The Aeronautical Museum of Belgrade

May 2, 2020May 9, 2020 CarloRLeave a comment

With a few parallels in aviation history, especially in the years immediately following WWII, former Yugoslavia benefited from supplies by a great number of countries. As a matter of fact, the air force of this newborn communist republic was formed at first from leftovers of retreating Germany and conquering Britain, followed by the establishment of a supply line initially from the USSR, and later the US and again Britain.

The special political ability of marshal Tito, who ruled uncontested as a communist dictator since the foundation of Yugoslavia in 1945 until his death in 1980, and the credit he benefited from especially in Britain, allowed him to keep out of the sphere of influence of the USSR since 1948. In a strategic position on the border with NATO countries like Italy and Greece, Tito adopted a detente policy of ‘equal-distance’ between the two opposing blocs over the Cold War period (even though NATO did not trust him fully, as testified by the deployment of a SAM defense line in northeastern Italy, see this post).

Of course, most of the military supply was of Soviet make, especially after the death of Stalin and well until the end of communism in Europe and the bloody fragmentation of the Yugoslav state. However, concerning civil aviation, autonomy from Moscow allowed the adoption of western aircraft, like the French Aerospatiale Caravelle and much of the Boeing and McDonnell-Douglas inventory, in the major national airline JAT – something which happened very rarely anywhere in the communist bloc over the years of the Cold War, another notable instance being Romania, again a ‘semi-autonomous’ communist dictatorship, who refused the Soviet Tupolev Tu-134 in favor of license-built British BAC 1-11s.

Another effect of the autonomy from the USSR was the creation of a national aviation industry, which especially in the case of SOKO, produced military trainers and light attack aircraft of good success, which despite ageing, are still flying today.

More recently, the fierce conflicts raging over the Balkans in the 1990s have created a major active front for modern aviation, where the air force of Serbia – which inherited the geographically central part of Yugoslavia and its capital city, Belgrade – confronted the NATO alliance in an open conflict. The unbalance of forces allowed the western coalition to quickly establish air superiority, which did not come without a few notable material losses however.

A rich display of this peculiar aviation history, actually tracing back to WWI and the early years of aviation, can be found in the Aeronautical Museum of Belgrade, which despite being in today’s Serbia, acts as a kind of Yugoslav Aviation Museum. As a matter of fact, it was founded as such back in the years of Tito, and opened in its current building nearby ‘Nikola Tesla’ civil airport of Belgrade in 1989, when Yugoslavia was still a reality.

This short post provides an outline of what you can find in this museum, with photographs taken on a visit in April 2019.

Sights

The museum occupies a relatively large area in the vicinity of the airport of Belgrade, and is made of an open-air exhibition, open-air storage area, and big mushroom-shaped building hosting an indoor exhibition.

The ‘gate guardian’ is a SOKO J-21 Jastreb, a nice light multi-role aircraft from the 1960s, powered by a British Rolls-Royce Viper jet engine.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbian Aviation

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Indoor exhibition

The entry hall of the mushroom-shaped building features is a good example of the architectural style from the late communist era. The ground floor hosts a small exhibition about the early days of aviation in the former region of the Balkans, with documents from WWI years. Among the items on display, you can find early pilot’s licenses from notable war pilots, likely granted after training abroad, and actually written in French.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

The main hall of the museum can be found upstairs. This large can be walked on two levels. Most aircraft are to be found on the lower level, but a few are suspended to the glassy circular sidewall of the mushroom, lighted from behind by the sunlight – so that taking pictures is just a nightmare!

The centerpiece of the collection is an exemplar of the SOKO J-22 Orao, a twin-engined – two Rolls-Royce Viper turbofans – light ground-attack and trainer aircraft from the 1970s. Designed jointly by Yugoslavia and Romania, this model equipped the Yugoslav (then Serbian) air force during the 1990s, where a handful exemplars are still flying today.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Indeed a clean design with an interesting performance, this aircraft was possibly the last heir of the Ikarus-then-SOKO lineage, originated back in the years before WWII. In this respect, some unique exemplars of aircraft are preserved in this museum, witnessing the existence of a school of skilled aircraft designers in Serbia, not much known in the western world.

A key figure of the Ikarus design bureau, Dragoljub Beslin led the design of Ikarus S-451, a nice, very small, twin-prop attack aircraft flown in 1951, especially designed to sustain high load factors in maneuvers at high speed.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Another unique specimen is the twin-jet Ikarus 451M, the first jet aircraft built by Yugoslavia. Same designer as the S-451, this unusual jet-engined taildragger flew in 1952, but was soon superseded by more modern models, in those years of quick-paced development of aviation technology. Again, the engines were from the West, in the form of two French Turbomeca Palas turbojets.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Another member of the ‘Ikarus 451’ family – it must be said this Yugoslav one is likely the oddest model numbering systems ever created… – the T 451 MM Strsljen (Hornet) features a more convincing configuration, resembling the single-engined British BAC Jet Provost and the Italian Macchi MB 326, both rather successful trainers from the late 1950s. On display is actually the ‘Strsljen II’ version, which is a attack/training version with more thrust than the first series aircraft. This model was conceived to operate from unprepared runways, and featured two Turbomeca Marbore II French turbojets. The aircraft flew in 1958, but an air force contract was not granted.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Some functional wind tunnel models of other aircraft, actually never reaching the 1:1 prototype stage, are on display. These include a rare ekranoplane design, the UTVA 754. With a mechanic-monster-like appearance like all ekranoplanes (the most famous being probably the Bertini-Beriev preserved at the Russian Air Force Museum in Monino, see here), this machine was designed in 1982 in the then-Yugoslav town of Zagreb, today the capital city of Croatia.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

A medevac aircraft conceived for easy conversion between floats and wheels, the UTVA 66H can be visited also inside. The indigenous SOKO is represented by a number of models. These include the SOKO G-2 Galeb, a successful trainer/light attack aircraft from the 1950s, built around a single Rolls-Royce Viper turbofan. During its long history it was exported to several international operators, and gave birth to the more recent SOKO J-21 Jastreb. The Galeb was in service with Serbia until 1999.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Another section of the museum features aircraft of foreign make which witness the intricate history of alliances of both the pre-WWII Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the post-WWII communist Yugoslavia. Most remarkably, these include a Messerschmitt Bf-109-G! The history of this particular aircraft is not very clear, some sources stating it was captured from Bulgarian air force. As a matter of fact, Yugoslavia acquired about 70 Bf-109-E from Germany in 1940, which in turn furiously invaded from north in a quick an violent campaign in spring 1941.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Next in line is nothing less than a British Hawker Hurricane! A group of Hurricanes were acquired from Britain in the immediate pre-war years, and even license-built in Belgrade in a small number – Yugoslavia apparently purchased aircraft seamlessly from both opponents at the outbreak of WWII. Later on, Hurricane-equipped squadrons of Yugoslavia fought back on the side of the Allies from bases in southern Italy, finally regaining control over the Balkans.

In a similar fashion, a Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V witnesses the involvement of British-supplied national air force squadrons in the liberation of Yugoslavia from the German invaders.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

In the closing years of WWII, Yugoslavia benefited also from the help of the USSR. This is witnessed by a massive – and pretty rare, out of former soviet republics! – Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik. This big attack aircraft, possibly the most famous Soviet aircraft of WWII, equipped three squadrons in the Yugoslav air force, and helped in the fight on the so-called ‘Srem front’ north of Belgrade. An often overlooked sector of the European front, substantial operations were carried out since late 1944 until April 1945, with the forces of Nazi Germany slowly retreating under the offensive of the Red Army (including Bulgarian divisions) and of Yugoslavia from the south. These operations involved 250’000 troops on either side, thus engaging the Germans and draining resources from mainland defense. At that time, an entire division of the Yugoslav air force were equipped with this aircraft type, kept in service until the 1950s.

Similarly, an elegant WWII Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter of Soviet make can be found nearby in the colors of Yugoslavia.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

After the end of WWII, Tito was determined not to surrender his political and economic independence to Stalin. In this high-stake gamble, he made no secret of his thoughts, and sought international recognition from the west. As expected, Stalin showed no sense of humor in that matter, and as the USSR broke relationships with Yugoslavia, this country faced the risk of isolation and of Soviet invasion in the early stage of the Cold War (late 1940s).

Over the years, the good relationship established with the western Allies during WWII were strengthened further, and most incredibly for a communist country, the US provided aircraft and helicopters, in the form of Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, Republic F-84G Thunderjet and (much later, in the early 1960s) North American F-86D ‘long-nosed’ Sabre.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

The years of Kennedy administration saw a significant improvement of the relationship between Tito and Khrushchev, and this led to a switch to Soviet aircraft in the form of the supersonic MiG-21, which equipped the Yugoslav air force in substantial numbers over the following two decades. An exemplar of this iconic and ubiquitous aircraft, an unquestionably well-performing aircraft in his age, is preserved in the museum. By the way, the early 1960s saw also the widespread adoption of SOKO Galeb trainers and the phase out of older British/US models.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Other peculiar exhibits in the indoor part of the museum are the wrecks resulting from air fight operations during the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990s. On the national (Yugoslav) side, the tail cone of a SOKO G-4 Super Galeb – a totally different design from the quasi-homonym G-2 – damaged by a shoulder-launched Stinger missile in 1991.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

But much more material is from NATO countries, resulting from combat during operation ‘Allied Force’ against Serbia in 1999. Most notably, you can see a substantial part of the wing of a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the famous stealth aircraft downed by a vintage Soviet SA-3 Goa surface-to-air missile in March 1999, as well as a landing gear, ejection seat, pilot’s helmet, Vulcan cannon and some smaller parts of a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon downed the following May, again due to an SA-3 missile. The first stage of the missile which hit the Nighthawk is on display too.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

These are basically the only aircraft lost in action over enemy territory during that operation.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

An apparently easier prey, General Atomics RQ-1 Predator UAVs were used in great numbers, some twenty of them being downed. One wrecked example is put on display.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

More items of the kind include parts of NATO missiles, including HARM anti-radiation missiles and cluster-bombs containers.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

On the upper level, you can find a mostly photographic exhibition mainly about the national carrier JAT. Interestingly, not a single Soviet-made model appears in the pictures, whereas you can find Boeing 707s, 727s, 737s, Douglas DC-9s, McDonnell-Douglas DC-10s, Aerospatiale Caravelles and ATR-42/72s – clearly a strong commercial bound with the West, pretty unusual for a communist country!

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Another Yugoslav airline started operations to a later date – Aviogenex. This apparently did use aircraft from the USSR, in particular Tupolev Tu-134s, later flanked by Boeing 737s. Aviogenex ceased operations much later than the end of Yugoslavia, and operated as a Serbian company for some years.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

One of the most iconic brutalist monstrosities in northern Belgrade is the skyscraper which used to host the headquarters of this airline – it looks like a good setting for some ‘Blade Runner’ or ‘Judge Dredd’ movie…

Some more panels include descriptions of airport history and modern operations in the nearby airport of Belgrade. The history line of the national aviation industry is also presented in detail through historical pictures.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Some more aircraft can be found on this level, as well as a SA-3 Goa missile in a non-operative paint scheme, likely for training or telemetry tuning purposes.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Outdoor exhibition

The large area around the building is split between a small outdoor exhibition prepared for the public, and a larger storage area with many more aircraft which can not be neared nor walked around.

The displayed aircraft include an Aerospatiale Caravelle in the colors of JAT. This exemplar was one of three operated by this airline, and was active between 1963 and 1976.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

A much elder transport, a German (French license-built) Junkers 52 with P&W engines represents a fleet of four such aircraft operated by the Yugoslav air force, complementing another group of originally German aircraft captured during the war.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

An aircraft of historical significance is an Ilyushin Il-14 twin-prop transport. This aircraft was a personal goodwill gift from Khrushchev to marshal Tito, and the founding member of Yugoslav presidential fleet.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

A couple of Lisunov Li-2 and some original Douglas C-47 Skytrain, of which the former is a license-built Soviet version, are on display, albeit not all complete. A MiG-21 Fishbed and a Kamov twin-rotor helicopter are also on display.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Another extremely rare item from the post-WWII years, a Short SA.6 Sealand amphibious aircraft of British make has made its way to Belgrade, after years as a transport aircraft in the Yugoslav air force.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

The non-visible part of the museum features a rather impressive collection of MiG-21 in several versions, SOKO J-21 Jastreb and SOKO J-20 Kraguj in a large number, a SA-2 Guideline soviet-made SAM launcher with two missiles, and a number of partly assembled aircraft and wrecks.

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

A mystery item is a part of an allegedly US aircraft, apparently a part of the tail empennage of a bigger transport – any suggestion about this item welcome!

Aeronautical Museum Belgrade Serbia Aviation

Visiting

The museum is located to the northwest of the airport of Belgrade. It can be easily reached by car from the access road going to the main terminal area. Website with info in English here. Parking ahead of the entrance.

The museum can be visited in about 2 hours by an interested subject, much less if you have just a mild interest in aviation. Much paneling is in double Serbian and English language, allowing to get the most from your visit.

Despite being fully operative, the place has a somewhat rotting appearance especially from the outside, as mostly typical to former state-run institutions in former Yugoslavia. Furthermore, some form of protection for the aircraft in the outside exhibition is hopefully to be considered by the management, otherwise the aircraft with literally disintegrate to the action of the elements in a matter of some years.

A Walk in Kiev – From Medieval Town to Post-Soviet Metropolis

March 17, 2019September 28, 2019 CarloRLeave a comment

Founded as a trading post back in the 5th century in the Ostrogoth region on the far eastern border of the Roman Empire, Kiev later grew to become the capital of the first ‘Rus’ in early medieval times. The ‘Rus’ embraced a vast territory between todays Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Western Russia. Centuries later, after a war lost against the Mongols and having changed hands more than once, it finally became part of the Czarist Empire.

In Soviet times, Kiev was the capital of the second largest Socialist Republic of the Union, i.e. the Ukraine. This large and fertile land, not subject to the exceptionally harsh winters typical to the majority of Russian territories, features a long coast with several port towns on the Black Sea, and since the Bolshevik Revolution and the Russian Civil War, it accounted for a good share of the population and workforce of the USSR.

Despite being kept in great consideration by the Soviet central government for its economic and military value, the Ukraine was among the fiercest opponents of the Bolshevik revolution back in the years of Lenin and the Russian Civil War. Some top-ranking Soviet leaders actually came from this Country, but that it remained separated from Russia even in Soviet times was not just by chance.

As a matter of fact, after the collapse of the USSR, the Ukraine immediately left for independence, entering a very difficult transitional phase, which is basically still lasting today. The general weakness of all recent presidential administrations, the claims of ownership over the former national industries and natural resources by private owners, and substantial border controversies with Russia, have produced living conditions for the population which are much lower than for other ex-USSR countries like Russia, the Baltics or Belarus.

All these pieces of national history are reflected in Kiev, a very large city where you hear echoes from all the eras of its complicated past. This chapter presents a quick account of the highlights of Kiev’s heritage from older and newer times, providing also an impression of how this town is evolving today. Photographs were taken in spring 2018, and portray a bit of everything, from spectacular Orthodox temples to gigantic Soviet statues, cannons from WWII, the Chernobyl Museum, panorama views of the city and more!

Map

The map below shows the location of everything described or portrayed in this post.

Pictures were taken mostly in central Kiev, itself a pretty extensive area, served by public transport, but more quickly and efficiently explored by taxi. As of today (2019), the cost of life for a visiting westerner is incredibly low, so even taking a taxi for every shift is not inconceivable.

Of course, there are some parts of the central district which are interesting to explore by walk, and if you are a well-trained type you might simply spend your day walking from a destination to the other – getting a more complete view of the city center, and avoiding traffic jams which constantly plague the city.

I really enjoy driving, but in Kiev I would not suggest moving around with a car on your own, cause traffic is really a nightmare, traffic flows are fuzzy and chaotic, so you may be easily wasting your time, letting aside the chance of accidents and damage to your car.

The central districts appear reasonably safe, so you may relax and move around by foot, taking all the pictures.

Sights

Saint Sophia’s Cathedral

If you want to start you exploration with a true masterpiece, then head directly to the very central Saint Sophia’s Cathedral. This glorious church and monastery founded around the year 1000 AD was renewed and modified over the centuries, but the main features of the central church have remained basically unaltered since its origin.

Kiev Saint Sophia

Kiev Architecture Panorama

Access to the monastery grounds are via the tall bell tower. You can also climb upstairs, very much advised to enjoy a very good view of Kiev’s central districts, including the nearby church of Saint Michael.

Kiev Saint Michael

Kiev Saint Sophia Panorama

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama Government

Kiev Architecture Panorama

Looking farther, you can appreciate the size of the outskirts of the city, which is really extensive. The typical Soviet/post-Soviet amenity of the most peripheral districts is readily apparent. There is also a plant looking like an oil power plant, with giant red and white chimneys, right in town.

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama

The majestic river Dnepr can be barely seen from here, looking east.

From the outside the church in the monastery – resembling the plan of Saint Sophia’s Cathedral in Constantinople – is a masterpiece, but the mosaics inside are really unmissable.

Kiev Saint Sophia Cathedral Monastery

Kiev Saint Sophia

Unfortunately, taking pictures inside is strictly forbidden (many guards around).

Saint Andrew’s Church & Ministry of Foreign Affairs

A quick detour to the east from the alley connecting Saint Sophia’s to Saint Michael’s Cathedral, Saint Andrew’s Cathedral is a nice example of Czarist Rococo style. Unfortunately the church was undergoing renovation inside at the time of my visit.

Kiev Saint Andrew Cathedral

On the way from Saint Andrew’s Cathedral to Saint Michael’s Cathedral you can find a Soviet monolith, today the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The building, with a line of prominent columns aligned ahead of the façade, was built over a terrain formerly part of Saint Michael’s Monastery.

Kiev Ministry of Foreign Affairs Soviet Architecture

Saint Michael’s Cathedral

This beautiful church, with distinctive golden domes, was reconstructed in its baroque form in the late 1990s, after it had been completely demolished in the 1930s, among the darkest hours of Stalin’s communist dictatorship. The ancient mosaics which adorned the original church, dating back to the Byzantine period, were transferred to major museums of the USSR before demolition took place.

Kiev Saint Michael Monastery

Kiev Saint Sophia Monastery

Kiev Saint Michael Monastery

The accurate reconstruction work has produced a beautiful ensemble, with a church in the middle, a tower over the main gate, and several smaller buildings. The contrast between the blue façade walls and the golden roof produces a very nice chromatic effect.

Kiev Saint Michael Monastery

Friendship of Nations Monument

Descending towards the river from Saint Michael’s Cathedral, you soon reach an artery of the city called Kreshchatyy, and a typical soviet building – the Ukrainian House, today a congress center. This artery leads to the central Independence Square.

Kiev Ukrainian House Congress Center

Kiev Ukrainian House Congress Center Kreshchatyy

Next to the Ukrainian House you can find the head of short promenade leading to a balcony with a gorgeous view of the Dnepr. Going there, you pass under an arch, framing some sculptures including a – strangely – moderate soviet memorial, the Friendship of Nations Monument.

Kiev Friendship of Nations Soviet Monument

The size of the Dnepr is impressive. The balcony is a vantage point for a panorama view of the northern and eastern districts of Kiev.

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama Dnepr River

Kiev Friendship of Nations Soviet Monument

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama Dnepr River

Governmental District

Taking to the south from the Friendship of Nations Monument you get access to an extensive city park. Immersed in this park are the residence of the President of the Ukraine – Marijnsky Palace. This is a fancy blue and cream palace, with a nice Italian-style garden ahead of it. It is still working, so it is usually off-limits for tourists. A great panorama to the east can be seen from besides the palace.

Kiev Marijnsky Palace Presidential Residence Ukraine

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama River Dnepr

Kiev Soviet Architecture Dynamo Stadium

Next to the presidential residence you can find the small Parliament Building.

Kiev Parliament Ukraine

Kiev Soviet Hotel International Kijv

On the border of the park you can find the International Hotel Kiev, part of the soviet heritage. The park is pointed with many soviet statues and memorials, as well. To southern end of the park you meet the area of the old arsenal. The metro stop there resembles some of the stations in Moscow.

Kiev Soviet Architecture Monument

Further south you come to what is probably one of the most popular area among tourists, you meet more soviet buildings, including old soviet hotels.

Monument to the Unknown Soldier

The southern end of the governmental district is marked by the nice area on top of a cliff rapidly descending to the river. Here you will find the sober Monument to the Unknown Soldier. The focus of the monument is an obelisk with an eternal flame nearby. Access to the obelisk is via an alley with commemorative slabs along the sides.

Kiev Monument to Unknown Soldier

The obelisk is constantly guarded by the military. The area is quiet and nice to stay. The panorama to the east is again really gorgeous.

Kiev Unknown Soldier Panorama

Kiev Soviet Architecture Panorama

Immediately south of the obelisk, it is possible to see a monument to the victims of the Holodomor Genocide. This was a famine intentionally caused by Stalin in the year 1933, in support of the industrial development plans. By conveying all the food to the cities with industrial plants, and simultaneously prohibiting any movement to Soviet citizens among districts within the Union, Stalin and the Soviet Government set the stage for one of the worst famines in European history, causing millions of victims among farmers and the rural population. The rural population of the Ukraine was among the most hit by this move.

Kiev Holodomor Genocide Memorial

Pecerska Lavra Monastery

This is probably the best known monument in Kiev. This immense monastic complex is basically a citadel, with several churches scattered over a large area descending towards the river. Besides the churches, it is possible to find several buildings with refectories, dorms and more, plus an incredible museum with some incredible treasures from ancient times.

The churches date from different epochs, and some have been altered over the years. The most prominent, nearby the entrance, is in baroque style, with a tall tower ahead of it.

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery

The size of the monastery is really striking, and it is very lively, with religious services and related activities often taking place.

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery

The archaeological museum with its golden treasure is surprisingly rich and valuable.

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery Museum Treasure

A less usual feature of the monastery is an Orthodox church dating from the late Czarist age, late 19th-early 20th century. It reflects the typical innovative style of the time, without departing from the classical subjects of the Orthodox iconography.

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery

One of the most famous features of the Lavra is the catacomb with the mommies of the monks. This is really impressive, cause the tunnels are very narrow and dark, and you go there with a small candle. Taking pictures is strictly forbidden, and technically very difficult, due to the low light of the place.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

Kiev Pecerska Lavra Monastery

Looking south from the beautiful area of the Pecerska Lavra Monastery, you can spot the most prominent Soviet monument in Kiev – the Motherland Monument.

The Local Conflicts Museum

Accessing the area dominated by the immense statue to the Motherland from north, you find some damaged military vehicles. These are Russian vehicles requisitioned by the Ukrainian military in the course of the recent tensions which led to the annexation of the Crimea – a former Ukrainian territory – by Russia. The vehicles on display are Russian-made and Russian-operated relics, found on Ukrainian soils.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War Motherland

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum Russian Aggression

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

As the explanatory panels tell you, they are a proof of unauthorized military actions carried out by Russian troops on the territory of the Ukraine. As of today, the Ukraine and Russia are not openly fighting, but they are not friends.

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum

The Local Conflicts Museum is actually a wonderful collection of military vehicles, tanks, cannons, missiles, a few aircraft and even a submarine and an armored train. They are all from the Soviet weapons arsenal, and despite the name of the museum, there is even a ballistic missile among them.

The collection is split in two parts. One is on display over an apron which can be freely accessed. In this part you can see a few classic Soviet tank designs, rocket launchers and an attack helicopter Mil Mi-24.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum

The second part is located nearby, but it is somewhat more secluded, and can be accessed only with a small fee. Here you meet first a few aircraft, including a Lisunov Li-2, a license-built Soviet copy of the Douglas C-47.

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum War Soviet Cold War WWII Missile

There are a few attack aircraft from various ages (you can find many more in the beautiful air museum in Kiev, see here, a must-see for every aviation enthusiast), but what will probably capture your attention is a mighty SS-4 Sandal missile. This strategic missile type, also known as R-12 in the Soviet inventory, was the key element of the Cuban crisis. Before that, its deployment was planned in the last years of the Eisenhower administration also in the German Democratic Republic (see here). This was a major asset for the USSR in the years of the Kennedy administration, and was deployed in large numbers within the borders of the Soviet Union – preferably next to the borders, due its relatively limited range (see here).

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum War Soviet Cold War WWII Missile

Nearby the missile, you can find its launch gantry, which was anchored to the ground through a metal crown. This is what you find in todays Germany, the scant traces of the planned deployment of this system out of the USSR (see here). Another exemplar of this iconic missile with its gantry tower can be found in an excellent museum close to Minsk, Belarus (see here).

An impressive array of cannons with different calibers, a small submarine and an armored railway car with turrets – a similar one can be found in the Parola Tank Museum in Finland (official website here).

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum War Soviet Cold War WWII Missile

Also on display is a tactical nuclear missile with its movable canister truck.

Kiev Local Conflicts Museum War Soviet Cold War WWII Missile

Motherland Statue

This iconic statue is actually one of the youngest WWII monumental memorials of the USSR. Despite being planned soon after the end of the Great Patriotic War in the early Cold War period, it was not until the early 1980s that this metal colossus was built and inaugurated, at the presence of the then-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

The statue stands on a very nice natural stage, on top of a cliff dominating a wide panorama with river Dnepr in the middle.

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War Motherland

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Panorama

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial

The area around the monument forms a WWII memorial. There is provision for a big eternal flame, which despite the name is not constantly operating due to the massive gas flow needed for feeding it. Scattered around are some interesting groups of sculptures celebrating the efforts and the final victory of the USSR in WWII.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial

Kiev Monument Victory Soviet Statue Gigantic Patriotic War

The foundations of the Motherland Statue host a nice crypt with the names of thousands of soldiers and civilians fallen in the battles over the Ukrainian territory during the Great Patriotic War (which is WWII for the USSR).

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

Besides the slabs with the names carved in them, there is very nice and sober mosaic decoration on the ceiling.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

You can get access to the crypt visiting the Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War.

Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War

Similar to other museums dedicated to the Soviet actions in WWII you can find in Moscow and Minsk, this collection is a true must-see for anybody with an interest in the topic. The museum right under the Motherland Statue, with access from the front of the monument (official website here). In the case of the museum in Kiev, the totally Soviet construction adds to the value, with red stone and bronze lamps and ceiling decoration adding to the atmosphere.

Before you get access to the original collection, you can see in the hall of the museum, and in a few small rooms nearby the entrance, material from the recent Russian-Ukrainian confrontation.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

The original collection is on two floors. There are uniforms, flags, many weapons, military gear, personal diaries, maps, passports and military papers. What is especially striking is the abundance of German material from the time, with tons of swastikas, Nazi insignia, original uniforms and more.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

There is a small collection of rare Nazi daggers. Other interesting items include an Italian-issued certificate of merit, given to a Soviet soldier fighting in the Italian resistance movement.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

There are clearly also many Soviet artifacts from the time, including original newspapers, books autographed by Stalin, and more. There is also the wreck of a downed Soviet aircraft.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

On the top floor you get access to the collection through a monumental wall with metal sculptures.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

Further Nazi and Soviet gear, uniforms, medals and papers are on display here. There is a diorama portraying the battle of Berlin, and even some Japanese war material – the USSR fought against the Japanese Empire especially in the months between the collapse of the Third Reich and the end of WWII in 1945.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

Before you come to the crypt under the Motherland Statue (described above) in the dome on top of the museum, you can visit also a more modern commemorative display, with black and white pictures of people involved in the war.

Kiev WWII Great Patriotic War Memorial Museum

Independence Square

This is the geographical and symbolic center of Kiev. This large square is crossed by a major road, with massive Soviet apartment or office buildings, which splits it in two.

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

Kiev Independence Maidan Square

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

On one side there are a few similar buildings creating a curved theatrical set. Looking closer, they are adorned with Soviet iconography, hence probably dating back to Stalin’s years. You may also notice they are not so well-kept – this applies in general to all buildings around the square, producing a strange ‘disorder feeling’.

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

There are traces of an original gate, from older times and misaligned with respect to the main axis of the square.

On the other side, the square is dominated by the monster Soviet building of Hotel Ukraine. This is preceded by a kind of modern mall, flanked by classical buildings probably dating back to an older era.

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

The district around the square is rich of older – pre-Soviet – buildings, making for an interesting stage for a relaxed walk.

Kiev Independence Square Maidan

Kiev Nouveau Liberty Architecture

Kiev Independence Maidan Square

To the south of the square you can find a group of particularly striking examples of Art Nouveau from the late 19th-early 20th century. Some of them are really world-class masterpieces, like the famous Chimera House, with sea monsters, animals and various strange creatures haunting the house.

Kiev Nouveau Liberty Architecture Chimera House

Golden Gate

A few minutes walking from Independence Square you can find the so-called Golden Gate, which is a reconstruction of one of the medieval gates of the city. The appearance of Kiev was greatly altered following its evolution in the centuries, leading to the disappearance of the walls and gates of the ancient city. The famous Mussorgsky theme closing the Paintings of an Exhibition is dedicated to the ‘Gate of Kiev’ – this monuments provides an idea of the real size an shape of such a gate.

Kiev Monument Gate Great

Kiev Soviet Architecture

Kiev Architecture

In the district around the monument there are examples of buildings from many ages and architectural styles. Soviet emblems are featured on many facades.

Chernobyl National Museum

Kiev is located less than 70 miles from Chernobyl power-plant. As a secondary effect of the increased popularity of Chernobyl as a tourist destination – as a result of the recent encapsulation of the ill-fated plant into a hi-tech protective armor increasing safety for visitors – Kiev has become a crossroads for international tourists.

The Chernobyl National Museum (official website here) has the function of a documents center for the accident, with rare artifacts taken away from the exclusion zone, papers and recordings from the time of the accident (1986), models of the power-plant and the contaminated area, and more.

Kiev Chernobyl Museum

Among the weirdest items on display, some specimen of mutated plants and trees, a mommy of a mutated animal, and photographs of similar subjects.

Kiev Chernobyl Museum

Another area of the museum is actually a memorial for those who perished, suffered a severe health condition or were deported for safety reasons after the accident. The latter happened to a number of smaller villages, including the now well-known Pripyat, which has turned into one of the largest ghost towns in the world.

Kiev Chernobyl Museum

There is also a quick pictorial overview of the Fukushima accident.

Kiev Chernobyl Museum

The district where the museum is located, north of Saint Andrew’s Cathedral, features several old-fashioned and classical buildings from pre-Soviet times, and Art Nouveau buildings as well.

Kiev Architecture

Kiev Mohyla

Kiev Andriivsky Descent

Kiev Architecture

Kiev Andriivsky Descent

Kiev Architecture

Yet some Soviet monsters are scattered around the district, like market buildings and university buildings – don’t forget Kiev used to be a capital of a Soviet Republic!

Communist Highlights in Prague and the Czech Republic

January 28, 2019September 22, 2023 CarloRLeave a comment

Czechoslovakia had existed as an independent state since the end of WWI and the dissolution of the Austrian Empire. However, this small yet economically advanced province was soon to be caught right in the middle of a storm which insisted on central Europe until the 1990s, at which time this country finally gained its true independence.

Back in the Thirties, Czechoslovakia was forcibly annexed to the Third Reich as a result of the Munich Agreement in 1938. This event can be seen a major destabilizing step in Hitler’s foreign relations, clearly showing that the situation was deteriorating fast in central Europe.

Following the troublesome years of Nazi rule, this region was captured by Soviet and US troops at the end of the war. A new republic was founded, but the local communist party was very well organized, so Czechoslovakia shared the destiny of many neighbor countries which had been occupied by the Red Army in the final stage of the war. Backed by Stalin, a communist coup d’état in 1948 led to the establishment of a Soviet-style dictatorship, which was to last until 1989, making Czechoslovakia a Soviet satellite country.

Despite the relatively small size on the map, Czechoslovakia played a significant role in the economy of the Eastern Bloc. This country had a well established tradition in the production of weapons, metal hardware and machinery. Its soil is rich in Uranium. Furthermore, the forward position on the border with non-communist Western Germany and Austria further raised its strategic significance. When a secession from Moscow was tried by the local communist government, led by reformer Alexander Dubcek in 1968 – a phase known as the ‘Prague Spring’ -, the USSR reacted with all its military might, staging a full-scale invasion of the country by land and air, overturning the high ranks of the unreliable Czechoslovakian government, and putting this valuable region under a stricter communist leadership.

Clearly, the end of the communist dictatorship is today duly celebrated as a historical achievement both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia – respectively the western and eastern portions of Czechoslovakia, which peacefully split in 1993. The more than 40 years of struggle against Soviet rule constitute the theme of several interesting permanent exhibitions, but these are not the only witnesses of those troubled times. More tangible relics – all open to the public – are former border posts with former West Germany, a one-of-a-kind original communist prison camp for political prisoners, as well as some pieces of architectures and bunkers from the Cold War age.

This post is dedicated to these highlights, all to be found in the region between Prague and the border with Bavaria, in todays Czech Republic. Photographs were collected on a short trip in summer 2018.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Museum of Communism, Prague
Nuclear Bunker for Civil Defense, Prague
Soviet-Related Buildings and Monuments, Prague
Vojna Prison Camp, Pribram
Iron Curtain Museum, Rozvadov
Museum of the Border Guard, Rozvadov

Sights

Museum of Communism, Prague

Far from a cheesy description of everyday life in the years of the Cold War, or an inaccurate account of the history of the communist plague as a social phenomenon, this permanent exhibition takes you in detail along the history of Czechoslovakia in the years immediately before WWII, when it basically lost its independence to the Germans, and going on to 1989, when with the so-called Velvet Revolution Czechoslovakia abandoned the Soviet sphere of influence and overthrew the communist dictatorship.

The exhibition features an equilibrated mixture of original artifacts – paintings, statues, memorabilia,… -, photographs, models, dioramas and explicative panels.

Museum Of Communism Prague

Interestingly, speaking of the Thirties and the imposed annexation to the Third Reich, you can see models of the border forts along the former German (now Polish) border. These are covered in this dedicated post.

Museum Of Communism Prague

The history of the anti-fascist operations, and of the role of the communist party in them, are thoroughly analyzed, and so are the decisive years immediately following the war. It is recalled how this nation was partly invaded by US troops, hence it was contested as a pure-Soviet conquer. A short-lived free Czechoslovakian republic was founded, which fell under communist control, and in the years of Stalin, with a Soviet military presence in the country, this meant the end of any independence from the USSR.

Museum Of Communism Prague

Similar to East Berlin, Prague ended up to host a huge monument to Stalin. This was built on top of a hill facing the city, on the north bank of the river. It was suddenly blown after the death of the Soviet dictator, leaving an empty esplanade which can be still seen today (see a section below).

Museum Of Communism Prague

The establishment of a communist rule since the start meant the implementation of brutal repressive measures, including prison camps for political opponents, which were largely employed as forced laborers all over the territory of the state, especially for mining activities. Preventive imprisonment, extorted confessions and executions were typical to the years of Stalin. Even the troops who had come in contact with the western Allies during the war were exonerated and imprisoned, to perfectly guarantee the stability of the communist leadership of the army. A detailed account of this little-know, large-scale repressive activity is documented also by means of reconstructed interrogation rooms, as well as spy gear used by the Czechoslovakian communist political police, the StB.

Museum Of Communism Prague

A related interesting chapter is that of the border shared with neighbor western countries. Similar to the German Democratic Republic (see this post), the border with West Germany and Austria was heavily guarded to stop those who wanted to flee the country. A fence of many kilometers was erected and modernized on more instances. A number of citizens were sent to prison or even lost their lives trying to escape to the West. More on this can be found today on the border with Germany (see a section below).

A significant area is devoted to the wannabe-reformer Alexander Dubcek and the 1968 ‘Prague Spring’. The aggressive Soviet reaction to the experiment, backed by the new Brezhnev leadership, provided an example for other Soviet satellite countries seeking for independence. The invasion of Czechoslovakia, called ‘Operation Danube’, was carried out as a surprise attack, paralyzing all urban infrastructures by quickly landing troops and material with a well-organized airlift on the nation’s major civil airports, including Prague and Brno. Simultaneously, land troops of many countries of the Eastern Bloc crossed the border and rapidly occupied all military installations. Guerrilla actions took place especially in Prague, but it was soon clear that an action so massive could not be counteracted by the sole Czechoslovakian forces.

Museum Of Communism Prague

The Soviet aggression cleared any doubt about the attitude of the new leadership of the USSR. It was generally condemned even by the communist parties of the western world, but this was not helpful for Czechoslovakia, which could not overthrow the re-established Soviet-style dictatorship until the almost simultaneous collapse of the communist regimes bound to the USSR in 1989.

Getting there and moving around

This museum is an excellent resource and a starting point for gaining an insight on the history of Czechoslovakia from the late 1930s to the 1990s. A general knowledge of the Cold War history may help to better collocate the facts reported in the exhibition on the world stage, yet even if this is the first museum of the kind you may visit, it can be extremely interesting.

It is located in central Prague, perfectly accessible with a walk in the beautiful central district from the majority of the hotels. Visiting may easily take 2 hours for an interested subject. All panels and captions are in double language, Czech and English. Website with full information here.

Nuclear Bunker for Civil Defense, Prague

Following the escalation of the nuclear stockpiles in the US and USSR, countermeasures to resist a nuclear attack were implemented in many countries. Besides specific training for both troops and civilians, shelters were built for government agencies, and for the population of most crowded areas. While typically far from sufficient to save even a minimal part of the population in case of a nuclear attack, these structures were nonetheless rather extensive and sophisticated. Especially in central Europe, within reach of nuclear missiles from the start of the rocket age (see this post), nuclear bunkers for civil defense were serious structures, today standing as tangible witnesses of the Cold War (see this post).

In Prague, the system for civil defense was implemented in the form of a series of bunkers around the city center, started in the early 1950s. Over the following decades a network was created comprising the underground railway system and several metro stops, which similar to West Berlin, could be turned into nuclear bunkers providing shelter, decontamination gear and supplies for hundreds of people for several weeks.

Of this comprehensive system only a small part can be visited today. The bunker in the Parukarka district, northeast of the city center, can be accessed from a distinctive concrete gate – today covered in ignorant graffiti – in the side of a hill. Right behind the external gate you can find a massive tight door, capable of resisting to a nuclear blast, and providing access to a stair well, leading deep underground.

Prague Soviet Atomic Nuclear Shelter Civil Defense

From the bottom of the stairs, you are led through a network of tunnels, originally intended for storing supplies and as living quarters for refugees.

Prague Soviet Atomic Nuclear Shelter Civil Defense

The toilet is still operative today. An emergency room with original medical tools has been reconstructed.

An interesting exhibition showcases a beautiful collection of gas masks, dosimeters, posters with emergency survival procedures and propaganda items.

Prague Soviet Atomic Nuclear Shelter Civil Defense

A room where the main tunnel splits in multiple branches gives access to a decontamination facility, a security communication post, and an area where a small exhibition on the Cold War has been placed.

Prague Soviet Atomic Nuclear Shelter Civil Defense

The latter includes sample mass-produced goods originally stored in the bunker, maps, and full nuclear and chemical protection suits and masks.

Prague Soviet Atomic Nuclear Shelter Civil Defense

You can also try putting on a mask, and take up a rifle for a weird selfie!

Getting there and moving around

The bunker can be reached a few tram stops from the main railway station. The entrance is located next to the southwestern corner of Parukarka park on Prokopova alley, a block away from Hotel Olsanka. However, the gate is usually closed, and there is no booth or visitor center there. The bunker can be visited by appointment only, or on a regular basis by taking the special-themed communist tour of Prague (see website here). The latter was my option. This tour is offered in English and maybe other languages, and will take you on a walk to a few places usually portrayed in the historical pictures from the days of ‘Operation Danube’ of 1968, and during the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The starting point is close to the Clock Tower, on the central square of historical Prague.

The highlight of the multi-hour tour is the civil defense bunker, which makes the tour appealing. For the rest, except for little information, the tour is not excessively interesting, especially if you have already a good knowledge of the history of the Cold War and of Czechoslovakia at that time. It may the depend on the guide – mine was a relatively young man, who albeit prepared, did not seem to be able to give answers to more detailed or technical questions. Furthermore, the time spent inside the bunker is limited, and very scant explanations are provided about the exhibitions and artifacts on display there. Time is not enough for good photographs. The website of the bunker, for more info or for booking a private visit, is here.

Soviet-Related Buildings and Monuments, Prague

A few buildings in Prague have a historical significance bound to the Cold War, either for the role they had in the years of the communist dictatorship, or for the fact they were erected in Soviet style.

A first example is the headquarter of the StB, the political police of Czechoslovakia, similar to the KGB, Stasi or Securitate of other communist countries. This is located in central Prague, and occupies a building which had been previously built for another purpose.

Secret Communist Police STB Headquarters Prague

To the northwest of the historical district, on the northern bank of the river, you can find a prominent example of Soviet architecture – Hotel International. This was designed in the years of Stalin, and this is reflected in the typical Stalinist tower architecture (see this post). It had been intended as a building of the department of defense, to host high-ranking military staff. It never covered this role, and after the construction years, lasting 1952-1956, it was inaugurated as a luxury hotel, with the same name it bears today.

Hotel International Prague

After the end of communism in Europe, the hotel has been refurbished, returning the exteriors to the original appearance. The star on top the central spire is original too. The frieze features hammers and sickles, as well as other examples of typical communist iconography.

Hotel International Prague

Today a rather unapparent square with a nice view of the old city, the base of the monument to Stalin with the giant staircases leading to it from the water level can be found on the northern bank of the river. This area is today partly degraded, and used for temporary art installations. Only pictures from the time allow to get an idea of the monster size of the sculpture group once standing there, with Stalin and other folks overlooking the city.

Former Stalin’s Monument Prague

The monument was blown after Stalin was condemned by the Communist Party of the USSR, soon after his death.

Among the relatively few statues and prominent buildings dating back to the years of communist dictatorship is a couple of cosmonauts. This can be found in the southern periphery of the city, immediately out of the metro station Haje. The neighborhood is mainly residential, dating from Soviet times. Notwithstanding the general decency of the area, these two astronauts are somewhat forgotten, close to an overgrown hedge.

Prague Soviet Relic Astronaut Statue Gagarin

Getting there and moving around

The mentioned communist architectural highlights in Prague are somewhat scattered.

The StB headquarters are located on the corner between Bartolomějská Ulice and Na Perstyne, at the very center of the historical district. The former Stalin monument can be reached climbing uphill from the northern end of Chechuv Most bridge, a short walk from the historical district. Besides the questionable interest for what remains of the monument, climbing up is advisable at least for the exceptional view you can enjoy from the balcony.

The Hotel International is located further north of the city center, where Koulova alley meets Cinska road. The nice residential area is served by a number of tram and bus stops, but reaching may be easier by car. Clearly, you can also elect to stay at the hotel.

The two cosmonauts can be found in the southern peripheral district Haje, just outside of the homonym metro stop, close to a larger bus stop area. Again, reaching is less time consuming by car.

Vojna Prison Camp, Pribram

A one-of-a-kind memorial in the panorama of former communist-led countries is preserved just south of the small town of Pribram, about 40 miles southwest of Prague. This is a full scale prison camp for forced laborers, instituted by the communist dictatorship in the years of Stalin, back in 1947. The prisoners of this camp were interned only for political reasons. Together with other similar installations, it supplied workforce for the extraction of uranium ore from mines nearby. The number of inmates increased steadily until the early 1960s, reaching the order of 1,500, until a series of amnesties were promulgated and prison camps were closed in Czechoslovakia.

The camp went on to be operated as a military depot, and reopened as a national memorial in the late 1990s.

Close to the entrance, which is via the original gate in the outer fence of the camp, a former industrial building has been substituted by a modern building with roughly the same shape, hosting a conference center and the visitor center. When on a self-guided tour, you are advised to start your visit with an exhibition on the history of the Czechoslovakian prison camps, hosted in the former guard quarters. The exhibition provides models, pictures and quick numbers to get an idea of the proportion of the repression and internment of political prisoners, as well as of the forced labor system set up by the communist leadership.

Vojna Communist Prison Camp Uranium Mine Pribram Czech

A memorial to those who perished as a result of political repression and imprisonment in the area of Pribram concludes this part.

Vojna Communist Prison Camp Uranium Mine Pribram Czech

The partly original and partly reconstructed buildings on display include a complete external perimeter, a prison and a rigor cell.

Vojna Communist Prison Camp Uranium Mine Pribram Czech

Inside an inner guarded perimeter, a few barracks for the inmates have been reconstructed or refurbished, and are used to showcase temporary and permanent exhibitions. One of great interest at the time of my visit described in detail the days of the liberation from the Nazi occupation – US troops briefly took over control of the area, and they met the Soviet army nearby Pribram.

Vojna Communist Prison Camp Uranium Mine Pribram Czech

There are also service buildings for the guards, with a small movie theater and a canteen.

Vojna Communist Prison Camp Uranium Mine Pribram Czech

Another interesting part is the original emergency room and clinic. The face of Stalin in the doctor’s room is particularly disturbing. Besides the generally harsh living conditions, illnesses and injuries typical to mine works were rather common. Inexperience of the forced laborers clearly added to the injury rates.

Vojna Communist Prison Camp Uranium Mine Pribram Czech

In a building to the far end of the camp you can find an exhibition about mining activities in the area and uranium extraction in Czechoslovakia, which represented an asset of this country in the eyes of the USSR.

Vojna Communist Prison Camp Uranium Mine Pribram Czech

Getting there and moving around

The prison camp is opened as a national memorial. It can be reached by car along highway N.4 in 30 minutes from central Prague in the small village of Lesetice, immediately south of Pribram. There are opening times, but you can visit either on a self-guided basis or with a guide. I was not given the option of a guided tour in English though, so I enjoyed a self-guided tour. There is some paneling in English, but not extensively covering all parts of the installation. Access to the rigor cell is only possible with a guide, but you may join a guided tour only for that small part of the exhibition, just to get access.

A complete visit on a self-guided basis may take about 1.5 hours for the interested subject, including time for taking all the pictures.

Please note they accept only cash. Website in English with full information here.

Iron Curtain Museum, Rozvadov

This atypical museum is located right on the border with Germany, between the Czech village of Rozvadov and the German town of Frankenreuth, Bavaria. Back in the years of the Cold War, the highway E50 today crossing the border nearby did not exist, and this border post was a major checkpoint on the line between the Eastern Bloc and the West.

The museum is deceptively located in the basement of the gas station immediately cross the border on the Czech side. The gas station itself used to be the custom and border control station, as you can see from historical pictures inside the museum.

The museum is constituted of a collection of photographs and artifacts. The exhibits cover roughly two themes – communism in Czechoslovakia and the Cold War as a global confrontation.

Iron Curtain Museum Rozvadov Muzeum Zelezne Opony Border Communist Germany Czech

Red banners, small sculptures, photographs and propaganda posters have been collected from various locations in Czechoslovakia. These include official portraits of the communist presidents of Czechoslovakia, and memorabilia belonging to their offices.

Iron Curtain Museum Rozvadov Muzeum Zelezne Opony Border Communist Germany Czech

A good collection of weapons and communication gear belonging to border guards and local troops of both sides of the Iron Curtain is also on display. Communist-themed commemorative medals and dinnerware are part of the collection.

Iron Curtain Museum Rozvadov Muzeum Zelezne Opony Border Communist Germany Czech

The part on the global confrontation is smaller, and include photographs from sister museums in other countries including the US, a small documentation on the history of nuclear tests and the nuclear stockpiles in the Cold War period.

Iron Curtain Museum Rozvadov Muzeum Zelezne Opony Border Communist Germany Czech

On the outside, a few vehicles of the former border guards can be found (no pictures due to heavy rain).

Getting there and moving around

This nice small museum is surely worth visiting for the interested subject, even though it does not concentrate much on the history of the local border post. The website in Czech language can be found here, basic visiting info can be easily found with some Google translation. It can be reached by car on the road connecting Frankenreuth, Bavaria, and Rozvadov, immediately cross the border on the Czech side. Signs to the entrance can be found around the local gas station. Entry is behind the building of the gas station. Visiting on a self-guided basis will not take more than 45 minutes for the interested subject.

Please note that they accept only cash.

Museum of the Border Guard, Rozvadov

This museum is actually a preserved former barrack of the border guards. Not only it looks like the building is still being operated, it actually is, albeit only for reunions of the former guards and local ranger corps, which today keep it open.

Museum of the Border Guard Rozvadov Muzeum Pohraniční stráže Germany Czech Border Iron Curtain

Thanks to this special condition, the place is very vivid and makes for an extremely interesting visit. Besides the sleeping quarters, you can find a series of rooms with rifles and technical material, including radio and communication equipment.

Museum of the Border Guard Rozvadov Muzeum Pohraniční stráže Germany Czech Border Iron Curtain

If you are lucky, the guide will give you a demonstration of how parts of this technical gear work.

Museum of the Border Guard Rozvadov Muzeum Pohraniční stráže Germany Czech Border Iron Curtain

A former class room/meeting room hosts a reconstruction of the fences which used to run all along the border with West Germany and Austria. The level of control was totally similar to the one implemented between the two German Republics (see this post). In the same room there is a small collection of weapons you can touch.

Museum of the Border Guard Rozvadov Muzeum Pohraniční stráže Germany Czech Border Iron Curtain

In a room close by the entrance a sentinel was always keeping the assigned sector of the border under control. The various protective layers prevented anybody from escaping the communist territory. Besides watchtowers along the border line, when touched the innermost fence triggered an alarm in the sentinel’s room. This appeared as a mark on a specially designed detector, which could tell with good approximation where the fugitive was trying to cross the border. This would trigger the other guards, who would scramble out and seek for him. This sophisticated piece of machinery was manufactured in the GDR…

Museum of the Border Guard Rozvadov Muzeum Pohraniční stráže Germany Czech Border Iron Curtain

Getting there and moving around

Reaching the place can be tricky, for there are no signs leading to it. From the road 605 in Rozvadov, follow the indications to Casino Admiral. This is located on a road climbing gently uphill from the 605. Going further on the same road, you will reach a dead-end, and a group of shabby barracks after about .3 miles. These must have been all service buildings and barracks for the border guards. One of the barracks is the museum. The exact GPS coordinates are (49.673994, 12.545367).

Information on the opening times can be found from the website of the town administration (on the right hand side of the web page).

Opening times are extremely limited. You are followed on your visit by one of the guards, some of them can speak a little English, sufficient for making the visit extremely interesting. There is no institutional ticket, but they will ask for a voluntary cash offer. Visiting may take about 30-40 minutes.

Base Tuono – Cold War Surface-To-Air Missiles in Italy

December 24, 2018February 5, 2019 CarloRLeave a comment

Just like West Germany, post-WWII Italy found itself on the border with a communist dictatorship, Marshal Tito’s Yugoslavia. Even though Tito and the government of the USSR were never close friends, from the viewpoint of the western alliances Yugoslavia represented a potential threat.

This mistrust was also a result of the aggressive policy Yugoslavia had adopted against Italy after WWII, imposing the cession of a piece of traditionally Italian territory in the northeast part of the country as a war compensation. This had triggered a significant migration of the local population, who was trying to escape from communism to mainland Italy and abroad. This added to the bitterness of the Italian-Yugoslavian relationship, to the point that the new border was not formally settled until the 1970s.

Italy was among the founding members of anti-communist NATO in 1949. This meant the chance to take part in a coordinated defense effort against the eastern bloc. Among the tangible results of this cooperation was the adoption of American war material, including aircraft and, as soon as they became a reliable war asset, missiles.

Considering air defense, besides a number of manned aircraft, the airspace of western Europe was protected by two defensive lines of surface-to-air missiles (SAM) extending roughly from the North Sea to the area around Venice on the Mediterranean. This was studied especially to counteract bombing raids carried out by a great number of enemy bombers simultaneously attacking from the east. This huge defense system was based on the US-designed Nike and Hawk missile platforms, and deployment started in the late 1950s.

SAM installations in Italy comprised the low to intermediate altitude Hawks, with a quick reaction capacity against low-level intruders. These were managed by the local Army. High altitude Nike-Ajax and later Nike-Hercules missiles were operated by the Italian Air Force against high-altitude targets, typically bombers. New dedicated groups were established since 1959, trained in the US to work with the new missile platform. At its height, the Nike force in Italy counted on 16 such groups, apparently corresponding to as many launch bases.

Concerning the effectiveness of the Nike defense line, it soon became obsolete, in the sense that a significant part of the strategic deterrent was transferred to ICBMs by both the NATO countries and the USSR. As a result, SAM defensive lines conceived against aircraft intrusion and low-level attacks would turn out more useful than the high-altitude and high-yield Nike-Hercules. As a matter of fact, all Nike platforms were deactivated in Italy and everywhere in Europe by the early 1980s, well before the end of communism in Europe.

Following deactivation, most bases, stripped of all hardware of any value, were simply locked up and abandoned. In Germany very few traces of this extensive system remain to this day (see this post). Together with the US, Italy is possibly the only country where this fragment of military history is documented through the active preservation of one of the former SAM launch bases.

The Nike-Hercules base preserved in Italy is called ‘Base Tuono’ – ‘tuono’ meaning ‘thunder’ in Italian language – and was operated between 1966 and 1977. It is in a gorgeous mountainous setting in the northeastern Alps, about an hour from the little town of Trento. After years of disrepair, a part of it has been refurbished with original material and opened as a beautiful, partly open-air museum, where you can get a lively impression of how the base would have looked like in the years of operations.

The following photographs are from a visit to ‘Base Tuono’ in Autumn 2018.

Sights

Nike batteries were composed of two connected but geographically separated areas, an integrated fire control area (IFC) and a launch control area (LCA). In the first resided the electronic aiming part, comprising all the antennas and electronic gear necessary to collimate the target, compute the expected kill point of the missile, and to track and guide the missile to that point. The launch area was composed of an array of three flat concrete pads, each supplied with a hangar for storing the missiles, gantries for putting typically three missiles at a time (per pad) in launch position, and a concrete shelter to oversee and trigger the launch sequence. An extensive description of the Nike SAM system can be found on this excellent dedicated resource website.

Due to the features of the radar guidance system, the IFC had to stay in line of sight from the LCA, and at a higher – but not excessively higher – elevation. At ‘Base Tuono’, due to the mountainous setting, the two areas are not far, yet they are not easily accessible from one another. Furthermore, what remains today of the former base is all concentrated in the launch area. One of the three original pads – ‘Alpha’ – has been preserved, where the other two – ‘Bravo’ and ‘Charlie’ – and other ancillary buildings as well, have been completely demolished, and a water basin can be found in their place. All installations and housing in the former control area on top of a local peak – Mount Toraro – have been wiped out, but you can get an impression of the original plan of this part of the base walking around on your own.

Launch Control Area

The launch pad ‘Alpha’ is the focus of the museum. Approaching from the parking, which is located close to the site of the former barracks and canteen, you can spot from the distance three Nike-Hercules missiles aligned in vertical launch position. A water basin covers a large part of the former base, as you can see from historical pictures. Launch pads ‘Bravo’ and ‘Charlie’ are totally gone, similarly to the original outer fence delimiting the large perimeter of the installation.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

Getting closer to the launch pad ‘Alpha’ you can notice an array of radar antennas, which were originally in the IFC area on top of Mount Toraro. The area of the launch pad features a reconstructed inner fence, which was in place around each pad in the original base.

The pad is basically rectangular in shape, with a hangar on one side, a protection rim and the launch control bunker on two opposing sides and a free side where today you can find the ticket office.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

Three missiles are placed on top of their launch gantries. The gantries are part of a sophisticated rail system, designed to allow an easy side motion of the missiles from inside the hangar to their respective launch positions outside. The missiles were stored horizontally in the hangar to the far top of the rail on trolleys. When being readied for launch, the trolleys were pushed along the rail to the launch position, where the trolley was joined to the gantry. The missiles were raised to a vertical attitude together with the trolley with the help of a lift, which was a movable part of the gantry.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

While the pavement is covered in asphalt, you can see the gantries and the rail system are staying on hard concrete foundations. These are among the few remains you see in the German Nike site covered in this post.

Inside the hangar you can spot a Nike Hercules missile, with lateral cutouts to expose the inner structure. These reveal the four-canister solid-propellant booster stage, which was ignited first and was separated from the bullet-shaped second stage when exhausted. The latter features the warhead, the electromechanical rigs of the guidance system, and a single solid-propellant sustainer rocket engine. The rocket had a range of about 25 miles, and a top speed over Mach 3, making it a really remarkable piece of technology especially compared to the soviet counterparts of the time.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

All around the missile in the hangar you can see inner parts of the missile itself and of the ground fire control system as well. There are also panels with the history of the base, and original warning signs and instructions painted on the inner walls of the hangar – and similarly on other walls of the base. These writings are in double language, both in Italian and English. While the base was managed by the Italian Air Force, such installations were integrated in the NATO defense line, so many procedures of the Italian Air Force were in English. Furthermore, US military staff was required on site ‘by design’ in case of operations with nuclear warheads, which the Hercules could optionally carry. Nuclear warheads were never deployed to this base though.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

Further items on display around the three missiles on the open apron include an old Nike-Ajax missile, a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter – the Italian Air Force was the last in the world to retire this model from service, as late as 2004 – and two trailers aligned in a row. The trailers are the battery control trailer, or BCT, and the radar control trailer, or RCT. Both trailers were originally in the IFC area of the base, and were operated by the staff responsible for offensive operations. In the days of operation, there was always somebody on duty in the trailers.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

The BCT is, roughly speaking, where targets were designated, the kill point computed and the launch sequence triggered. The most notable feature are the two computerized plotting boards used to identify the target and to define the flight trajectory of the missile. The LOPAR detection radar and the identification friend-or-foe (IFF) radar reported information to this trailer, which coordinated the attack.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

In the RCT stood the operators of the TTR and TRR radars, which were responsible for keeping trace of the target and for monitoring the missile during the flight towards the designated kill point.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

To the back of the two trailers, it is possible to spot the rectangular shapes of the LOPAR radar and of the smaller IFF radar. The two round-shaped antennas are the TTR and TRR radars. In many pictures they are portrayed inside a bulbous cover, conferring them a distinctive spherical shape.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

The concrete bunker to the opposite side of the launch pad with respect to the trailers is a protected room for the launch section panel, which is a kind of control panel for triggering the launch sequence of the missiles. The bunker served as a shelter for the operators of the launch section, for remaining on the outside in the vicinity of the missiles during launch operations was extremely dangerous.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

During the guided visit, you are given a demonstration of the launch sequence from inside the control room, which is insulated from the outside with double tight doors. The firing procedure was quite complicated. Actually, it was a direct signal traveling along a cable connection from the battery trailer that gave the go to the missiles. Yet there were redundancies for increased safety, and it was possible to trigger the entire launch sequence from within the firing section, in case communication with the BCT was lost. During normal operations, the OK from the operator of the control panel in the bunker had the function of a further go/no go safety layer for the launch.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

A trailer with a panel similar to that in the bunker can be found outside. This likely represented a further redundancy, or like the F-104 it is a piece coming from somewhere else.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

To the back of the bunker with the fire section panel you can find an original watchtower from a US base in northern Italy, similar to the towers originally in place around the missile base. Close by, there is a nice example of the canisters used to the transport the stages of the Nike-Hercules, as well as the crane used to assemble it. There is also a further example of the second stage of the missile.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

Getting there and moving around

The ‘Alpha’ battery of the launch control area is open as a museum, called ‘Base Tuono’. It is located on the road SP143, which departs from Folgaria, a small town about 12 miles south of the regional capital town Trento. You can find clear roadsigns leading to the site from Folgaria.

The museum has opening times, visiting is generally possible on a self-guided basis. Access to the bunker and the trailers is possible only on guided tours. All information on their website (in English). Large free parking about 0.2 miles away from the entrance.

There is much to see for technically minded subjects, but the visit will be surely appealing for children too. I would recommend to allocate at least 45 minutes for the visit, and up to 2 hours if you want to take a guided tour and take all the pictures on your own. The scenery around is gorgeous, so it will be easy to combine this destination with a nature trail or with other tourist destination in the area.

Integrated Fire Control Area

This is where the radars and trailers used to stay, together with barracks and service buildings. It can be found about 2 miles south east direct line of sight from the launch pad, on top of Mount Toraro. Differently from the launch control area, this area has been demolished and sanitized. No buildings remain in place, yet some of the former foundations and platforms to anchor the trailers can still be seen.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

Reaching to the top of the peak is interesting to appreciate the view of the launch site from here. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit low clouds obstructed the sight.

Base Tuono Nike Hercules Italy

Getting there and moving around

Even though the wide original road to reach this part of the base still exists, for some reason access to the top of the mountain is not allowed by car. In order to get to the trailhead from the museum, you can take your car and keep going southeast along the SP143 for about 1.5 miles. As you go ahead, the road will change the name to SP92 on your nav. Soon after the road starts descending, you will find the trailhead to your right, with a horizontal obstacle and a prohibition sign for cars. You may park there. It is likely the trail to the top of Mount Toraro will be on your nav too, for it is basically a normal road. The distance to walk to the top is about 1 mile, along the former service road to the base – covered in asphalt, gently ascending, no risk of any kind.

Traces of the Cold War in Southwest Germany

May 12, 2018June 3, 2023 CarloRLeave a comment

Between the end of WWII and the collapse of the USSR in the early Nineties, Germany was caught in the middle of the confrontation between the West and the Soviet bloc. An unnatural and heavily guarded new border was established between the two adversaries, which crossed the extensive territory of todays Germany. Thanks to the presence of American, British and French military forces over the western territory of the Country, and of the Red Army to the east, with the start of the Cold War the German ‘inner border’ became a modern line of the front for this new type of confrontation (see this post).

All armies stationed there benefited from substantial resources poured by the respective governments in the setup of permanent military detachments and infrastructures. The aim for the nations involved was that of having on the spot a credible force, capable of effectively fighting an enemy army – as well as hitting the populations of neighbor Countries – in case a new war was started in Europe. In the end, an open war was never fought, yet for decades it was deemed possible, and in some crisis moments even likely (see this post).

This chapter presents pictures from five Cold-War-themed sites in southwest Germany. Photographs were taken in April 2018, and in the summer of 2020 and 2021.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Nike Missile Battery, Wurmberg
Pershing Warhead Storage Bunker, Waldstetten
Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum, Villingen-Schwenningen
Military History Museum, Stammheim am Main
Former US Airbase, Giebelstadt

Sights

With the end of the game for the communist empire and following German reunification, Russian forces withdrew from all bases in Germany – as well as from many other Countries in Europe – and so did the foreign NATO allies, with a very few exceptions. Most former military bases and military infrastructures fell in a state of disrepair, and by the years the majority were either completely wiped out or converted into something else. Nonetheless, especially in the less crowded territories of the former communist East Germany, visible traces remain from the period, in the form of – sometimes immense – abandoned airports and military bases (see this post and links therein).

Comparatively less traces of the once substantial presence of NATO forces are to be found in todays western ‘Länder’ – i.e. administrative regions – which used to be part of West Germany. Yet something of interest for Cold War ‘archaeologists’ can be found also here.

A long chain of anti-aircraft missile batteries was implemented based on the Nike missile system designed in the US, and implemented by the US Army as well as other NATO armies in West Germany. The defensive line was established in the 1950s and updated over the years, running almost parallel to the border with the communist DDR, but located pretty far from it and well within the territory of West Germany. It stretched from the North Sea to the Bodensee, on the border with Switzerland. There are some very extensive references on the web providing a complete description of the Nike defensive barrier both in the US and abroad, a very rich one here (the link should point directly to the German section).

In this chapter you can find some pictures from an exploration of an abandoned Nike Hercules site next to the town of Wurmberg, just out of Pforzheim, between Stuttgart and the French border. It used to be run directly by the US Army.

Intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) were part of the tactical plans of both the US and the Soviets in Europe. The Pershing platform, based on the homonym theater-level nuclear missile, was deployed in Germany, and placed in the inventory of both the US Army and the West German Luftwaffe. The missile was updated in several instances in the decades of the Cold War, until it was banned by the INF treaty in 1988, agreed upon by the administrations of Gorbachev and Reagan.

Among the strongpoints of the Pershing missile deployment in Europe, a huge warhead deposit was built close to the town of Waldstetten, next to Schwäbisch Gmund in southern Germany. In this chapter you will find photographs from an exploration of this mysterious site.

Furthermore, a nice collection of aircraft from both sides of the Iron Curtain can be found in the southwestern corner of the Country, next to the town of Villingen-Schwenningen – one of the few air museums in this part of Germany. Similarly, the large collections of the military museum in Stammheim, next to the town of Schweinfurt in northwestern Bavaria, and once close to the ‘Inner Border’ with the GDR, has on display substantial specimens from the Cold War era.

Finally, a special feature presented in this chapter is a group of pictures from the former airbase in Giebelstadt, south of Würzburg, Bavaria. Today a privately owned general aviation airport, this former military airbase gained a special historical significance when it was selected for the departure of secret overflights of the communist territory beyond the Iron Curtain, performed with the Lockheed U-2 in the late Fifties, by decision of president Eisenhower.

Nike Missile Battery – Wurmberg

The site in Wurmberg, east of Pforzheim, was actually Battery ‘Delta’ – i.e. the fourth – of the four missile forces managed by the the 3rd Battalion of the 71st Air Defense Artillery (ADA) regiment.

Typical Nike missile batteries were composed of two geographically separated areas. The largest was the ‘Launch area’, with missile storage facilities – sometimes reinforced underground bunkers, sometimes more usual ‘soft’ hangars – and launch pads. The other was the ‘Integrated Fire Control area’ or ‘IFC’, where all antennas and electronic equipment for target detection and missile guidance were placed. Due to the limited speed of motion of the missile guidance antennas, the distance between the launch site and the IFC had to be greater than a threshold, while the elevation of the IFC had to be somewhat above the the launch pads. These technological constraints led the choice of the sites suitable for the installation of the Nike batteries.

The site was deactivated in the Eighties, and both areas were sanitized in more instances, basically demolishing any buildings. The ‘final stage’ of the operation is likely to be underway at the time of my visit, as you can see from the pictures, where piles of gravel and moved land can be spotted all around the launch site.

Surprisingly, a feature that has come to our days virtually without any alteration is the external fence of the launch site, which runs all around the launch area and is still particularly impenetrable. Also the rounds of barbed wire on top are still there.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

The exploration of the launch area is pretty straightforward. It is rectangular, basically flat and aligned along an east-western direction. Close to the eastern end, you meet a flat area with a concrete pavement – now partly demolished – and a curved road nearby. This is where the missiles and warheads were assembled. Nike missiles could mount nuclear warheads, but apparently this was a rarely adopted option.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

The next notable item to the west is a water basin, still in a very good shape. There used to be a water system all around the base. Remains of demolished buildings can be spotted around here too.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

A mystery electric cable comes out of the ground on a spot. It is noteworthy that the launch area and IFC were connected by an underground cable, but I don’t think this is the one you see in the pics.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

This battery had three launch sectors, bearing the little imaginative names of ‘Alpha’, ‘Bravo’ and ‘Charlie’. You can find them in a sequence, walking towards the west end of the site.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

The pads of the Alpha sector, while now greatly damaged by the demolition work, are still in place with their metal covers.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

There were three launch pads on each sector. The area of each sector appears unnecessarily large, but actually the missile storage hangar used to stay beyond the launch pads, occupying about half the area of each sector. Today these soft constructions have disappeared.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

To the west of each sector there is a small bunker, intended for the protection of the troops working around the launch pads, in case of an attack to the battery. These bunkers are not very damaged, so they constitute a very interesting part of the site today.

The protection bunkers have two exits on the two opposite sides – so the Alpha bunker connects the Alpha and Bravo sectors, the Bravo bunker the Bravo and Charlie sectors, while the Charlie bunker connects the Charlie sector to the logistic storage area to the west end of the launch site.

The Alpha bunker is well conserved – except for some spoiling by some idiot writer. There is no camouflage paint coat outside, just some plain green paint, and the walls inside are painted in a bright crimson color. The bunker has two opposite entrances, and two corresponding corridors leading to two massive tight doors, which give access to a central protected room, insulated from the outside.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

Writings in English are still there in the central room of bunker Alpha.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

The launch sectors Bravo and Charlie are more damaged than Alpha.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

The Bravo bunker is camouflaged, and differently from Alpha the walls inside are painted in water green. It is possible to notice how the central room was separated from the rest of the structure for blast insulation, similar to other missile sites (see this post). There is a wide slot at the level of the doors.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

Further writings in English and some original linoleum pavement are still perfectly visible.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

The Charlie bunker is different from the other two. The facade is wider, it is coated in a camo paint, and bears the name ‘Charlie’ above the eastern door. Inside it is very dark, possibly as a result of a fire. In the insulated room it is possible to see an original air conditioning system.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

The three launch sectors are connected to the south by a wide road, from where you can appreciate the extension and state of conservation of the original fence.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

The IFC area is located just north of the small town of Wurmberg, on top of a hill. Unfortunately, the former military site has been wiped out and a nothing less than a waste disposal facility has taken its place! Anyway, from this vantage point you can clearly see the launch area, roughly two miles to the west.

Nike Missile Battery Delta Battery 3/71 ADA Pforzheim Wumberg Germany Abandoned Military Base

Getting there and moving around

Getting to the launch area is very easy. Leave the highway N.8 close to Pforzheim (the exit is 45b Pforzheim-Süd) and take for Pforzheim on Wurmberger Strasse. Take the very first road to the right and park your car there. You will see a gate open since ages and an almost unmaintained road taking straight north and climbing gently uphill. This road will take you to the official gate of the launch area in 0.4 miles. Getting in is probably prohibited, but the area is pretty remote and secluded, and I didn’t see a person around during all my stay.

The site is geographically compact, so touring may take about 2 to 2.5 hours taking all pictures, if you have planned your movements in advance. A tripod is strictly necessary for taking decent pictures inside the very dark bunkers.

The IFC area can be reached going to Wurmberg, leaving the same exit but taking the direction opposite to Pforzheim. You will soon reach central Wurmberg. Cimb along Gollmerstrasse, then along Oschelbronnerstrasse. Where the village ends and the road stops climbing you will see a field to your left and a waste disposal facility to your right – this used to be the area occupied by the IFC area. Looking west you can see the launch area and the taller buildings of Pforzheim further in the distance.

Pershing Warhead Storage Bunkers – Waldstetten

The site in Waldstetten is basically an array of warhead storage bunkers, built between 1954 and 1958 by the US Army. In 1972 these bunkers became a part of a Quick Reaction Alert site, managed by the 1st Battalion of the 41st Field Artillery Regiment, tasked with supplying the nearby storage site of the Pershing missile in Mutlangen, just north of Schwäbisch Gmund. The site saw major action in 1982, when 36 Pershing II missiles were installed in Mutlangen as an answer to the deployment by the USSR of an updated version of the excellent SS-20 Saber IRBM system.

During the Eighties the 1st Bn 41st FA was reformed more than once, until it became 2nd Bn 9th FA in 1986, only to be disbanded in 1991, following the dismantlement of the Pershing system as a consequence of the INF Treaty between the US and USSR.

It should be mentioned that whether the nuclear warheads of the Pershing missile ever made their way to this storage site is a matter of discussion. As a matter of fact, the missiles were in the nearby Mutlangen site, and their installation triggered well documented protests by the usual pacifist folks, who encountered difficulties in understanding the moves of the Reagan administration, which helped with successfully putting an end to the Cold War and to many communist dictatorships in Europe. What the bunkers in the Waldstetten site were used for is not totally evident, and it should be recalled they were built in the Fifties, before the deployment of the Pershing system.

Of the 28 bunkers originally built, 25 exist today while three have been demolished in a landslide. The site is located in the trees along two broad circular roads, once service roads. Today it is in the heart of a natural preserve, and the roads are used by MTBs and hikers, whereas the Mutlangen site has been converted into a solar power plant.

The local administration has prepared a placard with a map and a short history of the place (in German only), which I spotted only by the first bunker you meet climbing uphill along the road approaching the site from north. You can see the placard in the pics below, with the corresponding map. The position indicated with ‘Standort’ on the map is where the placard is. I suggest starting you exploration from there.

Quick Reaction Alert QRA Nuclear Atomic Weapons Pershing Warhead Storage Waldstetten Schwabisch Gmund US 41st Field Artillery Germany Abandoned Bunker

About half of the bunkers can be accessed. Except a few, they are basically indistinguishable.

Quick Reaction Alert QRA Nuclear Atomic Weapons Pershing Warhead Storage Waldstetten Schwabisch Gmund US 41st Field Artillery Germany Abandoned Bunker

Inside they are empty and very basic in shape, with just one large storage room. Other bunkers are inaccessible, and some have been converted into bat shelters.

Quick Reaction Alert QRA Nuclear Atomic Weapons Pershing Warhead Storage Waldstetten Schwabisch Gmund US 41st Field Artillery Germany Abandoned Bunker

A notable bunker is 870 (see the map in the pic), which bears on the front facade graffiti from US troops, probably veterans visiting the place in recent times after it was closed up. Today it is a bat shelter.

Quick Reaction Alert QRA Nuclear Atomic Weapons Pershing Warhead Storage Waldstetten Schwabisch Gmund US 41st Field Artillery Germany Abandoned Bunker

In 869 you can find some naive paintings, including one portraying a truck probably dating from the years of operation.

Quick Reaction Alert QRA Nuclear Atomic Weapons Pershing Warhead Storage Waldstetten Schwabisch Gmund US 41st Field Artillery Germany Abandoned Bunker

A mystery bunker is 856, which is very different from all others. It has two small entrances, apparently for humans only, and a group of small chambers ahead of the larger storage area. This has no wide entrances, suggesting it was not used for warheads nor anything similar, and a blind room to the back. Unfortunately, this bunker is also covered in indecent graffiti.

Quick Reaction Alert QRA Nuclear Atomic Weapons Pershing Warhead Storage Waldstetten Schwabisch Gmund US 41st Field Artillery Germany Abandoned Bunker

Another interesting sight, especially visible to the west of the bunker area, is the original fence of the storage site, with a number of aligned concrete posts and traces of barbed wire. The line of the fence is shown also on the map.

Quick Reaction Alert QRA Nuclear Atomic Weapons Pershing Warhead Storage Waldstetten Schwabisch Gmund US 41st Field Artillery Germany Abandoned Bunker

Getting there and moving around

The storage bunkers are located on top of a hill, and some climbing is required to reach the bunker area. The place is not fenced, and there are multiple access points from all directions. I personally parked at the end of Dreifaltigkeitsstrasse in Waldstetten and accessed the site from the west. After touring it, I came back passing by the placard mentioned above. The road is steeper on that side of the hill, but starting from the placard may ease your exploration.

Please note that the on most part of the site the cell phone coverage was very weak, with no access to internet data. I strongly suggest downloading your maps before being on site.

The place is secluded and the bunkers are much overlooked by the locals, who keep on the main track and just cross the area – you will probably move around undisturbed if you walk in and around the bunkers.

Due to some amount of mild hiking required, a complete tour of all bunkers may take about 3 hours, including time for pictures.

Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum – Villingen-Schwenningen

This small air museum is composed of three parts.

The first is a single hangar, stacked with smaller aircraft and a helicopter, plus memorabilia and parts of aircraft of diverse proveniences and ages, including German machines from WWII, and later from both sides of the Iron Curtain.

Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum Air Museum Baden-Wurttemberg Germany

The main part is a grassy apron with an open air collection. Here you can see aircraft of American make in the colors of the West German Luftwaffe, including an F-86 Sabre and F-104 Starfighter.

Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum Air Museum Baden-Wurttemberg Germany

British aircraft are represented by an English Electric Canberra and a DeHavilland Vampire of the Swiss Air Force.

Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum Air Museum Baden-Wurttemberg Germany

Other models from western Countries include an Italian Fiat G-91 reconnaissance aircraft and a German Dornier Alpha Jet trainer.

Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum Air Museum Baden-Wurttemberg Germany

Models from the Soviet world include an Antonov An-2 biplane, which can also be boarded, and a Yakovlev Yak-18, bearing a post-Soviet Russian flag and registration markings.

Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum Air Museum Baden-Wurttemberg Germany

Probably the star of the show, a well restored Polish-built MiG-15 is presented in the markings of the Red Army.

Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum Air Museum Baden-Wurttemberg Germany

The third part of the museum is a series of restoration hangars, where a number of aircraft are being restored, whereas some replicas are being assembled, possibly partly from original parts. These include a Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe, and a Dornier Do-335 Pfiel, of which only one original exemplar exists in Washingtong, DC – definitely a rare sight.

Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum Air Museum Baden-Wurttemberg Germany

Getting there and moving around

The museum, located on the side of a local touristic airport, is easily reachable in Spittelbronner Weg 78, 78056 Villingen-Schwenningen, just on the eastern border of the beautiful Schwarzwald region. Website with full information here.

Military History Museum, Stammheim am Main

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The museum in Stammheim, northwestern Bavaria, stands out as one of the largest and best preserved military collections in Germany, especially concerning the two World Wars and the Cold War. The museum is composed of a set of large adjoining hangars, and an open-air part. The hangars are rich in dioramas, built around real weapons (both heavy and light), tanks, as well as rigs, uniforms and dresses from the corresponding ages.

The first hangar is centered on WWII. Here a large central diorama represents a scene from the advance of US forces on German territory. A group of civilians reacts welcoming the American forces with white flags, whereas some armed civilian guards and some German soldiers keep a more cautious attitude.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

Among the original US vehicles is a light tank, starring in the movie ‘The Monuments Men’ besides actor George Clooney. A German Goliath self-propelled drone-tank is on display in this scene.

Two house facades imitating traditional German architecture complete this central diorama.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

In the same hall, more dioramas show for instance a German anti-aircraft battery, with a four-barrel gun and a searchlight. Range-finding rigs are also on display.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

To the far end of the same hall, a Soviet T-34 and a Sherman can be found, besides self-propelled cannons and more vehicles set in smaller scenes.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

In a lateral passage, scenes from the African theater of WWII are displayed. These include vehicles and weapons with a distinctive desert camo coat. Another diorama displays a school in Germany from the same period, with young men involved in light anti-aircraft defense.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

Scenes from pre-WWII and from WWI are presented in yet another, smaller hall. Field artillery pieces from WWI are clearly discernible from more modern ones. A field kitchenette from the time is also on display.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

Classical display cases feature many interesting items, including military uniforms from WWI and WWII, military decorations, air navigation charts and flight instruments.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

The Cold War is covered in the last two hangars. Here field guns, mortars and armored vehicles mainly from the Federal Republic and from the German Democratic Republic – some of them still working – are put on display, side by side.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

The exhibition in this part is complimented by numerous flags and smaller pieces of military material, including communication gear, water mines, transport vehicles, a military Trabant.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

Part of the show is an ex-DDR early MiG-21. This can be climbed (not boarded), providing a nice view of the ensemble.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

The museum is close to Schweinfurt, geographically next to the border with the former GDR. A reconstruction of the Inner Border impenetrable fence (see this post), with original signs and plaques, is duly on display.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

The outside part of the museum displays a few heavy armored vehicles from WWI, WWII and the Cold War. They include a rusty, US-made M26 Pershing tank from WWII, a Federal Germany Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled battery from the Cold War, and more.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

Visible from a distance are a set of US-made surface-to-air missiles, distinctive silhouettes from the Cold War age. These include a Nike Hercules surface to air missile. Surface-to-surface platforms include a venerable and pretty rare Matador early cruise missile. This grandparent of modern cruise missiles features a distinctive swept-back wing, and a booster underneath the fuselage to the back.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

The nose cone of a Pershing (possibly) is on display, together with a rare Lance missile, a surface-to-surface missile from the 1960s-70s, in the inventory of the Federal Republic in those years. The plaque on the launcher witnesses the Canadian origin of the single-missile wheeled rack, built by Orenda.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

Behind the missiles, aircraft on display are a Soviet designed Antonov An-2 biplane, and a US designed Republic F-84 Thunderstreak, in the colors of the Luftwaffe of Federal Germany.

Military Museum Stammheim Schweinfurt Bayern Germany

All in all, this wonderful collection has much to offer for everybody with an interest in the military history of Germany since WWI to the Cold War era. The museum sets up reunions of enthusiasts, and special days with tank movements and live displays.

Getting there and moving around

The Stammheim am Main museum is located 7 miles south of Schweinfurt, a major center in the area, and about 12 miles northeast of beautiful Würzburg. It can be conveniently reached when traveling between the two, right on the bank of the Main river. The exact location is along the intercity road SW1, on the crossing with Maintalstrasse in the village of Kolitzheim. Parking right ahead of the entrance. Small restaurant on site. Since the museum is stuffed with tons of interesting items, even though compact in size, visiting may easily take more than 2 hours for an interested subject.

Former US Airbase, Giebelstadt

The now sleepy general aviation airfield in Giebelstadt has been a rather active military airbase for many decades. A Luftwaffe fighter base in WWII, it was among the first airbases to host the new Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter. In 1945 it fell in the hands of American forces, who intermittently used it for various temporary deployments and flight operations over the immediate post-WWII years. The early Cold War era and the 1950s were a new period of intensive use. The runway was lengthened, and more modern facilities for stationing troops and aircraft were built anew, in place of older and damaged German ones from the Nazi era. Powerful, cutting-edge radar installations were put in place, due to the proximity with the East German border. With the transition to fast jets, the proximity of the airfield to the border was actually too much, so that interceptors could not scramble in time from Giebelstadt, in case of an enemy attack from beyond the Iron Curtain. However, this would be an advantage for reconnaissance missions, launched during the Eisenhower administration, starting in 1956.

Giebelstadt was one of the few bases for the balloons of Project Genetrix. That was a first, partly successful attempt to gather intelligence through unmanned overflights of the USSR. In the same years, Giebelstadt was intended as the main operative base for the CIA Lockheed U-2s, to be used for a more risky – since manned – but much more effective way to collect photo and signal intelligence.

The actual deployment started in 1956, with some delay due to the need to prepare the airfield for operation of the one-of-a-kind Lockheed U-2. The latter flew in the meanwhile from Wiesbaden, where the headquarter of US military in Germany was at that time. This was not much liked by the US intelligence community, since the latter city was more crowded than the small country village of Giebelstadt, and this exposed highly secretive U-2 operations to a higher risk of espionage.

Missions carried out by the U-2 were of basically two types. The first was relatively risky ELINT missions along the border with the USSR, where defenses were stimulated without entering the enemy airspace, to obtain precious information on the reaction capability and the enemy anti-aircraft barrier, including the position of radar sites, etc. The second mission type was high-risk ELINT/PHOTINT missions, or ‘overflights’, where Soviet airspace was actually penetrated. In the latter case, the U-2 made use of its superior altitude and range performance to carry out long missions above the defenses of the USSR. As known, the development of high-performing SAMs, reaching up to the cruising altitude of the U-2 meant it was not invulnerable any more after 1960. This put an end to overflights. However, a total of 24 mostly successful overflight missions were carried out between 1956 and 1960, each of them specifically studied and approved with the direct involvement of president Eisenhower.

Besides missions along the border, or over satellite countries of the Eastern Bloc (still considered a high risk, but not as high as a direct overflight of the USSR), a single overflight of the USSR was actually flown from Giebelstadt. This was mission No. 2040, flown on October 13th, 1957, with Hervey S. Stockman at the controls. A report from this mission can be found on a CIA document here.

Following the end of the U-2-based intelligence missions, Giebelstadt was ceded to the US Army in the years of Kennedy. The Army used it as a huge base for helicopter operations well into the third millennium – the base was deactivated and returned to Federal Germany only in 2006.

Today, the now private airport can be barely neared without triggering security service. However, even a quick look along the fence will reveal clear traces of the US military tenancy. From hangars to fences, to softer constructions north of the airfield, everything is much US military standard.

Giebelstadt Airbase US U-2 CIA USAF Würzburg Bayern Germany

The runway – huge for todays single-prop and glider activities! – can be seen clearly from the south and from the eastern end.

Giebelstadt Airbase US U-2 CIA USAF Würzburg Bayern Germany

Antenna arrays and a now oversize control tower are other witnesses of the past military activity.

Giebelstadt Airbase US U-2 CIA USAF Würzburg Bayern Germany

Getting there and moving around

Giebelstadt airport can be conveniently reached along road N.19, about 8 miles south of Würzburg. Unfortunately, despite the road passing right besides the airport, there are very few options for stopping close to the fence with a car on this fast road, and similarly on the road going along the southern fence of the airport, taking east to Mönchsmühle nearby. However, the eastern runway head can be approached from the latter. Just turn north towards the base in the vicinity of the general aviation hangars in the southeastern corner of the airport. The road is a dead end, and you will likely trigger some inspection by people inside the fence, so not much to worry about if you stay outside.

Another part which can be toured is the former administrative part/barracks to the northeast. This can be entered driving along the northern side of the airport. This area has been taken over by private companies, and you might trigger some inspection by the respective security agencies. They are rather friendly though, so again, not much to worry about if you take picture staying in your car.

Sights

Indoor exhibition

Outdoor exhibition

Visiting

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Map

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Sights

Saint Sophia’s Cathedral

Saint Andrew’s Church & Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Saint Michael’s Cathedral

Friendship of Nations Monument

Governmental District

Monument to the Unknown Soldier

Pecerska Lavra Monastery

The Local Conflicts Museum

Motherland Statue

Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War

Independence Square

Golden Gate

Chernobyl National Museum

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Sights

Museum of Communism, Prague

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Nuclear Bunker for Civil Defense, Prague

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Soviet-Related Buildings and Monuments, Prague

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Vojna Prison Camp, Pribram

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Iron Curtain Museum, Rozvadov

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Museum of the Border Guard, Rozvadov

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Sights

Launch Control Area

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Integrated Fire Control Area

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Sights

Nike Missile Battery – Wurmberg

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Pershing Warhead Storage Bunkers – Waldstetten

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Internationales Luftfahrt-Museum – Villingen-Schwenningen

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Military History Museum, Stammheim am Main

A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

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Former US Airbase, Giebelstadt

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