Romania has been ruled by a communist dictatorship since the early Cold War period until the fall of Ceausescu in December 1989. The monarchy had been basically put aside by a military authoritarian government in the 1930s. The latter took the side of Hitler’s Third Reich during WWII. Eventually, towards the closing of the war, Stalin’s Red Army irresistibly wiped out all opponents in Eastern Europe, including Romania. A Stalinist regime, characterized by forced collectivization, mass arrest and persecution of many social categories, as well as political opponents, was put in place soon after the end of WWII, with the backing of the invading Soviet forces. A similar scenario was encountered in almost every Nation captured by the Soviet Union after WWII.
Following a struggle between rival exponents of the Communist Party of Romania, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej emerged as a dictator in those early years, and managed to stay in the pilot’s seat until his death in 1965, thus surviving the confusion in the USSR following the death of Stalin in 1953, and for the full length of weather-cocking Khrushchev’s tenancy of power. Among the most infamous creations of this period was the Securitate, the equivalent of USSR KGB, or the East-German Stasi (or the Third Reich’s Gestapo…). Actually, publications by the former Romanian Securitate official Ion Pacepa, who defected to the US in the late 1970s, have documented the intimate relationship of the Securitate with KGB, in some of the most delicate and long-reaching disinformation operations carried out in the West.
Besides that, in order to preserve the statu quo, political opponents, non-communist scientists, artists, exponents of the Romanian Christian churches, and many other target categories and individuals were subject to attentive and constant controls within Romanian borders. These controls were often followed by arrest, long detention in labor camps and prisons, and in several instances by execution, or mysterious ‘deaths in prison’, cowardly attributed to fancy causes.
A surviving tangible symbol of what is possibly the darkest chapter of the monstrous communist dictatorship in Romania is represented by the Sighet Prison, in the northern region of Targu Mures, on todays border with the Ukraine. Turned into a memorial, this is much visited by Romanians and foreign visitors as well. This is described in this chapter.
A big country with vast natural resources and access to the Black Sea, Romania had the potential of a big economy. But as Sir Winston Churchill once said, communists would run quickly out of sand in the Sahara. Industrialization and mass production was carried out at the price of an increasing international debt. The state was everywhere, it employed every worker, but the state had debts. As a result, wages, services and living conditions started to decline significantly with respect to free economies over the years.
Following the death of Gheorghiu-Dej, the relatively young and energetic Nicolae Ceausescu conquered power. He would reign over Romania together with his wife Elena, until the demise of communism in Romania and in Europe. For Romania, the Ceausescu era differed to some extent from the previous chapter of the Cold War. Profiting from the struggle for supremacy in the communist universe between China and the USSR, Romania escaped the orbit of any major communist state, and tried a new way on his own, establishing tight economic and political links with the West. This was somewhat similar to what Tito had tried in Yugoslavia.
Sealing the renovated international image of the Romanian ‘People’s Republic’, president Nixon and Ford payed a visit to Ceausescu in the 1970s, the first and last US presidents to do so, and Ceausescu’s ride on Queen Elizabeth II’s golden coach in London is a popular image even today. The Romanian dictator visited the White House. However, in a move to balance international debt, a growing share of the Romanian rich domestic production was sold to foreign countries. Correspondingly, life conditions in Romania went lower and lower.
Two interesting collections exist in Romania offering a glimpse on the everyday life of the Romanian people, the ‘Museum of the Communist Consumer’ in Timisoara, and the ‘Museum of Communism’ in Hunedoara. Both are covered in this post.
The situation spiraled at the beginning of the 1980s, when the Ceausescus started to behave more like Olympic gods than ‘usual’ communist dictators. The growing cult of personality of Nicolae and Elena as geniuses in economics, politics, science, art, … is witnessed by statues, emblems with the faces of the ‘royal couple’, kitschy communist paraphernalia which were more typical to Stalin’s last years, and not to other countries in the Eastern Bloc – there were no statues of Honecker in the DDR, nor of Kadar in Hungary, despite the hardcore communist regime affecting both countries. Meanwhile, the living conditions in the country hit an all-time low, with a real famine hitting large shares of the population. The sharp contrast with the Hollywood living style exhibited by the Ceausescus widened the distance between the autocratic government and the Romanian people. Strict control and intrusion in private life by the state, increased all along Ceausescu’s era, became even more paranoid, to try preventing any subversive action by the population.
Triggered by the surprise fall of the wall in Berlin, an inevitable eruption started with riots in Timisoara, and quickly spread in other large towns of the Country, in the fall of 1989. This culminated in the first and last public mass opposition to Ceausescu in Bucharest, just days before Christmas 1989. A full-scale revolution was started, with people shooting in the streets, casualties and deaths. The Ceausescus fled the palace of the government in Bucharest by helicopter. They landed in Targoviste, some tens of miles north, only to be captured by the local military. They were summarily trialed an executed shortly after, on Christmas day 1989, putting and end to the communist rule in Romania.
The trial and death of the Ceausescus have been captured on a video, broadcast worldwide in many occasions as a historical document since then. Possibly less known is the fact that the location where the Ceausescus were shortly detained, trialed and executed is today a monument, which has been preserved since those days with its original 1989 appearance, and can be easily visited. A report is displayed in this post.
Photographs were taken during a visit in the summer of 2021.
The Sighet Prison is located in the town of Sighetu Marmatiei, in the hilly region of Targu Mures, northern Romania, on the border with Ukraine (i.e. the USSR). The prison was built in the 19th century when this territory was part of the Austrian Empire.
Following the end of WWII, the Soviet-controlled territory of defeated Romania, just like any other future Soviet satellite country, was object of roundups against some groups, like former men from the military, religious ministers, politicians,… who amidst the lack of an established law system were arbitrarily deported to the Soviet Union. At this time, Sighet was used as a kind of transit camp for people on their way to deportation. This was mostly similar to what happened in Hohenschönhausen in Berlin (see here).
The prison then took over the primary role of a detention center for people opposing the new communist regime, and it was used as such at least until the death of Stalin in 1953. In 1955 it was converted into a standard prison for common criminals, despite only a general amnesty in the mid 1960s meant the liberation of the last political prisoners – quite similarly, the Gulag prison camp system in the USSR was dismantled by around the end of the 1950s.
In the years of Stalin, who backed a hardcore communist government in Romania, the Sighet Prison was therefore an instrument of repression, arbitrarily used against very high-profile people opposing communism, like former top members of the pre-WWII government, non-communist party leaders, professors and scientists, bishops and ministers of various Christian faiths. But also anti-communist students and less prominent figures went through this deadly installation.
The inmates in Sighet were mistreated to the point that many died there, including some prominent figures in the history of Romania.
The prison was closed in the late 1970s, to be duly re-opened as a memorial the early 1990s. The former prison building – not very big, similar to an average high-school building – has been almost totally taken over by a very rich and interesting exhibition. Today, this is a major destination for both Romanian and international visitors.
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Starting from the entrance hall, you are provided with information on the detention system put in place by the communists in Romania. This was pretty extensive, with labor camps (to be found also elsewhere in central Europe, from the same Stalinist era, see here), prisons with various ‘targets’ – including the in-famous Pitesti prison, made specifically for religious people, and remarkably demolished still in the communist era, soon after the conclusion of the homonym ‘experiment’ – psychiatric hospitals used for confinement of mentally healthy people, etc.
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
The original gates, grates and fences, dividing the halls of the prison, are still there. The main row is on two floors, with cells aligned along both sides. Most of the cells now host informative displays, covering several specific themes.
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
The exhibits range from copies of documents witnessing the arbitrary arrest of many people, fake death reports with fancy causes, to collection of articles showing the careful use of the press to build up a ‘parallel reality’, in support of the moves of the government. Lists of inmates by category are also presented.
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Extorted confessions of absurd crimes were among the goals of the detention of political inmates. These were obtained with torture and violence (typical to the every communist dictatorship, as accurately shown in Budapest, see here).
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Some of the cells, including those where some particularly famous people died, have been preserved with their original appearance.
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
A rigor cell, with shackles anchored to the floor and no windows, has been left as it was. Artifacts made by the inmates are also on display.
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Several cells on the top floor cover the history of communism in Europe and in Romania, with some artifacts, copies of pictures and documents.
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
The prison features a double courtyard, where memorial installations have been placed – a sculpture, a memorial wall, and a nice modern chapel.
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
Sighet Prison Memorial Museum – Communist Dictatorship Political Prisoners – Sighetu Marmatiei – Maramures – Romania
All in all, a sober place, which preserves and relives sad memories, quintessential to the communist experience of this fierce country.
Visiting
The town of Sighetu Marmatiei is a major center in Targu Mures, but is nothing special in itself. However, due to its strategic position, it is likely you will have chance to pass by. Access to the memorial is from a walking area in the town center. A signaled parking can be found immediately nearby, providing easy access to the site. Entrance is at a small fee. The exhibition is modern, detailed and catchy. Most explanations are in Romanian only, but free detailed booklets in several languages are included in the entrance fee. Therefore, even for non-Romanian speakers, visiting may be rewarding, and a visit may easily take 1-2 hours.
Museum of the Communist Consumer, Timisoara
This collection is really unusual, in both its setting and arrangement. It is located in the basement and ground floor of a pub, in what appears to be a former apartment. Especially the basement – which however gets some sunlight – features some rooms like a kitchenette, a living room, a corridor, a small studio.
The content is partly the result of – possibly – the original furniture of this apartment, or a similar one, as well as – literally – thousands of everyday items, everything from the communist age.
Furthermore, the museum is ‘interactive’, meaning that you can touch everything, take items in your hands, move around everywhere, as if you were at home!
Licenses and personal documents from Romanian authorities, product labels, books, LPs, … you might spend hours digging in this incredible mass of original material.
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Postcards from the communist age are especially interesting, showing popular locations in Romania, portrayed sometimes from… a different perspective. Differently from today, the subject of postcards was typically a monster apartment block in pure socialist brutalism style, newly built in the peripheral surroundings, rather than some castle or graceful Orthodox monastery in the historical district! But these were the triumphs of communism to show off…
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Some souvenirs from the USSR are also on display, similar to many ‘Made in CCCP’ technology items – from a vacuum cleaner loosely resembling a rocket, to LP record players.
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
There are gas masks, maps of Romania – possibly from a school or public office? – and a few remarkable official emblems of the Communist Party of Romania, including an embroidered red banner, and a few big portraits of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu. These also might result from the dismantlement of a public office, school, communist workers group, or similar.
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
The upper floor is partly a collection, partly a pub, with a nice ‘exotic’ atmosphere.
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Museum of Communist Consumers – Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist – Timisoara – Romania
Definitely a pick for a full immersion in the everyday life in the communist age of Romania.
Visiting
The location of the museum (‘Muzeul Consumatorului Comunist’ in Romanian) is slightly peripheral with respect to the large historical district of Timisoara. The location is in Strada Arhitect Laszlo Szekely 1, Timișoara. It is convenient to reach with a car, parking is possible almost everywhere around, as usual in Romania. Entrance is free. They have a Facebook page with some information here. Do not be discouraged by the front appearance, which may look sealed. Entrance is possible from the little pergola to the back of the building. Visiting may take from 30 minutes to much more, in case you decide to dig into this impressive collection.
Museum of Communism, Hunedoara
This remarkable collection has been put in place privately by a Romanian now living mostly in Germany. The exhibition is articulated in four halls.
A first one showcases original reviews and newspapers from the communist era. Official portraits of Gheorghiu-Dej and Ceausescu can be seen hanging on the walls, similar to official material from the Romanian communist party (the acronym ‘PCR’).
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
The main hall has on display reconstructions of two rooms, one from a railway workers building, and another from a general grocery store. Both have been created based on original emblems, instructional posters, propaganda posters, and various celebration items.
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
A third hall hosts the reconstruction of an elementary classroom. Everything original also here, and the atmosphere which has been recreated is particularly exotic and authentic – see for instance the similarity of the items on display with respect to an original Soviet school ‘preserved’ in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, here and here.
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Further display cases are stuffed with original items, from medals and decorations to propaganda material.
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
The last room in this museum hosts a collection of uniforms, from the communist age down to the post-communist years. The change is reflected mainly in a different emblem on the official’s hats.
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
Museum of Communism – Permanent Exhibition of the Steps of Romania from Socialism to Democracy -Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație – Hunedoara – Romania
This collection is very well preserved, and makes for an interesting complement to a visit to Hunedoara, a popular destination thanks to the Corvins’ Castle.
Visiting
The museum is located in central Hunedoara, Strada Cloșca Nr 2. A small parking can be found ahead, plenty of parking opportunities around. The rather articulated full name in Romanian is ‘Muzeul Comunismului – Expoziție Permanentă Pașii României prin Socialism și Democrație’, but the first part is basically ‘Museum of Communism’. There is a Facebook page with some information here. The owner is very friendly, and the place is well maintained and presented. Please note that only cash is accepted. The exhibition is rather compact, and visiting may take about 30 minutes.
Ceausescu Trial and Shooting Place, Targoviste
In December 1989 things degenerated rapidly for the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Starting from Timisoara, riots became more violent and focused, asking for the deposition of Ceausescu from power. In a desperate move to induce the general public and the international press to believe he still retained control, a mass demonstration was set up in Bucharest on December 21st by the communist leader. Despite a huge crowd – mass-infiltrated by the Securitate – was ahead of the palace of the government to listen to the Ceausescus (see this post), a genuine counter-demonstration fueled by the population of Bucharest soon took control of the show. The incredible scene which resulted, with Ceausescu trying to silence the protesters and visibly loosing credit and power second after second at an impressive rate, has become a historical document and a symbol of the demise of communism dictatorship in Europe.
The following day (22nd), the Ceausescus, trapped in the Palace of the Government now besieged, escaped from the roof with a helicopter in the early afternoon. In the meanwhile, revolutionaries faced the governmental militia, and shots were fired in the streets, with many victims and wounded. But the revolutionary wave continued to grow and spread very rapidly all over the country, with branches of the public administration and military abandoning the ‘sinking ship’ of Ceausescu, and openly taking the side of the protesters in several districts of the Country.
The helicopter with the Ceausescus landed in Targoviste, and by the evening they were under arrest there, in the Army Barrack 01417. There they were confined and kept under strict armed surveillance, in a decent, albeit essential room, together. Finally, on December 25th, they were summoned in an adjoining room, where they were trialed by an improvised court, mainly composed of military staff. The couple was charged with very general imputations, including genocide of some tens of thousands people, as well as destroying the economy of the state. They were found guilty, sentenced to death and executed soon after in the courtyard of the barrack.
Both the trial and (the last part of) the execution by firing squad were filmed and broadcast, and this too is a well-known historical document.
Maybe the fact that you have seen this on TV makes a visit to Barrack 01417 particularly impressive. The former barrack, now a rather understated memorial, can be approached through the small front courtyard, where you can read a detailed description in multiple languages (including English) of the facts briefly outlined above.
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
The entry hall of the barrack is painted in an unusual vivid blue, and clearly dates from before the communist age – maybe from the early 20th century. Three rooms are accessible from the hall. One is the ticket office. A second one is a preserved office of an officer of the barrack. Telephone connections, maps and a cabinet with original communist propaganda material are on display.
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
The last room accessible from the hall is the one where the trial took place. This has been preserved exactly as it looked like in the video, with the same arrangement of the tables and chairs. A massive stove is still there. The positions of the defendants is marked with labels. Everything is very shabby here. An adjoining room was used by the court for the quick discussion and decision on the fate of the Ceausescus.
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
The aura of this semi-dark room is still today rather gloomy, and somewhat disturbing.
From the main hall, you can access a corridor. A door on the side is the entrance to the room where the Ceausescus were kept in custody from the 22nd until their death on the 25th of December. Three berths can be seen – one possibly for a guard – a front desk facing the door, and in a corner a small table with two chairs for meals, once protected by a curtain.
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
The toilet to the dead end of the corridor is possibly also original from the time.
Finally, you may step outside in the backyard, to the place were the two were actually shot. The door giving access to the courtyard is close to the trial room, and cannot be opened.
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
The wall behind the Ceausescus where they were shot is still marked by bullet pierces. Based on the video, automatic rifles were used, therefore really many bullets were shot at the two targets.
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
The places of the dead corpses of Elena (to the left) and Nicolae are marked on the ground.
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
A plaque on the wall remembers the shooting. With respect to the video, the area immediately ahead of the shooting place, i.e. where the firing squad should have been standing, is now covered by some bushes. However, apart from that, the setting looks mostly like what you see in the historical records from that moment.
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Ceausescu’s Detention and Execution Place – Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu – Targoviste – Romania
Clearly connected with a rapid sequence of undoubtedly tragic moments, the Targoviste memorial stands out as a symbol of the – this time, violent – end of communism in Europe, like the memorials of the wall in Berlin, and a few more locations in former communist countries in the Old Continent.
Visiting
The memorial is not much visited nor crowded these days – more than 30 years have elapsed since that fateful day in 1989. However, the place is indeed a museum open to the general public for visits. The name of the place in Romanian is ‘Locul executiei cuplului Ceausescu’. The exact location is Bulevardul Carol I 68, Târgoviște. You may find a public parking on the street in the immediate vicinity of the boulevard where the barrack is. Unfortunately, opening times are not officially published (even on site, they were not clear), but those you can find on Google Maps were correct in the summer high season. Visiting is on a self-guided basis, and may take from 10 to 45 minutes, for a quick visit or in case you want to take pictures.
A pleasant country in northern Europe, Denmark is geographically surrounded by the North and Baltic seas, and shares its only land border with Germany. In the late 1930s, this meant having a very dangerous dictatorship as the only neighbor, and no possible direct help coming by land from other allies. Without natural defenses against and attack from the south, the Kingdom of Denmark was militarily occupied basically in one day, on April 9th, 1940. This happened through a joint operation carried out by the land, air and naval forces of Nazi Germany.
A quick historical overview
The interest of Germany in controlling Danish territory was mainly strategic. It served as a springboard to attack Norway further north. The latter was in itself more interesting to the economy of the Third Reich, as it was rich of natural resources, including raw materials not available in Germany. These were so needed by the Führer, who was dreaming of making Germany independent from international supply trade.
Furthermore, controlling both Denmark and Norway meant control over the eastern coast of the North Sea, and a chance to control the only access to the Baltic Sea. The USSR was not a declared enemy before 1941, but withdrawing from the mutual cooperation pact with Stalin – signed in a hurry just days before the invasion of Poland in September 1939 – at some point, and openly attacking Russia, had been in the mind of the Führer since he first put on paper his worrying geopolitical thoughts. By controlling the Baltic, Hitler could control sea trade to non-freezing ports of the USSR, which in 1940 had already taken over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in agreement with Germany.
As a matter of fact, the conquer of Norway was not without significant losses for Germany. This was also the result of Britain starting to militarily oppose Germany. The two countries had been already at war since September 1939, but without any serious confrontation having taken place for months.
Since then, the British – and later also the American – threat from the west had to be faced through the fortification of the western coast of the Third Reich, which by the end of the summer of 1940 extended roughly from the Pyrenees in southern France to Kirkenes in northern Norway. This highly visionary task was taken up very seriously by the German military-economic machine, and produced the ‘Atlantikwall’ – which translates pretty obviously into the ‘Atlantic Wall’. This long defensive line had to be built all along the coast, and was mainly based on a catalog of standardized reinforced concrete constructions, to be reproduced in great numbers. Construction was coordinated by the main contractor, the German ‘Organization Todt’, which made extensive use of subcontracted local companies in the various occupied states where construction had to take place.
Despite the majority of the elements in the line were reinforced barracks for troops watching the coastline, ammo and supply storages, command and communication bunkers, canteens, and other service buildings, there were of course also a number of heavier constructions. These included coastal gun batteries, to counter attacking ships, lighter gun batteries, to stop troops attempting a beach landing, aiming stations, to adjust the line of fire of gun batteries, anti-aircraft guns to defend the line from air attacks, and some technical buildings serving as bases for advanced radar systems. The latter were among the most useful and widespread items along the line, as German technology developed fast during the war, to produce powerful detection systems against air and sea menaces.
Needless to remember, similar to many pharaonic works conceived by the Führer and his entourage, the Atlantic Wall was never completed, and it failed to spare the Third Reich from total annihilation. The once-modern military installations along the western coast of Europe soon became obsolete, as war changed face at a quick pace following WWII, with new weapons and techniques. Furthermore, the front line of the new Cold War shifted geographically to the middle of Europe. A tangible sign of enemy occupation, the massive bunkers of the Atlantic Wall met different destinies depending on the country. However, albeit only rarely preserved, thanks to their bulkiness and sturdy make, they are in most cases still visible.
About this post
Being the first land along the western coast to fall under German control, work on the Atlantic Wall started in Denmark earlier than anywhere else. Today extensive traces of the line are still pointing the shores of the North Sea.
A few focal points are preserved as first-class museums. These include the strongholds of Hirtsthals and the huge battery at Hanstholm, in Northern Jutland. The latter had been designed around a cluster of four monster coastal guns, to the aim of controlling the passage through the Skagerrak channel, providing access to the Baltic Sea. A twin battery – Vara – was built to the north of the strait in Norway.
Closer to the German border, the area of Blavand – featuring also the famous ‘Tirpitz battery’ in its arsenal – is another example of a partly preserved portion of the line. Bangsbo fort in Frederikshaven has been partly refurbished and opened as a museum, after being used by the Danish military for a while. There you can find one of the few remaining examples of an Atlantic Wall installation with its original guns still in place.
Smaller strongholds, opened as smaller scale museums or left to more adventurous explorers, often feature unique special constructions, which justify a detour at least for more committed war historians. These include the Skagen battery, the disguised bunkers in Thyboron, and the complicated Stauning battery, built on two opposite coasts of a closed firth.
All these sites – and a few more – are covered in this post, which is based on photographs taken in August 2019. Denmark is officially protecting the installations of the Atlantic Wall as historical buildings – unlike France, for instance – so visiting even abandoned sites maybe rewarding, especially if they are out of the mainstream touristic routes. Unfortunately, many bunkers now closer to crowded touristic areas have been damaged by vandals.
Sights
Map
The sites covered in this post are listed on the following map. Sites opened as museums are pinpointed in red, wild sites are marked in blue.
The sites are listed in the post following the coastline of Jutland from its southwestern end.
Located about 50 miles north of the German border along the coast of the North Sea, the small town of Blavand sits on a promontory protruding towards the sea, and protecting the access to the port town of Esbjerg – still today a major commercial port of Denmark.
The area of Blavand saw the construction of an incredible number of Atlantic Wall elements, which grew up in more instances during the war years.
Close by the parking ahead of the lighthouse on the very tip of the promontory, you can find trailheads leading to the southern and western shores of the promontory.
The southern shore makes for a typical North Sea landscape – an endless sand beach. What makes it different from others is the number of light bunkers placed along the shoreline. Despite little imposing, this model – type ‘F’ – was purpose built for the wide shores of Denmark in 1944, in view of a potential enemy beach landing. These firing positions were armed with machine guns, and placed at pre-determined intervals – about 1’500 ft – matching their accuracy range.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Many bunkers are slowly sinking in the sand, and only small parts of them can be seen emerging from the ground.
Others have been turned into strange sculptures, adding a horse head and tail.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Under favorable tide conditions, you may enter some of the bunkers. There you can appreciate their simple structure, with a defensive embrasure by the entrance (looking towards the coast) and loopholes to the sides of the firing chamber.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
On the beach close to the lighthouse you can find a very big bunker with a wide hollow cave on the inland side, which used to support a searchlight.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Along the western shore you can find more massive bunkers. These include four former coastal gun batteries. These heavier constructions have assumed strange attitudes, after sinking in the sand somewhat irregularly over the years.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Looking towards the inland from the beach, you can spot an aiming/fire control positions, with a distinctive bulbous roof and a long curved slot on the facade.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Your walk along the northern shore may be interrupted by safety warnings concerning mine threat. As a complement to the defensive potential of the Atlantic Wall, extensive minefields were set up on most of the Danish beaches. This turned into a big issue soon after WWII, when an extensive demining action had to be carried out.
Furthermore, part of the Blavand promontory is occupied by a military firing range. When training exercises are taking place, special warning lights are lit and flags are raised, to delimit the territory where you should not venture.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
In the dunes slightly inland from the shoreline, it is possible to find another big number of bunkers. They are not always visible from the distance, and entrance is in most cases from one side only – the only side emerging from the sand.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
A very distinctive item is the colossal platform for a ‘Mammut’ type long-range anti-aircraft radar. This used to be operated by the Luftwaffe, whereas other bunkers in Blavand – like elsewhere along the Atlantic Wall – used to be run by other branches of the Germany military.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The base for the radar is in itself a rather complex bunker, with several cavities and extensive piping, once needed for power cables feeding the antenna, as well as other wiring.
Close by, a smaller radar base bunker used to be operated by the German Navy. Also here, holes and passages for cables can be found in the walls and roof.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
It is noteworthy how many bunkers feature traces of original decorations, like painted walls, fake wallpaper, frescoes and small frieze lines. This is typical to many other installations of the Atlantic Wall.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Metal hardware can be found in the form of a bulky aiming turret emerging from a bunker.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
In another instance, a mortar mouth pops out from the ground.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The underground bunker underneath the latter can be explored with some difficulty – there are also quite annoying bats inside -, but it reveals an aiming wheel with original markings in a reinforced concrete dome!
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
An interesting sight nearby the lighthouse is the tower once supporting a ‘See Riese’ radar. The protruding arms once sustained a wooden platform for military operators.
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stronghold Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
The area of Blavand is rather extensive and rich of diverse installations, so notwithstanding the general bad shape of most of the bunkers, visiting may easily take 3-4 hours for a committed tourist, getting inside most of the items. A good starting point is the free parking by the lighthouse, provided you come early especially in summer, cause it tends to get more and more crowded along the day.
Blavand – ‘Tirpitz’ Coastal Guns
Despite at least some of the bunkers on the shores of Blavand being in a relatively good shape, there is a part of the Atlantic Wall which is officially preserved as a museum. This is one of the two unfinished bunkers intended to support a set of massive 38 cm coastal guns.
These guns – four, two for each bunker – were originally intended to be put on board battleship Gneisenau. The latter got damaged in port, and the guns were diverted to coastal use. The decision to build the Tirpitz battery to protect the port of Esbjerg came relatively late during the war, in 1944. As a result, construction of the battery supporting structures was not completed when the war ended, and the four never installed guns were scrapped – except one, which can be admired in Hanstholm (see below).
The name ‘Tirpitz’ attributed to this battery is of uncertain origin, and sometimes this installation is also referred to as ‘Vogelnest’.
The museum has been built only in the southernmost bunker. The installation is very modern (and crowded), and it has been designed as a thematic museum in five sections. Two of the most interesting are about the Atlantic Wall and its impact on local life, and on the extensive mining and demining operations on the shores of Denmark.
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Other sections are related to amber trade and local seamen activities.
Finally, you can get access to the base of the gun turret. Photographs are bad here, due to very poor lighting and limitations on camera use.
You can see a central round dome, surrounded by an external corridor. Traces of a post-war explosion can be noticed looking at the metal part of the construction.
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Outside of the museum you can find a cannon cut in pieces, plus rigs used for construction. The bulky concrete arms protruding from the roof were meant to support the crane for mounting the cannons.
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
With a five minutes walk from this bunker, you can get to the northern battery. This is not preserved, and the entrances have been bricked up. Yet you may better appreciate the size of the bunker from this exemplar than from the one turned into a museum.
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Tirpitz Battery Blaavand (Blåvand) Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
The museum is located east of Oksby along Tane Hedevey, a local road connecting Blavand to Esbjerg. There are signs along the road, and a large parking ahead of the entrance. The museum is very modern, and may turn very crowded in summer. Website with full information here. You can visit on your own with an audio-guide. The visit to the military-related sections may take about 1 hour.
Adding a walk to the northern battery will take further 20 minutes at most, as there is no chance to step in.
Stauning Battery
Construction of this battery started in the second half of 1944, and consequently it was only partially completed before the end of the war. The geography of the Stauning battery is rather peculiar. The intended design was based on four coastal guns to be placed on the inland side of the Ringkobing firth – basically a lake with a channel-like small mouth connecting it to the sea. On the other coast of the firth, i.e. very close to the North Sea in Hvide Sande, the aiming station for the battery was finally built.
In the event, only one of the reinforced concrete gun positions reached completion, whereas the other three cannons were kept on basic, not reinforced aprons. The gun bunker is the only exemplar of this model built along the Atlantic Wall, and was designed around a 19,4 cm gun manufactured in France.
Located far from the shore in a secluded area of the countryside, this battery is in a relatively good shape, and thanks to the hard soil its position has not drifted since it was installed. You can even walk on top.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
More elements are scattered in the bushes and over the private pasture nearby. Among them, a firing position presumably for anti-aircraft or light field guns, and corresponding ammo storages.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
There is also a reinforced concrete barrack or command post. This can be toured inside, revealing some metal piping still in place.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Traces of gun concrete platforms – likely gun firing positions – blown up after the war can be seen, similar to many smaller cubic buildings of uncertain purpose.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
A couple of unattractive half-interred ‘living bunker’ can be found too, another design present only in Denmark – the type was named ‘Falkenhorst III’. Inside, traces of original wall paintings can be easily spotted.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
There is actually a fire direction post of some sort in this part of the battery too. This is a square-based concrete booth, with an adjoining living bunker.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The aiming position in Hvide Sande is rather easy to find, on top of a mound close to the city center. There are actually two concrete accesses on the eastern side of the hill. The one closer to the top gives access to the metal dome you can spot on top of the mound.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Climbing up to the dome is possible along a rusty ladder, going through a narrow vertical passage. Once there you can see the mounting of a telescope for measurements. There are side slots looking outside, and an original marked wheel to provide measurements. You can also spot small foldable wooden tables (or perhaps jump-seats).
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Downstairs, there are a few panels explaining the history of the battery.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The second concrete entrance gives access to a ‘living bunker’ for the troops, with explanatory panels on the history of the place.
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Stauning Battery Hvide Sande Point Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
The inland part of the Stauning battery with the gun station is located close to Stauningvej 55. You may park your car not far north from this address, on a wide lot close to the entrance of a local residential area. Most notably, this battery is about .5 miles from the beautiful Danish Museum of Flight (see this post). Exploring the battery may take 1-1.5 hours, as the place is totally wild and inconvenient to visit.
The Hvide Sande point is on the northern rim of the channel linking the firth to the North Sea. You can see the mound close by a major round about, where road 181 meets Troldbjergsvej. There are several parking options nearby. The place is technically not abandoned, but there was no ticket/staff, and it was totally dark when I visited. You would better take a small torch with you.
Sondervig
Just as an example of how extensive the construction of the Atlantic Wall was in Denmark, you may have a look to the beach in Sondervig, where people spending the day by the sea are accustomed to the view of the monstrous German bunkers pointing the shore.
Atlantic Wall Sondervig Beach Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Sondervig Beach Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
You may find a parking spot in Sondervig and access this famous touristic beach by foot.
Thyboron
The coastal battery at Thyboron has a unique place in the panorama of Atlantic Wall buildings. Here a sort of sample list of possible deceptive techniques were tested on otherwise normal bunkers. The usual constructions pointing the shore have a strange appearance here, thanks to the imaginative talent of a Danish architect – who turned out to be a spy working for the Allies.
At least two gun batteries bear a special roof, resembling that of a house. Also thanks to erosion, they now have even odder shapes, resembling some Star Wars spaceship.
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
An observation bunker bears a tiled roof. Surprisingly, an apparently original fragment of telegraph wire can be found inside.
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Given the position of the bunkers – lying isolated on a deserted beach – it’s pretty difficult to suppose this kind of deception was ever effective…
There are also some more straightforward constructions around, some of them in a relatively good shape. The cusped lintels above most doors and openings are typical to elements of the Atlantic Wall in northern countries, and are made for protecting the passages against snow and icing rain.
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Just inland from the ‘sample list’, you can find a large underground bunker, somewhat difficult to access – it is sinking in the sand. Conspicuous traces of original wall painting and even writings in German can be found on the walls.
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The message in German is a warning message, telling to stay away of the walls in case of bombardment. This warning sign is rather ubiquitous in Danish bunkers.
Close to the the city center – and actually a part of the Coastal Center, a museum for children dedicated to the life along the western coast of Jutland – it is possible to find another bunker deceived as a wooden house! This deception technique is far more convincing than those on the shore…
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
To visit the bunkers on the shore you can reach a convenient public parking at the southern end of Vesterhavsgade, southern Thyboron. Visiting these bunkers may take about 45 minutes for a committed tourist. To get to the Coastal Center you may follow the signs and park at your convenience ahead of the building. The deceived bunker can be seen from the outside of the museum, so getting the ticket is not needed if you are not interested in the rest of the installation.
Extra feature – Sea War Museum, Thyboron
Thyboron has a prominent place in WWI history, being the Danish village closest to the area of the Battle of Jutland, one of the very few naval battles of that war, and one of the top-ranking in history for the number of vessels and tonnage involved, and for the casualties – almost 9’000 seamen were killed.
The battle was fought between two major formations of the the German Kaiser on one side and the King of England on the other. Started almost by chance, as the two opposing factions appeared on the same sector unaware of each other, the fighting was so intense that cannon fire was heard along the shores of Thyboron for many hours. The battle ended with a tactical defeat on the British side, but the Kriegsmarine of the Kaiser avoided any other serious clashes with the British for the rest of the war – in this sense, this was a British strategic victory.
Today, a monument dedicated to those who perished in the Battle of Jutland occupies a wide area over a promontory in northern Thyboron, close by the Coastal Center (see above).
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
A nice museum dedicated to sea war has been put in place nearby. On the exterior you can find old mines, torpedoes and even parts of relics taken from the bottom of the sea.
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Inside you can find many unique artifacts, including cannons, insignia, and everyday items from ships taking parts to the Battle of Jutland.
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Also unique are parts of early submarines dating from WWI, recovered from the sea thanks to novel investigation and capture technologies.
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
The museum is at large dedicated to naval battles and ventures of WWI. A section is dedicated to the most modern sea archaeology techniques.
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Sea War Museum Thyboron (Thyborøn) Jutland Battle WWI Denmark
Outside of the museum, you may spot a few Atlantic Wall bunkers as well, likely converted into more modern military installations in a post-WWII period. They are apparently run as museums, but they were closed when I passed by.
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Thyboron (Thyborøn) Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
The Sea War Museum is located very close to the Coastal Center in central Thyboron. Dedicated free parking right ahead of the entrance. Visiting may take about 1.5-2 hours for more committed subjects, despite the small size. The museum is stacked with extremely interesting details, the exhibition is rich and well made. Really an interesting detour for anybody interested in sea war. Website here.
Agger
Agger is located north of the Thyboron Channel, and can be reached with a five minutes ferry ride from nearby Thyboron. The long, windy, wild and distressing beaches south of the village of Agger are not really welcoming, nor easy to visit. Yet here you can find some unique and imposing elements of the Atlantic Wall.
These include a firing control bunker of the Navy. A feature often found also elsewhere, you can see some of the concrete bunkers are made of joined blocks. Light can be seen coming from the thin slots between the blocks in some occasions.
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Another special construction here is the support tower for a ‘Seetakt’ radar. The tall concrete tower is assembled together with a bulkier concrete base.
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The assembly has slipped to the shoreline, and today it can be neared only in favorable tide conditions. Furthermore, it is sitting in a banked attitude, making it looking really derelict.
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Agger Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Thanks also to a rather bad weather, these elements of the Atlantic Wall looked really eerie when I visited!
Getting there and moving around
The Agger site is wild and not signaled. The area is part of a national preserve, and part of the endless beach is a stage for kites, surfing activities and other beach sports. There is an official parking at the western end of Lange Mole Vej, less than five minutes by car from the ferry terminal to Thyboron. From there you should go to the beach and walk north for about 15 minutes to get to the tower, the highlight of the show.
You may spot it from the distance. I could not get in the tower due to unfavorable tide conditions, but visiting inside may not take much time, for the expected condition is not good, with little left to see.
Hanstholm
The Hanstholm battery is one of the most developed of the entire Atlantic Wall. As pointed out in the introduction, together with the sister site ‘Vara’ in Norway – about 80 miles north – this battery was centered on four massive 38 cm cannons, installed to obstruct surface passage through the Skagerrak, and de facto controlling the access to the Baltic Sea.
An initial battery based on less powerful 17 cm coastal guns was put in place as soon as 1940. The gigantic 38 cm guns arrived only later and were tested, but never used in action. The metal parts of the firing stations, including the turrets and guns, were eventually scrapped in the early 1950s. Over the years, this huge installation, with more than 300 bunkers fell largely into private hands, and today many former storage bunkers are used as warehouses for machinery and goods by local owners.
Nonetheless, battery Nr.3 has been turned into a modern museum, after being largely refurbished to its original splendor. As such, it is a one-of-a-kind museum, with thousands of visitors per year. Two more turrets and a number of bunkers are left to explorers. While they are not actively maintained, they are still in a rather good shape, and responsible exploration is even supported with some indications.
The area of the Hanstholm is almost 4 square miles. In order not to get disoriented, a good starting point is the museum in and around turret Nr.3. There you are greeted by a pretty unique 38 cm cannon! This is actually from the Tirpitz battery (see above), but it is exactly the same item once installed in Hanstholm. The size is really remarkable, especially when compared to more modest and usual 15 cm coastal guns, on display.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The modern museum offers a quick recap of the history of the place, with memorabilia including everyday items, letters, maps and original weapons.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Once you are done with that, you can get access to the underground part, where you first meet the ammo storage rooms, on the side of a long corridor aligned along a narrow gauge railway track. This was used to connect the firing stations – i.e. the four bunkers with the guns – to larger ammo storages scattered around the are of the fort.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
There are two major adjoining rooms along the corridor, each dedicated to a different part of the cartridge. The piercing part – the ‘bullet’ – and the exploding fuse were kept separated from each other. This is similar to naval guns, and typical to larger calibers. The complicated railings hanging from the roof were made to allow moving the parts of the cartridge by means of movable cranes.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
In action, the bullets and fuses were loaded on a slide, and from there on trolleys which would enter the turret from below. Today, as the turret is not there any more, the trolleys are in an open air corridor, apparently without any sense. It is noteworthy that the inscriptions and frescoes are all original, albeit refurbished.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The structure of the firing station and of the Hanstholm fort can be better appreciated from the drawings and models below.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
A second part of the firing station is the bunker for the complement of men needed to operate this complicated cannon. The place was permanently watched, with shifts spending the night in underground quarters. Those pertaining to firing station Nr.3 have been refurbished, and provide a vivid impression of the original appearance. There are sleeping and living quarters, as well as large, military style showers and toilets.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
There is also a complete power station, with two Diesel generators, a mechanics shop, water tanks and more.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Out of the Nr.3 firing station you are encouraged to tour at least part of the site along a series of prescribed trails. Among the items you meet on this tour is one of the ammo storages. It is not dissimilar from the ammo storage part of the firing station. The ammo parts were loaded on a railway car passing through, and from there moved towards the gun turret.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
There are also many smaller storage and service bunkers, some bearing interesting original inscriptions inside.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The Hanstholm fort was defended by field cannons and anti-aircraft guns. Emplacements for the latter can be spotted around in more instances.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Another suggested part of the visit is firing station Nr.4, which is not really preserved, but is not in a generally bad shape either. You can get in only if you have a torchlight. Visiting may offer something very similar to Nr.3, except everything is more derelict – but for this reason, may be more authentic.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
In the living part, you can find inscriptions in German and traces of the original wall paint. With a general knowledge of the plan from the visit to Nr.3, you may easily recognize the corresponding rooms – power station, toilets, living rooms, etc.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
To get to the ammo storage part, you can walk along the round corridor outside. No trolleys left here, differently from Nr.3.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Inside the ammo storage rooms, you notice that the inscriptions have been largely canceled for some reason, but the slides as well as the frescoes above them are still there.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Still part of the suggested itinerary, you can find a control station, in a rather bad shape, and more interestingly a very peculiar building, located on top of a cliff.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
This was a fire direction station. Due to the high-tech nature of the Hanstholm battery, fire direction worked on what can be considered archaic computers! The building has many floors. There is provision for a permanent team of technicians, hosted in living and sleeping quarters downstairs.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The top floors used to host the computing machines, which were fed by measurements from instruments mounted in metal domes, facing on the roof of the building. The room for the computing machines is rather dark, and due to the black walls it is difficult to see anything even with a torch.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The Hanstholm site offers several ancillary bunkers open to the public. Among them, one for a generator, supplying the whole fort in case of a grid failure.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Another bunker is an ammo storage, with a big concrete arch outside, for a moving crane operating above railway cars. Narrow gauge railway tracks can be seen still today in this part.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The pivot in the middle of firing station Nr.2 has been interred after the war, but the living/sleeping quarters for the troops and the ammo storage parts can be visited, albeit they are not connected any more by a direct passage.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
A visit to this firing station is very interesting, for writings are in a generally better shape than in Nr.4, even though this too has not been refurbished.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
In the ammo storage part, writings are especially abundant. You can see also traces of the original telephone wiring.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The last firing station, Nr.1, is not accessible, even though not interred.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
As said, there are many other bunkers an remains around, which are typically not accessible, especially the farther you go from the museum. They are now largely on private land and used for something else.
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hanstholm Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
The Hanstholm strongpoint is a must for everyone interested in the Atlantic Wall! The museum is modern, completely accessible, with a convenient parking and all usual facilities. Website here.
The refurbished part is basically only firing station Nr.3, but many other bunkers, like the fire control center, as well as firing stations Nr.2 and 4 are open for explorers, and they have not been spoiled by vandals. You need to go with a torchlight and proper clothing, but the visit may be very rewarding.
Many more bunkers around are closed to the public, as they are now private property and used for other purposes.
Due to the enormous size of the area, visiting may easily turn into a full-day or even multi-days business for an enthusiast. For the general public, a visit to the museum and one of the trails may take a 2-3 hours depending on the level of interest.
Hirtshals
Similar to Hanstholm (see above), the area of Hirtshals was soon selected by the Wehrmacht for a coastal fortification, thanks to its strategic position overlooking the mouth of the Skagerrak strait.
The first four 105 mm field guns were positioned here as soon as summer 1941. They occupied open-air concrete aprons, which still today bear trace of the original camouflage paint and deceptive net.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
A peculiarity of this fort is its extensive network of trenches, which connect all the battle stations to the living quarters for the troops and the service buildings, like the canteen-bunker and the hospital-bunker.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
On top of the steep cliff dropping to sea level, you can find the bunkers for the guns. These were moved from the open aprons in 1944, into purpose built reinforced concrete firing positions. A special feature here is the steep flight of stair giving access to the gun area from behind. This construction was made necessary by the particular morphology and rock type of the cliff.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
You can spot significant traces of the original camo paint, and the letters ‘St’ on many walls, meaning ‘Ständig’, i.e. resistant in German. These letters were used to mark those buildings capable of sustaining shelling and bombing raids.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
A bulbous roof allows to easily recognize the fire direction station.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
A more rare item in Hirtshals is the base for the ‘See Riese’ radar. This is a hexagonal concrete hollow platform. The bunker underneath it would serve to host a Diesel power generator.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Back from the coastline, you may enjoy a long exploration of the trenches and of the many restored bunkers. Many bear original markings and paintings.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
In some rare cases, you can also find original decorative paintings, likely made by the soldiers stationed in the bunkers.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Restored bunkers include a ‘living bunker’, but many other installations are in good conditions, like interred shelters, ammo storages, etc. Traces of cables, armored doors – some of them with glass lights – and telephone wires can be found in many bunkers.
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Furthermore, in Hirtshals you have the chance to get a bird’s eye view of the fort, by climbing on top of the local lighthouse!
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Hirtshals Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
The Hirtshals site is an open-air museum. There are technically opening times, but the area is not fenced, so if you are looking for a visit to the exteriors, you can walk around freely at any time. The museum has a website here, and guided visits are offered in many occasions. Many bunkers were closed when I visited, and they might be visible only with a guide. Some other bunkers are open and lighted, whereas the majority are basically left to explorers – open and not lighted – but rather accessible and very easy to visit, maybe with the help of a small torch. There is not a clear entrance (the area is not fenced), nor permanent staff on the site.
There are explanatory signs for basically all of the bunkers, in double Danish/German language.
The parking is ahead of the lighthouse, which is a different entity and operates with opening times you can find here. The parking is large and free. Climbing on top of the lighthouse is possible at a small fee – apparently only Danish Crowns cash accepted.
Together with a climb on top of the lighthouse, the visit may take from 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on your level of interest.
Skagen
The Skagen area is mostly famous for its location on the very tip of the Jutland peninsula, the natural northern end of continental Europe, and ideally as the geographical point where the North Sea and Baltic Sea join together. The long and quiet shores there and the population of seals contribute to making Skagen a prominent touristic attraction, often crowded with visitors from Denmark and abroad.
What people going there may not expect is the presence of a number of massive firing positions from the years of the German occupation! These are concentrated along the eastern coast, and include firing position for 120 mm coastal guns, overlooking the Skagerrak strait.
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
There are also a fire control bunker, which has drifted to the shoreline, as well as radar support bunkers.
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Unfortunately, these installations have been left to the elements and – most sadly – to vandals. Except for their huge size, there is not much left to appreciate.
But there is more related to the Atlantic Wall in Skagen. A former hospital bunker has been partly refurbished and converted into a very interesting smaller museum on the local battery.
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Inside, you can first appreciate the special size of the doors and corridors, made to allow moving stretchers around.
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Put on display are several items related to the history of the Skagen fortress. There are uniforms from the time, photos from the years of operations, and everyday items left over by the Wehrmacht.
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Some of the rooms have been reconstructed, and provide a vivid impression of the original appearance.
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Skagen Battery Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Among the exhibits are also some relics from a downed British aircraft.
Getting there and moving around
Visiting the Skagen battery is easier from the small parking Hvide Fyr, Fyrvej, 9990 Skagen. This parking is free. Going on the Baltic shore from the parking means a five minutes walk along a prepared path. A quick walk with a look to the abandoned battery would take about 20 minutes.
You may either walk to the tip from there, or better move your car to shorten the walk, going to the huge dedicated parking area where the road N.40 ends. This parking is not free.
You will find the Skagen Bunker-Museum in the former hospital bunker immediately to the southwestern side of the parking. Website here.
Visiting may take about 30-45 minutes, an interesting small detour from the local natural attractions.
Bangsbo
Comparatively less fortified than the North Sea coast, the eastern cost of Jutland is the place of a primary military and commercial port named Frederikshavn. This is also a starting point for travelers going to Norway from central Europe.
Here the Germans installed one of the few strongpoints on this side of the peninsula. What makes the so-called Bangsbo fort unique among the Atlantic Wall installations is the fact that three of the four original guns in the coastal battery are still in place!
The main area of Bangsbo fort, where the coastal battery is located, can be found to the south of the town, and is somewhat similar to Hirtshals (see above). Both are located on top of a cliff, with a significant area to the back dedicated to command, living and service bunkers.
Today, some of these bunkers have been completely refurbished. These include the command bunker for the local commander of the Kriegsmarine (the German Navy). This is super-interesting, with many artifacts from the time, from military gear to swastika-marked dishware, from maps to photographs of general Rommel – who superintended the construction of the Atlantic Wall – visiting the installation, and much more.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Much interesting is especially the reconstruction of the command/meeting room.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Scattered over the premises of the military area are cannons and several strange items, like a tank turret intended to be placed on top of a defensive Tobruk.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
There are a refurbished hospital bunker and reconstructed living quarters.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The firing control post roughly at the center of the area is another highlight, having been completely refurbished, with plenty of Nazi insignia and original material.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
To the back of the bunker are a living and command area, whereas the front part is an observation deck.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The firing positions with guns are numbered from Nr.1 to 3. They are based on 15 cm coastal guns, installed in 1944, replacing older and smaller pieces.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The guns can be walked around. The cartridge supply slides to the back of the firing chamber are still in place.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Guns Nr. 1 and 3 are similar, whereas the central gun was taken from a Danish cruiser cannibalized by the Germans in Kiel during the war. Today, it bears a greenish paint.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
There used to be a fourth cannon with a field of fire of 360 degrees. Trace of a platform can be seen, as well as an anti-aircraft gun.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
The fort shares a border with an active military area, so a part of the original installations cannot be visited. Others are open only for those visiting on guided tours. These include a radar-supporting station. Others can be entered, but are basically empty.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
A minor part of the Bansgbo fort is located north of Frederikshavn. It is a partially preserved anti-aircraft firing station. This was made of four firing places and a central fire direction point. The latter is still visible at least from the outside.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
One of the anti aircraft guns is also in place. The rest of the installation has been filled with land and made inaccessible.
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Atlantic Wall Frederikshavn Bansgbo Fort Denmark Nazi Defense Line Atlantikwall
Getting there and moving around
The major part of Bansgbo fort can be found south of Frederikshavn. It can be accessed from Bakkevej, which ends with the parking of the museum. Website here. The area can be walked and accessed with a ticket. There are picnic facilities and a small shop. Guided tours are offered at pre-defined times, see the website. You can get a good impression even by walking around on your own, but some bunkers can be accessed only with a guide. I did not join a guided tour, and all the pictures above are from a self-guided visit.
The site is not huge, but very interesting thanks to preservation efforts. It may easily deserve a 2 hours visit.
The anti-aircraft site is located north of Frederikshaven, and can be reached from Nordre Strandvej. You may park on the large free parking made for the local beach. This smaller installation may be visited in 10-15 minutes without a ticket.
The republic of Georgia, located on the Caucasian isthmus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, was founded in the turmoil following the collapse of the Czarist Empire during WWI. Located on the border with Turkey, at that time this region tried to untie from neighbor Russia, and proclaimed a libertarian socialist state.
Following the seizure of power by Lenin and the Bolsheviks, producing a devastating civil war which would go on raging all over the former Russian-controlled territory well into the 1920s, Georgia lost its independence, being sucked into the Soviet Union, similar to many other nations sharing a border with Russia – like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Latvia, etc.
A country with a remarkable wealth of history, inhabited since when traces of mankind started to appear on earth, with a deeply rooted Christian culture since centuries, a strong independence movement started to show in Georgia already in the 1980s, when the Soviet system was still destined to last for long in the eyes of many western observers. This independence feeling would culminate in the republic of Georgia leaving the USSR months before its actual end, already in early 1991. Since then, the country is openly hostile to Russia, and the formation in the early 2000s of two de facto Russian-backed independent states – South Ossetia and Abkhazia – over the sovereign territory of Georgia witnesses a mutual state of tension between Tbilisi and Moscow, still lasting today.
Despite this, and almost paradoxically, the Georgian individual possibly best known to the general public and to the world is an eminent communist character, a one-of-a-kind contributor to the history of the USSR and of the world – and someone would say, the most authentic incarnation of a communist leader – Stalin.
While Georgia, most comprehensibly, is striving to delete every tangible trace of the Soviet era – from statues to symbols and pieces of architecture – a few notable exceptions include some of Stalin-related relics in the country. In Gori, Stalin’s hometown, the house where Stalin was born is preserved under a bombastic Soviet-era canopy. Nearby, a unique museum dedicated to the Soviet leader, opened back in the late 1950s with a display of incredible memorabilia, is reportedly the most successful attraction in town, with crowds of visitors still today.
In an old district in Tbilisi you can find another unique point of interest – the so-called Stalin Printing House Museum. It was in this unapparent house that young Stalin operated as a pro-communist clandestine agitator in the early 20th century, well before the Bolshevik revolution in Russia.
This post covers these Stalin-related remains in the man’s home country, with photographs taken in summer 2019.
Sights
Joseph Stalin Museum – Gori
Stalin’s hometown, where he was born in 1878, is dominated by a scenic ancient fortress, sitting on top of an isolated mound. At the time of Stalin’s birth, that was also the geographic center of the town. When Stalin became… Stalin, his birthplace was turned into a place of pilgrimage, and a new purely-Soviet master plan was implemented in the city, creating a new gravitational center around the modest house of his parents.
The long axis which drives you from the major access road and the railway station south of the city to the house follows an almost north-south direction. A typically Soviet alley – straight, too wide and with mostly sad-looking buildings to the sides – links a bridge over the local river to to the house, going through a square with the town hall, built in a Soviet classicist style. A tall statue of Stalin used to stand on the side of the square, and it was torn down only in the 2000s.
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
Closer to the house, the alley bifurcates into a ‘Y’. Between the arms of the ‘Y’ you can find a garden with fountains and flowers.
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
To the far end of the garden, the small half-timbered house where Stalin’s parents used to live is preserved under a Soviet-style canopy.
Stalin’s parents were not well-to-do, and they actually rent the house, where they occupied only one room. Back in the 19th century, it was just one in a row of similar buildings. Following the radical reshaping of the area for celebrating the Soviet leader, the whole neighborhood was completely demolished, and only this block was left.
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
On the side and front facade of the house are marble signs in Russian and Georgian. The ceiling of the canopy features a stained glass light, with hammer and sickle signs by the corners.
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
To the back of the birthplace you can find a smaller statue of Stalin. Considering his generally acknowledged status as a bloody communist dictator, similar open air statues have been removed almost everywhere in the world – this is one of the few remaining exceptions (another being in Belarus, but most likely apocryphal – look for Stalin’s line museum here).
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
The most conspicuous building in this celebratory installation is the actual Joseph Stalin Museum, which occupies a pretty large palace in Stalinist style. The master plan dates back to the final years of Stalin, and its realization was carried out during the 1950s.
The building is interesting from an architectural viewpoint, and features a colonnaded porch giving access to a main entrance hall.
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The latter is rather formal, with another colonnade and a perspective leading through a staircase to a mezzanine. In the focus of the perspective you can see another statue of Stalin. Every particular in the architecture here is extremely Soviet – grim, menacing, heavy.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The ticket and toilets can be accessed to the sides of the hall on the ground floor, which acts also as a meeting point for groups – but guided visits are not compulsory, you can tour the museum on your own.
Upon reaching the first floor, you meet two busts of Stalin, and a couple of interesting paintings, portraying the young Josip Vissarionovich Dzugansvili – Stalin’s its real name – as a student talking to his class mates at the seminary of Tbilisi, and later as grown-up, well-established Stalin talking to his collaborators.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The museum is composed of a few big halls. The first rooms retrace Stalin’s personal story, and are based on a mix of documents, original or reproduced, newspapers, paintings and photographs. The latter are often reproductions, often magnified – since when he was not yet famous he mostly appeared in group photographs.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Here you learn about his humble origins, and you can see the photographs of his parents, his early school reports and the first known photographs of Josip as a young boy.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
A rather brilliant pupil, he was granted access to the Orthodox seminary in Tbilisi – which back then was called Tiflis – where he moved to attend lectures and to grow to become a priest. Some works of poetry from the time, published on local newspapers in Georgian, are part of the exhibition.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Something went wrong at that time, as he got excessively fascinated with the leftmost socialist theories, spread by several authors including Lenin. A rare naive portrait of his meeting with the principal of the seminary, when he was expelled for his unacceptable and dangerous views, is part of the collection.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
This was the beginning of a militancy period, when he became known to the department of internal affairs of the Czar due to open subversive propaganda activities. He worked irregularly, publishing clandestine works in Tbilisi (see about his printing house below), holding open-air meetings in port town Batumi, and so on.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Finally, he was arrested and deported by the Czar to inland Russia. As his fame grew, he was tasked with some role in the apparatus of the clandestine political formations headed by Lenin – the factions against the Czar and even in the socialist area were many, and the intricate civil war that followed the 1917 revolution was also the result of the struggle for power of these opposing forces.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Between internment periods, he started traveling to the capital – St. Petersburg. He also met Lenin in Tampere, Finland, a country politically bound to the Russian empire until 1917. Photographs and documents from the time, a suitcase and models of the houses where Stalin resided can be found in this part. Busts including one of Stalin as a young agitator, pretty rare and likely taken from the few portraits from the time, are also parts of the collection.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Again following a historical timeline, you can find more documents and portraits of a grown-up yet young man of the apparatus. It is well known that Lenin, after the 1917 revolution, saw Stalin as a potential problem for the future of the Party. A copy of Lenin’s ‘testament’, telling his comrades to get rid of Stalin, is on display in the exhibition. As a matter of fact, Lenin’s illness and demise in 1924 started a period of transition.
Stalin, by 1922 general secretary of the communist party of the USSR, fought and won against all other members of the communist party, making his appointment in the government the most powerful. He managed to maintain his role until his death in 1953, reigning as an unopposed tyrant at least since the end of the 1920s, when he prevailed over his most strenuous opponent, Trotzkij.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
As he started to gain power, official portraits started to appear, both paintings and photographs. These pieces of the collection are also interesting, for not many portraits of Stalin have survived in official displays, after he was condemned by his political heirs.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Also books from his speeches and prints from his personal history, to be distributed to the general public, are displayed here.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Prominence in the communist party of the USSR gained a special status also to Stalin’s family. His mother had a decent place to live, and his son payed a visit more than once – this is the subject of some portraits. A porcelain set from Stalin’s mother household is on display.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Curious artifacts in this part of the museum include a desk from some communist office of the time of Stalin’s purges.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
As a marshal in WWII – the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 as it was known in the USSR – Stalin reached international recognition and world fame. His ability as a general is open to critics, for he managed to kill most of the most experienced staff in the purges of the 1930s, and appointed generals – mostly like Hitler – based on their political attitude. It is questionable whether without substantial help from the then-allies of the Soviet Union (Britain and the US) a victory against Germany could have been reached, despite a disproportionate number of casualties in the rows of the Red Army. However, the final march to Berlin, which gained him control over half of Europe, raised him to the level of a world leader. The exhibition reflects this recognition, with books by Stalin translated in several languages, gifts from generals of the Red Army – including an authentic monstrosity donated to the museum by WWII hero General Zhukov in the 1960s – and many pictures from the war years.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
A showcase is dedicated to Stalin’s sons and heirs. He had five sons, from two wives and other women, and his descent is still existent today.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
A corner hall hosts a kind of monumental installation, a small Soviet monument not among the best of the kind. Made of lighted reproductions of photographs, it is a kind of recap of Stalin’s triumphs and special moments.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The next hall concludes the climax, and is really unique. It is a circular room padded with black leather panels. At the center of a circular colonnade you can see at the level of the ground one of the few – apparently 12 – original reproductions of Stalin’s head from his death mask.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Thanks to the special installation featuring a strong symmetry and a special lighting, the head is really magnetic.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Stalin died at 75 in March 1953 in undisclosed circumstances, possibly to the hand of somebody in his entourage. Some paintings from his funeral can be seen around the room, together with a model of the mausoleum of Lenin on the Red Square in Moscow, where Stalin was interred for a few years, until removed when finally condemned by his party – note the writing in Cyrillic ‘Lenin – Stalin’ on the mausoleum, later reverted to ‘Lenin’ only.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The next hall is dedicated to international relationships, displayed through photographs, memorabilia and the plenty of gifts Stalin received in his years as a communist dictator.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
There are presents from Georgia and other Soviet republics, and from international delegations. The latter were from both the eastern bloc – Eastern Germany, Poland, China – and most strikingly from the West, and even from NATO countries like France and Italy!
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Back to the top of the staircase, you get access to one of the highlights of the exhibition. In a final room you find on display the original furniture of Stalin’s office at the Kremlin. There is a desk with an armchair, a sofa, and a set of smaller chairs. Stylistically not very appealing, this furniture is of course of great historical relevance.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Close by, more unique items are on display in two showcases – Stalin’s personal belongings. There are a few cigars – now decomposing to age – some cigarettes, a cigarette box, a ruler, two pipes, a pen, a chessboard, a hand-written message to a friend, and some other trinkets. Finally, there is a military uniform, with boots and coat.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
When you have got intoxicated by the Soviet aura of this place, you can finally get out and visit the last item in the park, Stalin’s personal railway car. This was actually used by Stalin, who did not like flying, to travel around the Union and abroad. He went to Teheran and Jalta conferences during WWII in this car.
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The car is special in having a bullet-proof armor all around – which produces a weight comparable to that of a Diesel railway engine… – and some special services, like a bathtub, a personal studio and a meeting room.
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Stalin’s ‘memorial park’ in Gori is really a one-of-a-kind museum, of exceptional interest for people interested to his period and his historical figure. You may be surprised by the very existence of this place, primarily because of the well-known and heavy responsibility of this man in mass-murders and misconduct as a head of state, and also because it is located in Georgia, a country openly hostile to Russia and its hard political domination, implemented through the institution of the Soviet Union. It is one of the expressions of the contradictory attitude of most peoples touched by the USSR – including Russians – towards that era. It remains a thought-provoking collection of historical value though – gifts from international delegation from the West are a vivid memory of the recognition obtained by this mass-murderer during his lifetime. They are particularly instructive about how propaganda can draw international consensus to the most unthinkable subjects.
Getting there and moving around
Getting to Georgia from the West will be hardly for Gori alone. Despite the nice, well-kept town center, with the castle and several refurbished churches and alleys, and of course the Stalin-related part, there are far more significant places to visit in Georgia, at least if you are coming from far away to this relatively hard-to-reach angle of the world. Yet Gori is located in a convenient position along the major road and railway connecting Tbilisi to Kutaisi and the coast of the Black Sea, which makes for an ideal one-day or even half-day stop.
The town is a good place to sleep, for there are a number of guesthouses and restaurants, and it does not look derelict or unsafe, differently for instance from more prominent Kutaisi. The whole Stalin-themed park, with the birthplace, museum and railway car, is rather compact, and not big, so visiting may take from 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on your level of interest. This is the main attraction in town. Strangely, I could not find an official website – this is strange for most labels are translated also in English, and there is even some merchandise, so the place is run as a modern museum. However, Google or TripAdvisor timetables were correct at least when I visited.
Plenty of public parking space around the museum.
In town there is also a war museum dedicated to the Great Patriotic War (covered here), as well as other non-communist themed attractions.
Joseph Stalin’s Underground Printing House Museum – Tbilisi
This museum was opened in Soviet times in the place of a house where young Stalin spent some time as a political agitator. His main activity related to this place was printing clandestine material.
Access it through modern Soviet buildings, with a hall which unfortunately cannot be visited.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
The house is presented inside a small garden. There are two light buildings, a half-timbered house and a smaller hut.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
The two are connected by a deep underground passage. This double access to the underground was of great help to evade controls by Czarist authorities. The main underground hall is original.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Possibly intended as a food cellar, it was used to store a 19th century printing machine – made in Augsburg, Germany, as witnessed by the rusty but still readable factory label!
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
The half-timbered house is apparently a Soviet-era reproduction of the building originally in place. It is a two-rooms house, very similar to Stalin’s birth house in Gori (see above). The two rooms have been furnished with a few berths and tables, to provide an idea of the original look, and with tons of artifacts from Stalin’s and Soviet times.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
These include portraits, photographs, books and emblems. There is also a model of a similar clandestine print house in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
All in all, this place has a historical significance as Stalin’s early headquarter, and as a Soviet place of pilgrimage. Differently from Stalin-themed park in Gori, it has been basically forgotten – it is kept open by aged volunteers.
Getting there and moving around
The museum is located at the following GPS coordinates – 41.690454, 44.829999. It is located west of Tbilisi city center, at a walking distance from it, but the walk is not recommended for the neighborhood is nothing special. Going by car or taxi is more time-efficient. Public parking on the street available around the block.
There is no official website to my knowledge. Entrance is by cash only, free offer. See Google for opening times, which are mainly in the central hours of the day. You can visit on your own, but one of the local enthusiasts running the museum will likely provide some information, and there is also a basic leaflet in English. Visiting may take about .5 hours.
Soon after the end of the war Tito and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia started a fight against the Soviet Union to escape Stalin’s direct control – a fight where they succeeded, creating in Yugoslavia a unique, truly communist dictatorship totally under Tito’s power, and not just another soviet satellite country.
To make differences from the USSR more apparent, artistic production, often representing an internationally recognized value for a country on the international stage, needed to part from the rhetoric of socialist realism of Stalin’s years. New, original aesthetics were sought, capable of expressing the modernity of Yugoslavia, while being not free from the control of the State, celebrating and promoting unity in a country which had never enjoyed national unity – something later reflected in the bloody split of the 1990s.
Tito’s aesthetic views for the new post-WWII Yugoslavia are greatly reflected in the project for the realization of an array of hundreds of monuments, to be designed and erected in locations scattered over the whole territory of the former Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. These monuments go under the name of ‘spomenik’ – an internationally known word in the local idiom, simply translating into ‘monument’.
Most of these spomeniks commemorate some bloody facts of the Second World War – most often a local battle between Yugoslav communist partisans and the German Wehrmacht, or the Italian Army of the ‘Duce’, but also clandestine congresses of local subversive communist groups, mass murders by the Axis invaders, and so on. The realization of the project, sometimes fueled by the local interest to keep the memory of a historical fact of regional relevance, but in any case coordinated by the Communist Party, took a long time span, with most of the monuments designed and built over the 1960s and 1970s, before Marshall Tito died (1980).
Besides the historical significance bound to the events they commemorate, two facts make spomeniks an interesting target for curious travelers. The aesthetics of these monuments is often non banal, showing an attention to details and an artistic sensibility which is not usual to communist-ruled countries. In this sense, spomeniks sometimes stand out as very original, interesting – and pretty massive… – works of art. Secondarily, as the events they commemorate often took place in remote areas, spomeniks can be found in incredible natural spots of the former territory of Yugoslavia, immersed in the wilderness or in the middle of a gorgeous natural scenery, not easy to reach and isolated from civilization.
After the end of communism and following the secession wars of the 1990s in the Balcans, many spomeniks fell into disrepair. Today, some of them have been refurbished, while others have been completely demolished, reflecting a mixed feeling of the local population towards this artistic heritage. A good share of them has been simply left behind, gaining the typical ‘ghost aura’ of the architectures of former communist countries.
For hunters of historical relics, spomeniks are double-attractive – not only are they tangible traces of a bygone communist dictatorship with unique traits, but they stand out for their often severe appearance, like traces of a mysterious alien civilization, now long gone.
This chapter presents a handful of these monuments, which you can find along an ideal itinerary connecting the capital cities of todays republics of Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia & Hercegovina and North Macedonia. These are just a very small set out of the total, yet some of them are among the most famous and artistically valuable. Furthermore, except those in North Macedonia, they can be reached without any substantial detour from the major roads connecting Podgorica, Belgrade and Sarajevo, thus making for an interesting ‘side visit’ on your way from one of these nice cities to the next, on a cultural trip to the area. Similarly, many spomeniks in North Macedonia can be found close to touristic locations. Photographs were taken during two visits, a week-long tour in Spring 2019 (Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia & Hercegovina) and a long week-end in late Summer 2019 (North Macedonia).
If you are interested in a deeper analysis on the history and art behind spomeniks, or you are looking for a more complete directory of these monuments, please refer to this great resource site.
Map
The following map shows the detailed location of all the spomeniks listed in this post. I personally checked all of them, so the location is very precise. As you will notice, most of them are fairly easily accessible from major or paved roads. Some of them will require a little bit of walking from a parking area to the monument itself.
This spomenik is actually a one-of-a-kind example of ‘spomen-dom’, i.e. a monument not designed just to be admired from the outside, but conceived as a building, to host meetings and services inside. The site is right in the central square of the village of Kolašin, in the southeast of Montenegro not far from the Serbian border. This town has been a vital center of the anti-fascist resistance in WWII, when the territory was first subjugated by the Italians, and later by the Germans.
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The spomenik was designed and built under the supervision of the renowned architect Marko Mušič in the early 1970s. Its age is especially reflected in the use of gray concrete for most of the visible structure. The triangular shape dominating the highest part of the building may recall the typical shape of the traditional houses built in the area – chalet-type, with a triangular roof – or even the tops of the Dinaric Alps all around.
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Being a building more than a monument, this spomenik is rather big. Today, the village is an active skiing center, thanks to the great position in the mountains. The spomenik is being used for administrative functions, and blends effectively in the central square of the village. Yet its appearance is today so-so, and maintenance is clearly not enough to preserve it for long. As a matter of fact, inspite of the architectural value which gained it a place in books of architecture, a long future for this spomenik is reportedly not assured.
Getting there and moving around
The spomenik is easily reachable right in the city center of Kolasin, a small town with some up-to-date touristic structures for the winter season – the location is really gorgeous. Free parking all around the central square. You can walk around the spomenik without restriction, but stepping inside is possible only compatibly with the local administrative functions.
Berane, Montenegro
Possibly one of the most elaborated spomeniks, the monument in Berane was built on the spot of an ancient Turkish fortress, now totally gone, in a secluded location immersed in a forest close to this contended town. In the close vicinity of the spomenik, nine students suspected of being part of the resistance were executed by the Italians in 1941. The town of Berane changed hands several times during WWII, and it is estimated that about 6’000 people were killed in the area in the military and para-military actions over the war years.
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The spomenik, designed by the Serbian designer Bogdan Bogdanović, was inaugurated in 1977 on a small grassy field, a really nice spot in the forest. It is mainly composed of a more than 50 ft tall conical dome, with a number of massive dark stone slabs delimiting a regular curved perimeter around it. These slabs are carved with interesting symbolic ideograms, telling – among other things the story – of a local clan.
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Today, despite its relative remoteness with respect to the town center, the place is actively maintained, frequented by the locals, and in a definitely good shape. Thanks to the secluded position, as well as to the inscriptions in a fantastic archaic language, this spomenik is very mysterious and particularly fascinating – it resembles a megalithic alignment, or a setting from the Lord of the Rings!
Getting there and moving around
The spomenik in Berane cannot be approached by car directly. You will need to face a steep climb uphill on a well-prepared and maintained trail. A 10 minutes walk uphill is needed for a well-trained person. The location has been used for local concerts and commemorations, and is carefully maintained as a park area.
Ostra, Serbia
This spomenik was built on the site of a battle which took place between opposing factions of locals – some of them collaborating with the Axis forces – in 1943. This was just an episode in the larger confrontation between these groups, taking place in the area of the nearby center of Cacak. Notably, the soviet Red Army contributed to the struggle in the last stages of the Axis occupation period, obviously on the side of the local communist partisans.
The monument, designed by Miodrag Živković and Svetislav Licina, was inaugurated in 1969, and was composed of a concrete slab with an inscription in Cyrillic, and a perspective leading to the focal point of the spomenik – an abstract aluminum sculpture, with a sober appearance, pointing diagonally towards the sky. By looking closely to this monument, you can see stylized human faces in the side of it. The metal sculpture is located on top of a hill, with a very scenic view of the surrounding hills.
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Despite the metal sculpture being today still in a fairly good condition, the original appearance of the site has been heavily altered by the building an Orthodox church between the concrete commemorative stone and the prominent sculpture. This happened around 2010. Strangely enough, at the time of my visit the church was not open, with parts of furniture provisionally stored ahead of the main door, giving a bad sense of neglect.
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Clearly, a church built right in the middle of the spomenik area means that there is not a particular good feeling about this monument. Also the inscriptions by the entrance of the perspective are largely spoiled, with many letters now missing. Yet somebody put flowers by the metal sculpture, which is not heavily spoiled by writers.
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All in all, despite the bad general shape and the strong alteration, the location dominating the area and the imposing, sober appearance of the aluminum part is particularly suggestive, and makes for good photo opportunities.
Getting there and moving around
Accessing this spomenik is rather easy. The road reaching the top of the hill is a local asphalt road, which does not pose any special difficulty. Close to the church there is a small parking area, and the metal monument can be reached from there walking on a flat, open grassy area.
Kragujevac, Serbia
What you can find in Kragujevac is not just one spomenik, but a huge and very nice city park with several monuments scattered around. Construction of this park was started by an official decree back in the early 1950s, on the site of the major massacre of Kragujevac. This bloody episode is one of the worst suffered by the civilian population in occupied Yugoslavia, when by the order of the Nazi governors, more than 2’300 from the local population – selected based on race, political views or religion – were systematically killed in a field. The general governor of Yugoslavia responsible for issuing the order – which can be traced back to the German OKW in Wünsdorf – was later trialled for this in Nürnberg after WWII.
The park is still today very well-kept, interdicted to road traffic and only open for walking. Several spomeniks can be found scattered over the park, together with a museum dedicated to the massacre close to the main road access. One of them, and likely the oldest, is the monument called ‘Pain and Defiance’, dating from 1959.
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The most famous, and one of the most internationally well-known, is dedicated to pupils and teachers killed in the massacre. It was designed by architect Miodrag Živković in a distinctive ‘V’-shape, about 25 ft tall and 45 long. Despite looking granite, it is made of almost-white concrete. On the face of the monument, it is possible to spot the shapes of human faces and figures. This monument was inaugurated in late 1963.
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Located on a gentle slope on the side of a grassy valley, this spomenik occupies a really nice and quiet spot. The nice and peaceful walk leading to it encourages remembrance.
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Getting there and moving around
The park is a very well-kept city park, crossed by a few roads which are interdicted to general traffic – basically no cars can enter, I guess these roads can be accessed by car only on special commemorations or similar occasions. Parking is easy close to the museum – itself a rather distinctive construction. A big map of the site can be found on a post close to the parking area (see pics above), and several signs allow you to tour the park, meeting the many monuments according to your interests. Reaching the ‘V’-shaped monument from the main access involves a 10-15 minutes walk along a perfectly prepared road.
Kosmaj, Serbia
Possibly one of the most iconic of all spomeniks, the Kosmaj monument is located on top of a hill, and partly visible from quite a distance, emerging from the treetops. The location was chosen as the foundation site of the Kosmaj partisan detachment, who contributed substantially to the resistance efforts against German occupation forces, with thousands effectives killed or wounded.
The monument was designed by sculptor Vojin Stojić, and unveiled in 1971.
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The sinister shape of this monument, looking like an alien creature landed on top of the hill, on an isolated spot far from civilization, may strongly appeal to hunters of weird places. What further adds to the ‘mystery aura’ of the place is the fact that, while generally not in a bad shape and far from rotting, the monument appears somewhat forgotten – far from everything, little maintained or looked after.
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Another impressive feature which is rarely captured by photographs, is that this object is about 90 ft tall! Access is via a poorly maintained stair, or by a little longer access walkway. Getting closer, you have a clearer impression of its gigantic size. The five concrete pinnacles composing the monument and making for a spiky whole from the distance, are actually separated from each other. The monument appears to change shape continuously as you walk around and under it, making it very interesting to watch from different angles.
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Considering the remote, silent location, the late evening time of my visit, and the wind blowing in the trees, this was possible the most mysterious and magnetic of the spomeniks I could see on this trip!
Getting there and moving around
Due to its size and prominence, the Kosmaj spomenik was conceived as the focal point of an area for war commemorations, as well as for more widely themed social events. The area on top of the hill comprises a football field, a playground and parking areas. All this today is far less used than in the communist era, and its ‘ghost appearance’ adds greatly to the mystery aura of the place. The spomenik can be accessed along a one-way loop road, going around the top of the hill. Today you can freely get access to this road and get very close to the spomenik with your car. The monument can be finally reached via a poorly maintained, short concrete staircase, or via a longer walkway. I would say access is of course very easy. The location is also reasonably close to Belgrade, with a modern highway connecting the area with the Serbian capital city.
Avala, Serbia
This monument stands out of the crowd of the Yugoslavian spomeniks for it is not built to commemorate an event of WWII, but instead it remembers the fatal crash of a passenger flight, which occurred in approach to Belgrade. The year was 1964, and the flight was carrying 22 Soviet war veterans, who had participated in the ‘Liberation war’ of Yugoslavia against the Germans, from Moscow to a commemoration ceremony to be held the following day. The cause of the accident was never clearly determined, but it was likely due to a technical mishap.
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The bronze spomenik you can see today was designed by sculptor Jovan Kratohvil on the very location of the crash, and inaugurated in 1965 on the first anniversary of the fatal accident. The names of the war veterans who perished are recorded on a stone.
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This monument is more modest in size than most famous spomeniks, and the good quality of materials, its proportion and the great view over the hills leading to Belgrade – the famous Avala tower, with its famous panoramic deck, is less than a mile from here – make for a very nice and scenic ensemble. Furthermore, the mint state of conservation is really noteworthy.
Getting there and moving around
This spomenik can be reached along the same loop road going to the Avala WWI memorial and to the Avala tower with its panoramic view. There is a small parking nearby, and access is via a short staircase which is already part of the monument. The monument is well cared for, and the area is rather busy with local and international tourists.
Kadinjača, Serbia
The scenic spot where this extensive monumental ensemble has been arranged was the setting of one of the first battles between the partisan army – a group called the ‘Workers’ Battalion’ – and the German Wehrmacht. The latter was trying to reach the town of Užice, giving shelter to the top ranking staff of the Liberation army, including Marshal Tito. The battle was finally lost by the partisans in 1941, but they allowed the local population and the partisan commanders to flee the area, before the Germans troops poured in.
The area of the final fight was selected for a national monument as soon as 1952. A plain obelisk was put in place. Years later, in 1979, a huge monument designed by Miodrag Živković was unveiled at the presence of Tito, with a huge crowd attending.
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The plan of the monument has its focus in the old prismatic monument of 1952. Around it, an interesting ensemble was added in 1979, with an amphitheater on one side, and two sets of granite and concrete abstract sculptures on the other.
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A first group of sculptures, with very stylized human faces emerging from the sides and on top of the stones, constitute a first circle.
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A second group is made of massive white slabs, culminating in one loosely resembling an armor pierced by a bullet. The installation is about 300 ft long, and the ‘pierced armor’ piece is about 45 ft tall. Yet the group is well proportioned and blends perfectly in the panorama around it.
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The great state of conservation is testified by a modern multi-language placard with explanations about the history of the place. The spomenik is complemented by a museum and by a few weapons permanently displayed outside – themselves a memorial of the battle fought in the area.
This is a popular tourist destination, on the road going to nearby Visegrad (in Bosnia & Hercegovina), with its famous ancient Ottoman bridge.
Getting there and moving around
This spomenik is difficult to miss, visible from quite afar and perfectly accessible from a major road. Extensive parking ahead of the museum. Walking around does not pose any particular difficulty.
Tjentište, Bosnia & Hercegovina
Really an iconic masterpiece in the panorama of Yugoslav spomeniks, the monument in Tjentište benefits also from the fantastic location in the mountain range marking the border between Bosnia & Hercegovina and the republic of Montenegro. The proportions of the scenic views of this mountainous area are really more typical to the Americas than Europe!
This famous ‘winged’ monument is located on the area of a bloody battle fought in spring 1943, when the Axis force attacked some partisan groups commanded directly by Marshal Tito, in a deliberate attempt to kill their commander, hoping that in so doing they would succeed in undermining the rebel force. In the ensuing battle of Sutjeska around 7’000 besieged partisans were killed, but Tito finally was able to escape the area.
This battle acquired a special, almost mythological meaning in the history of communist Yugoslavia. A first commemoration stone – actually a mass grave for some thousands partisans – was put in place already in 1958, whereas the huge spomenik you see today, designed by Miodrag Živković, was unveiled in 1971 at the presence of Tito, who reportedly put much personal attention on the realization of this very monument.
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The two massive concrete wings are enriched by human faces, only sketched and arranged so to form the roots of the wings themselves. Looking closely, you realize that the two monoliths are different from one another. Furthermore, their irregular, strongly 3D shape makes them look different depending on the point of view.
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The monument is located half way on an ascending slope. Going further uphill you meet a termination point of the perspective, where the names of several partisan brigades are recorded. Looking down to the wings, you see them taking yet another shape!
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This monument blends really well with the majestic scenery around. While being a sober and proportioned work of art, it is at the same time massive and sinister. The ensemble is really an artistic masterpiece, yet it bears some authentic ‘Yugoslav-communist style’ marker, making it a somewhat paradoxical ‘official communist ghost’!
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On the side of the perspective leading to the winged monument, there is another spomenik – actually a ‘spomen-dom’ – which is known for hosting commemoration inscriptions and rare war-themed artistic frescoes, which were unfortunately damaged in the 1990s wars.
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While in the years of Tito this was one of the most visited national monuments in the Country, its fame went down dramatically with the end of communism and with the following wars of secession, which struck heavily in this uninhabited valley reaching to ill-fated Sarajevo. With this in mind, the main perspective and the winged monument are surprisingly well kept, and they are gaining further popularity among relic-hunters, thanks to the undeniable charm of this spomenik. There are reportedly several other less prominent spomeniks in the area of the 1943 battle, including the ‘spomen-dom’, but unfortunately I had not the chance to investigate further about their state of conservation.
Getting and there and moving around
Getting there is possible along a national road going from Sarajevo to central Montenegro. Free parking is available at the base of the perspective leading to the winged monument. Getting closer to the latter involves climbing a flight of stairs. To get to the far end of the perspective you will need to climb another conspicuous flight of stairs. The winged spomenik is very well kept, and the area is really scenic – today it is a national park -, really justifying a detour from Sarajevo, or choosing this road to go to Montenegro from the Bosnian capital city.
Obadov Brijeg, Montenegro
This spomenik is an example of smaller designs, which constitute the majority of these monuments around former Yugoslavia.
The ‘bird-like’ monument in Obadov Brijeg, not far from the famous Orthodox monastery of Ostrog – built in the side of a mountain ridge nearby -, commemorates the victorious fight against the retreating Germans in fall 1944 of a coordinated force of local partisans troops, British artillery and Allied aircraft.
The spomenik was designed by the renowned architect Slobodan Vukajlović, and unveiled in 1974.
Unfortunately, as of today, this small monument appears little respected – mostly used as a roadside dump by travelers.
Getting there and moving around
Totally easy to reach if you are traveling north on the M18 road. The site is immediately visible when passing by, it is easily accessible thanks to a small rest area nearby, but unfortunately not well maintained and even dangerous to come close to, due to the garbage around it.
Golubovci, Montenegro
This monument by the local architect Vukota Tupa Vukotic was erected in 1974 close to the airport of Podgorica, the capital city of Montenegro, which received the name of Titograd in the years of communist Yugoslavia. This happened in recognition of its sacrificial role in the years of WWII, when after the Germans took over control of the area conquered by Italians, following the end of fascism in Italy in 1943, the city was stricken by heavy Allied aerial bombing, causing its almost complete destruction.
Podgorica was strategically located along a communication route going to the occupied territories of Albania and Greece, and for this reason the German Army was particularly present in the area – thanks to the airbase already in place in WWII. As a result, attrition with local partisans caused further casualties.
The monument commemorates the action of the partisans in the area. The abstract sculpture is sober and well proportioned. Besides the focal point – the sickle-shaped object in the middle of the construction – there are metal panels with a more traditional iconography, portraying battle scenes, as well as writings and tombstone-like stone panels.
The ensemble is located in residential area very close to the airport, and is actively maintained, so it has a sober, not derelict aspect.
Getting there and moving around
Very easy to reach along a major local road on the western side of the airport. Parking nearby is easy, and there are no major obstacles impeding access. The monument is well-kept and cared after.
Barutana, Montenegro
This spomenik honors the many losses experienced by the population from the area west of Podgorica in the Balcan wars, WWI and WWII. Three distinct monuments based on the same design are located on the side of an ascending path, leading to a double terrace on top of the monument.
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
Half of the double terrace features a full-scale amphitheater, with small granite seats forming a nice ensemble. The focal point of the double terrace is a torch-like sculpture about 30 ft tall, made of several separated adjoining components.
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
Between the torch-shaped sculpture and the amphitheater there is a stage. The object was created for meeting purposes, especially for schools but more generally for social events. Traces of the lighting for night performance can be still be seen.
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
BarutanaMontenegroTitoYugoslaviaCommunistMonument
This nice ensemble was completed in 1980 after a five-years-long construction work. The design is due to the local architect Svetlana Kana Radević.
Unfortunately, the place is not maintained any more, and while still in a relatively good shape – sufficiently far from downtown Podgorica to be spared misuse and vandalism – it is apparently falling into oblivion. This adds to the ‘communist ghost’ aura of the place, which you can perceive also in plain sunlight!
Getting there and moving around
This spomenik can be spotted from the road going from Podgorica to the coast. It is located immediately on the side of the road, but the only feature you see when driving by is the torch-like monument – vegetation is hiding the base of the monument. There are three small access roads, and once there you find a large parking area. The monument is not degraded – no garbage around – but it is clearly in need of restoration works. The stairway gently ascending to the top terraces are consumed and will be soon unserviceable.
Botun, North Macedonia
The Botun monument commemorates the struggle of the local partisans from all over the area, known as Debarca. This is located northeast of Ohrid, a very nice touristic town on the coast of a beautiful lake, close to the border with the Republic of Albania. The combatants from this area managed to liberate the area from the Italian-backed occupying forces in Spring 1943, well before Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943. The Wehrmacht then retook control of the region until 1944, when communist partisans finally repelled the Germans.
This rather unique episode is celebrated through a rather simple monument, apparently composed by two stone wings or flames, surrounding a central body bearing a commemorative inscription.
The overgrown vegetation hides luckily hides small deposits of garbage. Yet the location in the deep of a wild valley makes it potentially interesting as a stop along a major road.
Getting there and moving around
The Botun monument is easily reached along the E65, connecting Ohrid Airport to the north and Skopje. It is immediately on the side of the road, easier to access when driving south. There is small parking space at the level of the road where the small access roads depart to the monument apron. The site is not maintained, but not difficult to access or tour either.
Struga, North Macedonia
The spomenik in the town of Struga, on Ohrid Lake, designed by Vojislav Vasiljević, was delivered in 1974. It commemorates the more than 300 casualties in the Macedonian ranks from the Struga area during WWII. The area fell under control of the Italian-backed kingdom of Albania until mid-1943, when after a short independence it was occupied by the Germans.
The monument is rather simple, but differently from the majority of spomeniks it is located right in the city center. The composition, made of a small mound with access stairs and a white spike on top of it, is rather difficult to miss.
There is also a side commemoration panel with writings in Cyrillic. The monument has been reportedly refurbished in 2019, and its appearance is consequently good (apart from small vandal printing on the sides you can see in the pictures).
Getting there and moving around
Reaching the monument is possible by foot. It is located in the middle of the town, on Marshal Tito square. You may leave your car in one of the many parking areas around central Struga and walk along the river to get to the monument.
Oteševo, North Macedonia
Little is known of this monument, unveiled in 1973 on the side of a hill overlooking Prespansko Lake, on the border between North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. The architects are Jordan Grabul and Boro Josifovski.
The area appears to be a former touristic location for lakeshore activities. Today it is still very nice from a natural standpoint, yet the touristic centers – hotels, camping area, … – from the communist era are now closed, and make for a mysterious setting.
The spomenik resembles a flame, put on top of a stone stair. You can see an original inscription, as well as a star decoration in the base of the flame. On one side you can still find a flagpole.
The monument is in a so-so condition. It is sufficiently far from the road to having been spared major vandalism. The staircase is in a relatively good condition, and vegetation is not excessively overgrown. On the other hand, it is apparently not of great interest for the local population, which do not advertise it at all.
Getting there and moving around
The monument can be reached very easily from the road R1307 in Oteševo. The village is rather unapparent, and the monument is shrouded in the vegetation. You may notice the stair access from the road. Parking at the base of the stairs is difficult, but you may find a parking place ahead of the gate of the nearby camping site – as of 2019, apparently largely abandoned.
Kruševo, North Macedonia
This spomenik is possibly one of the best known in and outside of former Yugoslavia. This is somewhat paradoxical, as the monument came out with significant delay and after much controversy. On the other hand, maybe its fortune especially after the end of communism is partly due to its dedication – it was built to celebrate a huge uprising of the local population against the Turks in 1903, led by a local school teacher named Nikola Karev, settled in blood by an entire army of the Ottoman empire.
The lack of an immediate link to WWII events and communist-led struggles generated some criticism, but this actually came after some years were spent trying to find a compromise concerning the design itself. The architects, Jordan and Iskra Grabul, despite a proven communist faith, had a very hard time with the state commission who had issued the design.
The monument was finally unveiled in 1974, on a hill just out of the Krusevo village. It is composed of a gently ascending access road, with small monuments resembling broken chains. A first stop along the access road is a kind of open air crypt, with protruding cylinders bearing the names of places and people linked to resistance actions in the history of Macedonia. Apparently, no one from WWII years is included.
At the end of the road, on top of the hill, you can find a small open-air theater surrounded by curved walls decorated with colored tiles and sculptures.
The axis of the theater is aligned with the main body of the monument, a very peculiar construction, roughly spherical, with many tubular protrusions pointing radially from the surface. Whatever the intended meaning, it looks like a virus or something else from a biology book. Access to the sphere is through an inclined footbridge leading to a door.
During my visit, the door was unfortunately locked closed. Inside you can find the grave of Nikola Karev, as well as interesting wall reliefs.
Another interesting feature are the four stained glass windows. Colored with different palettes, the light produces nice reflections inside the spomenik. Luckily, something can be seen also from the outside in a sunny day.
One of the most celebrated spomeniks – even portrayed on local currency notes and recently photographed in international reviews – this item is maintained in perfect conditions as a national shrine, and social events like music festivals are held on its premises.
Getting there and moving around
Accessing this spomenik, aka ‘Macedonium’ is easy to the far end of the village of Krusevo. Thanks to its official role, it boasts a large parking ahead of the access road, with some explanations on dedicated panels. Beware of a big museum just on the other side of the parking – it is dedicated to a local music star prematurely died in an accident, it is not linked to the spomenik.
The Maginot line – a line of forts running along the French border with Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium – is a widely known example of military engineering from the inter-war period (see this chapter). The adopted construction technique, based on reinforced concrete pillboxes with walls several feet thick, half interred to decrease visibility from above, field cannons and anti-tank defensive guns, witnesses the great consideration given to tanks and aircraft as attack weapons.
Due to the fast movements typical to the new strategy of the German army since the beginning of WWII, the Maginot line is mainly remembered for having not been involved in any major action, and having being largely bypassed. As a matter of fact, the German opted for a bypass also because the line was in place, so it was not as ineffective as it is often thought.
What is possibly even less known is that similar defensive lines were built in earnest in other European countries, before and even during WWII, after the Maginot line had failed to stop the invading German army. The enormous Salpa line, built by Finland against the Soviet Union, was probably the last and most effective to be completed (see this chapter). The Stalin line, prepared by the Soviets against Germany in Belarus, is another example. Another country who invested much in this type of deterrent was Czechoslovakia.
To understand the drivers of the design of the huge line of forts envisaged by the Czechoslovakian government of the mid-1930s, one should take a look at a map of Europe from the time. After the defeat of WWI Germany had managed to keep significant parts of todays Poland. The border between Germany and Poland ran close to Gdansk – aka Danzig in German -, and the province of Lower Silesia with the town of Wroclav – Breslau in German – were undisputed German territory. This means that todays border between the Czech Republic and Poland used to be actually a border between Czechoslovakia and Germany in the years before WWII.
With the turmoil preceding the infamous Munich Agreement and Nazi Germany claiming the right to control ‘Sudetenland’ – a large part of the peripheral territories of todays Czech Republic – in 1937 the Czechoslovakian government quickly started the construction of a huge system of forts to protect the border.
The concept was pretty similar to that of the Maginot line, with extensive underground tunnels to shelter soldiers and ammos, facing to the surface with reinforced concrete bunkers with different purposes, including observation, artillery shelling with field cannons, mutual protection with short range anti-tank cannons, machine guns and grenade-throwing tubes. There were also bunkers for accessing the tunnel system with resupply. About 10’000 light fortifications were actually built, more than 200 heavy fortified positions and a handful of heavy artillery positions.
The geopolitical situation in Europe got worse quickly in 1938, with the annexation of Austria in spring and finally the Munich Agreement, which caused the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. As a result of this internationally approved de facto German invasion, the works on the defense line were halted by the Wehrmacht. A relevant part of the hard construction had been completed, but most of the bunkers were still unarmed or lacked some software – air filters, ammo supplies, everyday items for the troops, etc. – and were not serviceable.
Most of the ironworks, including especially all heavy-metal turrets, were salvaged by the Germans. Some of the cannons found their way to the Atlantic Wall. The most massive concrete bunkers were used to test new weapons. As a result, the majority of the most sizable structures are still today in a partly damaged shape.
Some of the bunkers came to life again in the 1970s, when re-founded Czechoslovakia, that time a satellite country of the USSR living under a repressive and hard communist dictatorship, started a low-paced conversion of some of the structures into nuclear shelters for top ranks of the military and political hierarchies.
Notwithstanding these incidents, todays Czech Republic is duly proud of the significant work which was carried out in the difficult late Thirties. Very much was done for the little time available, and the quality of the design and construction is remarkable. While most of the sites are open only rarely, there are some where you can step inside and enjoy an interesting visit. This chapter covers with photographs and text five larger fortified complexes along this anti-German defensive line, from a two-days visit taken in August 2018.
Map
The following map shows the highlights of each of the five sites listed in this chapter. Please zoom in for greater detail. For the Bouda fort I could not spot and pinpoint on the map all the pillboxes you can easily visit from the outside – this are covered by vegetation.
The Stachelberg site is located about three miles north of the small city of Trutnov. The fort should have consisted of a main entrance and peripheral shooting positions, some of them linked by underground tunnels, to defend the area of the Giant Mountains. Construction works were terminated much before completion, so the surface bunkers forming the ensemble are actually not connected. Yet the major installation, a bulky infantry positions with provision for anti-tank artillery, provides access to an extensive system of half-prepared tunnels, which gives you a clear picture of the size and capacity of the complex.
The site is open to the public, and the ticket office can be found right inside this huge major bunker. From the outside, the volume of this pillbox is particularly stunning. Also interesting are the anti-tank obstacles, which used to be placed along the border line and between the forts, to trap invading columns in a position where anti-tank guns could be most effective.
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
This multi-level bunker is also place for a little museum on the fortifications, mainly based on explicative panels and scaled models of weapons and of the entire bunker complex. It covers the history of the fortifications, and explains most technical features of their construction. There are no weapons or other software – they were either not installed before the construction works were stopped, or salvaged by the Germans.
The tunnels can be visited on a guided tour only, starting from inside the main bunker with a descent of several tens of feet along a flight of stairs, originally made at the time of construction. The tunnels unfold on the sides of a major, perfectly straight initial track. Some of the lateral halls, intended to store ammos as well as for sleeping the troops, are very large and close to completion, whereas others are just sketched.
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
The tunnels were dug in the rock with the help of explosives. The next step in the construction works would have been a layer of concrete from the pavement up to the ceiling of the tunnels. This is present today only close to the entry point, at the bottom of the access stairs.
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
There are at least other five smaller pillboxes which have been preserved to some extent in the Stachelberg complex. They are accessible with different timetables, and do not provide access to the underground – by design, some of them should have.
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
One of the pillboxes has been colored in a very bright camouflage. I could not find out whether this used to be the standard, but it looks pretty unusual and not really mimetic… There are also refurbished connecting trenches between the smaller bunkers.
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
Stachelberg Fort Czech Republic
The concrete base of a never built bunker can be found not far from the parking area.
Getting there and moving around
Getting close to the complex is really easy, the area is very scenic and a popular destination skiing, and for nature trail hiking in summer. There is a parking on road N.300 from where the museum-fort can be reached with an almost flat, 0.3 miles track.
The complex can be toured on the outside without restrictions. The main bunker has opening times, and the underground part can be toured only with a guide. The guide speaks Czech, but you are provided a leaflet with explanations in English, upon request. The tour takes about 30 minutes, and is offered on a regular basis, with several entries per day. They warn you about the inside temperature, but I found it pretty easy to bear with normal summer clothes. Website here, but you will need some Google translation to find the info you need.
Voda, Brezinka and Lom
These three forts are actually parts of the same system, built on the eastern end of the town of Nachod-Beloves, the major center in a local valley ending in Poland. Three items in the complex are typically accessible to the public.
The one closest to the town, on the bottom of the valley, is the Voda bunker. This is very convenient to reach, and is basically composed of a preserved typical infantry pillbox with provision for machine guns. The bunker has been painted in a credible camouflage. On one end it is possible to note the damage inflicted by the Germans, when they took out the metal observation turret. This kind of treatment – and damage – can be observed on a great many bunkers of the line.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Inside, the bunker has been turned into a local museum on the armed forces. There were border guards operating in the area, involved in skirmishes before and after the end of the war. The weapons originally intended for the fort are not in place, but there is an interesting collection of weapons, uniforms, motorcycles and other gear from the army corps operating around there over the years.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
The Brezinka fort is possibly one of the most famous of the entire defensive line. The reason for that is that it was recently restored to look like it should have looked, if only it was completed back in the late Thirties. In the restoration process, weapons and system parts from other locations in todays Czech Republic were brought to the Brezinka site.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
The visit of the interiors is really exceptional, even compared to the forts of the other defensive lines in Europe. The fort really looks like it could be put in operation today!
The first part of the visit of this two-levels artillery bunker will take you downstairs, where you can find the sleeping quarters for the troops with a food storage.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Close by, there are two rooms for the electrical generator and for the ventilation system. Here you can see the electrical compressor, with backup manual handles, and the huge air filters. These are multi-stage filters, where each stage was designed to stop different poisonous components in the air. The system is working, so you are given a demonstration of the compressor – interesting to get an impression of the incredible noise this system produced!
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
On the same floor there is also a telegraph system, which was used to communicate with other bunkers in the complex in case of failure of the telephone link. This system was capable of transmitting Morse signals to the other pillboxes next to it, projecting the signal into the ground and using it as a medium – there were no cables! This allowed it to work even if a direct electrical link was lost.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
The upper floor is even more surprising, cause basically all weapons have been restored to their original positions. The Brezinka bunker featured two main firing chambers. The one pointing uphill features two heavy 7.92 mm machine guns Zbrojovka Brno Mark 1937, a very widespread and reliable weapon, with an operational range of 1’000-2’000 ft at 500-300 rounds per minute. These were used to target infantry movements along the border line, pinpointed by anti-tank obstacles. Fire direction was from the observation turret or via an optical aim system. The latter was extremely precise, but more expensive than the machine gun!
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
In presence of an impenetrable smoke curtain or at night, an open-loop aiming system could be used. This consisted of a board with a precise sketch of the view of the outside from the firing point, mounted on top of the machine gun. A calibrated needle pointer was used to align the machine gun with respect to the target, by simply pointing the needle on the intended target on the board!
The third machine gun is a light ZB vz. 26, a very popular light 7.92 mm machine gun. This was used for close defense of the fort access. There are also grenade throwing tubes for the same purpose.
The other firing chamber points downhill, and is supplied with a machine gun as in the first chamber, plus the assembly of an anti-tank cannon and another machine gun. The cannon is a 4.7 cm Skoda KPUV vz. 38, with an up to 1-mile range at 35 rounds per minute. It could pierce a 50 mm armor from 0.7 miles apart, and was a very effective weapon. This very cannon was already in place before the German invasion, and was taken by the Wehrmacht to the Atlantic Wall in Norway. It has been returned to its original location in recent times.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
There are other two metal-reinforced embrasures in the bunker for other two ZB vz. 26s. On the same floor you can find a kitchenette and toilets for the troops, ammo storages, and two observation turrets. The latter feature a working movable floor, to allow tailoring to the height of the observer. The turrets were fitted with a periscope, and were used to direct fire. They weighed 21 tonnes each, and could withstand direct close fire from anti-tank guns!
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Finally, the room of the commander and the telephone room – with an original machine from the Thirties – conclude the tour.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
The Lom object, five minutes uphill with respect to the Brezinka fort, is another infantry bunker. It has not been refurbished to the level of Brezinka, but nonetheless it is used to showcase construction pieces, weapons and memorabilia from WWII years. The armored turret was taken away by the Germans.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Between the Brezinka and Lom bunkers you can find a section of anti-tank obstacles. The concrete base used to support them can be spotted in several places here and other sites of the defensive line.
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Voda Brezinka Lom Fort Czech Republic
Getting there and moving around
These bunkers, and especially Brezinka, are surely among the most interesting of the kind to visit, considering also their counterparts in France, Finland and Belarus.
The Voda site is easily accessible by car. The Brezinka and Lom bunkers cannot be reached by car. You can park on a street close to the trail-head and take the trail. Unfortunately, the road going uphill, albeit not uneven, is extremely steep and about 1 mile long. You should definitely take this into consideration when planning your excursion, even if you are physically well-trained. Very few beverages are available at the Lom site, which is five minutes farther uphill from Brezinka. Nothing is sold at Brezinka.
It is a pity they didn’t prepare a better access road, cause the site is surely worth a visit, and may appeal to the specialist and to the general public – especially children! – as well.
Only cash is accepted in all these sites. The Brezinka site is accessible only with guided tours. Tours were offered every 20 minutes in late August when I visited. You are given a detailed leaflet in English or German, in case you can’t speak Czech. The guided tour of Brezinka takes about 50 minutes.
The Lom site can be toured in 10 minutes, whereas the Voda bunker is worth a 20-30 minutes self-guided visit. Explanations are partly also in English and other languages in the Voda bunker.
Information on these three forts can be found from this website.
Hanicka
The Hanicka site features an extensive underground tunnel system, actually connecting the main entrance to some major peripheral forts. The ensemble includes one of the few most imposing firing units in the entire defensive line.
But what makes this site even more unique is the fact that, after having fallen into oblivion since the end of WWII, in the 1970s it was selected to be developed into a nuclear-proof governmental bunker – codenamed ‘Kahan’. The ensuing modifications altered greatly the appearance of the entrance bunker, and most of the systems you can see today in the underground part are actually dating from the 1980s.
The works on the conversion were carried out at a slow pace, and were actually not completed before the end of communism in Czechoslovakia, the collapse of the Czechoslovakian federation and the birth of the Czech Republic in the early 1990s. The bunker was soon opened to the public as a unique specimen of military building engineering from both WWII and the Cold War.
The tunnels can be be visited only with a guided tour. The original entrance to the tunnel, modified in the 1980s, is the starting point of the visit. The entrance to the bunker looked totally different before it was developed into a nuclear shelter. The modifications at the level of the entrance included the construction of a soft service building, with room for storages of trucks, armored vehicles and other material.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
In the first hall giving access to the tunnels you can find weapons, communication systems, scale models of the site, maps and much more from both the ‘two lives’ of the bunker, in the 1930s and 1980s.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Access it through a thick, typical soviet nuclear-blast-proof gate. Inside, you see the nuclear-proof system allowed to seal a section of the entry tunnel close to the gate. The bunker was designed to allow long-term survival and operations for 300 people also in case of total insulation from the world outside.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
A modern energy production system was put in place and can be seen together with water and gasoline tanks. The structure of the bunkers was not altered significantly, but the various systems date clearly from more recently than the Thirties.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
There are also extensive sleeping quarters and a medical facility to the far end of the main tunnel, which was built in the side of a hill.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
You finally come out in a former infantry bunker, reached climbing upstairs to the top of the hill. Here the embrasures and reinforcing panels of the firing chambers are still in place.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
The next part of the visit will take you to some other smaller bunkers, visible only from the outside.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
The visit ends in front on the major RS-79a bunker, a top of the line artillery bunker. This was provided with three embrasures for field guns. The size of this installation is really striking. You cannot visit inside this bunker.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
It was somewhat damaged by weapons testing by the Germans, and never refurbished. You can see a nuclear-proof door substituting one of the original embrasures.
Back to the parking, it is possible to see from the outside an infantry bunker and examples of anti-tank barriers. This bunker is a rare example of a totally undamaged fort of the line – even the metal turrets are original and have been left in place by the Germans.
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Hanicka Fort Czech Republic
Getting there and moving around
The Hanicka complex can be explored outside with no restrictions, but the inside can be toured only with a Czech-speaking guide. They provide you a leaflet in English. The visit lasts about 60 minutes. Info on their website.
The entrance is via the original entrance bunker, modified in the 1980s. Reaching this point from the parking on road N.319 is a bit demanding, cause you need to walk on an unpaved road going uphill with a relevant grade for about 0.7 miles, then you have about another 0.7 miles walking on an easy, flat road. Differently from Brezinka (see above), they have a facility selling food, beverages and souvenirs close to the entrance. It’s a pity they just did not prepare a good road and a parking nearby the entrance.
Anyway, this site has much to offer and the visit is highly recommended, both inside and outside, for children and adults as well.
Bouda
The two nearby forts of Bouda and Hurka share a basically similar construction, and represent possibly the best examples of almost-complete forts in the defensive line. They are articulated around a straight tunnel, mined in the side of a mountain. The section of the tunnel next to the main entrance bunker features a narrow gauge railway, used to transport ammos and various supplies to the storage units inside. Deeper in, there is provision for sleeping quarters for the troops. To the far end of the tunnel you can get access to a group of fortified installations and artillery bunkers.
The Bouda installation can be visited thoroughly. The site is very big but more remote to reach than Hurka. Besides the access bunker, where the ticket office can be found, you can see a specimen of a metal turret. None of the original turrets has been left in this site, all have been salvaged by the Germans.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Soon after the beginning of the tour, you will see the terminal of the narrow gauge railway. The double track goes through a short incline. At the base of the incline the main tunnel starts.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Not far from the entrance you meet slots for sealing doors and related actuation systems. These were installed by the Germans and used to test their reliability and the effectiveness of their weapons on them. They had some cannons installed further in along the tunnel, and shooting on the armored doors they had installed.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
The railway turns single-track, until you reach a major storage for weapons with a loading platform. One of the storage chambers has been reused to display a collection of weapons used in the forts and the corresponding armored embrasures.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Further on you visit a group of chambers originally intended to be fitted as sleeping quarters. The dividing walls and metal frames have been demolished at some point – or may be they were never installed – but some of them can be seen, original or reconstructed. In this area there is also a memorial to Czechoslovakian troops.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Further in the tunnel you reach another set of chambers, one of them with pieces of armored constructions and other heavy material from around the site. Then you get access to the stairs leading to a heavy artillery bunker.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
What you see here is the cylindrical concrete box where the actuation mechanism and reinforced cupola should have been installed. The size of the construction suggest the total intended size of the field cannon assembly, really big! This should have been very similar to some of the installations in the Maginot line (see this post). There is also a firing chamber for lighter weapons where nothing remains except some metal coating.
The guide will lead you back to the bottom and inside the main tunnel, and ascending along another stairwell you can reach an observation bunker with provision for light weapons. This bunker is in a better shape, and significant traces of the original soft construction are clearly visible.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Damage is due also to weapons testing carried out by the Germans, clearly visible from the outside.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Upon reaching the surface, you will be directed along a walk through the exteriors of the bunkers in the fortress, including the incomplete heavy artillery bunker, with the large concrete pit from visible above.
Finally, you access one of the bunkers, which appears pierced and heavily damaged from the outside. On the inside the firing chamber is fairly well conserved, with the original embrasures for machine guns still in place. The wall is pierced presumably by a shell or mine.
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
Bouda Fort Czech Republic
This very bunker was used also for testing high-yield explosives, and as a result of a huge explosion it shifted sideward of a few feet, without collapsing and with no alterations to its general shape – really sturdy! You can clearly appreciate the shift by going down in the stairwell!
You will then return to the main entrance with the ticket office where the visit will finish.
Getting there and moving around
The bunker parking can be found very easily driving north of the road N. 11 between Cervena Voda and Cerkovice. The area is popular for nature trail hiking, and the fort is also a popular attraction. Following the road signs, you will be driven to an observation tower on top of a mountain.
From there, the entrance to the bunker can be reached only by taking a trail which descends along the northwestern side of the mountain. The distance to cover by foot is a good 1.5 miles, so this should be taken into consideration when planning your trip. You have to go uphill on your way back to the parking, so the trail is more demanding when you are leaving. There are signs on every crossing, so you should not get lost. By the way, the walk is really nice, going in the trees with some bird-eye views on this beautiful countryside!
Once at the entrance of the bunker you can find refreshments and souvenirs. The bunker can be visited only with a guide. They are offering three options for the visit, each of them adding something to the other, yielding a difference in time. I took the most complete tour, and it took about 180 minutes.
You are provided jackets for staying inside – even though the temperature is not extremely low, especially if you are wearing technical trekking clothes, which are recommended for the preliminary trail to the entrance. The jackets are dirty, so it’s better to bring one of your own, as they almost force you to have something to cover in!
The tour is offered in Czech, with explanations in English provided on all panels and on a leaflet you can borrow inside. There is a fee for taking pictures, but both this and the entry ticket are rather cheap. Further info on their official website.
Hurka
The Hurka fortress is an installation pretty similar to the Bouda site, at least considering the inside part. After some years of closure following WWII, the Hurka site was converted into an ammunition depot in the 1960s. The modifications inside include some demolition work on the soft walls and frames, so the structure is mainly composed of large vaults.
The tunnels can be visited only with a guide. The visit starts from the original gate of the underground facility, where all supplies could be placed on a narrow-gauge convoy. An external loading platform can be spotted, together with specimens of anti-tank devices and of the reinforced observation turrets.
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Inside, an incline leads to the initial part of a long straight tunnel. The exhibitions provide an impressions of an ammo storage, and there are also weapons and armored embrasures from the fort.
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
An interesting exhibition prepared in one of the halls is about the activities of the agents of the Czechoslovakian government in exile during WWII. This included launching paratroopers over the territory of the former Republic, tasked with establishing contact with dissident anti-Nazi movements, and carrying out high-risk, top-priority missions. A pretty famous mission they were tasked with was the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a top-ranking SS, since 1941 responsible for the administration of the annexed territory of todays Czech Republic. A bloodthirsty, feared and hated figure, he died in hospital soon after having being shot in June 1942 in an operation codenamed ‘Anthropoid’. All the spies involved in the operation were later killed, and terrible retaliation actions were taken by the Nazis on the local population. An international movie was produced on this subject in 2016.
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
You don’t get access to the firing positions from inside, but you can visit them from the outside on your own and with no restrictions.
A pretty rare feature is a ‘top of the line’ artillery bunker, with three shooting embrasures on one side. This bunker is today standing severely damaged from German fire, inflicted during weapon testing. The bunker was actually de-interred by the Nazis to expose its walls, and perforation cannons were tested on it. Among them, the so-called Röchling shells, with a high perforation potential, adopted operationally but used very rarely in action by the Germans.
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
The other artillery positions are scattered on a grassy area on the side of a hill dominating a local valley. You can see the damages inflicted by fire testing, and the empty boxes of the metal turrets salvaged by the Germans.
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Hurka Fort Czech Republic
Getting there and moving around
The tour of the underground starts from the original access bunker, which can be reached just north of Kraliky on road N.312. Convenient parking outside. The underground can be accessed only with a guide. The ticked office offers also food and beverages. More info on their official website.
The firing positions can be toured on your own. They can be accessed driving about 0.3 miles north along the same N.312 road to the top of the hill, and turning left on an unpaved road. You will soon see a bar with a prohibition sign for cars. You can park nearby on the grass and proceed by foot, you will meet the fortification with an almost flat walk of 0.15 miles. There are signs with multi-language explanations close to each of the bunkers. The place is really nice, and the walk is highly recommended.
Soon after the end of WWI, the government and the top-ranking officials of the victorious French Army set plans for a defensive system along the eastern border, which would protect the nation from future invasions. The ambitious plan was initially based on a line of reinforced concrete forts placed along the border with Italy, Germany, Luxembourg. Construction started in the last 1920s, and the defense system was named after Henri Maginot, ministry of war at the time and a major advocate of the project, who died well before its completion in 1932.
Construction works continued till at least 1935 on the Italian and German sectors. Soon after, in 1936 due to the re-negotiations of the alliance with Belgium, the line was partly extended along the border between France and Belgium, but it never reached completion, thus failing to seal that sector of the border – which might have been possible only by reaching the coast of the Channel.
When the first thunders of war resounded in Europe in 1939, the forts of the Maginot line were reinforced further. The German Army planned an attack accounting for the presence of the line, and when the invasion of France was enacted in May 1940, a small diversionary army was sent against the French forts, while most of the Wehrmacht moved quickly through the forests of southeast Belgium – the Ardennes – finally entering France in the region of Sedan, next to the western extremity of the French defensive line. So the immense defensive system was outflanked in about three weeks, and an armistice between France and Germany followed soon in June 1940.
The Maginot line is composed of 108 major forts – ‘ouvrage’ in French – plus many more smaller installations. These bunkers had often different characteristics depending on the region, and were interred to an extent depending on the local characteristics of the terrain. Typical features of these forts are turrets with cannons and periscopes. Larger forts have usually two separate entrances for the troops and for supplying goods – shells, grenades, kerosene for the electric generators, food, medical supplies, etc.. These forts could house more than 1’000 troops each. Larger bunkers were often connected by a network of underground tunnels with smaller observation or firing positions, or reinforced barracks. There was also a dedicated telephone communication network all along the line.
Many forts of the line never sustained attacks, while some did. Some were even used in the closing months of the war by the US Army, as strongpoints during field battles against the retreating German Army.
Today, many forts of the line are preserved as national monuments. Some of them are open as top-ranking museums, some have been entrusted to local societies of enthusiasts which allow to visit them on a regular or limited basis. Some are usually shut and inaccessible except by arrangement.
This chapter is about a few forts of the Maginot Line in northeastern France visited in 2016. These highlights provide an insight on the typical construction of these defensive installations. Featured are many photographs taken during these visits.
This smaller fort is probably the one in the Maginot Line which saw the most intense action. Located in the beautiful countryside north of historical Sedan, on the border with Belgium, this fort is where the invading Wehrmacht inflicted a first major blow, entering French territory in Spring 1940. It was in the focus of a direct German attack between May 18th-19th, 1940, and no one of the French soldiers in the fort survived.
This installation, located on top of a hill, is composed of two main blocks, connected by an underground tunnel. The interior can be visited only on a guided tour, while the exteriors can be walked freely. The visit starts in the visitor center, with a very nice animated movie telling the story of the fort, and of the momentous events of May 1940 it was involved in.
Then you are taken to the entrance of the bunker nearby. Getting closer, you are shown original defensive obstacles originally placed along the perimeter of many forts of the Maginot Line. There are six lines of rail beams stuck vertically in the ground, to stop tanks and vehicles, plus lines of barbed wire against attacking troops.
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
The entrance is through a bunker – Block 1 – emerging from the side of a hill. On top there are thick metal turrets for observation and rifle/machine gun firing. The entrance is through a smaller drawbridge, leaning over a dry moat. This is a distinctive feature of many similar forts of the line. An attacker close to the main door would find himself on the line of fire of anti-tank and lighter arms shooting through sealed loopholes in the wall of the bunker, and vulnerable to grenade attacks, which could be slipped through specially built inclined tubes. From the apron ahead of the bunker you can spot in the distance another concrete bunker part of the same group, about 1 mile away to the southeast. It cannot be visited.
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Once inside you can see the shooting chamber opposite the wall close to the main door. Original light weapons are still in place – an anti-tank cannon and a machine gun. Close by there are the dormitories for the troops, the office of the commander and other service rooms, including bulky filters for the ventilation system.
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
During the fight, a grenade exploded inside the bunker, and this produced an extensive damage. Some non-structural walls collapsed, and what remains can be seen today. The ensuing fire was the final cause of the French disaster during the German attack, as the gas masks of the French troops were not designed against carbon monoxide resulting from a usual fire – most soldiers died from asphyxia.
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
The guide will drive you to the other block, walking along the connection tunnel. Block 2 features a revolving turret, which could be also retracted for sealing the bunker when necessary. When extracted, it exposed the barrels of various light weapons. This turret can be accessed if you are sufficiently agile. It was put out of combat by applying explosives which stuck the revolving mechanism – the turret has since then assumed a slightly banked attitude.
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
The guided tour ends after exiting through the door of Block 2. Moving around on top of the construction, you can see the clear signs of the German shelling on top of the turrets. Also the print left by a pack of explosive stick to the side of the revolving turret, but causing little damage, can be clearly spotted.
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Between the two blocks, on the side of a local road crossing the site, a further concrete bunker with a small door – this time totally inaccessible – can be found. Opposite the road, there is a monument to the French soldiers who were killed in the attack.
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de la Ferté – Maginot Line
Getting there and moving around
This site is really worth visiting also for those with a general interest for history, and it offers a very good insight on the specific features of the Maginot Line for technically minded people as well. The guide is very knowledgeable, and provides explanations in English also during visits in French. The place is managed as a modern museum, website here. The guided tour will last approximately 45 minutes. Allow more for touring the outside on your own and taking pictures. It can be reached along the road connecting Villy and La Ferté-sur-Chiers, less than 20 miles southeast of Sedan.
Ouvrage Simserhof
This is one of the big forts – ‘gros ouvrage’ – of the Maginot Line, located close to the German border. It was dug in the side of a hill, with two separate gates. The lower one at the foot of the hill was for supply, where the top one, close to the top of the hill, was for the troops. Both gates are reinforced concrete bunkers with loopholes for light artillery to defend the apron ahead of the entrance.
The place has a modern visitor center. The visit – only possible with a guide – is articulated in two parts. The first is a tour of the lower level, which used to be the storage for ammunitions as well as anything needed to supply the activities going on in the fort. This level has been converted into a dynamic exhibition, with sounds, a narrating voice, some visual effects. It is toured conveniently sitting on a cable car. The second part is a classic guided tour of the top-level, and it will start from the top entrance.
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
Grand Ouvrage de Simserhof – Maginot Line
The inside of the fort is huge, and the tour is pretty extensive. You are shown the firing chambers besides the entrance, many tunnels, dormitories, living quarters for the troops, medical rooms, the rooms for the electrical generators, and many other service rooms. Remarkably though, you are not shown the artillery installations in the peripheral blocks.
Getting there and moving around
The museum is a prominent tourist attraction in the area. The visit to the lower level is more for children and people with a very general interest for 20th century history. The original setting was changed deeply to host a modern dynamic exhibition, which may not appeal to more technically minded subjects. The visit to the top part lasts about 1.5 hour, and is maybe too hard for kids. Many technical details are provided here and many items shown. Yet the fact that you cannot access any artillery position – at least when I visited – is a bit disappointing. Everything in French only when I visited. Info and timetables for visiting from their website. The closest sizable town is Saarbrücken, Germany, about 30 miles northwest of the site.
Ouvrage du Four à Chaux
This is an intermediate size fort, which hosted around 600 men in the days of operation. The visit – only possible with a guide – is very interesting, as the fort has many characteristics typical to larger installations of the Maginot Line – like Simserhof, see above – but it is more compact and easy to visit. Furthermore, during the visit you are shown all areas of major importance, covering the housing part, as well as the artillery control and firing part.
Much like larger forts, there are two entrances at two different levels on the side of a hill. You get inside through the top one, for troops. Access is by a drawbridge over a small artificial dry moat. From there, you are shown a series of long corridors and tunnels, along which you can find the dormitories and technical rooms.
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
A special feature is an escape tunnel, built vertically and reaching the top of the hill from the core of the fort. The tunnel is actually made of two twin parts, where the first was designed to be filled up with debris coming from the top of the hill in case of an attack, leaving the other free. This way escape was possible even after the emergency exit had been specifically targeted you enemy fire, causing the debris to fall inside. Further features include the big filters of the ventilation system.
The firing control area can be reached following a corridor going gently uphill. Here you are shown the technical situation rooms from where war operations were coordinated. Several panels and cutouts provide an idea of the structure of the fort.
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Then you get access to the ammo storage. Here ammunitions for bigger calibers were put in canisters which were moved thanks to a rail hanging from the ceiling. Larger used shells were conveyed from the cannon to a storage area throwing them on a slide.
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
One of the retractable turrets is still perfectly working. The guide will operate the mechanism, showing how the turret can be moved up and down, and also how it can rotate. A closed circuit camera shows the turret from outside, thus allowing to better appreciate the effect of the mechanisms you see standing inside. This part is very interesting, and provides a good idea of how the fort worked during a battle.
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
The guide will finally drive you to the exit through the lower entrance originally for resupply, which is reached going down an inclined tunnel, used to load trolleys full of ammunitions moving them from the storage level to the operative quarters of the fort.
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Ouvrage de Four a Chaux – Maginot Line
Close by the exit you can find an American M41 tank used as a gate guardian!
Getting there and moving around
The visit of this fort takes about 2 hours and it is very interesting. The museum is possibly less famous than others in the Maginot Line, which makes it more enjoyable, as groups are smaller and the staff is more dedicated. On the other hand, opening times are more limited, you can find information on their website. The visit was in French, but the guide answered my questions in English, plus you are provided a detailed paper guide in English – and probably other languages as well – for the time of the tour. The fort is on the premises of the town of Lembach, about 20 miles north of Strasbourg in the northeastern corner of France, right on the border with Germany.
Casemate Esch
This smaller reinforced artillery position is only rarely open to the public. Yet even from the outside it makes for a pretty unique sight. Actually this installation found itself in the middle of a storm in January 1945, when the 14th Armored Division of the US Army was stopped by the German army in the area of Haguenau during operation ‘Nordwind’, conceived by the Wehrmacht to repeat the success of the offensive in the Ardennes of May 1940. Many found shelter in this fort as a fierce tank battle raged all around.
Casemate Esch, Hatten – Maginot Line
Casemate Esch, Hatten – Maginot Line
Casemate Esch, Hatten – Maginot Line
Casemate Esch, Hatten – Maginot Line
Heavy damage resulting from intense shelling can be clearly spotted on this relatively small reinforced concrete building. A M4 Sherman tank has been placed on top of the bunker as a memorial.
Getting there and moving around
The barracks can be visited only on Sunday during the warm season. A view of the outside may be interesting, especially if you have already an idea of what a Maginot fort looks like from the inside. The place can be spotted easily on the side of D-28 less than 1 miles southeast of the small village of Hatten, some 15 miles north of Strasbourg. Information through the website of the larger Schoenenburg fort. For the outside, a tour of 15 minutes should be enough.
Abri de Hatten
This site is actually an extremely interesting WWII and Cold War museum, centered on the reinforced barracks in the village of Hatten, part of the Maginot Line. Inside the barracks, which can be toured on your own, you can find some of the original rooms rebuilt with their original furniture, especially a dormitory, a kitchen, medical facilities, air filters and power generators.
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
Due to the big size of the bunker, some rooms have been used to host extremely interesting exhibitions. These are about the life in the area in the times of the German occupation. Pictures and rare original artifacts with Nazi insignia are part of the collection. A unique German map of the world from 1941 is displayed – showing with the Swastika as the national flag of Germany, and many borders in Europe looking very different from now!
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
A room is dedicated to the wreck of a Messerchmitt Me-262 Schwalbe, the worlds first operative jet engined fighter. This aircraft was downed nearby the fort in the closing days of WWII. The two jet engines make for an interesting sight, plus there are many components of the avionics system originally on board this very aircraft, really futuristic at the time.
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
Another room showcases detection and communication gear from the Cold War years, and from both sides of the Iron Curtain. This recalls the fact that, soon after WWII, France decided to keep the largely untouched Maginot Line as a defensive installation against the Soviets. Having grown obsolete after nuclear stockpiles had begun to be produced also in France, the line was finally decommissioned by the early 1960s.
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
The premises of the reinforced barracks are scattered with further interesting items, including cannons of several makes and bores, anti-tank, anti-aircraft and heavier field cannons, from France, Germany, the US and the Eastern Bloc.
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
There are a MiG-21 and a Mil helicopter from the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR), a French Dassault Mirage, several antennas, a Soviet surface to air missile, more trucks from the GDR. There is also what appears to be a partly authentic border control booth with national insignia from the former border between possibly West Germany – maybe somewhere in Berlin – and the GDR.
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
There is a small memorial building dedicated to a group of soldiers of the French Army which after the armistice with Germany in 1940 were integrated in the Wehrmacht, and later sent to fight on the side of the Germans against the Soviets on the European Eastern Front. Due to the very harsh conditions of that sector of the front, many would never come back.
There are also two further buildings in the museum. The first is about the Maginot Line, with a comprehensive – and very interesting – collection of models of its various types of forts and reinforced structures. The second is on WWII, with remains of a downed Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, German transport vehicles, and many artifacts and weapons.
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
Among the most peculiar items on display there is a parachute for pigeons. These birds were extensively used for communication between occupied France and Britain. British birds were parachuted in France. If they fell in the right hands, they could be loaded with a message and launched. Their instinct would then guide them back to their home base across the Channel. Some of these birds even received military decorations for their bravery in this vital service!
Finally, a small collection of heavy army vehicles are kept in operative conditions by a local society of enthusiasts. These include US half-tracked vehicles, trucks, an American M60 and a Soviet T-34 tank!
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
WWII and Cold War Museum – Abri de Hatten – Maginot Line
Getting there and moving around
This unique, one-of-a-kind collection can be visited on a self-guided basis. Depending on your interest, a visit may take from 45 minutes to more than 2 hours. A website with some visiting information is here. There location is on Rue de l’Abri, immediately to the west of the village of Hatten, 15 miles north of Strasbourg. Most explanations are in French and German, plus scant signs in English. Please note that they accept only cash.
Fort de Mutzig – Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II
While not a part of the Maginot Line, the history of this fort is interesting, for it was erected by the Germans at the end of the 19th century, when the regions of Alsace and Lorraine – now part of France – had been lost to the German Reich following the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. It was designed and built as the most technologically advanced fort of its time. The construction was based on concrete instead of masonry, which made it capable of withstanding heavy shelling from the most modern and powerful howitzers of its age. It was made of three sectors, erected on top of a hill not far from Strasbourg, and was part of a defensive line built around that city against the French. It was dedicated to Kaiser Wilhelm II.
This immense structure featured two batteries of four heavy 150 mm howitzers and fourteen 105 mm cannons in specifically designed turrets, plus lighter observation and firing turrets. About 1’000 men stationed in the fort, which saw limited action in WWI and was ceded to France in 1918. Correspondingly, it changed name to Fort de Mutzig. At the beginning of WWII, it was regained by the invading German Army, which occupied it but later sent the cannons to the Atlantic Wall. It was bombed by the Luftwaffe in the closing days of WWII, but it basically went through the turbulent first half of the 20th century without sustaining any major damage. It was later abandoned and re-opened as a museum, frequently updated as more sections are restored.
It is today one of the largest and best preserved examples of early concrete forts – actually a good example of WWI military architecture, as construction techniques remained very similar until after WWI.
Visiting is possible only in guided groups. The visit will take you to the northern sector, where you can see the firing chamber for defending the gate, and a series of rooms including the living quarters of the troops stationed there. There are a the dormitories, a medical room and even a bakery. Most writing from the time is in German, and most machines bear the name of a German brand! You can visit the original toilet – even there, no privacy was allowed, to prevent the troops from committing suicide by always keeping a watch on them.
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Inside the many empty rooms, there are exhibitions of artifacts like models of the turrets, reinforced observation posts and weapons from the original supply of the fort.
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Interestingly, the original electric generators have been carefully restored together with the power-plant control panel – very nice, really from an older age!
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
The tour of the exterior will take you to the top of the fort, where observation and firing turrets can be seen from the outside.
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Finally, a battery of four 150 mm howitzers is approached and visited.
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II – Fort de Mutzig
Getting there and moving around
The fort can be reached on top of a hill about 12 miles west of Strasbourg. The road going uphill starts between the villages of Mutzig and Dinsheim-sur-Bruche. The guided tour – the only way to visit – takes about 1.5 hours. The visit will be extremely interesting for the general public and more technically minded people as well. Website with information here.
‘The lost city of Vogelsang’ – this is the complete name often attributed to this former Soviet installation built under Stalin’s rule in 1952, located about 35 miles north of Berlin in the former territory of the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR, or DDR in German). Actually, the base was among the first three of the kind in size, housing about 15.000 Soviet troops of tank and artillery divisions, service staff and their families – much more residents than the majority of ‘normal’ cities in the region.
In the case of Vogelsang, two facts add to the usual grim aura of a deserted Soviet base.
Firstly, it was never much publicized among the locals, being large enough to contain all services needed by the troops and their families – it was basically a ‘secret base’. The trees now invading all free areas between the skeletons of the remaining buildings were not there until the early Nineties, when Russian troops left the former territory of the GDR – during 1994. Yet even when it was active, the place was hidden from the eyes of those passing by, thanks to the very rich vegetation. Its very location, pretty far away from everything, surely helped in shrouding it into secrecy.
Secondarily, at least in one instance in recent history, in the years of Khrushchev, of the latest Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, this place was used for the deployment of an arsenal of strategic missiles pointing to European targets, reportedly in core Europe and Britain. Much confusion exists about dates and many details are missing – the deployment was so secret that even the government of the GDR didn’t know about it, so the existence of the base and its role are a somewhat ‘inconvenient reminder’ of the recent past for Germany. Today this base is still really hard to spot.
Anyway, I visited the site several times between 2016 and 2020, and I took the following photographs. While from the sequence of my visits it is apparent that the installation is quickly decaying, thanks to the combined action of the government and of ignorant writers, both showing a bothering null respect for history, there is still something left to see. I give also some basic info for getting to this site on your own.
Getting there and moving around
The village of Vogelsang can be reached by car from downtown Berlin in about 1 h 30 min – the road distance is about 40 miles, but a substantial part of the itinerary follows local roads, resulting in a pretty long time needed. Be careful when pointing your nav, for there are several towns named ‘Vogelsang’ in Germany. This one is in Brandenburg, located north of Berlin, along the road 109. The closest major town is Zehdenick, a few miles to the south of Vogelsang on the same road 109.
As usual with military bases, there is a railway track reaching Vogelsang, and getting there by train is of course possible. During my stay I heard the whistle of various trains passing there – even though I noticed only a very small station and nobody around, so possibly there’s no ticketing service. I noticed the scheduled time for arriving by train from Berlin is identical to that needed moving with a car. If you don’t want to be forced to stick to timetables, I suggest going by car.
Once there, I parked my car on the grass close to the only crossroad in town – where the 109 is crossed by Burgwaller Strasse. I parked behind the info table – there is obviously no info on the base, just about ‘regular’ nature trails in the area. Nobody complained about me parking there, and I found my car intact about six hours later…
Burgwaller Strasse crosses the railway and heads straight into the ‘zone’. Please note that soon after crossing the railway a) the road is not paved any more, b) there are prohibition signs about vehicle traffic, so you can’t go further with a car.
For moving around you will need an electronic map and possibly a GPS, cause the site is huge, and the area is covered with trees and vegetation, and many former roads are not visible any more, so getting lost is pretty easy. Moreover, from Google maps you can’t spot much from above, because of the trees. This makes a GPS + map of the site very important for the particular case of this site, differently from other bases.
I used my iPhone and it worked perfectly. Just install the free Ulmon (aka CityMaps2Go) app (app website here) and download the offline Brandenburg map – this provides an incredible detail. Furthermore, there is a strong Internet signal over most of the base – strangely enough, the area is well covered.
Anyway, if you don’t want to depend on the Internet once there, you can pinpoint the places you are more interested in on the offline Ulmon map before going – I did also this as a backup, cause I didn’t know whether Internet would be working.
I suggest not to overlook this point. Thinking back, I would have hardly made it without a cell phone with a GPS + map. You have to walk in the trees quite a bit before reaching any buildings. The trees hide everything and you can easily get disoriented – wasting much time moving around. Everything is solved with a GPS and a good map.
Over five visits, I spent almost 20 hours touring the place. During my first visit (lasting about 6 hours), I just concentrated on the southernmost part of it, which is of course the richest in remains, electing not to reach the launch pads closer to the village of Beutel (see this chapter). On that first visit, I walked approximately 11 miles standing to my iPhone, so be ready to walk. Even though there are no great physical barriers for moving around, the place is really abandoned and vegetation is wild. Probably you will need to walk in nettles and brambles at some point, so choose your clothes and shoes carefully.
On the plus side, you will see much wildlife!
Many interesting sights are outdoor, some are indoor. As usual, all abandoned buildings, except perhaps the nuclear storage bunkers that are very sturdy, must be considered dangerous. You should observe through the windows or enter at your own risk.
Sights
Missile Launch Pad
This is the southernmost, isolated launch pad on the site. You can see a concrete platform at the level of the ground about 20 feet long, with metal holding points. It was used to anchor missile-carrying trucks before tilting the missile canister vertical and preparing for launch. It is highly probable that the missile system intended to be installed here was the R5 ‘Pobeda’, NATO codename SS-3 ‘Shyster’. The relatively small range of this missile is in support of a deployment in a region so close to the border with european NATO Countries (see this chapter also for a general map of the missile installations in this area).
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The road leading to the missile pad and from there to the main complex of the base today is barely visible. Traces of a barbed wire fence, delimiting the external perimeter of the base, can be found here, together with a network of trenches and dips once needed for the missile launch system (which included technical trailers with generators, control system panels, …).
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The territory of the base is scattered with tokens from their former owners, from mugs to batteries, to military material of all sorts.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Southeastern Inner Access Post
Walking along the barbed wire fence from the missile launch pads to the core of the base, you will come across a long concrete wall. Soviet bases are often divided into sealed sectors. Access to the ‘service part’ of the base, with living quarters, schools, … was past this wall. The gate has disappeared, but you can find traces of it where the wall is interrupted and a concrete-paved road points into it. A cage for watchdogs can be found close to this checkpoint.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
In a first building for the guards, with window railings, look for Russian writings even on the ground.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Buildings by the entrance post include a garage with writings in Cyrillic, with an apron for maneuvering trucks or cars. On the cranes inside the garage, you can find inscriptions by the Soviet troops occupying the base. Leaving this type of ‘autograph’ was typical for Soviet troops (see for instance the traces left in the theater of bases in Poland, here).
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Nearby the entrance, a clubhouse, visitor center, or something alike can be found, with a pleasant architecture – large windows and a bar.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Entertainment Quarters
Two main buildings here, a movie theater and a clubhouse.
The theater is still in good shape. Some of the original lights and traces of the performance program board can be seen outside.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The road leading to the front entrance is still visible, but the façade is not imposing any more, for trees are now hiding it.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Signs and propaganda posters in Cyrillic alphabet and with photos can be spotted here and all around the base.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The café, with an original banner in Cyrillic, can be spotted to the left of the theater, close by a small warehouse with a loading platform.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Some kitchen furniture and gear can be still spotted around.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Between the theater and café buildings, you can find an incredible Soviet sculpture. The most striking feature you can see in the pics is a portrait of Lenin!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The Lenin panel was moved in 2017 to a Soviet-themed museum in Wünsdorf (see this dedicated chapter about this incredible place and its museum). The rest of the mural was there as of 2019, still reasonably resisting to the weather and spoilers.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Mural monuments are among the most interesting features of Vogelsang. Not far from this base, you can find another example of these Soviet creations described in this chapter.
Children School
This is rather creepy – even the curtains are still in place on some windows…! On the ground floor you can access a small gym.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Much of the heating system – made in Germany – is still in place.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
On the first floor some very interesting murals can be easily spotted, together with traces of a small theater and special classrooms for language teaching and other purposes.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Soldiers Sports Ground
This has been turned into a corn field. Something of the original tribunes still stay, with original decoration made from parts of machinery I guess.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Water/Heating Plant
A small water pumping/heating plant occupies a building nearby the gym (see next section). Traces of the original hardware can be found, with writing in Russian.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Also a small living room, likely belonging to a technician looking after plant, is part of this small construction. Traces of the original curtains are still there! Unofficial writing in Cyrillic can be found on the concrete wall making for a small backyard to the plant.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Soldiers Gym
Very creepy! Gym apparel, subscription forms, record boards and gym gear still around…
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
To the back you can spot a former Turkish bath with no roof and trees in it.
Soldiers Barracks
There are pretty many buildings of the same kind aligned along a still visible concrete paved road between the school and the training center. Many of these buildings look like being close to collapsing. Some interesting halls and various items can be found in some of them.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Soldiers Canteens & Training Center
There are various canteens and entertainment centers scattered over the territory of the base.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Some nice murals in pure Russian naïve style can be found in some of the buildings. Some of the halls are very very large.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Among the most notable features in Vogelsang, a peculiar tank simulator and a small but very deep pool, for training purposes, can still be found in a dedicated training building.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Unfortunately the door appears to be blocked by a collapsed roof or something, but you can reach or at least see the features of interest through broken windows.
Base Headquarter
The headquarter of the soviet base in Vogelsang sit in a two-levels building with an imposing facade. Today you can see the remnants of a porter’s office, giving access to the main staircase.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Climbing to the upper floor, you reach a hall with a wooden canopy. Two corridors leading to the offices of the military staff depart from there.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
From a 2020 visit, this building has taken a particularly rotting appearance, and maybe it is not going to last for long.
Mural of Soviet Triumphs & Soviet Soldier, plus Buildings Nearby
This is an incredible mural, about 60 feet long, with various symbolic scenes – army power, technology and agriculture, family and helpful society and housing for everybody.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
A collection of Soviet emblems follows. This mural contributes greatly to the uniqueness of Vogelsang in the panorama of Soviet bases!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Turning your head 90 degrees to the right from this mural, you will see an artistically pleasant giant head of soldier, embossed on the side of a building. Differently from the mural nearby, this is of some artistic value. The head was still there during my next visits, even though writers have attacked the base of the wall where it is standing, and the plaster is starting to fail. Who knows how long this old guardian will stand, recalling the past splendor of Soviet Vogelsang with his sad expression?
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Close by, it is possible to find scant remains of other propaganda gears, like a three-steps stand for speaking, a bigger one in the shape of a Red Banner flag made in concrete and bricks, and an adjoining painted mural with planes, ships and soldiers. Unique!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
In this area you can find also some service buildings in a relatively good shape. Among other things, there is a (likely) central laundry, with (possibly) ironing machines still in place.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Still in the area, some buildings appear to host small apartments. As usual in Soviet bases, Pravda and other news adorn the walls – they were used to hang wallpaper, but this has largely gone today, and old news have faced again. Just reading the publication dates and titles, or looking at the pics, can be really intriguing.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Some of the buildings hosted nearby the mural hosted technical services, like boilers for centralized hot water supply, or similar. You may spend some time exploring this area, finding some curious rooms – and even a well preserved sauna!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Underground Cellar with Mural
An interesting sight for braver – maybe crazier – explorers can be found in the underground cellar, in the basement of a canteen building, among the service buildings just described.
There a big plaster (?) mural can be found, painted in bright colors, with missiles, soldiers, the Kremlin in Moscow and a huge red banner with hammer and sickle! The state of conservation is exceptionally good.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Also very interesting are the inscriptions left by troops stationed at Vogelsang, apparently coming from districts like Kishinev (now Chisinau, Moldova), Chelyabinsk (Russia), Krim (Crimea), Yakkabag (Uzbekistan), Donbass (Ukraine) – all around the USSR! The years reported range between 1989 and 1990. The mural might date from just little earlier, hence it may be relatively new, justifying its still good condition.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
It is not a long walk from the surface, you just need to descend a short flight of stairs. The only thing is that the cellar is flooded, so you will need to explore it moving around in a kind of pool of clean but cold water, reaching up to your crotch! A good torchlight is mandatory. Other adjoining rooms display further inscriptions in Cyrillic.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Mirage Mural & Most Peripheral Buildings
A painted portrait of a Mirage 2000 was made on the back of a fence wall not far north from the mural of the Soviet triumphs, close to a watchtower. A data sheet in cyrillic alphabet is painted besides, and another aircraft is visible on another part of the wall.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Pretty curious about the choice of the Mirage, among all ‘enemy aircraft’ of Western powers. May be this was just the beginning of a gallery of portraits? As of 2019, I could not find this any more, maybe it is now gone.
As a matter of fact, this corner of the base is now close to an area to the north end of the base, where demolition works have stricken hard, flattening huge lots once occupied by many more buildings.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
On the border of the surviving group of buildings, you can find some interesting items, including a garage, and another 3D monument, on the side of a secluded flat area now invaded by vegetation, which might have been a square or a small outdoor sporting facility.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Northeastern Gate Area and Defense Bunker
On the northeastern corner of this major remaining part of the base, just north of the school and theater you can find traces of a kind of park, with a network of walkways sided with hedges. Today, the plants used for hedging are overgrown, but you can still clearly recognize the original patterns. Furthermore, there are street lamps still standing an showing the way!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
On the northern end of this once pleasant area, you can find a half-interred bunker. The entrances are bricked up, so you can’t get in. Considering the position, close to service buildings for everyone in the base, like canteens, gym, school, etc., this bunker might have been a defense bunker for the people of the base, in case of an attack.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
A lonely gate and fragments of the wall surrounding this sector of the base can be found not far from here, a rather evoking sight.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Bunkers for Nuclear Warheads
These are located to the south-west of the base, pretty far from the living quarters and training centers, and closer to the limit fence of the and to the road and railway. A long concrete-paved road connects these two sections of the base.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Two bunkers can still be seen. They are very large and covered with land and vegetation. They have security gates at both ends. On one end, there are cranes probably for moving the nuclear warheads between trucks and the bunker. On the other end there is a small service building, attached to the side of the bunker.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The ventilation system is huge, with large openings, valves and extensive piping.
At the time of my first visit one of the two bunkers could be entered with no difficulty by the back gate. The thickness of the gate is impressive. Inside there are multiple interconnected cellars running along the main axis of the bunker, separated by walls and gates. Approaching the other end, where the entry gate to the crane area is blocked closed, there are rooms and ventilation control gears.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
The inside of the bunker is very dark, but surprisingly it is far less wet than expected. Probably at least the construction layers for climate control are still working properly.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Since 2017, both bunkers are closed, but as you can see from the pics below, the exterior is still basically intact. Writings in Russian can be found on the gates of the bunkers.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Scattered around the bunkers are some guard turrets overseeing the area, walls enclosing it in a perimeter, as well as protected entrances to some subterranean passages. In front of the blocked entrance of the bunker you can walk in, there is a mystery wall of ceramic brick, whose function I can’t guess.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Warning: in the area between the two bunkers I almost stepped on much dangerous debris, like pieces of rusty barbed wire and similar items. Carefully watch your step.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
North of the bunkers a large garage for trucks can be found. The bunkers just described were for warheads only. The missiles used to be stored in dedicated bunkers, once located besides the trucks depot (trucks were used to take the trailers carrying the missiles to the launch pad).
These missile storage buildings have been partly demolished, leaving some concrete slabs once making for a pavement. Some further bunkers have been interred (filled with land). I took some pics from the top of these old halls, by letting the camera down a loophole on the rooftop.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Cutting from the bunkers directly south to the road going back to the village, you cross the former perimeter of the base. From the inside you cross a wall, two lines of poles with traces of barbed wire, and a ditch. Thinking back, mines might have been buried between the two lines of barbed wire…
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Southeastern Corner and Carved Graffiti
An incredible testimony of the people once occupying the base came as a surprise during a short detour in the trees from one of the major roads crossing the base, approaching the southeastern corner of its large premises. A group of graffiti carved in the trees by the presumably young Soviet soldiers stationed there, totally in Cyrillic with names and year, left a vivid trace of archaeological value in this region of Germany. Some inscriptions date back to the 1960s!
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Approaching the railway track an unusual parking can be spotted, where only the lights are still in place. Totally disproportioned to the size of the town, it was probably connected with the military base, and is now deserted. A now dead railway crossing can be found too.
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base Germany
Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Soviet Base
Final Comments
You can’t see anything unusual at a glance when passing by the very small village of Vogelsang. To say it all, you can hardly spot todays village itself – a handful of small houses along the main road.
This would be good for urban explorers and war historians, as it should protect what remains from writers and other spoilers. Paradoxically, it is not protecting the site from disappearing at a quick pace, as the German government is reportedly promoting reforestation in the area, and buildings are being demolished little by little.
It is a pity, for this former base is rich of examples of Soviet ‘art’ and of other very rare artifacts, which after all are now part of history, and perhaps should deserve more consideration.
Since my first visit some years ago, some buildings to the north have been demolished, and the bunkers closed forever. Ignorant writers and spoilers are taking their toll, too. In 2020 there were huge construction trucks and teams with heavy machinery working in the northwestern part of the base. Recent updates from fellow explorers reported that not much remains of the northwestern part of the base. Remarkably, the mural with the Soviet soldier has been demolished, and so the painted underground cellar, between 2020 and 2022.
This was partly expected, but as of 2022 it looks like we are getting close to the point when the present chapter will be a memento of what used to be in Vogelsang. There is still something left to check out there, but possibly not even such to justify a specific tour and the inconvenience of reaching this wild destination.
The Berlin Wall is widely known as one of the most emblematic symbols of the Cold War – a materialization of the ‘Iron Curtain’. The Wall – at least in its preliminary stage – was erected almost overnight in August 1961 by the Government of the GDR (‘German Democratic Republic’, or ‘DDR’ in German), and later developed into a complex and virtually impenetrable dividing barrier with fortifications, multiple fences, barbed wire, watchtowers, watchdogs, mines, truck stopping bars and other devices, isolating the part of Berlin attributed to the US, Britain and France from the Soviet occupation zone.
This monster, which caused many people to lose their lives, or forced them to risk everything – and leave everything behind – in the pursue of freedom, remained in place and was steadily updated until its triumphal demolition in November 1989.
What is less known is that the reason for building the Wall was the urge of the GDR to stop emigration towards West Germany (‘FRG’, Federal Republic of Germany, or ‘BRD’ in German) and the free world. Actually, the Wall was built following a massive emigration wave from the harsh living conditions of the GDR, taking place during the Fifties and mounting until the Wall was built. Literally millions of people fled the regions occupied by the Soviets from the end of WWII in 1945 until 1961.
Consequently, blocking the border only in the city of Berlin would have been nonsense. As a matter of fact, at the same time as the construction of the Wall begun, the government of the GDR started one of the most gigantic ‘border-armoring’ operations in history, by ordering fortification of the whole border line between East and West Germany. The Berlin Wall was actually only the tip of the iceberg, as all the more than 800 miles long border line between East and West Germany, extending from the Baltic Sea to Bavaria and the Czech border, was blocked with the same level of restraining techniques deployed in Berlin, to the explicit aim of preventing people from crossing the fence and going East to West. For the Communist government, East Germany had to be reconfigured basically as a nationwide prison.
This incredible operation, which engaged thousands border troops and tons of equipment, plus required continuous updates of the patrolling technologies, was reportedly so expensive that it contributed effectively to the collapse of the economy of the GDR. It crystallized the so-called ‘Inner Border’ between the two German republics, which had existed since 1945, but had never been so deadly. After the introduction of this strict border patrolling policy the number of people killed or wounded, and of those arrested because trying to cross the border, increased steadily until the re-opening of the border, following rapidly after the demolition of the Wall in Berlin in 1989.
Berlin is today an enjoyable city, full of interesting places to visit and things to do, and its urban configuration, so strikingly bound to the Wall and its history – unlike all other capital cities in Europe, Berlin is lacking a true ‘city center’ – with the passing of time is becoming more uniform. Differences between the two sides, once obvious, now tend to vanish, at least in the most seen parts of the city, with new buildings, fashionable shops and malls, stately hotels and governmental buildings rising where once the Wall had created barren flat areas, not restored for long from the ruins of WWII. Obviously, nothing bad in this process, which also makes Berlin one of the most lively places in Europe in terms of architecture.
The grim atmosphere of the Cold War years can still be breathed in many places in town especially in the former East Berlin, but even close to the few memorials of the Wall scattered over the urban territory it’s hard to imagine how it really felt like being there when the border could not be crossed. If you want more evocative places, you should look somewhere else.
In this sense, the preserved border checkpoints and portions of the fortified Inner Border are much more evocative, and constitute a very vivid, albeit little known, fragment of memory, inviting you to think about the monstrous effects of ideology and dictatorship. All along the former border, especially in the southern regions of the former GDR, you can still spot large areas spoiled of trees, where once the border fences run. Scattered watchtowers are not an unusual sight in these areas, even though many have been demolished immediately after dismantling the border. In some focal places, often corresponding to former checkpoints where important roads crossed the border, the fences have been totally preserved or just slightly altered, for keeping historical memory.
The following photographs were taken during an exploration of some of these sites in summer 2015, winter 2016, summer 2021 and again in summer 2023. The exposition follows a southern-northern direction along the former Inner Border.
Map
The following map shows the location of the sites described below. For some sites you can zoom in close to the pinpointed positions on the map to see more detailed labels. Directions to reach all the sites listed are provided section by section. The list is not complete, but refers to the sites I have personally visited. Border sites in Berlin are not included.
Mödlareuth is actually the name of a small village placed along the former Inner Border between Bavaria and Thuringia. The site is not difficult to reach by car, a 4 miles detour from highway N.9, going from Munich to Berlin. Just proceed to the village of Modlareuth, which is dominated by the ‘Deutsch-Deutsches Museum Mödlareuth’ (website here). This encompasses an open-air exhibition of the former border area, plus an indoor exhibition with patrolling vehicles, artifacts, videos and temporary exhibitions. Large free parking on site.
For photographing purposes, I would suggest approaching from the south, from the village of Parchim via H02. Mödlareuth is located in a natural basin surrounded by low hills, and the H02 proceeds downhill to the site, allowing for a perfect view of the former border area.
Sights
Most of the Inner Border once run in rural areas. In that case, ‘only’ double fences, dogs, watchtowers, truck-stopping grooves and mines were ok. In the less common cases when the border crossed or passed close to villages, something similar to what had happened in Berlin was replicated on a smaller scale, and a further fortification layer in the form of a tall concrete wall, was put in place.
This happened also in Mödlareuth, where the small village was split in two parts by a wall, gaining to this town the nickname of ‘Little Berlin’. The place was rather famous in the West before 1989, and it was visited also by vice-president Bush in the years of the Reagan administration.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
As here one of the relatively few local roads not cut by the Inner Border was left, the village was also place for a border checkpoint for cars.
The open air exhibition showcases what remains of the wall – the most of it was demolished restoring the original, pre-war geography of the town -, as well as a full section of the border protection system and checkpoint. Looking from the West, you had first the real geographical border, coinciding with a creek as it was typical. Beyond it, poles with warning signs and distinctive concrete posts painted in black, red and yellow stripes (the colors of the German flag) with a metal placard bearing the emblem of the GDR. These signs had existed since the inception of the inner border to mark it, and date from older times than the other border devices. Then followed the wall. Behind it, a corridor for walking/motorized patrols and a fence. Then you had a groove in the ground, reinforced with concrete, capable of stopping a truck or a car pointing westwards from the GDR. An area of flattened sand followed next, to mark the footsteps of people approaching the border area. In different times, mines were placed in a much alike sand strip. Then followed a final fence.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Except for the wall, the above description applies with slight variants to all the length of the Inner Border.
The net used for the fences was very stiff and conceived to avoid fingers passing through, this way making climbing very difficult.
A peculiar aspect of the wall in Modlareuth is a small door in it. That was a service door for border patrols, used to access the area between the border line in the middle of the creek and the wall itself, for servicing or arresting Westerners. This happened more than once, not only here – as a matter of fact, walking past the border from the West was as easy as walking past the little creek where the border line passed. This was in all respects entering the GDR, even though the fortification line was about 30 feet further into the East. When this happened you could expect to be rapidly arrested and kept for interrogation before eventually being released in most cases. Servicing, like cutting trees and so on, in the strip between the wall and the real border was reportedly a task for very enthusiastic Communist troops, as escaping to the West from there was again as easy as a leaping past a narrow creek…
The road crossing the border in Mödlareuth is not active any more and is part of the open air exhibition. Actually the former customs house hosts the ticket office. Along the former road it is possible to observe an example of car stopping devices and original ‘stop’ and ‘no-trespassing’ signs.
The area was dominated by watchtowers. There are two in Mödlareuth, one original and inaccessible, the other probably cut in height. Both are of a relatively recent model, with a distinctive round section.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Going to the two main buildings of the museum it is possible to find other interesting items, including models of the site, and pieces of hardware like a sample of the standard border wall, and a vehicle stopping device able to cut the road in a matter of a second at a short notice.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A large depot hosts many vehicles – armored vehicles, 4×4, trucks, and even a helicopter – once part of the border patrols of the GDR, and also of the FRG. Forces of the latter did monitor the border, but as the problem was mainly with the GDR in trying to keep its citizens back, the FRG forces were as substantial as it is usual for a border between states.
There are also original road signs and warning signs, including some in English for US troops.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Finally, the museum offers a well-made 15 minutes documentary, played in English on request, with the history of the Inner Border and of the wall in Mödlareuth, with video recordings from the past which really add to the perception of how the place used to work, and show what it meant for the local population – families split overnight and for decades, as it was the case in Berlin.
When I visited in 2015 the temporary exhibition was unfortunately only in German.
There are information panels scattered all around the village providing an opportunity to better compare today’s village with how it was before 1989.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Leaving to the north-west towards Thuringia along K310, it is possible to spot a part of the most external border fence which has been preserved out of the village. You can walk freely along it. Still in Modlareuth, in the parking of the exhibition a Soviet tank still occupies one of the parking lots.
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Mödlareuth German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
I would recommend this place for a visit, it is convenient to reach and extremely interesting for the general public as well as for the most committed specialist. Visiting may take from half an hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, depending on your pace and level of interest. The countryside nearby is lovely and relaxing. The site is fully accessible and well prepared, with many explanatory information. It may be a bit crowded, as people mostly from Germany are visiting it in flocks… yet visiting is very evocative and rewarding.
Eisfeld-Rottenbach
Getting there
The Eisfeld site can be reached easily from highway N.73, less than .5 miles from exit Eisfeld-Süd. Actually, the highway didn’t exist at the time of the GDR, and the corresponding traffic ran on what is today Coburger Strasse. The very location of the former border checkpoint is today taken by a gas station, serving the highway traffic.
On site, you can still find the ‘Gedenkstätte Innerdeutsche Grenze Eisfeld-Rottenbach’, hosted in the original control tower for the border checkpoint. The tower can be visited as an automated museum, meaning that entrance is possible by putting a few coins in an automatic system to unlock the door. Despite being automated, the museum has hours of operations.
Sights
The Eisfeld site is similar to the one in Eussenhausen (see later), being the location of a former border crossing point. Actually, this checkpoint was built in a relatively later stage in the life of the inner border in 1973, to decrease congestion on major crossing points then in existence.
The highway today running nearby was not there in the Cold War years, hence the relatively smaller road running today into the service area and gas station now taking the place of the former checkpoint, used to be a major road linking the FRG and GDR near Eisfeld.
Of course, having been turned into a service station, the original function of the place is somewhat deceived. However, the control tower greeting you when approaching from the south betrays the original identity of this facility.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
The control tower was there to oversee and keep a constant watch on border control and customs operations, taking place on the several vehicle lanes beneath. Today, it is home to a very interesting exhibition on the topic.
Most of the exhibition is centered on pictures from the time of construction, operation and final dismantlement. These are very evocative of the bygone era of the Iron Curtain.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
On the top floor, a scale model of the former border crossing facility can be found. This is extremely interesting to understand the general arrangement of the site, and how traffic flows used to be managed on site. The normal access road from the FRG was interrupted by a preliminary checkpoint, giving access to the control area. Vehicles were split in multiple parallel queues for the official check. The lanes then rejoined and access to the GDR was via a normally-sized road. Basically the same happened in the opposite direction.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Stopping gear for emergency – conceived especially to stop fleeing vehicles – was located in several points, as well as fences all around the area, with watchtowers and more usual stopping systems for men and vehicles. Garrisons and booths were abundant too.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Most of this has gone today, except maybe some of the buildings of the service station, recycled from a different function.
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eisfeld-Rottbach German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
The control tower is the most conspicuous remain, together with some pieces of the Berlin wall, clearly not from here, but located here for remembrance. Visiting the small museum – unfortunately with descriptions in German only – may take about 45 minutes. Website here.
Gompertshausen
Getting there
The memorial can be found on the local road connecting Gompertshausen (Thuringia) to Alsleben (Bavaria). Parking opportunities on site.
Sights
The memorial Grenzdenkmal Gompertshausen is centered on an early-generation watchtower. The place was unlikely associated to a crossing point, and it is possible that the local road, now passing right besides the tower, was cut in the days of the GDR.
The memorial cannot be toured unless by appointment. However, its location in the middle of a peaceful agricultural area is rather suggestive of the grim atmosphere of the bygone oppressive communist regime.
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Close to the tower, a portion of the fence has been preserved, similarly to the access to an interesting underground facility – with a function which is today hard to guess from outside. A ventilation pipe is clearly visible in the premises, likely connected with this facility.
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Gompertshausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Not far from the tower, in the village of Gompertshausen, an attentive eye can spot a (likely) former garrison of the border guards, now in a state of disrepair.
Behrungen
Getting there
Unlike some more prominent museums on this page, the ‘Freilandmuseum Behrungen’ open-air exhibition is not associated to a border crossing point. Actually, the public road giving access to the memorial runs parallel to it. Access is very easy driving from the village of Behrungen (Thuringia, former GDR) along Röhmilder Strasse, leaving the town heading east. The memorial can be found to the south of the road roughly 1 mile from the town. A first part of the memorial is a small preserved portion of the fence line, very close to the road. From there you can spot the watchtower. You can approach the latter by car, driving on the original service road, and park right ahead of it.
Visiting the watchtower is rarely possible. However, you can move around the area and cross the border with a short walk on a trail, to get good pictures anyway. The surroundings of the preserved part are in the middle of a natural preserve, making the visit a possible stop when wandering in this very nice area.
Sights
The installation in Behrungen is basically a preserved section of the original border in the deep countryside, not corresponding to any crossing point. The focal point in the exhibition is an early-type watchtower, which has been restored and hosts a small exhibition, seldom open unless by appointment. The detection sensors on top of the tower are still there, as well as the communication antennas.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A service road with the original prefabricated concrete slabs can departs from the tower.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
As usual in the structure of the border barrier of the GDR, the tower was in the middle of an interdicted strip, between two fence lines – one towards the GDR (north of the tower in this case) and one towards the FRG (to the south of the tower).
Two little portions of the inner fence line have been preserved, and can be seen quite apart from one another along the public road coming from Behrungen.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Besides one of the two fence traits, a smaller concrete shooting turret can be seen. Turrets like this, often covered in camo coat, can be found in a high number all along the line of the former inner border.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A big portion of the outer fence, south of the tower, is also visible in this exhibition. Running along it, a vehicle stopping moat made of concrete slabs is clearly visible still today.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
In the vicinity of this fence, a mine was found by chance as recently as 2001. A commemoration stone was put in place, to stress how the monstrosity of the wall left a long-lasting and unwanted inheritance for the local population and visitors as well.
Unlike in the Cold War years, you can now cross this border, heading south into Bavaria. The original striped concrete post and white signals, showing the actual line of the border – south from the monstrous fence – are still there.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Further south, you can find the original ‘Stop’ line put in place by FRG authorities, with prohibition signs and an explanation of the rules in the border area dating from 1989. This rules were very tricky, especially for the fact that getting past the line marked by the posts, without even reaching to the fence, was already a border violation. This was something that could happen for Westerners just by mistake, but would trigger capture, interrogation and possibly fines by the GDR border control police.
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Behrungen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
The silent and peaceful area of the Behrungen site makes for a thought-provoking stop along the former inner border.
Eußenhausen
Getting there
The open-air exhibition of the ‘Grenzmuseum Eussenhausen’ can be reached along the St2445, roughly 1.5 miles north of the small village of Eussenhausen in Bavaria. Crossing the border with Thuringia, the road changes its name into L3019, and the closest village is Henneberg, about 1 mile north of the inner border. The exhibition is arranged on a former apron of the border control area, slightly uphill, but fairly accessible for the general public, and with a large parking ahead. The exhibition is open-air and arguably accessible 24/7 for free.
As of 2021, the large border control area on the GDR side of the border line (i.e. in Thuringia) is basically abandoned and severely damaged. For relic- and ghost-place-hunters or like-minded people, this can also be toured, and makes for an evocative sight. A dedicated parking is not available in the vicinity of this former facility, hence parking close to the official memorial is recommended.
Sights
This border museum is located on a former border crossing point between and the GDR and FRG, likely opened similar to other checkpoints in the 1970s, to reduce the traffic jams created by border controls on major transit arteries. Today, the site is composed of three parts, two of which are officially for visitors, and the latter an abandoned site.
The first and most significant part of the site is made of the (arguably) original road giving access to the large control area. The original external fence of the GDR border area can still be seen along the sides of the road, as well as the original external gate.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
It is likely that this area was originally intended for a kind of pre-check of vehicles, heading inside the GDR from the West. Today, the area has been converted into an exhibition of a wide array of stopping mechanisms and control booths once in place in the area of the border checkpoint.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Among the most striking items are one of the closing bars moving on a rail, and pushed by a still visible hydraulic actuator. The mass of the bar allowed to stop heavy traffic, and hydraulic power allowed for a very quick closure. This item was likely transferred here from the eastern side of the checkpoint, since similar stopping gear was intended to prevent GDR citizens fleeing the country.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Concrete shooting points, rather common along the border line also far from the authorized border-crossings, were often camo-painted. Some have been transferred here. A striped border post is also part of the exhibition.
A second part of the exhibition is a memorial built after the reopening of the border, to celebrate freedom. The meaning of the installations here is not always easy to capture. However, original parts of the fence wall rise the historical value of this area.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Finally, the area once used for controls can be found towards the eastern part of the checkpoint. This area is not open for visitors, but is basically open and unguarded, so a check is advised for more curious visitors. Here a tower was put in place to oversee the operations in the control lanes. This can still be seen, albeit severely damaged.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Close by, the large area once occupied by the control lanes can be seen. Original lamps are still there, but the sun shelters and control booths are totally gone. Looking at a historical picture available on the official part of the exhibition (see above), it is also clear that the bulky building on the side of the apron was not there at the time of border operations. Maybe this was built as a hotel – and construction halted before completion – after the reopening of the border.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A surviving building in this area is that of a small mechanics shop, possibly for the vehicles of GDR border protection corps.
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Eussenhausen German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
The Eußenhausen site is interesting for the easy-to-visit exhibition, but also a glance to the currently (2021) abandoned former control area may be really evoking. This short 360° video captures the unreal silence of this once busy border point.
Schwarzes Moor
Getting there
This site is immersed in a beautiful national preserve area, a popular destination for lovers of hiking or cycling activities. This site used to be a sharp corner of the inner border line. Today, the three German regions of Thuringia, Bavaria and Hessen (the former previously part of the GDR) still meet close to this point. The watchtower and the remains on site can be reached with a short walk on an unpaved, perfectly leveled and easy road from a large parking area, put in place for the visitors of the national preserve.
The parking can be reached by car approaching from Bavaria, where road St2287 meets St2288. The closest sizable village is Frankenheim, geographically just one mile north, but connected to the parking via a somewhat longer curvy road. The tower cannot be visited inside, and this small complex makes for a 24/7 open-air memorial, which can be neared without restrictions.
Sights
Smaller than other sites, but nonetheless interesting also for the vantage position on top of a hill and immersed in a beautiful natural preserve area, the Schwarzes Moor site is visible from a distance thanks to a late-generation, slender, square-based watchtower. This has been restored thanks to the intervention of local businesses, and the sight it provides from a distance is quite evocative of how the inner border should have looked like in this hilly countryside back in the years of operation.
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A small remnant of the original fence put on the western side is also in place, right ahead of the watchtower. One of the original gates in the fence was apparently located here, arguably used only for maintenance operations. No crossing was possible in this area.
A striped original ‘DDR’ concrete border post, as well as a few white poles with a similar demarcation function, can still be seen, making for an ideal photo subject – provided you dare to walk on a pasture area generously pointed by the results of cow digestion…
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Possibly less obvious to a less trained eye, a portion of the vehicle-stopping moat, once aligned with the largely disappeared fence, can still be seen, partially invaded vegetation.
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Thanks to its elevated position, the former wide area of the border, once spoiled of any vegetation and today invaded by younger trees, is still visible from the hilltop where the tower is. The original service road running along the fence line, made of typically-GDR prefabricated concrete slabs, helps to capture the shape of the sinuous line of the border.
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
Schwarzes Moor German Inner Border Innerdeutsche Grenze
A historically relevant stop for those touring this region for the beautiful panoramas and for sporting activities, you will hardly miss this hiking trail head when roaming in the natural preserve.
Point Alpha
Getting there
The place is located between the small towns of Rasdorf, in Hessen, and Geisa, in Thuringia. It is very famous (website here), and official ad signs can be spotted also along highway N.7, going from Munich to Hamburg, near the town of Hunfeld, Hessen. From there it is a 12 miles drive – in a very relaxing, typically German countryside – to the site. Approaching from Rasdorf on the L3170, it is possible to access the site from two sides. If you go straight uphill to the top, you reach the small museum to one end of the site. If you take to the left just .2 miles before reaching the top of the hill, you access the site from the opposite end, where the most peculiar part of the complex – a US Army outpost – is located.
Both items are interesting, and they’re also linked by a walking trail – .25 miles -, running along the former border line. Free parking is available on both ends, so it’s just a matter of what you want to visit first.
Sights
This place is extraordinary in the panorama of the relics of the Inner Border, due to the fact that this portion of the border line was guarded directly by US troops instead of FRG border patrols on the western side. This is witnessed by a small outpost of the US Army which has been since then deactivated and opened to the public. The area – the so-called ‘Fulda Gap’ – was considered by western observers as one of the most likely targets for a possible attack/invasion from the East. This was also due to the fact the US quarters in Fulda were relatively close and there is no natural barrier between this section of the border and that city.
The US outpost is a very interesting prototype of similar installations. Much of the original barracks are still standing. The side of the outpost facing the border is also the place for an observation tower with much communication equipment and an observation deck.
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
The former canteen now hosts a bar. To the back of it you can still see a basketball court. Other buildings include former office/barracks, with a nice exhibition about the history and function of the site, and vehicle depots. There are also some vehicles, including a tank and two helicopters, and tents.
Very close to the tower the American Flag is still waving. The pole is not planted in the ground, in observance to the fact that this is not American land.
Curiously, walking towards the fence from within the fort you can see signs for military personnel, warning about the limits of jurisdiction outside a delimited area, in order to avoid raising diplomatic issues by introducing armored vehicles or similar items in an area too close to the border.
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
After visiting the outpost you can walk towards the small museum, telling more about the history of the Inner Border. The short trail runs along reconstructed portions of the original fence and border interdiction system. Most notably, on the GDR side there is a watchtower of the most modern type, tall and with a square section. Facing the US tower, there is a shooting bunker from the early age soon after WWII, put in place probably before the total closure of the border. Some signs provide scant descriptions, but the function of all devices there is pretty obvious.
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Close to the US outpost on the eastern side of the border it is possible to appreciate very clearly the construction of the vehicle stopping groove.
The portion of the border next to the small museum is preserved as it was before the final blockade – in a first stage, only concrete posts were in place, whereas barbed wire and stop signs were included in the picture. This was before the subsequent modernization, taking place in more stages from the definitive closure with fences, barriers and watchtowers in the early Sixties, until the reopening of the border.
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Point Alpha Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost
Similarly to Mödlareuth, this place is easily accessible, fully prepared for the general public and interesting also for people with a specific interest in the matter. The US outpost is a peculiar sight of this border site. In terms of resemblance to the original condition of the border fortification system, in my opinion it is less evocative than other places, but it still provides a good idea of how it may have looked like. The area is really nice to walk, so there is something for everybody here. Visiting may take from half an hour if you skip the museum, to more than an hour, depending on your interest.
Point Alpha is the best preserved among other installations of the kind, which include Point India and Point Romeo further north along the border with Hessen (west) and Thüringen (east).
Point India & Point Romeo
Getting there
The US outposts of Point India and Point Romeo are not located on the same spot, but they are described together here for convenience, especially since there is nothing left of Point Romeo today, except for an info table and a commemorative stone.
Point Romeo can be reached in two minutes out of the Wildeck-Obersuhl exit on the highway N.4. Taking north from the exit along L3248, you will reach the small village of Richelsdorf. Turn left on Shildhofstrasse upon entering the village. Keep on this road for about 1.5 mi, until you see the massive foundation of highway N.4 ahead of you. You should find a small sign showing the direction of the memorial and telling you to go north-west on a narrow road. Turning right according to the sign on this unnamed road, you should find the memorial .3 miles from the crossing. The memorial is open-air and unfenced, with picnic tables on the spot. Reaching is possible at all times.
Point India can be found starting from regional road 7. Reaching the village of Lüderbach and driving along Altfelderstrasse pointing west, you should leave the village behind you as the road climbs steep uphill. Upon leaving the village, you will take a sharp bend to the right, followed by a gentler one to the left, all in less than 300 ft. Upon entering the latter bend, you will see a wide road taking sharply to the left. As you take that road, gently ascending and going to the east, you many notice the path is unusually wide for the non-existent traffic, and for the rural location where the road is. It is such due to its original function, as it led directly into the US outpost. Keep on this road going east for about 0.5 miles, gently climbing on top of the hill, and you will find a dead end with a small parking, and a clear sign marking the original place of Point India. The memorial is open 24/7, including the tower.
The location of the Point India post has been included in a nice nature-culture walking trail in the area. The corresponding map can be found at Point India, as well as in other notable places along the trail. One of them is the East German watchtower in Ifta.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
To get there, you might drive to the village of Ifta, which used to be on the GDR side, and take Willershäuserstrasse to the south. Upon leaving the village behind, as the road enters a small forest, you should spot the watchtower on top of a hill, 0.2 miles to the right of the road up. Take the road climbing to the tower, which is paved in the original concrete slabs typical to all service roads on the eastern side of the former border, and drive to the place, where a small flat area suitable for parking and basic picnic facilities can be found. The tower is generally closed.
Sights
The function of the two outposts of Point India and Point Romeo was similar as that of Point Alpha (see above). The region of the ‘Fulda Gap’, along the border between Hessen in the FRG and Thüringen in the GDR, was considered of high strategic significance, and actively guarded by US forces since immediately after WWII, when the line of the German Inner Border was crystallized. Thanks to the favorable morphology of the terrain in this area, an invasion from the Eastern Bloc was considered especially likely from this sector of the border. As a matter of fact, this idea elaborated on the western side of the Iron Curtain turned out to be a correct prevision of the actual plans for an attack to the West, prepared in the years of the Cold War by the USSR, taking advantage of its own presence in the Countries on the border with Western Europe (see here and here).
Today, the outpost of Point India has been almost completely demolished, and the area returned to nature. From the parking, you can spot the three traces that remain from the observation post (OP), namely the observation tower, the entry sign, and a service building which used to shelter some electrical gear, and currently standing right ahead of the parking area.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
The sign bears an emblem with a motto from the 11th US Armored Cavalry regiment, which took responsibility for manning the observation point. The sign is a copy, but it resembles the original one, and it is close to its original location. The parking is actually very close to the former gate of the camp.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
From the parking, a short walk leads to the original watchtower. This concrete watchtower is the third installed in the observation point premises, its predecessors being a wooden one from the late 1960s, flanked by a metal one in the late 1970s. Both were replaced by the concrete tower you see today, a perfect twin to that found in Point Alpha (see above).
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
The tower can be climbed today, and it is possible to enter the former observation room, as well as the open observation deck.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Inside the observation room, now spoiled of all hardware and turned into a permanently open memorial room, a very informative table with many interesting pictures from the site in the Cold War era can be found.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
From the open deck on top, pointers allow to find a few notable locations in the panorama, including the original line of the border, today rather hard to spot, due to the now grown vegetation, as well as the tall antennas of the FRG-US Hoher Meissner electronic espionage post (in the distance). The village of Ifta, the first met on the East German side, can be clearly spotted.
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point India Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
With an equipment mainly composed of a ground radar and communication gear, the roughly 200-men staff of the observation point was that of keeping trace of any change along the border in their area of pertinence, including military movements on the communist side of the Iron Curtain.
A GDR watchtower in the vicinity of the US observation post can still be found along the nature trail in the area, of which Point Alpha is a highlight. The tower, similar to that to be found in Hotensleben (see later), and once in many places along the inner border, can be reached also by car, in a few minutes from Point India.
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
Ifta Grenzturm GDR Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point India
The observation point ‘Point India’ is settled in a very nice region, and is an interesting complement to the major site of Point Alpha. Located far from the crowds and with an interesting selection of pictures proposed in the exhibition, it is surely worth a detour for committed Cold War specialists or tourists in the area. A visit may take about 30 minutes.
Geographically placed between Point India (to the north) and Point Alpha (to the south), the Observation Point Romeo shared with them the history, purpose and arrangement, including a concrete observation tower built in the 1980s. However, the site has been completely demolished in 1994, a few years after German reunification.
Today, on the site of Point Romeo is a commemorative stone, and a table (in German) retracing the history of the site with interesting photographs, copies of newspaper headlines from the time, and text.
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
Point Romeo Grenze Inner Border US Outpost Observation Point
The Point Romeo site is a quick detour from the highway, keeping memory of the service of US military staff in the area for the long decades of the Cold War. Checking out the site may take 10 minutes.
Schifflersgrund
Getting there
The border museum in Schifflersgrund (‘Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund’ in German) is a major installation along the former Inner Border, and is clearly marked with signs when approaching the town of Bad Sooden-Allendorf (FRG), in Hessen, or Sickenberg, in Thüringen (GDR). It is located on a local road connecting the two towns. The memorial site is modern and hosts a rich collection. It is also an active cultural center on the topic, with a central building for temporary exhibitions, and a separated building with a big conference room.
A large parking is available on site. For visiting the museum collection a ticket is required. Furthermore, a nature trail along the former border has been prepared and is clearly marked with tables on way-points. No ticket is required for it. Website with full information in multiple languages here.
Sights
The site of Schifflersgrund is centered around a preserved portion of the Inner Border. Due to the local morphology, as the border ran along the rim of a small canyon, the inaccessible area between the two fences marking the border on the GDR side was unusually large. A section of the ‘external’ fence, immediately past the border line when coming from the FRG, is still preserved, together with an original watchtower. The latter used to sit in the restricted area between the inner and external fences, which was accessible only to the border guards of the GDR. Close to the watchtower, a small section of the ‘inner’ fence, the first met coming from the GDR towards the border line, is also preserved.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Between the two fences, the respect area encompasses the local shallow canyon with the original East German service road, now employed as a cultural and nature trail, running along the ‘external’ fence for some thousands feet.
Access to the area around the tower is possible with a ticket. The main building with the ticket office hosts interesting temporary exhibitions and a book, souvenir & memorabilia shop.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Walking towards the watchtower is across a yard, where an interesting series of vehicles and helicopters once employed along the border by the opponents on the two sides is on display. Vehicles include a Soviet truck with a radar antenna typically deployed for airspace monitoring.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Helicopters of Soviet construction on the GDR side include a Mil-24 attack helicopter, and Mil-2 and Mil-8 utility/transport models. On the FRG side are two US-designed Bell helicopters managed by the Border Guards of the FRG.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
A small but interesting exhibition is related to the last weeks of WWII and the immediate post-WWII period in Germany. The connection with the site is in the fact that a large region, extending as far as Leipzig to the east, was conquered by American forces in the last stages of WWII. Of course, Berlin and the easternmost part of today’s Germany were militarily taken by the Red Army (see this post). However, it was due to international agreements (Yalta and later Potsdam) that the westernmost regions of what later the GDR were handed over to Stalin and communism.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
The same short exhibition mentions the US observation points, soon to appear along the border in the ‘Fulda Gap’ (see above) after WWII.
Approaching the tower, you get through a partly reconstructed double fence, with all the typical gear for stopping potential escapees. This include the infamous automatic shotguns, activated by contact with the fence, and shooting metal balls in proximity to the net.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
From close to the tower, you can get the view of the external fence mostly like it used to be in the Cold War era.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
A small museum building by the tower is adorned with original signs from the border area. These range from ‘danger zone’ signs in German, to border warning signs for the American military staff.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Inside the building is a compact but rich collection of interesting photographs, including always-striking now-and-then comparisons, showing how different the panorama used to look like in the area during the Cold War era.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Uniforms from both sides of the border, as well as memorabilia items are on display, close by to some dioramas and a scale model of the border site.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
An impressive listing of those fallen in the pursuit of freedom from the East-German communist dictatorship completes this well-stocked exhibition.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
A complement to the exhibition in the area around the watchtower can be found in a hangar cross the parking. To the sides of a large conference area are upscaled pictures from the time, as well as a modernly designed exhibition on the Cold War in Germany and the Inner German Border.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
The exhibition is in both German and English, and retraces the post-WWII history of Germany, citing many characters, both well-known (former Presidents of the United States, Soviet Secretaries, etc.) and less-known (local leaders, especially cultural leaders and dissidents from Germany).
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Preserved alongside the explanatory panels are some artifacts and memorabilia items.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Also vehicles one employed along the border are on display.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Of particular relevance is a scraper employed as a mean for an escape attempt by a man named Heinz-Josef Grosse. While working with the scraper in proximity to the ‘external’ fence, the man raised the bucket above the fence, climbed over it and jumped across the fence. Tragically, he was shot dead by the GDR border guards while trying to ascend from the canyon.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Out of the same hangar are an attack helicopter from the FRG and more vehicles from both sides of the border.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
The cultural and nature trail prepared by the organization running the museum in Schifflersgrund is about 7 miles long, and takes you around an extensive area along the former border. However, the preserved part of the ‘external’ fence can be found immediately beside the museum facility, and can be accessed quickly and permanently without a ticket.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Walking along the service road can be a good occasion for taking evocative pictures.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
The place where Heinz-Josef Grosse got killed is marked with a sign.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Further on to the west a wooden observation deck can be employed for getting a bird’s eye view of the area around the former border area. Also here, a table with historical pictures allows to get a clear view of how the place looked like in the Cold War era.
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund Innerdeutsche Grenze German Inner Border GDR FRG
All in all, the Schifflersgrund site makes for a nice documentation center, and offers a rich and unique open-air exhibition, including a rare preserved portion of the original border fence. The place is a primary memorial about the history of the Inner German Border. A visit may take from 45 minutes, concentrating on the museum only, to 1.5 hours with a short walk along the original fence, to an entire half day, when venturing along the open-air round trail.
Eichsfeld
Getting there
This was a major checkpoint for crossing the border, as the road passing here was often very busy. You can reach this installation on the road 247 between Gerblingerode in Lower Saxony and Teistungen in Thuringia.
The place hosts a modern museum in the former quarters of the GDR border patrol and in its annexes (website here). Furthermore, there is a loop trail along part of the former border, partially preserved in its final conditions to this day. This can be walked for free but it is pretty long, more than 1 hour for a well-trained young man, going up and down the hills to the West of the museum. I found it really much interesting especially for photographs, plus there are many information panels all along the trail, but you’d better go prepared especially on a torrid summer day.
Large parking available in front of the museum.
Sights
This place is the prototype of a checkpoint on a busy road crossing the border line. The main building of the museum has been built in a former customs house. The modern and well designed exhibition tells about the history of the Inner Border.
In a first part the focus is on the border control policy of the GDR – this was incredibly restrictive, as they tried to prevent Westerners from introducing illegal goods as well as western newspapers, books and similar ‘propaganda items’, plus they actively worked to stop people trying to flee th GDR using FRG vehicles.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
This all was obtained with careful control of all vehicles, reportedly generating long queues. Every suspect good triggered a litigation, possibly resulting in access denial, fines, interrogations, … Among the hardware related to the topic, original passport control booths, movable mirrors for looking under stopped vehicles, optical instruments for checking parcels, uniforms, firearms, passports, papers.
In a second part, the museum tells about the Inner Border as a whole, including detailed information on the modernization stages from inception to demolition, and of many technical devices deployed to prevent escape. At some point, the innermost fence was supplied with contact sensors, linked to the watchtowers, telling the patrolling troops where the escapee was exactly. The strip between the inner and outer fences was filled with flattened sand, to make footprints immediately visible. This strip was filled with mines at a certain point. These had to be updated to more recent models later on, and the old ones were reportedly blown. Other deadly mechanisms included small cone-shaped explosive charges hanging from the fence, which exploded shooting plummets over a predefined area in case the fence was touched.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
More information about the border include anecdotes, and numbers about people who died or where wounded trying to flee, and of those arrested for border-related issues. Also documented is the incredible cost of the whole border system, which like the Stasi – the detested internal police of the GDR – employed thousands of people, and necessitated of continuous maintenance and updates.
More about the history of the checkpoint in Eichsfeld and on the days of the re-opening can be found in the museum. A building close to the main hall, once for passport booths, hosts a photographic exhibition, very lively and interesting, about this particular checkpoint and the border re-opening. Also visible are a communication hub and a mechanic’s shop for disassembling suspect cars. In the outside courtyard of the museum some vehicles for patrolling are preserved, together with the original seal of the GDR once proudly standing in the middle of the border checkpoint.
Approaching the trailhead of the loop trail, very close to the museum, it is possible to spot vehicle stopping devices able to cut the road immediately in case of suspect escape situations.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
A short map for the loop trail can be obtained for free in the museum. The checkpoint was like a punch in the otherwise continuous line of border fortification. Part of it can be seen going uphill along the trail. Original lamps shedding light along the border are still standing. Before reaching the watchtower on top of the hill it’s possible to see a well-preserved part of the original border system. Also visible are some shooting posts probably from an earlier time.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Crossing the border and going West – freely possible only today – you can still see a cippus with the ‘DDR’ sign. The sight from the west makes for good photo opportunities of how the border would have been like back in the Eighties, looking from the FRG towards the ‘dark side’. Curiously enough, an observation tower was built on the West looking to the East, reportedly not for military purposes but for tourism. As you can see from the photos in the museum, this was where people from all over Europe came to see in person an open-air prison in the middle of Europe, in the form of a country administrated by a Communist dictatorship.
Typical striped concrete posts with the symbol of the GDR can be seen ahead of the border fence to the West, marking the real geographical border.
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Eichsfeld Teistungen Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
If you ar looking for detailed and well-organized information about the Inner Border, as well as for a nice preserved checkpoint and a portion of the border fortifications, I suggest coming to Eichsfeld. The museum can be visited in half an hour and up to 1 hour. Add about 1 hour for the loop trail. Furthermore, the place is close to the beautiful Harz region, surrounded by a beautiful countryside. It makes for an ideal, unusual detour from that region or from the busy areas of Kassel, Gottingen and Hannover.
Sorge
Getting there
Differently from other sites, there is not an official museum preserving the border here, nor is this place well advertised with road signs. Furthermore, the focus of the place, a former watchtower and a part of preserved fence, can be reached with a walk – on a very well prepared horizontal road, once a military communication road running along the border – about 1.2 miles long each way, i.e. about 2.5 miles both ways, so be prepared.
The trail head is in the small village of Sorge, in Saxony-Anhalt close to the border with Lower Saxony along road 242. After taking to the village from the 242, you need to turn right to reach the trailhead, which coincides with the end of the paved road and a no passing sign. Free parking available there, plus a sign with a detailed map of the site.
Sights
This place has not much to offer in terms of hardware. The inner fence is encountered soon after the trailhead. The road then points into the land strip once going to the outer fence, running on it for about 1 mile, and finally reaching a modern, tall watchtower with a square section. What makes this site interesting is the fact that it is almost desert. During my walk and stay there I encountered two people – from the Netherlands – in total. The area of the former border is deserted and unreally silent – very impressive.
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Further on, former mine fields are presented, plus a strange monument to peace or equilibrium, unclear, but it’s made of stones and does not disturb the panorama.
It is noteworthy that they are keeping the strip around the preserved portion of the fence spoiled of vegetation. This was a distinctive feature of all the Inner Border line which is vanishing with time, as trees and vegetation are often reclaiming those areas.
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Sorge Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
There is actually a small independent museum about the Inner Border in Sorge (website here), where also a border railway station was operated. Due to time constraints I could not visit it.
The most distinctive feature of the place is the characteristic Soviet ‘ghost aura’, making it really grim even in plain sunlight. The chance to walk the trail with nobody around adds to the atmosphere. Of course it requires some extra-walk with respect to other sites, and all in all the hardware it has to offer is not so abundant, so I would recommend visiting only for more committed specialists. The roundtrip time depends on your level of training, but may be easily about an hour.
Hotensleben
Getting there
The village of Hotensleben is on the border between Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, hence it once stood right on the Inner Border line. This town can be conveniently reached about 6 miles to the South of Helmstedt on highway N.2 going from Hannover to Berlin.
The border site is located on the western end of the village, on the L104 heading to Schoeningen. In case you are coming from Schoeningen you will clearly see the installation before reaching Hotensleben. Large free parking by the site.
Sights
As it was often the case for towns close to the Inner Border or crossed by it – see Mödlareuth upper on this page -, besides the usual border devices including fences, minefields, watchtowers, vehicle stopping grooves and bars, also a wall was put in place. To be exact, two walls were erected in Hotensleben, totally enclosing the strip where a service road, a minefield, fences and watchtowers were standing.
Parts of these walls have been preserved for posterity. The outer wall, mostly similar to that you can find in Mödlareuth, is tall and white, whereas the innermost one is made of grey concrete slabs. Watchdogs once stood between the innermost wall and the next fence.
Today the place is totally open access all day around, and it is made of two parts. The southernmost area showcases a modern watchtower with a round section, which has been cut for improving stability as it is not maintained any more. Look for the concrete slabs making the pavement of the service road nearby, and to the manholes with GDR factory labels.
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
The main part is to the north of the road. Here you can appreciate most clearly the geography of the border strip, as it is placed on the side of a hill, over a gentle slope, offering a bird-eye view of the installation. Curiously, the topography of the border devices here is reportedly mostly similar to the one implemented in Berlin in the most recent times – so from here you can have a more precise idea of what was the Berlin wall than from everywhere in Berlin.
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
On top of the hill – a very short walk from the parking – a watchtower of the earliest type, a rather bulky, square-shaped tower, is still standing.
To the outside of the outer wall some border signs remain – as usual, the line ran in the middle of a creek.
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
Hotensleben Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint
There is no museum here, just an open air exhibition with some information provided through leaflets you can pick-up close to the parking.
I found this place very suggestive – also due to visiting near sunset, when I spent all my time there totally alone -, and the fact this represents a specimen of the Berlin Wall better than you can find in Berlin itself adds extreme value. It’s unlikely you will find much crowd here, so the place is ideal for photographs as well as for memory and thoughts. As there is no museum and the site is limited in size, visiting may take from 15 to 45 minutes. Would surely recommend for every kind of public, thanks also to the short distance from highway N.2 and from the Marienborn site.
Marienborn
Getting there
This is a gigantic installation also known as ‘Checkpoint Alpha’, which used to work as a major checkpoint for the highway traffic entering the GDR and/or heading to/coming from Berlin along highway N.2, from Hannover and central FRG. It can be spotted to the South of the highway, adjacent to it, immediately after the town of Helmstedt going to Berlin.
The place is accessible in at least two ways. If you are driving to Berlin, you can stop by the service/fuel station about .5 miles after the Marienborn/Helmstedt exit. The service station occupies part of the former site, which can be reached by foot. If you are driving from the opposite direction on N.2 or you are not coming from the highway at all, you may start from the village of Marienborn, take the K1373 in the direction of Morsleben (i.e. to the north), and turn to the left immediately before passing below the highway, keeping on K1373. This road goes west parallel to the highway for about 1 mile, then you clearly see the site to the right. Coming from the town of Marienborn it will be possible to spot also a watchtower of the oldest type along the former border. Scant information from the website here.
Sights
This place is a real ‘Jurassic Park’ of Communism, a true, evoking, grim relic of the Cold War. The installation is big, and today totally disused, but not abandoned. Actually, when I visited in summer 2015 some of the former passport booths were undergoing (slow) restoration, and were not accessible. The former main customs building, once hosting the offices of the guards, today hosts a nice and detailed free permanent exhibition, with some artifacts, explanatory panels and site control devices, plus many self explaining photographs – the only major flaw being everything is in German only. Here you can find a leaflet also in English, guiding you in the exploration of the site. Some report guided tours are offered, by I didn’t try myself, as I expected them to be given in German only.
First of all, the geometry: the place worked as a GDR checkpoint for both directions of traffic. All vehicle traffic was detoured here, both coming in or going out the Communist territory. This was one of the main gates to the Soviet bloc, so this place was reportedly very busy year round, with legendary waiting times to be expected in all directions.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
For those entering the GDR, the main worry for border patrols was the introduction of contraband goods and ‘western propaganda’ in the form of books, newspapers, prohibited goods, religious items and so on. All cars, buses and trucks were accurately scanned.
In order to cope with the huge traffic flow, passports of incoming passengers had to be placed over a treadmill leading to the passport control booths, in order to start passport processing before the vehicle actually reached the booths. This device is still standing.
In the part deputed to controlling buses and trucks it is possible to notice higher banks and ladders for getting a vantage view. Movable mirrors are placed at the level of the canopy.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
I was impressed by the shabby appearance of this control station, especially doors, booths and the material of the canopies… really an anticipation of Communist quality for those coming in. Red emergency buttons all around could trigger a blockade of the control post in case of suspect activities.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Dedicated buildings included a livestock inspection quarter and a depot for inspecting dangerous material, a morgue and a bank – which can be recognized by the window railings. All Westerners coming in the GDR were forced by the law to buy a certain amount of GDR marks, at the exchange rate of 1:1 to FRG marks – due to the almost null value of the former, this was basically an entrance fee to the ‘Paradise of Socialism’.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
The outgoing traffic was scanned as well, in search of potential enemies of the state trying to flee the country. A suspended deck for inspecting trucks is still standing close to the highway. The lanes leading to the control booths are still painted on the concrete of the pavement passing north of the main office building.
Suspect parcels in all directions were X-rayed or optically scanned. At a certain point in history, a well deceived scanning device – the grey ‘booth’ with no windows you can see in the photos – was put in place besides the outgoing traffic lanes, reportedly covertly X-raying all cars leaving the GDR even before reaching the control booths – definitely another era…
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Military troops going to West Berlin were treated more smoothly, but the platform of their dedicated office, immediately nearby the highway, has been demolished.
Original lights all around and deserted garages, barracks and service buildings for the border personnel complete the picture. Also noticeable are the concrete post where the round seal of the GDR was once proudly standing – today there is a unexplicable hole instead of the ‘DDR’ emblem -, placed between the two roadways in the middle of the highway close to the checkpoint area.
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Marienborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Alpha
Albeit different from all other border checkpoints – no fences, mines or concrete walls – this place is similarly evocative of the oppressive border policy of the GDR, which was evident also to ordinary Westerners trying to reach Berlin by road. This was a place where many people routinely experienced what a restrictive Communist dictatorship really meant. Would surely recommend for people interested in recent history, history of the Inner Border and the GDR, as the place is mostly preserved as it was in 1989, and easy to reach even if you’re just passing by. Exploration may take from fifteen minutes to more than an hour if you include the museum and a careful look to everything.
Schlagsdorf
Getting there
The small sleepy town of Schlagsdorf is less than 10 miles South of Lubeck. It is located in Mecklemburg-Vorpommern, on the border with Schleswig-Holstein. It can be conveniently reached by car from highway N.20 going from Lubeck to Rostock, or from the South via road 208.
The town hosts a small indoor museum in a former customs house, with a permanent exhibition and a cafe opening in the warm season (website here). The museum operates also a reconstructed specimen of the former border fortifications which is accessible by preliminarily purchasing the ticket by the museum office. The open air exhibition can be reached with a .2 miles walk through the village, or by car. Free parking all around.
Sights
The museum is focused on the restrictive customs policy of the GDR, and most notably on the effects of the border on the geography of Schlagsdorf and small towns nearby.
The area is pointed with lakes and creeks, so the geographical placement of the border line was particularly difficult around here. There existed places where the border crossed some rivers or creeks, and special nets were erected there, reaching to the bottom, cutting any communication also by water. These barriers have been demolished now, but this is well documented in the museum.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Another practice of the Communist regime even from the times of Soviet occupation was deportation of the population of some of the villages. Especially in this area, in order to avoid the creation of enclaves where the border line was too tortuous, it was decreed that some rural villages should be simply abandoned. This further dark side of the history of the Inner Border is documented here.
Like in other similar museums, some original signs, uniforms and models give an idea of how the border looked like in the decades when it was blocked.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Photographs of the border re-opening in 1989 and of the natural preserve now having taken the place of those grim installations complete this much interesting exhibition.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
The open air exhibition puts together a small section of the usual external fence, ‘DDR’ posts, mine camps, lights, dog’s beds for watchdogs, local passport control booths and a modern watchtower.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Some beheaded GDR sculptures are there too, together with other stopping devices, like barbed wires forming a horizontal net at the level of the ground, which couldn’t be spotted in tall grass and made walking the area difficult and dangerous.
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
This border section was reportedly not here in origin, but closer to the small lake to the south of the village, where the border line actually ran. A trail with explanatory panels goes along the former border line bank of the lake. I didn’t go myself as when I visited in winter the temperature was several degrees below freezing…
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
Schlagsdorf Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border Checkpoint Grenzhus
In the village you can spot manholes with ‘Made in GDR’ labels, and also some garden fences made with the same net originally used for the outer fence of the border fortification – this is recycling!
I would recommend visiting to everybody even only slightly interested. The place is surrounded by a very nice and relaxing countryside, with various opportunities for enjoyable walks and other sports. Plus, the place makes for a short detour from historical Lubeck and its many attractions. Visiting both indoor and outdoor may take from 45 minutes to less than 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Kühlungsborn
Getting there
The coast town of Kühlungsborn in Mecklemburg-Vorpommern is a nice location, very busy with sea tourism. Being on the so-called ‘sea border’ of the GDR, i.e. on the Baltic sea, it was guarded similarly to the Inner Border. Approaching is necessarily via the L12 or L11.
The place can be rather crowded even far from the peak season, plus the watchtower and the small museum nearby are right behind the beaches, totally inaccessible by car (website here). Just park where you can, reach the beaches, enjoy the panorama, and go to the small central square where ‘Strandstrasse’ meets ‘Ostseeallee’. The latter points directly into the sea, and actually ends in a nice pier. To the west of the small square the watchtower can be easily spotted.
Sights
This place witnesses a less known aspect of the GDR border, which actually was constituted also by the Baltic Sea, from the outskirts of Lubeck – still in the West – to the border with Poland.
Similarly to every other part of the border with the West, several people tried to flee the country also by sea when the border was blocked. The border patrolling policy of the GDR was really restrictive, and the sea border was no exception. Several watchtowers were erected all along the coast, and motorboats patrolled the coasts continuously to stop any illegal traffic.
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
The modern, round-section watchtower makes for a strident sight in the otherwise pleasant, typically North-German background of the village of Kuhlungsborn.
When I visited in spring 2016 the small museum was closed for the season. I had much information through a recently visited remand prison of the Stasi (the internal police of the GDR, a kind of Communist Gestapo) in Rostock, which was hosting a rich exhibition about the ‘sea border’ (see the governmental website, this is slightly off topic but extremely interesting, website here). In any case, there are explanatory panels with photos also outside of the watchtower, allowing to get some information.
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
Kuhlungsborn Innerdeutsche Grenze Inner Border See Sea
I would recommend visiting if you are going also for enjoying the town and beaches, or if you are a very committed specialist of such places. The museum is rather small in size and the hardware is basically the tower itself. Nonetheless, the striking contrast with respect to the background makes this place also rather evocative. I guess visiting may take up to 30 minutes including the museum.
Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY
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