small cabinet, likely from the Eighties.

Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia
Skrunda Ghost Town Latvia

At the time of my visit there were some Latvian troops busy moving light material between some of these buildings.

Getting there and moving around

Getting to the Soviet ghost town of Skrunda is easy with a car. You can reach the old town of Skrunda along the A9, connecting Liepaja and Riga. Once there, take the P116 going north to Kuldiga. The entrance to the site will be on your left about 3 miles north of the center of old Skrunda.

I have to admit I had prepared my visit as a ‘usual’ wild exploration, and I discovered the place is actually a tourist attraction only when I was there. My first approach was from the side of the village opposite to the P116, to reduce the chance to be spotted by locals. To my great surprise I was soon met by a young lady walking along the main street of the ghost town. I thought she was there for picking mushrooms or something in the wilderness, instead she came closer and politely told me there was a ticket to pay! Then I spotted other visitors around in the distance. I moved my car to the P116 and accessed the place as a normal visitor. An old lady at the former control booth of the military village asked for a few Euros – no credit cards, obviously – and gave me a ticket and a map.

The reason for my error was the lack of information available online, also due to the very limited penetration of English in that part of Europe, even on websites. For the same reason, unfortunately I can’t provide an official source site nor opening times.

Due to a very tight timetable, I could only dedicate about an hour to the visit of the ghost town – I also wasted some time moving my car from the back to the official gate of the base. The site may deserve 1.5-2.5 hours depending on your level of interest, especially if you want to take pictures.

As written above, Skrunda is in the center of a renovation program, and the place may not remain visible for long.

Karosta Military Prison & Liepaja Port Town

The port town of Liepaja is the third most populated center in Latvia. It bolsters an ancient tradition as a commercial port, built along trade routes very active since the early years of the Hanseatic League. More recently, in the second half of the 19th century the port was greatly developed also for military purposes under the power of the Tzars. This time saw the construction of conspicuous fortifications in the northern area of the town, and the development of an extensive military district named Karosta.

The military port was destined to play an important role in WWI, when the agonizing Russian Empire was fighting against the forces of the Kaiser, and again in WWII, when the Soviets, who had just annexed the Latvian territory in 1939-40, started fighting against Hitler in 1941. The German Wehrmacht actually occupied Liepaja until 1945.

Back in the hands of the Soviets, the port was developed step by step into a major base of the Soviet fleet, headquartering the Baltic branch tasked with tactical dominance of the Baltic Sea. Since the 1960s until the collapse of the USSR Liepaja was turned into a closed town for military personnel only, and all commercial activities were interdicted.

Nowadays the commercial port is again very active, and the town, even boasting a university, is trying to reestablish its original status as a center for commerce and tourism.

Most notably, the former military district of Karosta can be toured along a well designed historical trail, showing the old quarters of the military town from the years of the Tzars. A distinctive feature of Karosta is the breakwater pier, protruding into the Baltic for about 1 mile, which can be walked in its entirety. Another very suggestive sight is the dome of the Orthodox church, recently refurbished after having being closed for years in the Soviet era.

Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Port Pier Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Pier Military Port
Karosta Liepaja Pier Military Port
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Soviet Monument
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Soviet Monument

Another unusual sight in the Karosta district is the coastal fortification built by the Tzars in the late 19th century. The cannons are gone, but the mighty fortifications look still impressive.

Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery
Karosta Liepaja Latvia Coastal Cannon Battery

The additions by the Soviets in terms of housing are clearly recognizable by the depressing style and poor building technique, making these buildings look worse than their older predecessors.

Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia
Karosta Liepaja Latvia

The military district of the Tzars included a military prison, today known as Karosta Prison (or ‘Karosta Cietums’, in Latvian). This prison has been turned into a museum only recently, and is now advertised as a local attraction.

Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi

This prison is unique in many senses. From a historical perspective, for instance, it was managed by six different military powers in its history – the Russian Empire, the newly constituted Latvian government soon after WWI, the Soviets between 1940 and 1941, the Nazis until 1945, then the Soviets again and finally the Latvian government of our days after the independence from the Soviet Union!

The place is rich of sad memories, especially from the years of Nazi occupation, when the prison was not intended to reeducate – whatever this might have meant in Soviet times -, but acted more as an antechamber for captured spies or subversive elements to be shot – something that reportedly happened in the courtyard in several occasions – or deported to Nazi lagers. Of course, the beginning of the Soviet period was a very harsh one too for Liepaja and all Latvia, thanks to Stalin’s unscrupulous deportation plans which hit hard in the region, but that was a business the small military prison of Karosta was not much involved in.

The brick building of the prison is composed of two floors. The museum offers guided visits to the small complex. The first sight is the office of the director on the ground floor, preserved from the Soviet era, and enriched with tons of collectible items. Really an impressive sight.

Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi

Another very unique room is packed with weapons, uniforms and other military gear from the years of WWII. This collection, albeit small, is extremely valuable especially for what remains of the Nazi period – somewhat paradoxically, in Germany similar collections are basically impossible to find.

Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi

I explicitly asked more than once about the originality of the pieces on show, and was punctually reassured. The prison and what is in it, with the exception of the arrangement of the ticket office and the rooms nearby, is 95% original, and what was not originally there when the prison was finally closed – like a portrait of Stalin and a wooden silhouette of Lenin’s face – is still original, relocated for exhibition purposes. No fakes.

Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi

Next, the guided tour will drive you to the cells on the top floor, which were intended for soldiers, where the ground floor was for officers. The only difference is in the color of the walls – black on the top floor, brownish on the lower floor.

Karosta is the only military prison you can visit in the Baltics… and probably the only one in the world where you can sleep, if you dare to! The standard treatment is not so rude as you may expect, and spending the night in provides also the advantage of a dedicated evening visit of the prison after the closing time, along with the other ‘inmates’.

The rooms where you sleep are the cells of the ground floor – originally intended for officers. There are two possible configurations, i.e. rooms with iron beds, or empty cells, where you assemble your ‘bed’ taking a wooden board and a mattress from piles in a deposit. Then you are given a pillow, sheets and a blanket. The sheets are marked in Cyrillic, and probably belong to the original supply of the Soviet prison.

Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi

The door of the cell is left open, so you are totally free to move around all night, and even go out in the courtyard if you need. Toilets are in common, placed in the original toilet room. They are clean, even though basic, and there are no showers. There is a guard – who is also the guide on the evening tour – on the top floor, and the external perimeter of the prison is locked, so you feel reasonably safe. You can also park your car inside the perimeter. That said, spending the night in the cell is surely unusual and provokes strange feelings and thoughts… but that’s what you were probably looking for when you decided to sleep in a prison!

Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi

The prison offers more intense experiences where you are ‘disturbed’ during the night and treated more harshly by the guards, but these are only for groups. These packages are advertised also for companies, for team-building purposes.

The small restaurant has been put in the original canteen for the guards, and they offer a full Soviet-themed menu for dinner and for breakfast. The ‘hotel’ manager speaks English, and she can help you out with the menu, written in Latvian only.

Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi

All in all, a unmissable pick for those interested in authentic Soviet experiences.

Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi
Karosta Liepaja Prison Hotel Soviet Nazi

Getting there and moving around

The museum in the prison of Karosta is an official tourist attraction in Karosta, which is part of Liepaja. The website provides much practical information about the museum and the many special activities they promote, plus you can find the contacts for arranging a stay in case you want to. You may inquire with your intended arrival date. In my case the answer was quick and punctual, and I was asked about usual details. The only ‘stressful’ thing was the check-in limit – 5 pm – but this turned out to be more flexible than initially expected. I had the deadline extended to 6 pm by e-mailing the staff earlier on the day of arrival, and a group of six arrived well after 8 pm, by prior arrangement.

On check-in you are shown the two cell types mentioned above – this happens before payment, in case you realize this is not for you and decide to leave! The fare for my 1-night stay was very low, 15 Euros or so, plus coins for dinner and breakfast.

After check-in I was invited to have dinner before taking possession of the cell-room, and then go downtown and come back well after the closing time of the museum. I was given the number of the guard, who opened the gate letting me in with my car when I came back.

The hotel office acts also as a tourist information point for the military district of Karosta and for the town of Liepaja. They provide maps, schedules of cultural activities and general information for the whole area.

As pointed out, if you are interested in spending the night in the prison you will have the chance to park inside a locked external fence. The rooms will not be locked, nor the prison building, so you should not experience any discomfort in that sense. You should not expect the room service, and be ready to make your bed, but the staff will treat you kindly and professionally. I was so tired for the trip I fell asleep with no difficulty – average light, average temperature, low humidity, no noise, unidentified ‘background smell’, but not excessively annoying…

Klavi Nuclear Missile Base

Similar to the base of Zeltini (see above), the base of Klavi was a surface missile base. Differently from Zeltini, Klavi is totally abandoned.

What remains there makes for a quick interesting visit. The characteristics of the complex are very similar to those of Zeltini, perhaps a bit more regular, for in Klavi all four launch pads are placed side-by-side in a single array. The most notable feature of the installation is the many bunkers, which include missile bunkers and smaller support ones. Some of the bunkers bear visible traces of the original Cyrillic writing.

Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

The launch pads with the metal crown on the ground can be found also here – but the crowns are gone, probably the metal was resold. The exploration is somewhat complicated by some ditches and flooded areas, obstructing the access to part of the grounds. Nature is growing wild in the area, but garbage and waste material can also be found in significant amounts.

Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

Similar to Zeltini, besides the storage and launch area there are a series of support and living bunkers, plus a technical area which is today occupied by some form of business, including a soft-air training ground.

Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia
Klavi Soviet Nuclear Missile Base Latvia

The base testifies the double attitude towards these former missile sites adopted in Latvia, which on one side are left in a state of disrepair, but are not totally abandoned, and are often being used in our days for various kinds of business.

Getting there and moving around

The place can be found with a nav using the following coordinates, 56.661370, 24.128137, pointing to the access road of the launch complex. All roads around the site and reaching to it are unpaved – but this is the standard in Latvia. The point can be reached with a car. Going further may be easier by foot, for the road is not maintained and turns pretty narrow.

The former technical part with the soft-air facility is located 0.3 miles from that point moving northeast, and can be clearly spotted on a satellite photograph. Approaching the launch part from the south you will not pass through it, and you will more likely go unnoticed – the launch area is abandoned with no prohibition signs, so this is just if you don’t like to attract any attention.

I would say this place should be of interest for more committed urban explorers, as you should go with at least a basic consciousness of the general plan of a missile base to understand where you are and for moving around, due to wild nature obstructing the view in many instances.

Note: there is a sister site, almost a clone of this base, located south of the village of Zalite, about 5 miles south of the Klavi complex. Apparently not in a bad shape, the area has been taken over by small private businesses and marked with clear signs of prohibition. Strangely enough, there are apparently some people living in the rotting buildings of the former technical area. I went to the Zalite site also, but I was greeted by angry watchdogs moving around freely as soon as I approached the former launch area, and I could not even step off my car. Soon after I was spotted by a small group of people, like a family with elders and children with a ragged, disturbing appearance, including a woman with only one leg and a prominent metal prosthesis – the whole scene looked like some low-budget horror movie. They were clearly not happy to see me. I had a very bad feeling and decided to leave immediately.

The Corner House – KGB Prison in Riga

As soon as they landed in the territory of Latvia in the early Forties, the Soviets started to implement their regime in all its features. These included forced collectivization of private businesses, de-facto abolition of all political parties and free elections, and prosecution of non-communist elements of the society. The state security office monitoring the life of all citizens and assuring their adherence to the communist ideology and way of life was the local section of the NKVD, later to evolve into the famous KGB. This was tasked with the collection of information, arrest, interrogation, sentencing, detention and often times also deportation and execution of anybody suspected of ‘counter-revolutionary acts’ or ‘anti-Soviet crimes’ – the meaning of which was very generic and often used to prosecute people on the basis of scant or absent evidence of any type, and basically for political opinions.

It is still not clear for what particular reason this secret political police found a suitable home base in a nice apartment building in central Riga, which until the time of the Soviet occupation had been a normal residential building. Behind the elegant façade, the Soviets moved in an impressive quantity of offices and archives, plus a complete prison, located on the ground floor and in the basement, with cells and rooms for interrogation, with separate branches for women and men. The prison ceased function during the Nazi occupation, when it was opened to the public for propaganda reasons. Not discouraged nor impressed, the Soviet secret police reopened it as soon as it regained control of the region in 1945. After the secession of Latvia from the USSR, the building, which over the decades had become a symbol of communist terror, was closed up and left there, nobody reclaiming that haunted property, associated with fear, sad memories and negative feelings of hardship and oppression. Only a few years ago an association aimed at preserving the memory of the deadly function of the building, and of those who were touched by the violent ideological repression carried out by the Soviets in Riga and Latvia, started to offer regular tours of the prison.

The place is preserved as it was when it was shut down, much of the original furniture, lighting and paint being still there.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

The entrance is by the door on the corner, as it used to be in the past for the ‘general public’ – typically relatives of people mysteriously disappeared, going there to check whether they had been arrested by the KGB. What strikes most in these first rooms is the incredibly shabby, ragged, purely Soviet appearance of these public offices. A nice introductory exhibition with much info and data on the history of the place and of political repression in Latvia can be toured for free in this part of the building.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

Here it is also where the guided tour of the prison will start. You will be driven through the corridor reserved to KGB employees and arrested people. From there you soon reach the prison – particularly disturbing even for Soviet standards, very dark and narrow.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

Close to the entrance there is a control room for the whole prison, with original furniture from the KGB inventory – still tagged. A mix of terror and sadness, a really depressive ‘something wrong’ feeling can be clearly perceived there still today.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

Interrogation rooms with a fake mirror glass and preliminary detention rooms as large as a phone box, with no windows nor ventilation, are among the first sights of the tour.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

Along the walk the guide gives you a description of the life condition of inmates and an idea of the function of some special places in the prison.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

Part of the tour is the caged courtyard intended for the few minutes of walk inmates were allowed per day.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

During the visit you will see also the basement, where the kitchen for the inmates can still be found, together with service rooms and further cells.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

Finally you will have a look at the inner courtyard, reportedly where many inmates had their last walk, soon before entering a dark room nearby where they were shot in the head, as mostly typical in the years of Stalin. The shabby room where this happened can be observed from the door, and is preserved with respect.

Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia
Corner House KGB Prison Riga Latvia

All in all, a true must see not only for the committed Cold War historian, but for everybody interested in the recent history of Latvia.

Getting there and moving around

The building of the KGB prison is located in Brīvības iela 61 in central Riga, and can be conveniently reached with a pleasant 10 minutes walk from the central historical district.

The Corner House is professionally managed as an international-level museum. It is possible to visit the informative exhibition for free, where for touring the prison you can either go there and reserve a visit, or buy an electronic ticket online in advance. Access to the prison is by guided tours only, but tours are offered in English, German as well as Latvian and other languages – website here.

The guided tour lasts just less than 1 hour, and I strongly recommend it as a very suggestive experience which will not leave you indifferent, also thanks to the lively approach of the very knowledgeable local guides.

A Walk in Murmansk – A Soviet Industrial Port of Our Time

CarloR2 Comments

Murmansk is a port town in the northwestern corner of todays Russian Federation. It bolsters the biggest population among the centers north of the Arctic Circle in the world. It was founded in 1916, just months before the Revolution, and developed rapidly thanks to its strategic position for the needs both of the Navy and of maritime commerce. Actually this is the only Russian port on the Barents Sea which is not blocked by ice in winter, and it is in a region rich of substantial natural deposits, including nickel and coal. Furthermore, the coast in the vicinity of this town and along the Kola peninsula features countless coves and bays, providing an ideal setting for stationing a military fleet.

Probably the highest point in the history of Murmansk, which also contributed greatly in forming its current shape, was in the Great Patriotic War, i.e. WWII as they call it in Russia and the USSR until the Nineties. Murmansk was a key port on the supply line between the Western Allies and the USSR. A railroad linking Murmansk and St. Petersburg – some 900 miles south – existed since before its foundation. For this reason, and for the abundant raw materials in the region, the area was a dramatic theater of war, the German Wehrmacht relentlessly hitting there from both Norway and Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland. As a matter of fact, the resistance of the Soviets around Murmansk meant that the town was never conquered by Hitler’s forces, which where stopped just some tens of miles away to the west.

The damage and destruction brought by the war, acknowledged by the Soviet government with medals and the title of “Hero of the Soviet Union” awarded to Murmansk, meant that today the city has a mostly ‘modern’ appearance – in the Soviet sense. From the viewpoint of architecture, Murmansk has been rebuilt with industrial and military activities in mind, as most cities all around the USSR and differently from the most famous Moscow and Leningrad (today St. Petersburg). During the Cold War Murmansk developed into a huge port town and industrial center, with a population reaching almost half a million at some point. At the same time, military ports and shipyards multiplied in the region. The Soviet Northern Fleet has been stationed there since its foundation in the Thirties, and during the Cold War it was tasked with patrolling the Atlantic up to the northern coast of the USSR. The Northern Fleet was supplied with many iconic firsts for the USSR, including nuclear submarines and strategic nuclear missiles.

A trip to this industrial city is probably not in the list of many tourists, and even less from abroad. But for those looking for a full immersion in the atmosphere of an authentic Soviet town of the Cold War days, conveniently located not far from the Russian western border and still populated and very active, Murmansk has really much in store. Furthermore, if you care about the history of WWII and the Cold War, then this is definitely a place to go. The closed town of Polyarny, from where Marko Ramius sets off in Tom Clancy’s memorable fiction ‘The Hunt for Red October’, is just miles away from Murmansk.  If you would like to see something in this region which still retains much of its ‘CCCP aura’, unless you are from Russia Murmansk is one of the few towns in an extensive region which has been opened to foreign visitors – Polyarny, as well as Severomorsk, where the headquarters of the Northern Fleet are, and other military centers nearby unfortunately are not accessible to foreigners even today.

This post shows a possible itinerary touching some Soviet- or war-themed highlights in town. At the end of the chapter you can find information about reaching Murmansk, which itself may turn an interesting part of the trip. Photographs were taken in August 2017.

Map

The Google map below shows the itinerary I followed during my visit. All sights pinpointed on the map are mentioned or portrayed in the post. I covered the whole itinerary with a long walk, resulting in a very requiring 24 miles which I walked in one day. Despite the great photo opportunities you can get walking around alone, this distance can be definitely too much for the majority of visitors, so you may choose to hire a taxi or move with public transport for at least a part of the itinerary. Or you may decide to explore the town in one and a half or two days instead of just one.

Sights

Ploschad Pyat’uglov

The central square of Murmansk – ‘Five Corners Square’ in English – is where the two oldest hotels are, the ‘Azimuth’ and the ‘Meridian’. If you are staying at the Meridian – a good level executive hotel  – you can enjoy a good view of the Azimuth, a typical modern Soviet building, a section of the port and the northern districts of Murmansk. Your view will reach to one of the most famous Soviet monuments in Russia – Alyosha, the gigantic statue of a Soviet soldier.

Murmansk Azimuth Hotel
Murmansk Azimuth Hotel
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Alyosha
Murmansk Alyosha
Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk fog
Murmansk fog
Murmansk fog
Murmansk fog
Murmansk
Murmansk

On the façade of the building to the left of the Meridian you can see a sculpture of some Soviet decorations attributed to Murmansk. Not far cross the road is a similarly themed obelisk.

Murmansk Hotel Meridian
Murmansk Hotel Meridian
Murmansk medals
Murmansk medals
Murmansk Hotel Azimuth
Murmansk Hotel Azimuth
Murmansk Hotel Azimuth
Murmansk Hotel Azimuth

To the southeast of the square, Tsentralnyy Park is a nice park frequented by Russian families with children. On the southeastern side of the park are a statue of Kirov – a friend of Stalin, who killed him at some point, as he often used to do with friends – and a couple of neoclassic Soviet public palaces with Soviet-themed decoration.

Murmansk Kirov
Murmansk Kirov
Murmansk
Murmansk

To the northwest of the Ploschad there is another smaller park with monuments and fountains, and the Regional Art Museum of Murmansk in one of the corners (website here). The latter is a nice little art museum, where works of many regional artists from the 19th century and well into the Soviet era can be found.

Murmansk Kapsula
Murmansk Kapsula
Murmansk Regional Art Museum
Murmansk Regional Art Museum
Murmansk McDonald's
Murmansk McDonald’s

Among the elements helping to remember you are in the 21st century and not any more in the Soviet Union, there is a McDonald’s – possibly the northernmost in the world – and some banks around the square.

Prospekt Lenina

One of the two traffic arteries in Murmansk, describing a large arch crossing the central district. Moving south from Ploschad Pyat’uglov, you can walk down the full length of this boulevard. In the most central district, closer to the square, you will find many buildings with typical Soviet facades. Soon after leaving the square, on the eastern side there is a statue of Lenin, creating a nice scenery with the wings of the stately building behind it.

Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Lenin
Murmansk Lenin
Murmansk Lenin
Murmansk Lenin
Murmansk Lenin
Murmansk Lenin

One of the most notable buildings along the boulevard apparently belongs to the heir of the KGB, and still retains a monument with the sword and shield close to the entrance. The façade is adorned with prominent hammer and sickle symbols.

Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina

On the eastern side of the boulevard another interesting sight is the Monument to the Border Guards of the Arctic. This is placed in a small, well-kept and quiet park. Close by, a theater can be recognized by the frieze on the front – this was undergoing renovation at the time of my visit, and nothing more could be seen.

Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina

Moving further south, the road turns markedly to the southeast, and correspondingly the quality of the buildings starts to decrease sharply, with some exceptions, including some bulky modern buildings. One of them is really imposing, fenced and guarded. It may be a tribunal or a military command of some sort, given the level of security. As the road starts to climb uphill, a monument connected to WWII is clearly noticeable, with and anti-tank cannon prominently standing on a pillar. From that place, it is possible to spot some Soviet decoration on lower profile residential buildings.

Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina

In this part the panorama changes rapidly, with wild vegetation and poor housing coexisting side by side. Some buildings look as they are just waiting to collapse, and you think they are abandoned until you see two well dressed clerks coming out of a decrepit door. Hammer and sickles can be found on the façade or to the side of every other building.

Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina
Murmansk Prospekt Lenina

Somewhat unceremoniously, Prospekt Lenina comes to an end forming a sharp angle with Prospekt Kirova.

Prospekt Kirova and Ulitsa Shmidta

Turning northwest on Prospekt Kirova the road starts to descend. Here you can find a significant number of Soviet style apartment buildings. Looking carefully, you can see that the construction of the buildings is modular and the style is very repetitive – there are only about five or six variations in the basic module.

Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova

As the street turns north changing name into Ulitsa Shmidta you have on the southern corner a building connected with the Navy, possibly an academy, with some strange instrumentation on the roof. Cross the street there is a small park, with a modern church, clearly built after the end of the Soviet period.

Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova

From around this point it is possible to get some good pictures of a still working power plant, which is located basically in a block of this district, not far from the city center and surrounded by apartments. The proximity of the chimneys to the apartment buildings is typical to Soviet towns, much harder to find in the west, unless you’re running out of money building your town when playing SimCity. Furthermore, the power plant in Murmansk is really huge and the funnels really monstrous!

Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova
Murmansk Prospekt Kirova

Proceeding north on Ulitsa Shmidta, on the eastern side it is possible to spot many Soviet facades, where on the western side you may have problems getting a view of the railway and the port down below, due to the vegetation strip obstructing the view. At some point on the eastern side you will find a military building, recognizable by the red stars on the gates – the same model of gates and stars you can find in many abandoned military sites all over the former Eastern Bloc.

Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Alyosha
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Alyosha
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta

A block south of the last bend to the northeast where Ulitsa Shmidta changes its name into Ulitsa Kominterna, it is possible to find a small nice park with a monument to the Soviet Navy, just ahead of a stately building which may have been a former military headquarter.

Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta Fleet Monument

The monument is modern in design, and perhaps made after the end of the Soviet Union, yet looking very exotic if you are from the western side of the Iron Curtain.

Railway Station

Possibly one of the oldest buildings in Murmansk, and surely one of the most iconic thanks to the pinnacle with the red star on top, is the railway station. The façade and entrance are on Ulitsa Kominterna, but the building is built on multiple levels, for it is on the rim of a small coast. The passenger railway is at the bottom of the coast, and very close to the building. An old steam locomotive with a big red star is placed on one of the passenger platforms.

Murmansk Railway Station
Murmansk Railway Station
Murmansk Railway Station
Murmansk Railway Station
Murmansk Ulitsa Kominterna
Murmansk Ulitsa Kominterna
Murmansk Railway Station
Murmansk Railway Station

On the northern side of the station building it is possible to get access to a footbridge, passing over the passenger terminal and the huge cargo terminal. The latter offers a really impressive show, with countless coal trucks unwinding along endless railways. The railway basically ends in Murmansk, and the port is specialized with taking coal from the trains and putting it on the ships – plenty of dedicated cranes are always active in this transfer work. The railway yard is always very busy.

Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta
Murmansk Ulitsa Shmidta

In the evening you can watch the assembly of the empty convoys, being set up for their travel back to inland Russia. This is a pretty violent and noisy show, as they usually form a train by kicking a car on a railway track against the rest of the convoy waiting at the other end. When the car hits the convoy a very loud bang is produced, which can be heard from a great distance everywhere in town.

Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway
Murmansk Railway Steam Engine
Murmansk Railway Steam Engine
Murmansk Railway Steam Engine
Murmansk Railway Steam Engine

Given the number of convoys and cars, this unusual concert goes on for quite a while every evening.

Port of Murmansk and Icebreaker Lenin

Descending from the far end of the footbridge towards the sea you reach the platform of the port of Murmansk with a short walk. You can walk only a small part of the port area, including two piers. The famous icebreaker Lenin (website here), the first nuclear-propelled non-military vessel in the world, is permanently moored here and can be visited as a tourist attraction – in theory.

Murmansk Icebreaker Lenin
Murmansk Icebreaker Lenin
Murmansk Icebreaker Lenin
Murmansk Icebreaker Lenin
Murmansk Icebreaker Lenin
Murmansk Icebreaker Lenin
Murmansk Icebreaker Lenin
Murmansk Icebreaker Lenin

[NOTE: Obviously the dates of my trip had been chosen accounting for the opening times of this museum ship, one of the most relevant sites in town. I was very unlucky, experiencing the harsh treatment Russia still reserves to tourists this day – in spite of a published timetable of the tours available online, even though in Russian only, I found a printed paper in Russian on the entrance to the pier, basically telling ‘no tours for today and tomorrow’, full stop. Unfortunately, you can experience similar issues even in cities with a touristic vocation like St. Petersburg, so this happening in the remote Murmansk was not unbelievable. Yet considering I visited from quite afar, tuned my trip specifically for this attraction standing to the available information and came during the peak season, this shows a very low-level preparedness for tourism and especially a generally bad attitude towards foreign visitors, both parts of an unwanted heritage of the Soviet times. You’d better go ready to similar problems when traveling to Russia.]

Anyway the icebreaker can be admired also from the pier. The size is really stunning, especially if compared to the older and glorious Krassin, which can be found in St. Petersburg (see this post). Along the Lenin, on another pier a modern icebreaker can be seen. Murmansk is also a well-known starting point for arctic cruises.

Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port

A monument remembering the Great Patriotic War closes the square ahead of the piers on one side. Cross the bay from this point it is possible to spot another war monument, including a jet aircraft and a cannon.

Kursk Monument and Church of the Savior on Waters

Going back to Ploschad Pyat’uglov and restarting northeast along Prospekt Lenina after some walk and more interesting buildings, including the local government of Murmansk adorned with all the decorations earned by this town for the effort during WWII and the Regional Museum (website here) – which unfortunately was closed on the day of my visit -, you reach Ulitsa Papanina. Taking it to the northwest you soon cross Ulitsa Chelyuskintsev.

Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk Hero City
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk

Again, here the quality of the housing and parks decreases sharply. Ulitsa Chelyuskintsev climbs aggressively uphill. After a distance the main road takes slightly to the left, and a building resembling a beacon can be seen further uphill, reachable with a flight of stairs. This beacon is a monument to the seamen lost at sea, and it includes a chapel which is closed most of the time irrespective of the published opening times.

Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk

Just behind the beacon there is a monument to the ill-fated nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk, a new strategic ship of the Northern Fleet launched in post-Soviet times, which in the year 2000 sank following two accidental explosions, killing all on board. Thanks to the shallow waters where this accident happened, it was later possible to recover the wreck. Part of the turret was taken away and transformed into the monument you see, which is actually a piece of the original vessel.

Murmansk Kursk Memorial
Murmansk Kursk Memorial
Murmansk Kursk Memorial
Murmansk Kursk Memorial
Murmansk Kursk Memorial
Murmansk Kursk Memorial
Murmansk Kursk Memorial
Murmansk Kursk Memorial

Proceeding further uphill, it is possible to reach the small nice Orthodox church of the Savior on Waters, which is operated regularly and is probably the most central temple in Murmansk.

Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church

Leninskiy Okrug and Museum of the Northern Fleet

To the back of the temple it is possible to reach again Ulitsa Chelyuskintsev. Keeping the Museum of the Northern Fleet as a destination, located close to the northern border of Murmansk, you can walk some miles crossing the district called Leninskiy Okrug, which is a very populated residential area of the ‘working class’. Here you can see by yourself the very low-level of the housing, roads, walkways and services of this industrial town, where most of the population is living today. This standard of living appears to be in striking contrast with what you see in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and you can imagine how the neighborhood must have looked like when all cars around where Soviet made and there were no services like banks and cell phones retailers giving a modern touch to the scene.

Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk

The building hosting the Museum of the Northern Fleet is no exception – it looks like an abandoned building from the outside. The entrance hall is purely Soviet style, too large and very grim. An old lady stands knitting in one corner, watching a TV show. She will instruct you about the ticket price – very low, only cash accepted – and the way to go. The building must have been a former clubhouse for officers or retired staff.

Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet

The museum (information here) covers the history of the Navy at least until the creation of the Northern Fleet. There are about ten small rooms, packed with tons of memorabilia items, documents, flags, parts of ships, photographs, paintings, portraits, uniforms, medals, models, maps, weapons and so on. Notwithstanding the old-style exhibition and the plenty of information mainly on the facts of WWII and the Cold War period, the museum is fairly up to date, mentioning also post-Soviet history and the current status of the fleet. It is noteworthy that most of the descriptions are in Russian only, so you should go with some knowledge of the topic if you don’t know the language.

Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet

Some Soviet memorials and the portraits of all commanders of the fleet from its foundation to the present day can be found on the stairs.

Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet
Murmansk Museum of the Northern Fleet

Monument to the Waiting Woman

Setting the course back to downtown Murmansk, it is possible to reach the monument to the Waiting Woman, dedicated to the women of the seamen, with a multi-miles walk from the Museum of the Northern Fleet, again crossing Leninskiy Okrug.

Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Waiting Woman
Murmansk Waiting Woman
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk

The monument is an example of Russian ingenuity, yet somehow evocative. The place where the small sculpture is located is a vantage point from where it is possible to have a look to the northernmost part of the port of Murmansk, invisible from the town center. Much precise information about the home port of the vessels of the current Northern Fleet is not easy to get, anyway in the pictures you can see the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, the only Russian aircraft carrier, recently deployed to the Black Sea and now returned to the bay of Murmansk – somewhat mimetic, carefully look at the pictures below.

Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Admiral Kuznetzov Aircraft Carrier
Murmansk Admiral Kuznetzov Aircraft Carrier
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Port
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk
Murmansk

Alyosha

The most famous monument in Murmansk and in the region surrounding it, the monument to the Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War, informally known as Alyosha – ‘little Alexander’ in English -, is a gigantic statue to the Soviet Soldier, commemorating the battles fought by the Soviet Army against the Third Reich during WWII. Not only is this monument placed on top of a hill, but it is some 115 feet tall, making it the third tallest monument in the former USSR, after Stalingrad, now Volgograd, and Kiev, today in Ukraine. It is visible from many places in town and from the area around Murmansk.

Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk

It can be reached easily from downtown with a taxi, or if you are coming following the itinerary, climbing uphill at a short distance from the Monument of the Waiting Woman (see the map for a detailed trail to follow).

Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier

The monument is surely worth a visit. The size is impressive, and the eternal flame still burning ahead of the statue adds to the authenticity of the ensemble as a place of remembrance.

Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier

There are also two anti-aircraft guns and some ancillary parts to the back of the monument. The square ahead of it, possibly made for ceremonies, is not very well-kept and infested by mosquitoes in the warm season.

Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier

Leaving from the monument towards the city center can be done cutting through a wild green area along a well-marked trail. A mystery communication central can be found at some point. I met people grilling meat on a barbecue in this partially wild park.

Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier
Murmansk Alyosha Soviet Soldier

From here you have a good view of the industrial port and of the central districts of Murmansk. Upon reaching Ulitsa Chelyuskintsev there is a small modern memorial showing some pictures of Murmansk soon after the devastation caused by WWII.

Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk

From here it is possible to go back to the city center where your hotel will probably be and where you can find some very good local restaurants.

Murmansk memorial
Murmansk memorial
Murmansk memorial
Murmansk memorial
Murmansk memorial
Murmansk memorial
Murmansk memorial
Murmansk memorial
Murmansk Church
Murmansk Church

Getting to Murmansk

Notwithstanding the interesting ensemble and some noteworthy monuments, this city alone can hardly motivate a trip from abroad even for dedicated enthusiasts. On the other hand, it makes for a quick and easy detour from a travel to scenic Lapland (Finland) or northern Norway. After some investigation about going there with a car I abandoned the idea – too complicated in terms of papers and risky – and elected to go there starting from Kirkenes, a small town in northern Norway just a few miles from the only border crossing point between Norway and Russia. There is a local Norwegian travel agency called Pasvikturist selling on the Internet the tickets of a bus service operating between Kirkenes and Murmansk with no stops. The service is operated once per day in both directions. They also sell travel packages of one or two days to Murmansk including a part-time guide and accomodation.

The bus is actually a comfortable Russian registered minibus. The pick-up point in Kirkenes is by the Scandic Hotel, where there are some possible pick-up points in Murmansk, which is much larger, typically by all the biggest hotels.

You must have the visa for entering Russia, and you can get the necessary invitation from both the Azimuth and Meridian hotel. I noticed not all hotels in Murmansk offer this service, so be careful if you want to opt for a smaller hotel. Getting the invitation involves an easy electronic procedure worth a few dollars. Passport control – both Norway and Russia – takes a while, about 45 minutes in total for all on the minibus. Restrictions on the goods you can transport apply, but are by far less stringent than when traveling by air. You are not required to pass a metal detector, and bags are inspected only sporadically. My small army knife and all photographic gears passed without trouble.

The trip from Kirkenes to Murmansk can be very interesting. The region you cross is full of military installations. Extensive areas along the road are fenced and under surveillance. Going to Murmansk we had to stop to let a number of tanks cross the road. There is at least one military checkpoint where all passports are quickly inspected again by military staff!

Zapolyarny
Zapolyarny
Zapolyarny
Zapolyarny
Pechenga
Pechenga
Nickel
Nickel
Sputnik tanks
Sputnik tanks
Sputnik tanks
Sputnik tanks
Sputnik tanks
Sputnik tanks
Sputnik tanks
Sputnik tanks

Among the unusual sights along the road are the huge nickel mines between Nickel and Zapolyarny, the countless memorials of WWII along the valley of the Pechenga river, the military town of Sputnik, and a ropeway built by the German Army to carry supplies to the front. The background scenery is that of an endless sequence of hills with arctic vegetation.

Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik training grounds
Sputnik training grounds
Pechenga training grounds
Pechenga training grounds
Pechenga monument
Pechenga monument
Pechenga monument
Pechenga monument
Pechenga
Pechenga
Pechenga
Pechenga
Kola
Kola
Pechenga
Pechenga
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik ropeway
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Sputnik
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Zapolyarny
Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Zapolyarny
Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel Zapolyarny
Nickel
Nickel
Sputnik
Sputnik

Getting closer to Murmansk you will see directions to many ‘closed towns’ – connected with military activities, and where foreign visitors cannot enter – including Polyarny, cited in ‘The Hunt for Red October’. This surely adds to the atmosphere and prepares you to the visit of the town.

Polyarny closed town
Polyarny closed town
Polyarny
Polyarny
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk

Entering the town you will pass over the bay on a bridge and you will get a view of the southern part of the port and of the city, otherwise difficult to reach by foot.

Murmansk train
Murmansk train
Murmansk train
Murmansk train
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk chimney
Murmansk chimney
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk

Murmansk is clearly served also by an airport, so if you want or need you can surely reach the city by air – and also by train – from within Russia, but you will not get a view of the region, which may be very interesting if you are traveling as a tourist.

Soviet Airbases in the GDR – Third Chapter

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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.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Sperenberg

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base
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
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
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
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.

Soviet Airbases in the GDR – Second Chapter

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As pointed out in other posts on the topic – here and here -, the territory belonging to the German Democratic Republic (‘GDR’, or ‘DDR’ in German) was densely populated with military bases of all kinds, including tank bases, logistic bases and airbases. This was the result of two powerful Armies coexisting within the borders of the communist DDR – the local East-German Army and the Soviet ‘Red Army’.

Looking at a map of the Country, the density of airbases is particularly striking. Due to the strategic significance suggested by its very position in central Europe, right on the border with ‘the West’, the DDR was attributed a privileged status by the Soviet government in terms of military equipment. The number of Soviet troops stationed here was in the order of the hundreds of thousands, meaning that on most bases also housing and services for Soviet soldiers and their families had to be built in large numbers.

After the German reunification, the end of the Soviet Union and the retirement of Russian – ex-Soviet – troops by the mid-Nineties, all the bases – mostly stripped of any transportable stuff, which was withdrawn to Russia – were returned to Federal Germany. This resulted in a surplus of military hardware for the German government, which soon started a lengthy plan to convert, refurbish or demolish most of the newly acquired facilities.

Consequently, some of the former bases are now commercial airports, whereas most of them had the airside areas converted into solar powerplants. In most cases, only part of the former installations have been converted to non-military use, and huge ghost hangars, depots and housing can still be found in the premises of these airbases. What remains is sometimes of great interest for war historians and urban explorers as well – especially those bases where communist memorials with writing in cyrillic alphabet can be found, and stand out as vivid memories of a recent past, when everything was very different from now in central Europe.

Similarly to other ones on this website, this post covers with photographs and some info two Soviet airbases – Rangsdorf and Brand – visited in April 2017, and what remains of three more – Brandis, Nohra and Köthen – visited in 2023. Where in the premises of the first two much hardware could be checked out (at least as of 2017), the latter (as of 2023) have been almost completely wiped out, or left to the elements and to the spoilers to the point that only few or very damaged relics remain.

To provide some sort of ‘then and now’ comparison, I included a few pics from the wonderful book Rote Plätze – Russische Militärflugplatze Deutschland 1945-1994 by Lutz Freundt and Stefan Buttner, for which I don’t own the copyright. I recently grabbed a copy of this wonderful, out-of-print book, published in 2007 by a now defunct publisher in Berlin (AeroLit), and distributed only locally. This book is now very difficult to find, and basically a collectible item. Consequently, the price was indecent, but the maps, photos and info therein are really worth the financial effort!

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Rangsdorf

Getting there and moving around

The former airbase in Rangsdorf can be found on the outskirts of Berlin, actually less than 8 miles south of Schönefeld Airport. It can be reached very quickly from the highway N.10, taking through the village of Rangsdorf and reaching its the south-western corner, where a small lake with sport activities and a group of new ‘American style’ houses is being built and partially completed – the land were the new houses are standing was once part of the base.

To be honest, I had some difficulties finding a parking place, because the area is densely populated and much looked after, and most parking lots are privately owned. I finally elected to park ahead of a small kindergarten, which at the time of my visit was already closed.

What remains of the base is totally abandoned, and you will likely find sheep in the former areas of operations. When preparing your exploration, just have a look a the Google map of the site to plan your moves ahead. There are a few remaining huge hangars and service buildings to explore, and they are all in the northern part of the former airfield. The original fence with lines of barbed wire and concrete posts is still standing, but there are many spots where it is cut and broken, so getting in is not difficult at all.

Notwithstanding that you can easily access the base, the populated area around is a potential threat, for entering the buildings is formally forbidden – there is also a firefighters station close to the northern section of the fence, and you could be easily spotted from outside when you are in. So I suggest being careful in your movements.

Sights

The military airbase in Rangsdorf dates back from the years of WWII and the Nazi regime, when it was a major base for transportation of high-ranking military staff traveling by plane. It was from here that Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, the key-character in the failed attempt to murder Adolf Hitler in July 1944, took off to reach the Wolf’s Lair in what is now eastern Poland.

When the airport fell into Soviet hands, it was soon converted into a helicopter base, due to the inappropriate size of the airfield for the standards of the jet age, and the constraints put on its development by the surrounding villages. It used to be a very active helicopter transport base until the collapse of the Wall. In the years preceding the withdrawal of the Soviet/Russian troops the place became famous as ‘The Dump’ – the Soviet helicopter fleet was rationalised, and many rotorcrafts met the scrapman here.

Approaching from the west of the complex the fenced perimeter is very irregular, and when coming in I passed at least four lines of barbed wire while walking along a straight line! Many original lamps along the fences are still in place.

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

What seems to be a large air raid shelter, or possibly a reinforced communication bunker can be found before reaching the hangars. It is really big and isolated, with traces of wiring on one side.

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

Among the traces from the Soviet ‘Dump’ there are some aircraft-style seats, possibly from a big helicopter, several winches and some electric motors.

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

The two-winged building facing the grass-invaded former apron includes the control tower in the middle, and two lateral hangars. The assembly is a nice example of Nazi military design. The wooden doors and roof confirm the old age of the construction. Nonetheless, these hangars have been used also by the Soviets, as witnessed by the more modern ventilation system and traces of technical schemes and gear inside.

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

From the top floor of the old control tower it is possible to appreciate the original size of the airfield. As you can see from older pictures, only the northernmost part of the field was converted for helicopter operations. The helicopter platforms can be easily spotted, albeit half-covered by grass in the area ahead of the tower.

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

To the west of this main hangar there is a mysterious buildings with almost no windows and two pinnacles, which seem to be large twin funnels. I did not explore this thoroughly inside, as the building appeared to be in an especially bad and dangerous condition.

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

The next large hangar to the east is much bigger than the one with the tower. The construction is again pretty old, I guess again from the Thirties. Inside it is possible to find traces of mottos in big characters in cyrillic alphabet all along the wall. In older times, a famous panel with an ‘artistic’ hammer and sickle was hanging from one of the walls. This is unfortunately gone, only a barely visible trace remaining in place.

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

On one side of this big hangar a smaller service building can be found. Again, the intended function of this part of the complex is not immediately clear. I found traces of a huge table of chemical elements in Russian, like can be found in schools… but I don’t think they had a school right besides a hangar!

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

Even more to the east, close to the outer wall of the base and to a still active railway, there are two more hangars. The smaller one with wooden doors is very damaged inside, whereas the one to the north is apparently more recent in construction, but it is closed. My exploration accelerated a bit from here, as I noticed activity in the houses nearby outside the fence of the base, a watchdog started barking, and I feared to be spotted! Luckily this happened almost at the end of the exploration program…

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

Close to some communist-style housing, refurbished and still in use to the north of the airfield, I found a piece of wall, probably belonging to the original outer wall of the base, with celebrative writings in cyrillic – possibly names of sport teams from Soviet times.

Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Rangsdorf – Abandoned Soviet Base

All in all, I would say this base has the relevant advantage it was not converted to a power plant or something else, so it is poorly guarded and not totally off-limits – at least the open air grounds. It is also close to Berlin, easy to reach in a short time, and compact in size, so you won’t need to walk much, and visiting may take less time than with other former bases – about 2 hours for me, taking all the pictures. On the other hand, the populated neighborhood of Rangsdorf makes interception by the locals more likely. While not particularly rich of communist remains, the buildings in the base are still mostly in place, so visiting can be satisfactory also for photographers interested in architecture.

Brand

Getting there and moving around

The area of the former big airbase of Brand is associated to a fairly well-known attraction of our days – Tropical Island. This amusement park, which is officially indicated as an attraction even on highway N.13, connecting Berlin to Cottbus and the border with Poland, was built inside a colossal, modern hangar, designed for airships around the year 2000. This can be spotted from quite afar.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

A large area of the former airbase is – from a viewpoint of urban exploration – compromised. The former runway has been turned into a huge parking area, whereas a luxury tropical-themed resort with bungalows and camping lots for mobile homes has been built in the western part of the airport. Most taxiways have been either recycled as alleys in the park, or literally removed. Some of the many aircraft shelters of this once prominent attack base have been converted to host other forms of business, ranging from restaurants to hay storages.

All the part connected with leisure business, which corresponds to everything north of Tropical-Islands-Allee – also named road L711 and going east from highway N.13 to the near village of Krausnick, where a small memorial to the Soviet actions in WWII can be found – is actively guarded by private guards, with their own small modern barracks close to the gate of the complex, and moving around by car.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

In striking contrast with this, shrouded in the vegetation to the south of the same road, roughly cross the street with respect to the entrance to the Tropical Island complex, it is possible to find a conspicuous amount of Soviet relics, basically unguarded. All accesses to the roads going south is physically interdicted to cars, so parking may be not obvious in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the park. I suggest going past the gate along L711 and driving towards Krausnick to find an unofficial but safe parking spot between the roadside and the limit of the forest, away from suspicious eyes.

Another part of great interest for war historians include the storage for nuclear warheads, typical to Brand and other few bases in the GDR. This is rather distant – about 1.8 miles southeast – from the airport area and Soviet housing. The original connection road – not accessible by car – is straight and very long, with little to offer in terms of relics. For exploring that part of the site I suggest driving to Krausnick from Tropical Island, and taking the L71 pointing southwest towards the village of Schönwalde. The road runs deep in the trees, and at some point it comes about .6 mile to the site of interest. You may park on the roadside, on one of the many service roads used by woodcutters and reach the place with a quick walk following one of those trails.

Take your time studying the area in advance on Google Maps, and choose what option best suits your needs.

You may also have a look at aerial pictures of the base, taken during a special flight over the area, described in this report.

Sights

Before being turned into a civil airport and then into an amusement park, Brand was one of the largest Soviet bases in the GDR, with flocks of MiG-21, 23, 27 stationing here, as well as Sukhoi Su-15 and even Su-27 in the final years of operation. Most notably, the base was selected already in the 1960s for storing air-launched nuclear warheads – together with Finsterwalde and Rechlin/Lärz (see this post). This led to the construction of a purpose-built reinforced storage bunker, which can still be seen. As pointed out before, there are two main focus areas in a visit to this installation.

The first is the ghost town for the troops once stationed here, and for their families. This is incredibly close to Tropical Island, but the contrast between the aura of these two places couldn’t be more striking!

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

There are residential buildings from various Soviet models, mostly three-four storeys buildings possibly from the Fifties-Sixties, but also some more imposing pre-fabricated buildings possibly dating from as recently as the Eighties.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

Walking alone in this once lively village, with traces of playgrounds, mailboxes, lamps along walkways now invaded by vegetation, and even a swimming pool with some dead water in it, was for me one of the weirdest and creepiest experiences ever!

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

Unfortunately, from the pics you can’t feel the unreal silence where the place was immersed – the only sounds were those of the wind blowing in the trees and of some door slamming somewhere within the buildings… you would expect a zombie, some ghost troopers or a mutant monster coming out to meet you at every time!

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

Most of the buildings are in relatively good overall condition, but almost nothing survives of the interior of the apartments – which may collapse at every time and should not be accessed. By looking closely at some tires in a playground you can spot cyrillic characters on them – maybe they come from a consumed nose wheel of a MiG? The lamps are of the usual model commonly found in Soviet bases.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

To the west of the residential area there is a similarly extensive zone with a great number of possibly former barracks or technical buildings. Almost all of them have been half-demolished by destroying the roof – I think this was made in purpose, for literally all buildings in this part have encountered the same fate. The style of these buildings suggests they are older than most of the housing. This is confirmed by comparing historical photographs of the base from above.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

Among the most prominent buildings in the area, it is possible to find a former school, with an imposing façade of classical inspiration.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

To the back of the school building a small gym can be found. The roof has collapsed – or it was demolished – long ago, so that some trees are growing inside – no more basketball here!

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

A highlight of the exploration in this area is a huge mosaic wall with the head of Lenin. This item is a bit of a mystery, cause it’s hard to imagine it was originally placed where it is standing today – there is no architectural ‘frame’ supporting the monument nor a backstage completing it – it looks like a decorated floor, but placed in a vertical position!

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base

Anyway, the sight is of course very uncommon, and I would say unique in the panorama of communist-themed art in the former GDR.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

Close by the ghost town, three aircraft shelters remain to the south of the road marking the ideal border with the ‘Tropical Island domain’. These can be accessed and explored. Among other particular features, it is possible to spot the rusty engine for opening the gates of one of them. These shelters could host aircraft up to the size of a MiG-23/27.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

The second part of interest in Brand is the bunker for nuclear warheads. As stated above, this was built really far to the southeast from the housing and from the airport, differently from the other two bases in the GDR where similar bunkers were built (see this post). A straight connection road links the two portions of the base.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

Traces of the further line of inner fence built around this area can be found today. The good quality tarmac of the roads have survived to this day.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

The bunker is not accessible, the main gate blocked with a pile of land. Nonetheless, it is still visible and fairly well-preserved – even the camouflage above the front door – as you can see from a comparison with a photo from when the bunker was being used.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

On the crane-supporting structures ahead of the entrance you can find traces of cyrillic writings.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

There is a truck-loading dock nearby and several larger and smaller service buildings and garages. On some of the walls you can find ‘unofficial’ writing in cyrillic alphabet.

Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand - Abandoned Soviet Base
Flugplatz Brand – Abandoned Soviet Base

In both parts of the base I didn’t meet a single person during my exploration, which lasted about 3.5-4 hours in total, including the time for transfer from a trailhead to the other. When I visited, Tropical Island was closed for the season, with many people going in and out for maintenance. There were also tourists with mobile-homes and caravans, and guards with their cars. Anyway, during the exploration of the Soviet housing, which is really close to Tropical Island, I didn’t see a person, and as pointed out the place was unnaturally silent! The part of the nuclear warhead bunker is also very remote, and more obviously I didn’t come across anybody.

All in all, even though a substantial part of Brand has been converted into something else, what remains here is a great fun to visit, with tons of photo opportunities, a very intense ‘Soviet-ghost aura’ and much to see also for curious war historians. The countryside is pleasant and even though some walking is required, the place is nice to walk and very enjoyable. And if you feel tired, you can always decide to switch off your camera and enter Tropical Island for a relaxing rest-of-the-day!

Köthen

Getting there and moving around

The base was located immediately south of the homonym village, itself 10 miles southwest of the larger and famous town of Dessau. The entire premises of the former large Soviet base of Köthen have been converted for housing or into industrial facilities, currently run by several companies. The former airside of the base with the runway has been covered by a huge field of solar cells. As a result, visiting as tourists is strictly speaking not possible.

Possibly the only exception – in theory – is the southernmost hangar, which bears traces of the original camouflage, and the prominent portraits of Lenin, Marx and Engels on its side. The hangar is in the hands of a private energy-related company. The area around is fenced. I simply drove in as a visitor, from the road through the open gate, on the company premises all the way to the building. Access is from road K2074, roughly .4 miles south of the crossing with road 185, to the right when going south.

I asked for permission to a worker, and he cordially allowed me to move around a bit and take pictures outside of the building. Then I met another individual, possibly the village idiot having some time in the open air – surely not a worker, he was in shorts and accompanied by a little girl, very weird in a place like that! – who intimated me to leave, with some impolite and intimidating gesture also on the menu. Preferring not to start a litigation and attract attention from the workers, I left, with the pictures I had taken up to that moment. With a better luck, exploring this part of the former base should be easy and more rewarding. However, since moving around at will is clearly not possible on private grounds, the visit may be of just a few minutes in any case, making for an ideal quick detour for those passing by.

Sights

The Soviet base of Köthen was once a prominent part of the arsenal, hosting for long decades during the Cold War Soviet flying groups almost every type of MiG fighter, from MiG-15 down to MiG-29. The base was complemented with modern reinforced aircraft shelters since the 1960s, and a multi-purpose Granit-type bunker was erected later, for employment as a storage for munitions.

The only part of the former premises of this once large base which is today partly preserved and (theoretically, see directions above) visible is one of the main hangars. The construction, flanked by two low-rise towers, shows the actual origin of the facility, which dates to the years of the Third Reich. Actually, the area was busy with flying activities since even earlier (1920s).

The hangar is relatively low in height, with sliding doors closing it to the front, and painted in a brown-greenish camo coat. Inside, today a huge pile of manure can be found, arguably employed for some chemical process (the company holding the building runs an energy-related business).

The most interesting sight is represented by two medallions, with pretty unusual portraits of Lenin, Marx and Engels, in black over a white background. Besides the portrait of Lenin, to the left of the front door of the hangar, an inscription in Russian quoting a thought of Lenin on the army can be found as well.

Flugplatz Köthen – Converted Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Köthen – Converted Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Köthen – Converted Soviet base in the GDR

The medallions, inscriptions and camouflage appear rather well kept. Even a small plaque with a German translation of the inscription can be found.

Flugplatz Köthen – Converted Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Köthen – Converted Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Köthen – Converted Soviet base in the GDR

This witnesses an interesting example of a welcome and uncommon preservation effort, making a short visit to this facility interesting at least for the more committed Cold War historian.

Nohra

Getting there and moving around

The former Soviet helicopter base of Nohra used to take a sizable area both to the north and south of road 7, connecting Weimar to Erfurt. However, the base was accurately eradicated, and virtually no trace of it (except what remains of a half demolished helicopter hangar) can be seen to the north of the road. The territory has been returned to agriculture or taken over by industrial facilities, therefore even the original general appearance of the base is impossible to retrace.

Similarly, the area to the south of road 7 has been cleared of almost every trace from its aeronautical past. The only relics, described in the paragraph below, can be found along Pappelallee, which runs parallel to road 7, and can be accessed from its western end from road 85.

Along Pappelallee the old entrance to the pre-existent Third Reich base, in the typical style of the 1930s, can be clearly spotted. Today, a bed & breakfast operates this gate building, which was employed also by the Soviets. Going through would give direct access to the perspective leading to the second highlight of the place, a preserved statue of Lenin. However, going through is not possible. The statue can be reached walking along the road parting to the south of Pappelallee, from a little west from the bed & breakfast. You can leave your car close to the gate buildings, away from the road, and walk along this trail. The statue is in the focus of a perspective, and hard to miss.

Going there is not unlawful, there are no prohibition sign and no fence, plus the statue is clearly preserved.

The area around the statue has been completely reforested, so no dangerous building are to be found in the area. Since some walk is involved, a visit to this site may take about 30 minutes.

Sights

The base of Nohra was established back in WWI, and was potentiated by the Third Reich Luftwaffe from 1936 onwards. By the end of WWII, it was captured by US forces, who had to hand it over to the Soviets in July, following post-war agreements.

It was then potentiated into one of the largest helicopter bases of the Soviets in the GDR, with virtually every type of Mil helicopter being flown from here over the years, including the mighty Mil-24 over the last two decades of the Cold War.

Today, as noted in the previous paragraph, the former airbase has been completely and accurately wiped out, so that its very existence could not be suspected by unaware subjects driving along the busy roads between Erfurt and Weimar.

Curiously, two small preserved portions indeed exist, making for an interesting detour when visiting the area.

The original gate buildings of the old Luftwaffe military installation can be clearly spotted along the road. The style shows the typical features and elegance of German architecture from pre-WWII period – totally incompatible with the generally shabby appearance of Soviet architectures from the post-war period.

The original gate facility is today privately owned. However, when open, the gate between the two wings of the facility allow to spot a statue of Lenin, placed to the far end of an alley departing from the gate.

Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR

Luckily, access to the statue is possible with a short walk (see paragraph with directions above). The statue today is basically in a small forest of trees, and its location appears quite inexplicable. However, getting closer to it and moving around, traces of painted signs on a small network of asphalt roads witness the existence of a populated area once around its location. Clearly, with all buildings demolished and tall trees in their place, the scenery is not any more typical for a statue of Lenin…

Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR

Interestingly, the statue has been actively preserved – an unusual sight in the GDR panorama. The communist leader is portrayed in its typical appearance, moving forward in a proactive attitude. To the back of the statue, a curtain wall painted in crimson is likely part of the original installation.

Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR

The quality of the statue appears pretty good, when zooming on it.

Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Nohra – Former Soviet base in the GDR

All in all, despite the complete disappearance of Nohra, this preserved fragment represents an important trace of a significant chapter in the history of this area, otherwise irreversibly released into oblivion.

Brandis/Waldpolenz

Getting there and moving around

Brandis is located about 10 miles west of Leipzig city center, immediately west of the homonym village.

Differently from most former Soviet bases in the GDR, what remains of Brandis – i.e. what was not taken over by solar cells and private companies – has been left free to explore for the general public. Therefore, access to the few buildings still standing on site – which include some big old hangars, as well as technical buildings, housing and more – is possible in many ways and from many directions.

This was not my own choice, but in hindsight, the most convenient way to access the premises is getting as close as possible to the buildings in the northern part of the base and park your car, then moving around by foot. A choice for parking is where Am Alten Flugplatz changes name into Falkenallee. Car access to the latter is impeded, but you can park by the obstacles put in place, and move by foot from there.

All accessible buildings are located to the north and northwest of the base. Its original premises, including the runway area and taxiways, are now mostly taken over by solar cells. For the rest they are crossed by public roads, making the perception of the original limits of the base and its original design not so evident.

The very poor condition of most buildings will not appeal much to war historians, possibly more to urban explorers. However, since the base is sizable, the time for a thorough exploration is at least 2 hours after having parked.

Sights

The base of Brandis has a complex history, as usual dating back to the Third Reich era. It was selected for the deployment of the rocket-powered Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet, and from 1944, thanks to the direct railway connection, an ambitious program for the final assembly and operation of this interceptor was started. The war ended with the defeat of Germany before the conversion was completed. Buildings from the Luftwaffe era include at least three big hangars with a wooden door, a control tower, some official buildings, and apparently a number of smaller technical buildings.

The Soviets employed the place mostly for early jets and later (from the 1960s) for transport and attack helicopters. However, from the 1970s the base was potentiated significantly (including the addition of housing and service buildings for the families of the Soviet troops), and became active with Su-25, which were stationed here until the then-Russian military left the facility in 1992. Apparently – and unusually – no reinforced aircraft shelters were ever built by the Soviets in Brandis, preferring laterally-reinforced open-air parking bays and a large open apron (the latter similar to Sperenberg, see here).

As noted above (paragraph on directions), most of the base is gone today, with a huge solar plant having covered most of the former airside, including the runway and the huge area south of it, formerly employed for helicopter operations. Furthermore, some private companies now occupy part of the area between the hangars and the tower.

Therefore, the focus of a visit is in the hangars and tower (immediately north of the former runway), the technical buildings to the west, and the housing and service buildings along the northern perimeter.

The old hangars are three. The one to the northwest of the former airside is home to a big inscription in Russian, mentioning the 28th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Also some other inscriptions can be seen on the southern wall, barely emerging from the graffiti layer.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Apparently, in this hangar early jet drones were stationed by the Soviets in the late 1980s.

The central hangar is bigger. Its original wooden front door is pretty well preserved. Inside, the main hall is sided by technical rooms along the solid walls. Some of them are easier to access from outside through the broken windows!

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Close to this hangar, a few yards to the west, is the old control tower. Despite heavily stricken by writers and spoilers, this building is an interesting example of architecture from the Third Reich era.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Behind this main hangar and close to the tower, it is possible to retrace original internal roads of the base, thanks to the lights and the now overgrown hedges once framing them. Not far north from this area, major housing from the 1970s can be found.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

In the same area, a mystery building with a curved ceiling – a technical building of some sort – offers some relics like Soviet boots and damaged clothes.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Again close to the hangar, some pipelines and some exhausted tires can be found. The labels of the latter clearly bear Russian markings.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

A last big hangar can be found somewhat further east. The wooden door, left partly open, has been penetrated by the vegetation, creating an unusual scenery.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

An interesting sight in this hangar is an original ‘No smoking’ writing in German. This is apparently in a Third Reich era font, and may be a fascinating witness of the original tenancy of the airbase. Needless to say, the inscription now barely emerges from a thick coat of meaningless ‘works of art’…

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

The housing and service buildings along the northern perimeter of the base clearly date from different ages. The gigantic facade of some of the houses clearly betray a post-1970 building approach.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Unfortunately, all these buildings are in very poor conditions, just the walls and stairs remain, and they are literally covered in graffiti. Thanks to the severe spoiling action carried out by the writers, the ghost aura of former Soviet bases is hard to feel here – everything looks more like a rotting poor neighborhood of a big town.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

To the west of the base, possibly an old railway or truck-loading facility can be found, maybe from the Third Reich era.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Close by, an array of smaller technical buildings, apparently garages, reveal some interesting writing in old-German characters. Also these buildings are possibly from the Luftwaffe tenancy of the airbase.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Finally, a highlight of the visit is what appears to be an old school building. Here an incredible mural of a Soviet soldier honoring the Red Banner, the flag of the USSR, can be found in the hall on top of the stairs.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

A little bit of respect has been shown by the usual writers, who massively attacked all the rest of this building similar to all others. Thus this fragment of the original Soviet decoration of the airbase is still surviving. Besides the soldier are other troops, with interesting facial appearances, resembling some different ethnicity from within the USSR. Also some writing in Russian is visible in the background.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Other naive paintings can be found around this building, including 18th century characters, a few trees, and other cartoon characters, today not recognizable. Most of these innocent paintings however have been targeted by spoilers.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR
Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Along the external perimeter of the base, now not obvious to retrace, some rusty parts of the original high-security fence can still be found.

Flugplatz Brandis/Waldpolenz – Abandoned Soviet base in the GDR

Aircraft and Missiles Around Tucson

CarloRLeave a comment

The dry desert ranges of southern Arizona make for a perfect habitat for warbirds – the almost null humidity percentage and ‘sky clear’ conditions prevailing year round are particularly attractive when it comes to store rust and corrosion-prone pieces of machinery, like aircraft are.

For this reason the region between Phoenix and the border with Mexico is scattered with larger and smaller aircraft-centered businesses, going from pure airplane and engine storages, to refurbishment shops, parts resellers and so on.

Of course, if you own an old aircraft you would like to preserve, it would be a good deal finding a place in the area. This is what some people from the Government must have thought when they placed the famous AMARG in Tucson, in the southernmost part of Arizona. It was likely the same motivation which brought the largest private collection of aircraft in the world – Pima Air & Space Museum – down to the same location.

These two attractions, both perfectly accessible on a regular basis, already make a visit to Tucson a true ‘must’ for aviation-minded people. But the area offers also another unique site surely to be found in the shortlist of every aviation enthusiast – the only inter-continental ballistic missile silo you can visit in the US!

In this chapter you can see a series of photographs I took during a memorable two-days visit to these places back in 2012.

The 309th AMARG at Davis-Monthan AFB – Tucson, AZ

The acronym AMARG stands for ‘Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group’, a group which is operating under the Air Force Materiel Command. The most conspicuous part of their facility at the Air Force Base of Davis-Monthan – also home to the 355th FW – is a huge open-air storage area in the desert. This is made of two parts.

The first is where surplus aircraft from the various branches of the Armed Forces of the US and some of their Allies are stored. Before being placed out on the desert, these aircraft are treated to better preserve them, sealing all doors, windows, holes and slots. Some parts are covered in a special white rubber coating, to protect them from direct sunlight exposure. The process can be inverted, and all aircraft preserved in these conditions can be re-activated and return fully operational.

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

The aircraft stored here in a mothballed condition are really many and make for an unbelievable sight! You will not find the same amount of planes in the same spot anywhere else in the world! And if you think this is just the ‘not strictly necessary part’ of the Armed Forces, well, it’s hard to imagine what the sight of all the aircraft on duty would be like!

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

In the same part of the installation there is also a kind of ‘commemoration alley’, where an exemplar for almost every model ever stored on the base have been preserved, so as to keep memory of the past activities of the AMARG. These aircraft are placed to the sides of a straight road in a mothballed condition.

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

The second main part of the AMARG is known as ‘the boneyard’, and it looks more like a huge scrapyard. Here aircraft which are not intended to ever return to active service are stored. Thanks to the good climate, their condition probably appears more derelict than it actually is. Most aircraft here are used as donors for spare parts to supply others still on duty. The business is not limited to within the national borders. At the time of my visit, there were still many General Dynamics F-111, which until recently had been used to supply spare parts to the Royal Australian Air Force, which had just finished to phase out that model from active service.

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

Geographically in the same area of ‘the boneyard’, it is possible to see also some larger aircraft on storage, up in size to the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, plus some unique exemplars, like the incredible Boeing YAL-1, a modified 747-400 mounting an experimental laser cannon!

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

There are also some large missiles, and some mystery aircraft with civil markings, as well as a less attractive but really important asset – all the factory rigs necessary for re-booting the production of discontinued plane models.

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

Other items not on shortage here are jet engines. There are hundreds of them, some stored in dedicated cases, some just placed on a sand lot in open air.

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

The AMARG is very busy also with maintenance and conversion activities. At the time of my visit, they were working on the conversion of some McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom into target drones for weapons testing.

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

Leaving the installation you can spot close to the fence of the airbase – and besides a parking area for sequestered cars – a small deposit for aircraft. I don’t know much about it, but noticed a pretty good number of interesting items, especially a series of Grumman Albatross.

AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan

Visiting

This is an active military installation, and visiting is managed only by the Pima Air & Space Museum through a special agreement with the Air Force. The museum is located at a short distance from Davis-Monthan, just south of downtown Tucson. You will need to go to the museum reception to arrange a visit. Tours are offered on a regular basis, but it is not possible to book tickets, so you will need to go early to make sure you get your tickets. Full info from the website of the tour here.

The visit will take a couple of hours in total. You will board an air conditioned bus and you will tour the AMARG facilities without stepping off, which is nice as the temperature maybe crazy outside. The guide during my visit was a friendly former Super Sabre pilot and war veteran. Taking pictures was allowed at the time of my visit, except when military personnel were in the scope of your camera and in some specific spots your guide told us. A very enjoyable visit to a truly unique place! Totally recommended for aviation enthusiasts.

Pima Air & Space Museum – Tucson, AZ

Besides being the largest privately run collection of aircraft in the world, this museum has adopted a very interesting acquisition policy and also boasts an active restoration facility, making the place interesting not only for plenty of aircraft, but also for their variety and condition of preservation.

The museum is organized with some large hangars, close to the reception and gift shop, a huge open-air part and some smaller hangars scattered over the property.

The first hangars showcase some items from the collection which were restored to a very good non-flying condition. These include a very rare Martin PBM-5 Mariner, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, an A-10 Warthog, a F-14 Tomcat and a F-4 Phantom! Also a super rare North American F-107 is part of the collection. Already enough for a visit, these are just a starter…

Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum

On the outside you will find a representative for virtually any model ever in service with the USAF or the Navy since the Fifties, from fighters to bombers, transport and observation aircraft.

Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
AMARG Davis-Monthan
AMARG Davis-Monthan
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum

These include a B-47 Stratojet, two B-52 Stratofortress, a B-36 Peacemaker – it looks like a real monster even parked outside, where things look shorter! – and some special aircraft, like a ski-equipped C-130, a veteran of operation ‘Deep Freeze’ to Antarctica, a Super Guppy and the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker christianed “Weightless Wonder V”, used for parabolic zero-gravity flights.

Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum

In a somewhat secluded part of the open-air exhibition you will find a shortlist of extremely rare aircraft, including a Beechcraft 2000 Starship, a twin turboprop design by Burt Rutan with a canard configuration, made for the executive market, and a Budd RB-1 Conestoga, an aircraft proposed during WWII when an aluminium shortage was feared, and mainly made of steel! Both models never entered serial production. Nearby there is also a Boeing YC-14 prototype, which participated in a competition for a STOL aircraft to replace the C-130.

Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum

Other highlights on the outside include a Convair B-58 Hustler and a Douglas VC-118 Liftmaster – a version of the Douglas DC-6 propliner – serving as Air Force One transporting Presidents Kennedy and Johnson on some official travels. But the list of interesting aircraft here would be really long!

Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum

Some aircraft in the exhibition are pretty rare to find at least in this part of the world. These include a French Sud Aviation Caravelle passenger aircraft, several British aircraft including a Fairey Gannet, and also some Soviet models.

Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum

The restoration facility could not be toured during my visit, but on the outside I could spot a rare Avro Shackleton patrol aircraft from the Fleet Air Arm – an unexpected sight in the desert of Arizona!

Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum

Among the warbirds preserved in the smaller hangars, a B-17, B-24 and B-29 from WWII are surely worth mentioning. Another interesting sight is one of NASA’s X-15 rocket planes.

Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum

You can choose to tour the huge open-air exhibition with special covered trolleys departing at certain times instead of moving around alone. I elected to go on my own, but I experienced a certain level of dehydration – as it is typical in deserts, a combination of intense sunlight, hot air temperature and very low humidity triggers intense perspiration from your skin, but this goes unnoticed to you, for sweat evaporates fast and has not the time to accumulate to form droplets, so you don’t realize anything strange is happening… until your mind starts to feel light and your legs very heavy! Luckily, there is a restaurant offering cold drinks inside the museum – there I consumed the fastest ‘tall size’ of Coke in my life during my visit!

Visiting

The museum is open year round and almost every day. Check the website here for further info. The location is quite close to downtown Tucson, and can be easily reached by car.

To help your plans, if you are an aviation enthusiast consider that the combination of a visit to this museum and the AMARG facility described above will easily fill a 1-day schedule, for this collection is extra-large and also very interesting. This is especially true if you are interested in taking pictures – something you are encouraged to do by the clean, perfect light typical of desert areas.

I visited in August and the temperature was very high. You can bear it easily thanks to the low humidity rate, but be sure to take precautions to avoid dehydration. Visiting in other seasons may be indicated to enjoy milder climatic conditions.

Titan Missile Museum – Sahuarita, AZ

This museum encompasses a full Titan II missile launch facility. The Titan II was constituted by a liquid propelled, two-stages missile capable of reaching targets more than 6000 miles away, transporting a 9 megaton W-53 thermonuclear warhead, the most powerful ever deployed operationally by the US.

There were just above 50 such launch sites in the US, in southern Arizona, Kansas and Arkansas, and this is the only one which can be visited today. The operational life of the missile spanned from the early Sixties to the mid-Eighties. Even though it was soon superseded by the Minuteman missile fleet, the mighty Titan II remains a true icon of the Cold War era.

Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum

Being more than 100 ft tall and weighing around 350’000 lb, this missile could not be moved easily, and was in fact kept in a concrete interred silo specifically built around it. The cylinder-shaped silo is a relatively small part of the installation, which is composed also of a number of underground passages, control rooms, staircases, storages, safety doors, air ducts, cables and literally tons of equipment.

The whole site was designed to withstand the blast of a nuclear attack directed to the silo, itself a designated target for the enemy of the time – the Soviet Union. To this aim, a large part of the structures in the underground facility are standing on a complicated elastic base, with springs and dampers to compensate for intense vibrations coming from the ground in case of a nuclear attack.

Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum

During your visit to the museum you will receive a briefing about the history of the Titan II in a service house. You will be given a helmet before accessing the underground control part.

The most interesting stop in this area is by the control room of the missile, where the condition of all systems was constantly kept under control. It was from here that the missile could be armed and launched in case an attack was authorized. During the visit you are shown a simulation of the launch sequence. This is a very lively experience, for all control panels are lighted on as they used to be when the system was actually working!

Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum

After exploring a bit of the underground site, you reach the inside of the cylindrical silo, where a Titan II is still standing today. Here you can appreciate the monstrous size of this ICBM, and the complexity of the system – many pipes going in and out, cables and other systems.

Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum

In the final part of the visit you leave the underground facility and return to the ground level, where you can have a look at some pieces of machinery like dismounted rocket engines, pumps and other equipment connected with the function of the site.

Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum
Titan II Missile Museum

All in all, this museum represents a unique destination for aviation enthusiasts as well as historians, veterans of the Cold War and everybody with a fascination for relics of the duel between the two Superpowers. Even if you are not an expert, you will be astonished by the size and complexity of this missile, so there is definitely something for everybody in this site!

Visiting

The Titan museum is located south of Sahuarita, less than 15 miles south of Tucson, AZ, along the I-19 going to the Mexican border.

The museum is actually a friend of the Pima Air & Space Museum, but it is a separated entity, so timetables are different. Visiting is possible only through guided tours, which are organized on a regular basis. Full information from their website. They also offer special-themed tours to usually inaccessible parts of the site. Taking pictures is possible anywhere, for the installation is today decommissioned and declassified.

Touring the underground facility may ba a little uncomfortable when moving in groups – the rooms where not intended for tourist groups! -, there are several flights of stairs and the terrain is sometimes uneven. That said, for the average person there is really nothing to worry about during the visit.