The Wollenberg Bunker – Linking East Germany and the USSR

April 21, 2024April 22, 2024 CarloRLeave a comment

	Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
	A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY Second Edition - 2024
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The events taking place on the geopolitical stage during the last decade of the Cold War – the 1980s – gave little indication of the imminent collapse of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc (1989-1991). Correspondingly, looking at the amount of technology developed and deployed in the military field during the late, hi-tech stage of the Cold War, it is easy to notice that opponents on both sides of the Iron Curtain dedicated a significant (and even increasing) budget in preparation for a possible total confrontation. Reading papers and specialized books from the time, the outbreak of an open conflict, such to put a violent and abrupt end to years of opposition between the two opposing systems by recurring to nuclear warfare over the territories of Western Europe (most of them belonging to the NATO alliance, and all being substantially more militarized than today), was not deemed just likely, but more as a matter of time.

The БАРС system – The tropospheric network of the Warsaw Pact

In that era of extreme tension, it is not surprising that one of the most sophisticated and expensive assets developed and deployed jointly by all Nations in the Warsaw Pact, of course led by the USSR, came alive. History would cut its life short though, and as soon as the Warsaw Pact disintegrated, as a result of the opt-out from communist dictatorship of all Countries in Eastern Europe, this asset was decommissioned. This system was the tropospheric communication system ‘БАРС’, a Russian word reading ‘BARS’ and meaning ‘snow leopard’. The name stands as an acronym for four words in Russian, which translate into something like ‘Sheltered autonomous radio communication system’.

The idea put forward by the Soviet top-ranking military staff in the early 1980s (prior to the onset of Gorbachev administration) was that of a system capable of transmitting complex orders (not just simple signals, like for opening a bunker door or silo, but articulated messages) in a safe encrypted way, at a long distance and minimizing the chance of a complete breakdown even in case of an enemy nuclear attack. Despite being not new, the concept of a resilient and reliable system, such to allow exchanging significant amount of data without relying on cables, had been tested in earlier stages of the Cold War only for short-radius operations. Mobile transmitters/receivers, loaded on purpose-designed trucks, allowed for a reduction of the risk of a direct hit from an attacker, and for a quick redeployment in case of need. However, for the amount of data and range required for the coordination of a war scenario, involving many different Countries, and geographically encompassing an entire continent, a different system was required, capable of transmitting more massive data flows on longer distances, with a reduced risk of a sudden or complete interruption.

The БАРС system was based on a certain number of stations, scattered over the territory of the Countries of the Warsaw Pact. Each node was built as a bunkerized, manned military installation, featuring high-power, high-frequency fixed antennas emerging from the ground, and an underground shelter protecting all the technical gear required for manipulating the data to be sent or received, interfacing with the other existing local (i.e. national) networks for military and executive governmental communication, and of course managing the tremendous amount of energy required to pump a long-reaching signal into the ether.

Laying on the front line with the West, hosting a Soviet contingent of some hundred thousands troops (see here and links therein), aircraft (see here), missiles (see here) and nuclear warheads (see here), and being a key-ally of the USSR in case of the outbreak of an open war (at least until late 1989), the German Democratic Republic (or GDR, or DDR in German) was clearly included in the БАРС network from the initial drafting phase. Similarly, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria, and of course the Soviet Union (which included Belarus and the Baltics, and stretched west to Kaliningrad), all had БАРС stations on their territory. Stations were located at a range of a few hundred miles from one another, thus within the range required for each of them to communicate with one or more of the other nodes. Data (e.g. orders, reports or authorizations) input locally could be relayed along the network through intermediate nodes, down to the intended destination node. There were 26 nodes in total, of which four were in the USSR.

The Wollenberg site – Bunker 301 ‘Tushurka’

The GDR in particular had three stations built, all along the border with Poland, and located east of Berlin – namely Station 301 in Wollenberg, at the same latitude of Berlin, Station 302 in Langsdorf, towards the Baltic coast, and Station 303 in Röhrsdorf (near Königsbruck), not far from Dresden in the southeast of the GDR territory. The first among them, the Wollenberg site (codenamed ‘Tushurka’) could communicate with the other two national stations, as well as with Station 207 in Poland, from where data would be transmitted further down the network, towards the USSR.

The site was built by the GDR state, with technical hardware coming from several Countries within the Warsaw Pact, and most of the military hi-tech components manufactured in the USSR. The actual site (similar to its sister sites) was built in the frame of a highly secretive operation. The staff comprised about 60-70 men, the majority of which were military, where about 15% were civil technicians. Maximum security clearance was required, due to the top-secret nature of the installation and of the overall БАРС system. The bunkerized part of the installation was only a component of the larger premises of the base, camouflaged within the trees on the side of low-rising hill.

As pointed out, the immense spending required for setting up this multi-national hi-tech military communication system, which was extensively tested and completely commissioned (as a network) by 1987, did not save it from a quick demise and disappearance. In particular, Station 301 went definitively offline as early as August 1990.

However, the fate of the Wollenberg site was not so sad as that of many former Soviet or NVA (i.e. the East German Army) installations in the GDR. The high-power antennas were torn down, but except from that, little material damage was inflicted to the buildings and bunker on site. The place was basically shut-off and left dormant, until when a society of technically very competent local enthusiasts started a plan to preserve and open it to visitors, as a memorial specimen of the technology of the Cold War years.

A visit to the Wollenberg bunker site reveals a tremendous deal of interesting details, very uncommon to find elsewhere in the panorama of Cold War relics around Europe. Thanks to a careful preservation and restoration work, the bunker has most of its original systems still plugged to the grid and lit-up – some of them are reportedly still working! Even though the communication networks have been severed, the experience in the bunker is really evoking, and the atmosphere – with all the lit-up cabinets, lights, CCTV cameras, 1980-style screens, etc. – closely resembles that of the bygone era when БАРС was operative!

This report and photographs were taken during a private visit to the bunker, carried out in the Summer of 2023.

Sights

A visit to the the installation in Wollenberg starts from the original high-security access gate. As you may quickly notice when passing through it and getting a first view of the site, the state of preservation is exceptional. Except for the lack of military staff around, everything looks mostly like in the years of operation.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

A group of soft-construction service buildings and a reinforced multi-entry garage constitute the first – and visible – nucleus of the installation. All buildings are painted in a camo coat.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

A former building for the on-site staff has been turned into a permanent exhibition, with memorabilia items from the Cold War years, when the Nationale Volksarmee (or NVA, the Armed forces of the GDR) cooperated with the Soviet Red Army and the national Armed forces of other Countries in the Warsaw Pact.

A meeting room, now employed also for small gatherings, is especially rich of interesting and diverse items, including emblems, books, memorial plates and pennants, as well as TV screens, hi-fi systems and and beamers from the era.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Another room has been set-up as a control center for the base, with an original console and regional maps.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Compared to military bases (for aircraft or tanks), the Wollenberg installation is rather compact, with a main road giving access to most of the (not many) buildings on site, as well as the bunker. Actually, the bunkerized part was built under a low-rising hill, with the antennas originally standing on top of it. Access to the bunker is possible either by climbing uphill on the main road, or through a suggestive original pedestrian tunnel. The latter starts from within the service building itself, and – somewhat unexpectedly, for an underground installation – it climbs uphill, while keeping beneath the surface of the hill side slope. The lower end is guarded by an original CCTV camera.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

At the top end of the tunnel you can find the actual access to the bunker. The design and reinforcement level conferred grade ‘D’ protection according to the military standard in use at the time, with grade ‘A’ being the strongest. Access is through an airlock, constituted by two tight doors at the opposite ends of a small vestibule built in concrete. This design allowed protection from the blast of a nuclear device.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Notably, the locking mechanism of the tight doors is Soviet military standard, which can be found in high-value installations like nuclear depots elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc (see for instance here in Poland, and here in Czechoslovakia).

To the visitor with some experience of Cold War installations, it will be apparent from the very start of the tour that the state of conservation of the bunker, including the systems in it, is exceptional, similar to the rest of the Wollenberg site. The original warning lights and the CC-TV camera for identifying people at the entrance are still in place.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Next to the entrance, a control room with technical gear for checking-in can be found – including original dosimeters for radiation and chemicals, mostly Soviet-made. Looking inside these devices is possible, and reveals a great deal of sophistication in the design and realization of the military-grade material from the time.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Showers and sinks for washing, as well as canister for disposing of contaminated clothes, are located in the same area.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Upon getting access to the sealed area of the bunker and passing by the decontamination facility, you find yourself on the top floor of the underground bunker. The high-technology gear required for the transmission/reception of data on the БАРС network, as well as the interface with other national communication systems, required for receiving data, issuing orders, etc. over the territory of the GDR, were located on this floor.

Two symmetrically placed rooms host two twin transmission centers for the БАРС system. A single manned console can be found in each of them, surrounded by electronic cabinets and switches. At a closer look, all the material herein is Soviet made, and labeled in Russian only.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

On the wall ahead of the console station is a set of cables, communicating with the antenna and allowing to set the orientation and monitoring its status.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

The actual signals transmitted to the antenna, or received from it, traveled along special hollow ducts, with an almost rectangular section. Bundles of these ducts can be found in the ‘Sender’ (which means ‘transmitter’ in English) room, immediately next to the room where the manned console is.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

The modulation and demodulation of the signals going out and coming in respectively through the antenna on top of the bunker required some special pieces of electronics, which included the Soviet-designed KY-374 klystron (codenamed ‘Viola’), a component to be found in the cabinets of the ‘Sender’ room.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Following the hollow ducts, it is possible to find where they finally exit the usually manned part of the bunker, bending into receptacles and leading outside. Piping related to other systems, including air conditioning, can be seen as well crossing or running in the same narrow technical corridors.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Beside the consoles monitoring the antenna and the data flowing through it, a kind of operative room for communication can be found, where consoles allowing to receive and forward data and communication to/from all systems are on display. This largely original room features consoles of different levels of technology.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Original explanatory schemes showing the basic features of the БАРС system are on display in that area – in Russian!

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

An adjoining room features the cabinets required for making all these system work. The cabinets are really many, with a significant share of material manufactured in the USSR. The sight of all these cabinets together is really impressive, and tangibly provides the feeling of a high technology, sophisticated and expensive design. It compares well, but in a largely up-scaled fashion, to the electronics to be found in some special communication bunkers on the western side of the Iron Curtain (see here).

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Interspersed with the original arrangement of the cabinets and consoles are some displays of original material. These include specimens of different types of cables for signal transmission – some of them hollow and pressurized, others featuring impressive bundles of thinner wires – the KY-374 klystron, and other once top-secret core components of the БАРС transmission system. Also on display is one of the few remaining parts of the original system of antennas, once on top of the bunker. The antennas were the only part to be physically torn down when the system was decommissioned, upon the demise of the Warsaw Pact and the end of the Cold War.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

The bunker was manned by military and technical staff 24/7. Furthermore, as typical for bunkers from the Cold War era, provision was made at a design level to allow the staff to live isolated within the bunker for an extended period of time, in view of the eventuality to face a nuclear fallout scenario.

On the same floor as the technical rooms, the commander of the station had his own private room. This is still adorned with typical Soviet iconography, as well as everyday material from the age when the bunker was operative.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

A small canteen, with a kitchen and a modest living room, can be found at the same level. An original storage room has been employed to gather examples of everyday products, like soap, skin care cream, etc., as well as canned food, cocoa, and beverages of all sorts.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

This represents a very rich catalog of now largely defunct and forgotten labels, from the age and regions of the Eastern Bloc (and especially from within the GDR). Also on display are bottles of spirits, likely still very good!

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

The visit proceeds then to the lower floor, which can be reached through a flight of metal stairs.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

The lower floor host the plants required for the regular operation of the entire bunker, such to guarantee operational ability even in case of an enemy attack carried out with nuclear, chemical or biological warfare. The air filtering and conditioning system is very modern. Beside typical filtering drums for particles, to be found also in other bunkers (see for instance Podborsko here), you can see a bulky filtering and climate conditioning system, neatly arranged within two parallel square-shaped ducts. Filtering against chemicals as well as biologic agents was carried out employing special active filters.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Sensors for the level of contamination of the bunker air can be found in different rooms. Much material here is standard Soviet-made.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Systems for water pumping and compressed air can be found as well, including compressors, pumps and reservoirs. Looking at the always interesting factory labels in this area, it is easy to find export products of Bulgaria, Romania and other communist dictatorships of the era. Of course, much hardware is also manufactured in the GDR.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Electricity was supplied from the outside grid, yet capability for self-sustaining in case of a grid loss (for instance in case of war) was implemented as well. Three big German-made Diesel generators have been put in place, and are still in an apparently good condition.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Another example of the high technological standard reached in the late Cold War era is represented by the control room for the plants within the bunker. A manned control station, with a console and a direct view of lit-up cabinets, reporting the status of the various systems running in the bunker, compares well with control rooms of large industrial plants in operation today.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Carefully kept in its original status, with many of the electric links and cabinets still working, the sight of this room is especially evoking.

Also on the lower floor are the sleeping rooms for off-duty staff. Typically, this was not employed except for drills, when the bunker could be sealed to simulate operations in case of the outbreak of hostilities.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Back to the upper floor, it is possible to exit the bunker via a stairway and through a side gate. You will find yourself on top of the low-rise hill where the bunker has been dug. Here the concrete base of the crane where the БАРС antenna used to sit are still visible. Notably, these antennas were much smaller than the tropospheric antennas employed for the TROPOSCATTER system of NATO. This was the result of a different bandwidth employed for transmissions. Therefore, even in the days of operation, the antennas on top of the bunker were not as sizable as those of TROPOSCATTER installations (which were enormous in size).

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

Looking closely, in the top area of the installation, the duct for supplying the Diesel oil tank of the bunker can be found, similar to sensors for radiation and other atmospheric parameters (similar to what can be found also in other nuclear-proof bases, for instance here). These allowed to monitor the conditions of the outside air, detect an attack and trigger or manage the sealing of the bunker in case of need, by locking all the tight doors.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

This access to the bunker is fenced by the original electrified fence, severing this area from the rest of the installation through a further layer of security.

Wollenberg БАРС Bunker 301 – GDR vs. USSR communication facility

All in all, a visit to the Wollenberg bunker offers an incredible insight in a fascinating and crucial field of warfare – data and communication exchange – as well as a lively and evocative display of a late Cold War hi-tech installation from the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain!

Getting there & Visiting

The German name of the Wollenberg bunker is ‘Militärhistorisches Sonderobjekt 301 Wollenberg’. It can be reached very easily with a car. It can be found in the open countryside along the regional road 158, driving about 35 miles (about 1 hour) northeast from downtown Berlin towards Poland. The exact location is between the small village of Höhenland (~4 miles) and the more sizable Bad Freienwalde (~6 miles). There is a large parking area immediately next to the road, giving direct pedestrian access to the premises of the former military installation. Despite being placed very conveniently, the site is rather elusive when passing by, since it is hidden in the trees and not directly visible from the road. The address corresponding to the place in Google Maps is Sternkrug 4, 16259 Höhenland. The inconspicuous village of Wollenberg, giving the name to the installation, is just nearby, but it is not crossed by the regional road, and it should not be employed for pointing this destination with a nav.

The Wollenberg bunker is a listed historical installation. It is perfectly maintained, privately managed, and it can be regularly accessed with guided tours. These are offered typically one day per week in the summer, or by prior arrangement. Possibly the best option for getting the most out of your visit is getting in contact with the group of very knowledgeable enthusiasts running the place. The official website is here (do not be discouraged by the ‘static’ appearance of the website, they are very active, and they shall typically answer your inquire).

My visit was planned by initiative of Dr. Reiner Helling (see also here), and we visited in a group of three, including the guide (Dr. Michael Schoeneck, a former engineer, with a profound knowledge of any technical aspects related to this installation), which happened to be a perfect option for touring also the narrowest receptacles of the bunker. Visiting in groups too big may be not advisable, since the rooms and corridors are rather narrow, and the place may turn overcrowded for interacting with the guide and for taking good pictures. I think the visit – including the technical content – may be tailored to the needs of the audience. For technical-minded subjects, historians and former military, a visit may take about 2-3 hours (the latter was my experience). In my case, the guide could understand but not speak fluent English, yet Dr. Helling could translate with ease all the explanations. Of course, if you have at least a basic knowledge of German and of the technical material you are looking at, this may simplify your visit, which is in any case highly advisable for those interested in military technology and the Cold War.

	Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
	A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY Second Edition - 2024
	DON'T LEAVE IT AT HOME! AVAILABLE in PAPERBACK or KINDLE from your national Amazon store!
	amazon.com \| amazon.de \| amazon.co.uk amazon.it \| amazon.fr \| amazon.co.jp

Soviet War Memorials Southeast of Berlin

September 24, 2023 CarloRLeave a comment

The final battle for the conquer of Berlin was a massive operation carried out by the Soviet Red Army, who had come on the line of Oder river, marking today’s border between Germany and Poland, at the conclusion of the westward march on the territories of Eastern Europe previously taken over by the Third Reich.

Witnessing the dramatic lack of men and supplies on the German side, the final Soviet attack from that position was launched on April 16th, 1945, to end just less thank two weeks later with the death of Hitler, the conquer of Berlin, and soon after with the German capitulation in early May. In this short time, the Soviets penetrated and gained control of a significant part of what was to become the territory of East Germany, including the capital city of the Reich.

It is estimated that the troops amassed in the spring of 1945 for this operation exceeded 2.2 millions on the Soviet side, whereas the contingent available for the defense of the region on the German side was below 300 thousand men, including almost improvised corps of elders or extremely young people, lacking any military training and experience. As a matter of fact, the original German war machine had been drained of resources also due to the eastward advance of the Western Allies in Western Europe and Germany, where some millions German soldiers were taken prisoners. Actually, by April 1945 the line of the Western front had reached East to the towns of Leipzig, Dessau, Magdeburg and Wismar, very close to Berlin, and all later ceded to the Soviets according to the Jalta and Potsdam agreements.

The defense of Berlin from the Soviet attackers was strenuous though, and heavy losses were recorded on both sides.

One of the most visible remains of these war operations today is a a number of memorials and war cemeteries, of larger and smaller size, scattered over the territory around Berlin. The most conspicuous such memorials are those erected by the winning Soviet forces. Besides their primary role of remembrance, they were in most cases erected soon after the end of the war, then making for an interesting historical trace from that age, when Stalin was the undisputed ruler in the Soviet Union. Their style often reflects the mix of pomp and simplicity typical to the communist art from the time.

Memorials related to these events can be found in Berlin (see here and here) and around. Some to the north of the town have been described in this post. In the present one, three memorials related to the battle around Berlin and located east and south of the German capital are covered – Seelow, Lebus and Baruth.

Photographs were taken in 2021 and 2023.

Sights

Seelow

The memorial in Seelow was designed and installed in 1945, soon after the end of the war in Europe, and was therefore one of the first of the kind. The location is that of the Battle of the Seelower Heights.

The small town of Seelow is located about 8 miles west of the Oder river, marking a natural border with Poland. The hills around the town dominate the flat country reaching to the river. Therefore, for the defending Wehrmacht, this was a natural obstacle between the Soviet invaders and Berlin. The hills were fortified heavily with guns and mortars, and the villages in the area were evacuated in anticipation of a major confrontation.

Fighting was started on the fateful April 16th, 1945, when a Soviet attack was triggered all along the line of the Oder, with a major focal point in the region of Küstrin and Seelow.

The battle went on for four days despite the clear imbalance of resources in favor of the Soviets, due to the advantageous geographical position of the heights around Seelow and the effectiveness of the German defense.

The memorial was erected around a simple statue of a Soviet soldier, put on top of a pinnacle, and portrayed beside the turret of a tank.

Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen – Soviet Monument and Museum by the Seelower Heights – Germany

To the base of the pinnacle is a small Soviet cemetery, with some marked graves and some gravestones with multiple names, or dedicated to unknown soldiers perished in the battle.

Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen – Soviet Monument and Museum by the Seelower Heights – Germany

From the cemetery, a good view of the plains extending to the east, where this fierce battle was fought in April 1945, can be observed from a vantage point. Purpose-designed maps allow to retrace the positions of the attackers and to pinpoint relevant locations.

Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen – Soviet Monument and Museum by the Seelower Heights – Germany

To the base of the monument is a memorial museum. The exhibition is compact but very interesting. Two thematic areas are presented, one related to the historical reconstruction of the battle, the other to the history of the monument and the archaeology of the battlefield around Seelow.

Among the artifacts on display related to the history of the battle are German and Soviet uniforms, machine guns and rifles.

Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen – Soviet Monument and Museum by the Seelower Heights – Germany

Interestingly, also mortar shells carrying leaflets are on display: these were employed by the Soviets, who launched propaganda leaflets inviting Germans to surrender, and even passes for the German military who wished to defect to the Soviets side. An armband of the ‘Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht’, the non-professional corps recruited by the Third Reich in a desperate move to gather fresh units for the final defense of the German territory from invasion during the last stages of the war, is also on display.

Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen – Soviet Monument and Museum by the Seelower Heights – Germany

The history of the monument is interesting as well, and shows how it evolved from being primarily a Soviet monument – like others in the area – to a public gathering place for official ceremonies in the German Democratic Republic – a place for the celebration of friendship between the USSR and the GDR. Historical pictures, and the addition of a poetic commemoration stone written in German only to the base of the monument, witness this evolution.

Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen – Soviet Monument and Museum by the Seelower Heights – Germany

Outside the museum, a courtyard is framed by two original small obelisks with inscriptions in Russian and Soviet iconography. On the courtyard, some heavy armored vehicles – including a Katyusha rocket launcher – are on display.

Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen – Soviet Monument and Museum by the Seelower Heights – Germany

Getting there and visiting

The monument has a special relevance in the history of the liberation of Germany, and has been modernized and updated over the years. It is still a rather relevant destination for visitors. A ticket is required for the museum only. A visit to the monument may take 20-30 minutes. A complete visit including the museum may require 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Access is very easy, since the location is immediately to the side of the road leaving Seelow for Küstrin (now Kostrzyn, Poland). The name of the site in German is ‘Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen’, and the address is Küstriner Straße 28a, 15306 Seelow. A small parking can be found right ahead of the access, further parking options cross the street and near the railway station, 1 minute away by walk. A new modern building to the side of the monument hosts the ticket office and a small shop. Website with full information here.

Lebus

The cemetery in Lebus, located on the German bank of the Oder river, about 10 miles southeast of Seelow (see above) was activated already in April 1945 for burying Soviet soldiers perished in the final war actions against Germany. Starting 1946, the status of Soviet cemeteries and monuments established on the territory of the Third Reich was officially defined. The Lebus site received Soviet staff perished in Germany after the war, or unrecognized fallen Soviet soldiers whose remains were found in the years soon after WWII on the East German territory.

Following an agreement between Russia and reunified Germany, extending the relationship formerly existing between the USSR and the GDR on the management of war memorials, the Lebus site became a Russian cemetery. It was refurbished in 2014-16, and at the time of writing it is still an active cemetery, often receiving the remains of Soviet soldiers moved from elsewhere, or still found in the area.

It is estimated that more than 5.000 from the USSR/Russia are buried in Lebus.

The memorial is not much visited by the general public, and is an authentic place of remembrance, sober and silent.

Russische Kriegsgräberstätte in Lebus – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Lebus – Germany

The architecture is rather simple, with a central perspective leading to an obelisk with a red star on top, a hammer and sickle emblem to the front, and inscriptions in Russian.

Russische Kriegsgräberstätte in Lebus – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Lebus – Germany

To the sides are two lateral wings, where the names of many fallen soldiers are inscribed on memorial stones.

Russische Kriegsgräberstätte in Lebus – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Lebus – Germany

To the sides of the perspective are an anti-tank cannon, and some more fields, marked with marble red stars as places of interment of unknown soldiers.

Russische Kriegsgräberstätte in Lebus – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Lebus – Germany

Also two further memorial walls with many names in Cyrillic alphabet are symmetrically placed to the sides of the perspective.

Russische Kriegsgräberstätte in Lebus – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Lebus – Germany

Getting there and visiting

The location of the Soviet cemetery in Lebus, now called officially ‘Russische Kriegsgräberstätte in Lebus’, is on Lindenstrasse, immediately after leaving Strasse d. Freiheit, Lebus. It is clearly marked by an indication sign, and recognizable by the external fence. Parking can be found 200 ft further north on Lindenstrasse, on the side of a local school.

The site is not mainly a touristic destination, but a real, well maintained (war) cemetery. It is apparently open 24/7 and not actively guarded. Visiting may take 20 minutes, or more for specifically interested subjects.

Baruth

The Soviet war cemetery of Baruth was erected between 1946 and 1947 for the fallen soldiers of the Battle of Halbe. The battle was a last confrontation between the Soviet Red Army and the Wehrmacht, taking between April 24th to the first days of May 1945 – the very last battle out of Berlin.

The battle was fought around the village of Halbe, south of Berlin, between what remained of the German defense retreating from the bank of the Oder, and two large columns of the invading Soviet Army. The German forces got mostly surrounded in a salient. Losses were very heavy on both sides, of the order of the tens of thousands.

The war cemetery for Soviet soldiers, the final resting place for some thousands of fallen troops, is clearly visible when passing by, thanks to the two T-34 tanks put as gate guardians.

Sowjetischer Ehrenfriedhof Baruth/Mark – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Baruth – Battle of Halbe – Germany

The architecture of the place is rather simple, and composed of a rectangular yard crossed by an alley, leading to a very tall obelisk. The obelisk features a big metal star on top, and a hammer and sickle metal emblem in the middle.

Sowjetischer Ehrenfriedhof Baruth/Mark – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Baruth – Battle of Halbe – Germany

To the base of the obelisk are two bas-reliefs with war scenes.

Sowjetischer Ehrenfriedhof Baruth/Mark – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Baruth – Battle of Halbe – Germany

A number of marked gravestones can be found on the greens around the obelisk. More recent – yet pretty old – additions, somewhat altering the original neat appearance of the ensemble, include a wall with applied gravestones and names inscribed on it.

Sowjetischer Ehrenfriedhof Baruth/Mark – Soviet Monument and Cemetery Baruth – Battle of Halbe – Germany

Getting there and visiting

The Baruth war cemetery, named ‘Sowjetischer Ehrenfriedhof Baruth/Mark’ in German, can be found along the road 96 (Bundestrasse 96), about 1 mile north of the homonym town of Baruth. The monument can be clearly spotted on the eastern side of the road. A small parking can be found ahead of the entrance.

Due to the secluded and isolated location, the place is not a highly popular tourist destination, yet it is frequented by relatives and descendants of those interred on site. It is well cared for and perfectly maintained. It is apparently open 24/7.

A prototypical Soviet war cemetery from Stalin’s years, likely the largest in the region south Berlin, it is definitely worth a stop when visiting the area. A visit may take 20 minutes.

Notably, the place is located about 7 miles south of Wünsdorf (see this post), the former Soviet headquarters in the German Democratic Republic, which is crossed by the same road 96.

Soviet Nuclear Bunkers in the Czech Republic

September 4, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

History – In brief

After the end of WWII and the collapse of the Third Reich, the territory now belonging to the Czech Republic fell on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain. Together with today’s Slovakia, it formed the now disappeared unitary state of Czechoslovakia. Despite laying right on the border with the West – including Bavaria, which was part of West Germany and NATO – communist Czechoslovakia enjoyed a relative autonomy from the USSR, until the announced liberally-oriented reforms of the local communist leader Dubcek in the spring of 1968 triggered a violent reaction by the Soviet leader of the time, Leonid Brezhnev (see here). About 250’000 troops from the Warsaw Pact, including the USSR, landed in the Country. As a result, the Soviets established a more hardcore and USSR-compliant local communist regime, and largely increased their military presence.

Similar to the German Democratic Republic (see here for instance), Hungary (see here) or Poland (see here), since then also in Czechoslovakia the local national Army was flanked by a significant contingent of Soviet troops, who left only after the entire Soviet-fueled communist empire started to crumble, at the beginning of the 1990s.

Consequently, for the last two decades of the Cold War, Czechoslovakia was a highly militarized country similar to other ones in the Warsaw Pact (see here). Its geographical position on the border with the West meant it received supply for a high-technology anti-aircraft barrier (see here). Two major airbases in Czechoslovakia were taken over for use by the Soviets and strongly potentiated (see here).

Soviet Nuclear Depots in Czechoslovakia

Beside conventional forces, also nuclear warheads were part of the arsenal deployed in this Country. Where in the late 1960s Soviet strategic nuclear forces were already mostly based on submarine-launched missiles and ICBMs ground-launched from within the USSR’s borders, tactical forces were forward-deployed to satellite countries, to be readily operative in case of war in Europe. Missile systems like the SCUD, Luna (NATO: Frog) and Tochka (NATO: Scarab) were deployed to the Warsaw Pact, supplying either the local Armies or the Soviet forces on site. Typically armed with conventional warheads, these systems were compatible with nuclear warheads too, making them more versatile, and of great use in case of a war against NATO forces in central and western Europe (see here).

Irrespective of their employment by a local national Army or a Soviet missile force, nuclear warheads were kept separated from the rest of the missile system for security, and invariably under strict and exclusive Soviet control. Bunker sites were purpose built in all components of the Warsaw Pact for storing nuclear warheads – see page 46 of this CIA document, showing with some accuracy the location of the corresponding bases.

Granit– and Basalt-type bunkers were typically prepared on airfields or artillery bases, for short-term storage of soon-to-be-launched nuclear weapons. Instead, top-security Monolith-type bunkers (the triangles on the map in the CIA document) were intended for long-term storage of nuclear ordnance.

Monolith-type bunkers were built by local companies on a standard design in the Soviet military inventory, and were implemented in satellite Countries in the late 1960s. Czechoslovakia received three such sites, which took the names Javor 50, by the town of Bílina, Javor 51, close to Míšov, and Javor 52, close to the town of Bělá pod Bezdězem. All three locations are in the north-western regions of today’s Czech Republic.

The Soviet military started withdrawing the nuclear warheads from satellite Countries in 1989, months before the collapse of the wall in Berlin. As for Czechoslovakia, by 1990 all nuclear forces had been moved back to the USSR. Following the end of the Cold War, Monolith-bunkers – similar to most of the colossal inventory of forward-deployed military installations formerly set up by the Soviet Union – were declared surplus by the Countries where they had been implemented.

These primary relics of the Cold War have known since then different destinies. Some of them have been hastily demolished, and together with their associated fragments of recent history, they have almost completely disappeared into oblivion. Luckily, a few are currently still in private hands, and still in existence (see here and here) – specimens of recent military technology, and a vivid memento from recent history, when the map of Europe looked very different from now. Two can be visited, of which one is Javor 51, in the Czech Republic, the main topic of this post. This has been turned into the ‘Atom Museum’, which has the distinction of being the only Monolith-type site in the world offering visits on a regular schedule (the other open site is Podborsko, in Poland, covered here, which is open by appointment).

Also displayed in the following are some pictures of the now inaccessible site Javor 52 in former Czechoslovakia. Photographs were taken in 2020 (Javor 52) and 2022 (Javor 51).

Sights

Javor 51 – The Atom Museum, Míšov

An exceptionally well preserved and high-profile witness of the Cold War, the nuclear depot Javor 51 is a good example of a Monolith-type installation. These bases were centered around two identical semi-interred bunkers for nuclear warheads.

When starting a visit, you will soon make your way to the unloading platform of bunker Nr.1. The shape of the metal canopy, and the small control booth with glass windows overlooking the platform are pretty unique to this site. The metal wall fencing the unloading area is still in its camo coat outside, and greenish paint inside. Caution writings in Russian are still clearly visible. Concrete slabs clearly bear the date of manufacture – 1968. This site was reportedly activated on the 26th of December, 1968.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Even the lamps look original. Some of the – likely – tons of material left by the Soviets on the premises of this site has been put on display ahead of the massive bunker door.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The opening mechanism of the latter is a nice work of mechanics. Four plugs actually lock or unlock the door. They can be moved by means of a manual crank, or likely in the past via an electric mechanism (some wiring is still visible). The thickness of the doors is really impressive (look for the cap of my wide lens on the ground in a picture below for comparison!).

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Each bunker had two ground-level entrances to the opposite ends, each with two blast-proof doors in a sequence. Warheads were transported by truck, unloaded beside the entrance of one of the two bunkers, and carried inside through the two doors, which constituted an air-tight airlock.

Today, you can see the inside main hall of the bunkers from the outside during a visit. This was likely not the case in the days of operation. The opening procedure required a request signal to travel all the way to Moscow, and a trigger signal traveling in the opposite direction. Once past the first (external) door with the warhead trolley, that door was shut, and the procedure was repeated for the second door, giving access to the inside of the bunker.

A security trigger told Moscow when the door was open. It can still be seen hanging from top of the door frame.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Once inside, you find yourself on a suspended concrete platform. The warhead trolley had to be lowered via a crane – still in place – to the bottom of the cellar ahead, i.e. to the underground level. The stairs now greatly facilitating visitor’s motion around the bunker were not in place back then, and descending to the underground level for the technicians was via a hatch in the floor of the suspended platform, and a ladder close to the side wall.

On the platform, an original Soviet-made air conditioning system can be seen – with original labeling – and signs in Russian are on display on the walls.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The platform is also a vantage point to see the extensive array of heat-exchangers put along a sidewall of the central hall – atmosphere control was of primary importance for the relatively delicate nuclear warheads. Each of them traveled and was kept in a pressurized canister. However, also the storage site was under careful atmospheric control.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

To the opposite end of the bunker, the inner tight door of the second entrance can be clearly seen, ahead of another suspended platform. The warheads left the bunker for maintenance (they might have left also for use, but this never happened, except possibly on drills) from that entrance, which had a loading platform outside for putting the warheads on trucks (this can be better seen in other Monolith sites, like Urkut in Hungary, or Stolzenhain in Germany).

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Down on the lower level, the main bunker hall gives access to one side to four big cellars, where the warheads spent their time in storage, and to the other sides to technical rooms. The pavement in the storage cellars features the original metal strongpoints, used to anchor the trolleys for the warheads to the ground. This was in case of a shockwave investing the site in an attack, to avoid the trolleys moving and crashing against one another. The original hooks with spherical joints to link the trolley to the strongpoints are also on display.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The storage cellars today have been used to display informative panels, with many interesting pictures and schemes. These include some from major sites connected with the history of nuclear weaponry in the Soviet Union (like from the test site of Semipalatinsk) and the US (like the Titan Museum near Tucson, AZ, covered in this post).

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

A few former technical rooms are used to store much original technical gear. This ranges from spare parts, tools and personal gear like working suits left by the Soviets (most with signs in Russian), to items ‘Made in Czechoslovakia’ or even radiation detectors from Britain and the West, gathered here for display and comparison.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Some of these spare parts are wrapped and sealed in Russian, looking like they were cataloged back in the time of operations.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

In the main hall, many rare vintage pictures retrace the presence of Soviet military forces on this site as well as others in Czechoslovakia. Magnified copies of rare pictures portray the trucks, canisters and the very warheads likely involved in transport and storage in Javor 51. Actually, much mystery exists around the deployment of nuclear ordnance by the USSR outside its borders (not only to Czechoslovakia). Historical and technical information today made available, even to a dedicated public, is very limited, making this chapter of Cold War history even more intriguing.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Again in the central hall, cabinets for monitoring the nuclear warheads can be seen hanging from the walls, painted in blue. Each warhead used to be stored in a canister, which was periodically linked to these cabinets to check the inner atmosphere, temperature, etc., in order to monitor the health of its very sensitive content.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

A large part of the technical/living rooms has been preserved in its original appearance. You can see parts of an air conditioning system, a big water tank, a toilet, a now empty bedroom for the troops. The bunker was constantly manned inside by typically six people, who operated in shifts. They did not sleep there, nor used the toilet much due to poor drainage. However, these facilities were used in drills, and were intended for the case of real war operations, when the bunker might have been sealed from the outside.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The electric cabinets take a dedicated room, like the huge air filters and pumps (Soviet made), installed to grant survival of the people inside the bunker in case of an attack with nuclear weapons or other special warfare. Clearly, the level of safety in the design of the bunker stemmed from the fact that it was considered by the Soviet as a a strategic target for NATO forces.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The last technical rooms host a big Diesel generator, supplied with air from the outside, and a big fuel tank in an adjoining room. Many labels bear writings in Russian, but the generator appears to be made in Czechoslovakia. The bunker was linked to the usual electric power grid of the region, and the generator was intended for emergency operations, in case the grid was lost or the bunker was isolated.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

From the technical area, it was possible to access or exit the bunker, via a human-size airlock. The innermost tight door can be seen painted in yellow, with a locking mechanism resembling that of the major tight doors for the missile warheads. Outside the airlock, climbing three levels of ladders was required to get to the surface. This was the normal access to the bunker for the military technical staff, except when warheads arrived or left the storage (this was made via the major entrances, as explained).

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Back outside, the second bunker, Nr.2, can be found at a short distance from the former. Nr.2 is being prepared for an exhibition on technology. At the time of writing, it can be toured except for the technical/living rooms. It is in a very good condition, and allows to get similar details as the previous Nr.1 on the construction of this type of facility – including the heating/air conditioning system.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The blue cabinets for plugging the canister for routine status checking and maintenance can be found also in Nr.2 in good shape.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Clearly visible here are the doors closing the technical areas and the warhead cellars. The latter were monitored for security just like the external airtight doors of the bunker, each with a sensor telling controllers whether the cellar was locked or not.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The airlock is covered in soot, possibly the result of a fire. Ahead of the entrance, the unloading platform is very interesting, having a unique set of light doors which had to be opened to allow trucks to come in. The concrete part of the platform appears slightly off-standard, with a short lateral concrete ramp, giving access to the main platform from one side. Parts of missiles – original – are being gathered in this area for display.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Monolith sites include two bunkers, which are the core of a strongly defended fenced area. In Javor 51, fences except the external one have been removed for the safety of visitors (rusty barbed wire can be very dangerous). These can still be found in other similar installations (see here). Similarly, the troops and technicians working on site lived in purpose-built housing, segregated from local communities. In Javor 51, this housing still exists, but cannot be visited.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

Leaving the place, you can visit the nice visitor/gathering center, and even find some interesting souvenirs!

Getting there and visiting

All in all, the Atom Museum prepared at Javor 51 is a top destination for everybody interested in the history of the Cold War, nuclear warfare, Soviet history, military history, etc.

Credit goes to the owner of the place, Dr. Vaclav Vitovec, who is leading this remarkable preservation effort, and is a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide to the site for those visiting. Dr. Vitovec is also the owner of the border museum in Rozvadov, covered in this post.

The Javor 51 site is actually fairly well known at least to a dedicated public, having been visited by historians, scientists and notable figures – including Francis Gary Powers, Jr., who is very active in preserving the history of the Cold War.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The commitment of the museum’s managers is witnessed also by the nice website (also in English), where you can sign-up for a visit on pre-arranged days – as of 2022, all Saturdays in the warm season – or contact the staff for setting up a personalized visit. It is nice to see a good involvement by the local population (the great majority of visitors on regular visits are Czech), including many from younger generations. The exhibits tell much on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and this is a major topic in the guided tour in Czech. Actually, the Czech Republic has a strong nuclear tradition, with many power plants in use, and a commitment for the development of nuclear energy in the future.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 51 – Atom Museum

The location is around 25 miles southeast of Plzen, or 60 miles southwest of Prague. Easy to reach by car. The exact address is Míšov 51, 33563 Míšov, Czechia. Full info on their website. Visiting on a normal scheduled visit is on a partly-guided basis, meaning that you will get an intro (in Czech) of around 40 minutes, than you will be allowed to access the bunkers and visit on your own, for all the time you like. You might end up spending more than 2 hours checking out the site and everything is in it, if you have a special interest for the topic. Dr. Vitovec is fluent in English, and can provide much information upon request.

Javor 52 – Bělá pod Bezdězem

The Monolith-type site Javor 52 has been willingly demolished, likely by the Government of the Czech Republic, as it was the case for most other similar (or more in general, Soviet-related) sites in Poland and Germany.

However, it was hard to get completely rid of any trace of an installation so bulky and reinforced. Therefore, some remains can still be found and explored.

Some technical buildings still in use close to the bunkers may have been there from the days of operation.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 52 – Abandoned

Getting close to the bunker area, traces of the multiple fences originally around the site can be found, either in the trees or in the vicinity of unmaintained roads. Wooden or concrete posts with fragments of barbed wire are clearly visible. Also reinforced concrete shooting points can be spotted in the wild vegetation.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 52 – Abandoned

As typical, two bunkers were erected on site, and similarly to Javor 51 (see above), in Javor 52 they are aligned, with the entrances all along the same ideal orientation.

The bunkers in Javor 52 have been interred, so that they are now hardly noticeable from the outside, except to a careful eye. Looking inside the eastern one, it is possible to get a view of the open doors of the main airlock, providing a distant view of the inner main hall.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 52 – Abandoned

Descending through the lateral human-sized airlock is not possible except for a short length, from a concrete manhole on top of the bunker.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 52 – Abandoned

The western bunker is in a better general condition, and the main hall still retains a pretty unique writing in Russian. The ladder descending from the suspended platform has been substituted with a posthumous, regular ladder. Much metalwork has disappeared though, including the heat exchangers, the crane, and the tight doors.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 52 – Abandoned

Between the bunkers, a concrete pool can be found – still watertight! – with a function which is hard to guess. A pool for civil use was installed in Stolzenhain (and reportedly also in Javor 52, but I had not the time to watch out for it), but this was in the low-security of the site, far from the bunkers.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 52 – Abandoned

Getting there and moving around

Access to this place is possible without violating any property sign, but is clearly not encouraged. Going unnoticed is made tricky by the presence of a public facility nearby – a shelter for foreigners and some education activity. Parking out of sight is possible along the road 27235, north of the complex and to the west of the road – trailheads and corresponding parking areas can be found there. Check out some satellite map to find a way to the exact location of the bunkers – their respective entrances are approximately here (eastern bunker) and here (western bunker).

I visited the site in 2020, and the entrances appeared very dangerous and easy to seal in a permanent way. I do not have any further update, but would suggest to go prepared to find definitively interred and totally inaccessible bunkers.

Javor 50 – Bílina – Quick note

As of 2020, the site of Javor 50 is in a peculiar state of ‘conservation’. The place is closed to the public, but entering would be basically unimpeded, since the external fence to the former military base is mostly collapsed and interrupted. The Soviet quarters insider still have much to offer – including writing in Russian, a scheme of the base, and much more. Likely, the bunkers are also still in a relatively good shape.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Czech Republic – Javor 50 – Abandoned

Much surprisingly though, somebody is living there with watchdogs, in miserable conditions, keeping visitors out. It is likely that an official visit may be booked by getting in touch with the municipality, since it appears that the site is not used for anything. However I was not successful in connecting with anybody there, therefore I have no suggestion on this point. The of the main entrance is here.

German and Soviet Military Traces in Jüterbog

July 29, 2022July 29, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

The area around Jüterbog, about 1 hour and 15 minutes south of Berlin by car, has enjoyed a long military tradition, dating from the years of the Kaiser and WWI, through the Third Reich and all the more than four decades of the Cold War, until the departure of the Soviet Army in the early 1990s.

Almost for the entire duration of the 20th century, the area has been scattered with barracks, immense training grounds, shooting ranges, officer’s houses, army administration buildings, technical depots, airports and military academies.

The town of Jüterbog is actually much older than the 20th century, but the Soviets, who grew to a much greater population than the Germans in town after 1945, did not pay much attention to this nice medieval town. Following their withdrawal and the end of all military operations around, the town center received substantial money for restoration from the Government of reunified Germany, and the result is really remarkable – Jüterbog is today possibly one of the most lively and nice-looking centers in the region, with medieval towers, gates and churches, hotels, restaurants and bright-painted houses all around.

However, one hundred years of military activities in this province could not be wiped out at once, and despite nature is now invading the old army premises after operations ceased, to a careful eye the heritage of the German and Soviet Armies stationed there can be spotted quite easily, immediately out the lovely historical town.

Perhaps the most prominent witnesses of the past activities are the old flight academy, installed in the Third Reich years and later employed also by the Soviets, who got control of the area after they arrived in 1945, and kept it even after the foundation of the GDR and the corresponding Armed Forces (i.e. the Nationale Volksarmee, or NVA). The flight academy is today a listed building, despite in a state of partial disrepair. Another example is the big airbase of Jüterbog/Altes Lager, which went on operating as an NVA and Soviet airbase until the very end of the Cold War, and is now being used as a sport airfield, a kart circuit track, an event venue and a solar power plant.

Both these two items are covered in another chapter.

In the following report, more locations in and around Jüterbog are pinpointed, photographed during two visits, partly guided by the knowledgeable Dr. Reiner Helling, in the Summer seasons of 2021 and 2022.

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Sights

The material in this post covers ‘Shelter Albrecht’, a one-of-a-kind private collection of items from WWII and especially from Soviet times, more views of the former airfield of Altes Lager, with a Granit bunker still in very good conditions, an abandoned military hospital with evident traces of Soviet operations, a Soviet cemetery, and a few more items, silent and overlooked witnesses of a recently bygone era.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Shelter Albrecht
Granit Bunker and Hangars in Jüterbog/Altes Lager
Military Hospital
Soviet Cemetery
Railway Yard, School and Command Building

Shelter Albrecht

The airbase of Jüterbog/Altes Lager was selected by the Soviets for further development with the arrival of jets in the late 1940s-early 1950s, and grew to be a prominent attack aircraft and helicopter base in the territory of the GDR. Now reduced in size to the point that some taxiways have been turned into public roads, some of the incredibly many aircraft shelters originally in place in the peripheral parts of the base – mostly AU-16 – have been wiped out. However, a set of two to the east of the runway have been spared this fate, and have been redeemed by a private business. One has been turned into a venue for events, whereas the other has been employed to showcase a great collection of WWII and Cold War memorabilia. Actually, the two hangars are located inside a somewhat larger perimeter, with an original technical building and room for even more exhibits.

A first impressive sight is the original Soviet scheme of the base. Similar signs were typically put close to the gate of any Soviet base (as seen for instance here in Ribnitz/Damgarten), and with their Russian writings today they witness the Soviet tenancy of the base.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

On the apron, an original military version of the ubiquitous Trabant, in army green color, is on display together with a field kitchen and a gigantic roadwork machine. The latter is Russian made, with tank tracks, and powered by a 12-cylinder Diesel engine.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

A Mil Mi-2 helicopter, which for some hard-to-imagine reason had ended up on the Adriatic coast of Italy in a private collection, where it sat almost derelict, has been brought back to the other side of the Iron Curtain, and restored in a camo coat and placed in a prominent position. Not far, a wing from an old Lavochin La-5 Soviet aircraft can be found.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Still on the open air exhibition are a decorated panel once gracing a Soviet hospital – possibly the one described later (here) – and another celebrating the Warsaw Pact. But the exhibits are really countless, and include propaganda posters, and canisters for ordnance.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

To the side of the main exhibition hangar, in the area of an interred fuel tank once serving the base, is an incredible set of Soviet panels, originally from this or other Soviet bases around. These panels are partly decoration/celebration signs, with portraits of Soviet soldiers and emblems.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Other are technically-themed, with explanations concerning driving habits and rules, hand-to-hand combat, and more. Similar items, including fake targets for assault training, can be found for instance in Forst Zinna, an abandoned Soviet base not far from Jüterbog (covered here).

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Also part of the collection is a rare mural, apparently retracing the push to the west of a Soviet division (?) during the Great Patriotic War.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Inside, the aircraft shelter is stuffed with interesting memorabilia. From WWII, exhibits include remains of downed aircraft, including damaged engines, propellers and canopies. Among them are remains of an Avro Lancaster, a Focke-Wulf 190, a Junkers Ju-87 and the canopy of a pretty rare training (two-seats) version of the Messerschmitt Bf-109.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Four large scale models cover as many interesting sights around. The first is the former flight academy of the Third Reich (mentioned above and covered here), north of the Altes Lager airbase premises. Also on display are books and furniture originally from the library of the academy.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

A second model portrays the entire area between the academy (north) and the airfield (south), including the latter. This area, now largely shrouded in the trees and partially in private hands, used to host technical installations and even factories connected with warfare business – all linked by an extensive network of roads and railways.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Another model is that of two airship hangars from the years of German tenancy. These had to be really huge, but are today completely gone. Among the factories in place in the area, were those for supplying gas for the airships.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Finally, a fourth scale model represents the older airfield of Jüterbog/Damm. The latter is not far from Altes Lager, and is today in private hands for some cattle breeding business. It features very peculiar concrete hangars, an interesting specimen of Third Reich construction engineering. Some aerial pictures can be found here. That airfield was not selected for further development by the Soviets, due to the limited potential for runway lengthening, in turn due to the proximity with Jüterbog town.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Soviet-related items on display range from painted tables, originally gracing the walls of the base, to technical signs in Russian, to a full array of personal and military items, all belonging to the Soviet staff stationed in Jüterbog. These include an interesting overall map of the Soviet airfields on GDR territory, with basic technical data.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Among the highlights, an official printed portrait of Stalin, and one of Brezhnev in a military uniform, parachutes and parts from attack aircraft, many direction signs and instructional panels for low-ranking military staff. Also very interesting is a radar scope with the three air corridors to West-Berlin and the position of Altes Lager printed on it!

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Of special interest for aircraft enthusiasts are many pictures from the days of operation of the airbase, with many exotic Soviet aircraft seen landing, departing or taxiing around.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Other panels tells about the presence of rocket forces in the area of Jüterbog – in particular the 27th R.Br. of the NVA. They operated the SCUD-B system.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Back outside, the exhibition is completed by an original monument from Altes Lager, often employed as a background for official ceremonies, and more personal memorabilia of the owner of the museum, formerly serving within a tank division of the NVA.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Reconstructed shops and schools are on display, with much original furniture and everyday items of Soviet make.

Shelter Albrecht – Jüterbog – Altes Lager – Soviet Cold War and WWII memorabilia collection

Getting there and Visiting

The place is really worth a visit for everybody interested in memorabilia items from Soviet times, or for those looking for tangible traces of the military past of Jüterbog. The location is easy to reach by car, with a convenient internal parking. The address is Niedergörsdorfer Allee 4, 14913 Niedergörsdorf, Germany.

An updated official website with opening times is apparently not available. However, Mr. Helmut Stark, the owner of the place, may be contacted beforehand (in German only) to inquire about opening times and plan a visit – try Googling his name and that of the site for updated contacts. The place is regularly open at least in the weekends in the warm season. A visit to this site will be likely with Mr. Stark following you and giving explanations in German. This will take about 45 minutes.

Granit Bunker and Hangars in Jüterbog/Altes Lager

Some views of the Altes Lager airbase are provided in this chapter, and some aerial views can be seen here. The huge, flat-top hangars date from the Third Reich era, and similarly the control tower with its annexes. Some of the hangars were reportedly dismounted by the Soviets and taken to the Soviet Union soon after the end of WWII.

Jüterbog Altes Lager Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit Cold War Nuclear Warheads

Besides all the aircraft shelters scattered all around the runway, a relevant and pretty secluded Soviet addition north of the airfield is a Soviet Granit-type bunker. This type of bunker was among the lightest in Soviet inventory, and could serve multiple purposes, e.g. storing movable radar trucks, tanks, other machinery, or weapons. Actually, its presence on an airfield may suggest the purpose of storing special air-dropped weapons, maybe tactical nuclear, high-explosive or chemical ordnance.

Jüterbog Altes Lager Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit Cold War Nuclear Warheads

Bunkers of Granit-type are possibly the most frequent special constructions in former Soviet bases (see for instance here or here), but the one in Jüterbog is interesting since it is very well conserved, and its massive metal doors are still perfectly in place, providing a nice impression of how this technical item should have looked like in the days of operation.

Getting there and Visiting

The airport of Altes Lager is today pretty busy, with several companies having taken over much of its original premises now open for business. Multiple access points are available, and chances of looking inside the original installations are many. Given the still exceptional state of conservation of the Granit bunker, in order to protect this rare historical artifact from the impressive hordes of catatonic idiot spoilers and writers out there, no indication is provided on its exact location.

Military Hospital

Among the buildings now shrouded by the overgrown vegetation in the area between Jüterbog/Altes Lager airfield and the town of Jüterbog is a sizable military hospital. Totally invisible from the road, the hospital is basically made of a single, building featuring three long interconnected rows.

It is made of the typical German dark-red brick, a design which is way too elegant for Soviet occupants. The arrangement of the facade and the nice railings suggest a construction date from the years of the Kaiser and the German Empire, maybe early 20th century.

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

However, the years of Soviet use are witnessed by a big mural, portraying Lenin with some Soviet soldiers in the background, with a black and yellow striped ribbon and a red star, emblems of the Red Army.

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

To the more careful eye, a few graffiti in Russian can be found here and there, with a date as usual.

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

The aura is very silent and mysterious, and as such, this location is a mecca for urban explorers. Actually, the only noise came from a fast spinning ventilation fan in a window frame! This was pushed by an air stream however, not likely by a motor…

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

Some more buildings complete this complex, and original GDR-style lamps can still be seen around – the tall trees now surrounding the building were likely not in place when the hospital was closed, presumably in the early 1990s.

Jüterbog Niedergorsdorf Altes Lager – Abandoned Military Hospital – Soviet Relic

Getting there and Moving around

Not difficult to find in the trees between Jüterbog and the airfield of Altes Lager, there is no clear interdiction sign to access this complex from behind, yet vibration sensors planted in the ground can be spotted around, and some security cars can be seen sometimes parked on the main road. A walk around the hospital is not especially dangerous nor difficult, and may take about 25 minutes taking all the pictures. The building is architecturally nice and possibly listed. Yet it is in partial disrepair and largely sealed, and getting in is obviously not advisable.

Soviet Cemetery

The only relic of the years of Soviet occupation which is immediately visible to the general public in Jüterbog is the Soviet military cemetery. This is located to the back of the Liebfrauenkirche, in the historical center of Jüterbog.

Actually, a monumental part, with railings embellished with hammer and sickle emblems and a monument with writings in German and Russian to the back, is detached from the church yard.

Jüterbog Soviet Cemetery Friedhof

However, possibly in later times, the limited space available in the lot originally planned for the monument meant some graves were dug right in the church graveyard, side by side – but not mixed – with German graves.

Jüterbog Soviet Cemetery Friedhof

Getting there and Visiting

The exact address is Am Dammtor, 14913 Jüterbog, Germany. The place is well-kept, being part of the historical city center of Jüterbog. Parking opportunities all around on the street. A visit may take 10 minutes.

Railway Yard, School and Command Building

The town of Jüterbog acted as a ‘local capital’ for the many Soviet troops and their families scattered in the corresponding district. The hospital (see above) was not the only large installation in place. A district school was also installed, which served not only the very town of Jüterbog – with a Russian-speaking population of more than 70.000, greater than the German nationals – but also the residing Soviet population of smaller technical installations in the area. A notable example is the impressive nuclear depot in Stolzenhain (see here), where a dedicated staff and their families occupied four residential blocks now gone. Their children reportedly attended school in Jüterbog.

The school is today largely abandoned, and a quick tour around reveals typical Soviet decorations in the large sporting hall.

Jüterbog Soviet School Abandoned Cold War Relic

The school building is geographically close to the railway station. The latter had a passenger terminal dedicated to the Soviet population, which was completely segregated from the German one.

Furthermore, the railway in Jüterbog had also a primary logistic function, connected with the military activities going on in the area. Besides transporting tanks, vehicles and other material, also nuclear warheads arrived by rail from Belarus or Ukraine (both in the USSR at the time), for storage in the Stolzenhain Monolith-type bunkers (see here). A special railway track with a dead end in the trees featured a special interchange platform, allowing to move the sensitive warheads in their controlled canisters to trucks, and by road to Stolzenhain – usually at night. Since warheads were also sent back for maintenance or overhaul, the transport operated also in the opposite direction.

Jüterbog Railway Track Station

Very close to the railway station and the school is also a large grassy area, surrounded by a nice, old-style metal fence. This area is that of an older training ground, dating to the years of the Kaiser. A command building, now in disrepair, betrays the same origin, featuring decorations in a typical old-German style.

Jüterbog Command Building Abandoned Relic

Getting there and Moving around

The school can be found in Jüterbog here. Cross the street from the school, the old training grounds and command building are immediately spotted. Walking north past the command building, you get access to a pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks, with a nice view of the station. An exploration of the railway tracks has to be considered extremely dangerous, since the railway line there is today a high-speed one, with bullet-fast trains appearing in just seconds. A walk around this spot in Jüterbog may take 15 minutes. Parking opportunities ahead of the command building.

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Bunker Kossa – A Preserved Cold War Military Bunker in the GDR

July 28, 2022July 28, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

	Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
	A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY Second Edition - 2024
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The history of the underground installation in Kossa-Söllichau begins in the 1930s under Hitler’s rule.

In 1935, an affiliated company of the German chemicals giant WASAG, named Deutsche Sprengchemie Moschwig and devoted to the mass production of explosives for warfare use, had a new plant built in the rather uninhabited forest area between Leipzig and Wittenberg.

The plant, codenamed ‘Beech’ (or ‘Buche’ in German), was updated over the years and turned into a major production center for several models of shells and high-explosive charges. A primary contractor of the German Army, the company also held relevant patents, including one for hollow charge grenades.

By the end of WWII in April 1945, when the area fell under Soviet control and production was halted, the plant counted 3.600 employees, and had a production capacity of around 600.000 ammunitions per month. It had been provided with a dedicated road and railway connection, and built mostly underground, with several concrete bunkers surfacing from the grassy terrain around.

Following the Potsdam agreement (July 1945), the area was completely flattened by the hand of the Soviets, similar to some other production facilities in Germany. Demolition had been completed by the end of 1947. Following that, the area remained silent for more than a decade.

By the early 1960s, with the Cold War and rearmament in full swing, the the Nationale Volksarmee, or NVA – the short name of the Armed Forces of the GDR – had been long established as an ally of the Red Army. The latter was physically present in Germany with a huge number of troops and war material, having taken over many of the former German bases from WWII (see here or here for instance). However, the GDR clearly had its own Armed Forces, which actually could count on high-quality war material, typically either manufactured in Germany or supplied by the USSR. More and more locations – especially the most secluded and easy to hide – got surrounded by fences, and ended under the control of the NVA for many different purposes.

Deployed on the border with the West, and considered a reliable and well-trained partner by the Red Army, the NVA was included in the war plans conceived in Moscow, intended to unfold in the event of an open war with the neighbor NATO Countries. The NVA had two larger military districts, south of Berlin (III) and north of Berlin (V). In case of war, district III would give birth to a 3rd Army of mixed GDR/USSR forces, to quickly push towards the south-west into Federal Germany (heading to Koblenz), and from there to the Atlantic coast, to be reached in a matter of a few days.

The headquarter of the 3rd Army was in the so-called ‘Mosel’ bunker, an underground command facility near the town of Zwickau, today converted for an alternate use and not visible at all.

An alternate control site, which was also primarily involved in drills and training, was built in the area of the former ‘Beech’ installation, and took the name of ‘Bunkeranlage’ (i.e. bunker installation) Kossa-Söllichau. This site was prepared in the years 1976-79, and consisted mainly of 5 large interred bunkers on the same premises, capable of resisting to tactical nuclear blasts, with up-to-date systems for communication, and an ability to replicate war situations, so as to carry out realistic and complicated tactical simulations and drills. The staff was typically of 400.

Similar to the majority of military assets in Germany – and especially within the super-militarized ex-GDR – Kossa was incorporated in the Armed Forces of reunified Germany (1990), but was soon declared surplus, deactivated and handed over for civilian use.

A society of enthusiasts is today running this former facility, keeping it open for visitors on a regular basis. What makes Kossa an exceptional destination for both the general public and the most committed war tourist as well is the great state of conservation of the entire facility. As it can be seen in the following photographs, taken in Summer 2022, inside the bunkers it is possible to see not only the original structure, but most of the original communication systems, paneling, signs, furniture, lamps, toilets, lighting, wallpaper, etc. making the place a very vivid testimony of the Cold War years.

All in all, this is one of the best surviving specimens of bunkerized NVA sites, and definitely worth a visit for a rich in detail full immersion in the military technology and history of the Cold War years.

Sights

A visit to the Kossa site will start walking past the original inner gateway to the bunkerized part of the complex. The original wall going all around the entire military area has been partly removed, allowing to get direct access to the ‘core’ of the installation by car. Traces of the electrified fence running all around this inner part of the complex are still standing. The entrance to a bunker for the guards can be seen in this area, but this cannot be visited.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

The core of the complex with the military bunkers is aligned along a single, mostly straight technical road, built with large concrete slabs. The road track today is the same as in the original pre-WWII complex, and for this reason, it was not camouflaged. Other buildings in the complex, an even the connection roads departing from the main one, are painted in camo coat, for deception in case of overflight by plane or satellite.

The ticket office today is hosted in a large technical building by the entrance. In this area there used to be canteens and other services.

Past the entrance to the bunker area, it is possible to visit five bunkers, which will be listed next.

Computer Bunker

Four out of five bunkers (the exception being the intelligence bunker, see later) are built around the same blueprint. They have a single entrance door, deceived under a small wooden hut. Access to the bunker is via a security and decontamination path. At first you see a big camera at the level of your face, and an intercom panel, all for identification. Next follows a sequence of tight doors, at a close distance from one another, producing three small tight compartments.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

In case of nuclear/chemical contamination, faced in wartime, in the first compartment you could take an anti-poison kit, EP-68. Exemplars of this are still in place. In the next compartment you had to throw away all your clothes and belongings, which were put through a hatch to the side. In a third small compartment, you found a shower – a central passage in the decontamination process, even in case of exposition to nuclear events.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Through a last tight door, you could finally enter the clean area of the bunker. Here regular toilets and showers can be found, before going down one level, to the technical part.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Back then, there used to be three levels of air sealing. No air sealing, in regular, no-war/no-drill conditions, meant the decontamination procedure was not activated, and the bunker was ventilated with fresh air. In sealing conditions, typically at war but not under direct attack, the bunker was tight closed, and air was pumped from the outside through huge filtering canisters, purpose designed to stop both smoke and other gases, or poisonous chemicals. On the third level of air sealing, corresponding to an emergency condition (e.g. a direct attack), no air was pumped from the outside, and special filters capturing carbon dioxide allowed to carry on for a limited amount of time – reportedly a shorter time than granted by food or water storage.

Filters for the air conditioning system (sealing level 2) and for adsorbing carbon dioxide (sealing level 3) were made in the USSR. Those for carbon dioxide are scattered around the bunkers, and feature a rather vintage Soviet look, with a prominent five pointed star on top. The label carry the assembly year, in most cases the early 1970s.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Once downstairs, you can appreciate the construction of the bunker lower level, based on prefabricated concrete frames. The bunkers in Kossa were capable of resisting blasts typically from smaller tactical devices, and were ranked at the fifth strength level (level ‘E’), the first level being the strongest.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Here a few rooms are still perfectly preserved with computers, of which the most impressive is a mainframe AP-3, working with magnetic tape. The GDR could boast a top-notch electronic industry within the Eastern Bloc, and all consoles and electronics in Kossa bear local labels.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

The purpose of the computers, deemed so relevant to create a bunker specifically for them, was the fast elaboration of all information from the war theater. The latter was both local and global, since thanks to the links reaching the site through the intelligence bunker (see later), information of any kind could be elaborated, allowing the constant updating of operation maps, and the monitoring of all war assets. In drills, the computation capacity of the the system allowed to simulate events, thus forming the core of war-game operations.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

A small part of the same bunker, a kind of mezzanine, was designed as a small hospital – all exhibits are original here as well.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

More items on display in this area include original dosimeters and gear for checking radiation levels – either GDR- or USSR-made. In the connecting corridors are an intercom and an alarm horn – just examples of the perfectly preserved material on display.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Command Bunker

The command bunker shares the general arrangement with the computer bunker. A full anti-chemical/biological warfare suit is displayed by the entrance, ahead of the decontamination facilities. This type of suit should be worn over regular garments, and made for a very uncomfortable, ultra-warm and suffocating top layer, which reportedly caused extreme sweating.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

The focus here is a control room, with a large table and an operation map, as well as connections through several lines to the relevant information networks. On one side of the control room are desks for telephone operators. On another, watches and chronographs. Also interesting are two TV-scopes, which allowed to plot useful information especially in case of drills.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Examples of maps for military drills are scattered all around. Since war plans were all variations on the same theme – a quick attack pushing to the west – all corresponding maps feature this type of planned motion, from within the borders of the GDR to the FRG. The name of the drills can be seen clearly stated on the maps – for instance ‘Grenzschicht – 81’ from 1981.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Other rooms on the underground level feature very interesting examples of machinery for translating information to/from paper maps, even physical 3D maps with elevation!

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Satellite or spy-plane images of the site are on display as well. The site of Kossa was reportedly not far from the southernmost of the three air corridors reaching West-Berlin from the FRG. However, even though the site was not unknown in the West, its purpose remained largely a guess for the duration of the Cold War – and likely so also for the local civilian population.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Technical Bunker

A major concern in the Cold War was that of the survival of the chain of command in the event of a total nuclear war. This led to the implementation of additional on-site plants, for self-sustained operations in case a nuclear explosion nearby made the area unsuitable for human life, or when links with the surroundings were lost. These plants included primarily power generators, typically large Diesel engines with their fuel tanks, and drinkable water tanks. As seen in the computer bunker, also breathable air was a major concern.

In the technical bunker in Kossa, similar in shape to the previous two, at least two large power generators can still be seen – and smelt… – on the underground level. Several electric parts for replacement are also there. Another room hosts large drinkable water tanks.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

An interesting preserved office for a commanding officer still retains its original GDR wallpaper, and additional comfort is provided by a fake wood pavement.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Large electric cabinets take a big room, where instrumentation for radiation measurement is on display nearby.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Other particulars include a dial telephone with a reminder of the quick reaction numbers, including the Volkspolizei – the name of the People’s Police of the GDR, which can be seen on a label!

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Intelligence Bunker

The intelligence bunker is way larger than the others in Kossa, and is also more articulated. Access was possible via two bulky metal gates, located at an underground level on the far ends of the bunker, and reached through truck-sized ramps from ground level.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Behind the door, a tunnel of prefabricated concrete allowed to store many vehicles – typically trucks, jeeps and trailers, including vehicles with communication functions.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

To the interred back of the tunnel, a human sized hatch gave access to the pressurized, tight area of the bunker. This inner area, completely interred, is surrounded by a concrete case, built by a single pouring to avoid the creation of weak junctions, and such to withstand intense blasts.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Following a tight compartment, with an array of original air-filtering canisters on display, you get access to a long corridor, providing access to some rooms with technical gears for communication. Here communication with different levels of secrecy were managed, accessing all the existing links implemented in the years of construction within the GDR, and between all Countries of the Warsaw Pact and the USSR.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

A first room is centered on a large console, with an original teleprinting device still in place – top-notch for the time. Still in use today in some businesses, teleprinting is a very reliable way of communicating, which is also less prone to interception than telephone.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

An adjoining room managed contact with three wired systems of communication, working at increasing levels of encryption security, and used for transmitting routine or less-standard orders. These systems included S1 and SAS communication protocols. The corresponding transmitters/receivers – now very rare pieces of machinery – can be seen on display.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Encrypted incoming messages were sent to a special room, where they were translated in human language, before being internally forwarded to the command bunker. Similarly, encryption facilities were all in another room, where outbound communications were made ready for transmission.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

An impressive technical room is stacked with communication electronics. The number of components is really high, and reflects a very high performance, achieved by means of top level, but relatively bulky, components from the 1970s.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

A room in this bunker is dedicated to the ‘BARS’ system (‘БАРС’ in Russian), a troposphere (i.e. not wired) transmission system within all States in the Warsaw Pact and with the USSR. Beside an indigenous transmission protocol, the system made use of purpose-designed antennas, with easily deployable nodes put on wheeled trucks. An evoking, very interesting map of the fixed nodes of the system, in Russian, can still be seen on a wall. The desks for the operators of the system are just besides.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Another interesting item is the control panel of a micro-wave antenna, installed in Kossa at a shallow underground level, in an area which can still be located, corresponding to an inexplicable grassy lot along the main road in the site. This antenna system was apparently never used, on grounds of energy consumption and potential damages to other systems in the Kossa site.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Back outside, close to the intelligence bunker are an original weather station, placed nearby a radiation detection system – looking like a bell bolted to the ground. Examples of connection roads covered in camo paint can be seen in this area. Along the main road of the site, many ramps give access to semi-interred lots, where technical trucks used to be placed for operations.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

An example of these trucks is a Soviet trailer for enemy signal jamming. This is well preserved both inside and outside. The label tells the construction year – 1986.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Museum Bunker

The last visitable bunker is similar in shape to the former three, and has been converted into a collection of items from the history of the old WASAG site, the NVA bunker and the Cold War.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Propaganda items from the GDR enrich this interesting collection, as well as rare photographs from the totally gone ‘Beech’ site originally developed in the Third Reich years. Also on display are detailed designs of the weapons produced here in WWII.

Bunkeranlage Kossa Söllichau – NVA Cold War bunker GDR – Leipzig – Wittenberg

Getting there and Visiting

The Kossa installation can be easily reached by car, roughly 20 miles south of Wittenberg and 30 miles northeast of Leipzig. Exact location here.

The Kossa bunker is professionally managed by a dedicated Society. Their website is here. They speak only German, and the website is in German accordingly. Opening times are published for the season, and are basically in all weekends in the warm season. A synthetic leaflet in English can be obtained. However, the basic notions on this page may also help in getting much of the visit.

Two separate tickets can be purchased, one for a self-guided visit of the computer, technical and museum bunkers, and another for a guided visit of the command and intelligence bunkers. The guided tour is offered only once per day in German, in the early afternoon as of 2022.

A good strategy for a complete visit may be checking in during the morning, visiting the self-guided part, having a packed lunch, and taking the guided tour.

I followed that plan. This meant a stay of roughly five hours. The report on this page was obtained visiting the site together with Dr. Reiner Helling, who offered me a very detailed insight of the Kossa site, before we took the guided tour.

Photography is allowed everywhere. Flash/tripod generally not needed, at least with high-ISO sensors.

Possibly only cash accepted at the ticket counter.

The Rise and Fall of Communism in Romania

December 12, 2021July 28, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

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.

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Sighet Prison, Sighetu Marmatiei
Museum of the Communist Consumer, Timisoara
Museum of Communism, Hunedoara
Ceausescu’s Trial and Shooting place, Targoviste

Sights

Sighet Prison, Sighetu Marmatiei

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The upper floor is partly a collection, partly a pub, with a nice ‘exotic’ atmosphere.

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

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.

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.

Further display cases are stuffed with original items, from medals and decorations to propaganda material.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Soviet Traces in the Caucasus – Armenia, Azerbaijan & Georgia

September 19, 2021April 30, 2023 CarloRLeave a comment

A visit to the three Caucasian republics – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – today offers much to virtually any type of traveler. An incredible range of sceneries can be found there, from beaches to mountain ridges, from abundant traces of a multi-millennial civilization to futuristic skyscrapers and oil rigs.

As recent history has dramatically shown, these countries are inhabited by markedly different, deeply divided populations. Furthermore, all three of course still have a complicated relationship with their gigantic neighbor, Russia, which shares a border with both Georgia and Azerbaijan – with some unsolved uncertainties especially with the former, as shown in the cases of the contended territories of Abkhazia and Ossetia. On the other hand, Armenia is historically at loggerheads with Turkey, with which it shares a long – and impenetrable – border.

The three Caucasian nations have suffered the influence of stronger powers for ages. Constant clashes between Czar’s Russia and the Turks meant the loss of independence for long. As a matter of fact, both today’s Georgia and Azerbaijan where under Russia, and Armenia under the Turks, when WWI broke out. Soon after the war, short-lived independent nations were extirpated by the deadly action of the communist Bolsheviks, invading from Russia. The three Caucasian nations were forcibly incorporated in the Soviet Union, creating an artificial, uncomfortable friendship between each other and with Russia.

For roughly seven decades the three nations were on the southern border of the USSR, sharing a frontier with Turkey and Persia (later Iran). Turkey collaborated with the Third Reich in WWII, and later joined NATO, hosting – as it still does today – Western military forces on its territory. That border with the USSR was very active in the Cold War years. Aerial espionage missions were flown by the US from Turkey, ballistic missiles were installed, gigantic radar plants were put in place by the Soviets, who also manufactured MiGs in the outskirts of the Georgian capital – really a hot region in the Cold War!

As soon as the Soviet power started to creak at the very end of the 1980s, national movements faced again, eventually leading to the birth of independent nations as we know them today. This was not without a deadly struggle however, as for the case of Azerbaijan, mostly relevant for its oil reserves and the border with Iran. Furthermore, religious and cultural differences and unsolved disputes over the actual borders among each other meant that these three nations were never friends over the last three decades.

Besides this complicated geopolitical inheritance, the long-lasting Soviet tenancy of the three Caucasian Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) left traces, of course. Some highlights among the architectural leftovers of Soviet times are presented in this post, from all three Republics. Monuments, from Soviet times, or celebrating independence from the Soviets, are similarly included. Further traces are preserved in museums – military museums dating from the Soviet era, like in Gori (Stalin’s birth town in Georgia, see this post) and Yerevan, history museums like in Baku and Tbilisi, or collections of artifacts from Soviet times, like the world-class Auto-Museum next to the airport in Tbilisi.

Photographs are from a long visit to the Caucasus in summer 2019.

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Sights in Armenia

Republic Square, Yerevan

A fine example of Soviet-times architecture, Republic Square – originally named Lenin’s Square – was designed in the mid-1920s, soon after the creation of the USSR, and was actually built little by little, reaching completion in the 1970s. It is a great example of Soviet-classicism, contaminated by some Armenian motifs – Armenia boasts an original architectural school originating several centuries ago, and particularly evident in medieval Armenian churches.

The focal point, once a statue of Lenin at the center of the square and pulled down in the 1990s, is possibly the front facade of the rich History Museum of Armenia, in a pale color and openly recalling the lines of the beautiful monasteries to be found in the country.

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist Republic square – Armenia

Besides the museum building, fronted by a huge fountain, the oval shaped square is defined by four more buildings, coordinated in terms of volumes and colors. The frieze on some of the buildings is centered on the usual Soviet iconography – five-pointed stars, sickles, harvest, …

The easternmost building with a clock tower used to be the seat of the government of the Armenian SSR, and is now the palace of the Armenian Government.

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist Republic square – Armenia

The westernmost building was designed, and still is, a hotel.

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist Republic square – Armenia

At night, they regularly offer a nice show with music, lights and water games.

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist Republic square – Armenia

Visiting

Centrally located in Yerevan, you can reach this place in several ways. You probably won’t miss it if traveling to the Armenian capital city. Just note that parking is not possible on the square.

Cascade, Yerevan

A large – better, a monster-size… – stairway, climbing uphill from central Yerevan to a residential uptown neighborhood, was designed in the early 1970s and built in two stages, both in the 1970s and in the 2000s.

Yerevan weird architecture – Armenia

The stairway is interrupted by platforms, with sculptures and fountains, which make it look pretty irregular and full of details to discover.

Yerevan weird architecture – Armenia

Access to the famous Cafesjian Museum is along the stairway.

As of 2021, the complex is unfinished, still missing a planned building on top. The stairway offers a beautiful view of Yerevan, basically in its entirety. The panorama reaches to Turkey and mount Ararat.

Yerevan weird architecture – Armenia

Visiting

This is a highlight in town you won’t probably miss. A climb with a taxi to the top is recommended, descending the stairway instead of climbing it, especially on torrid summer days.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park, Yerevan

A unique sight in the former SSRs of the Caucasian area, the Mother Armenia statute is a typical relic of the Cold War, like you can find elsewhere in Russia or more rarely in the Soviet satellite countries of Eastern Europe.

The statue was born as a commemorative monument for the effort of the Armenian SSR in the Great Patriotic War. Having been designed soon after WWII, when Stalin was still the leader of the USSR, the monument was pretty different from now – a huge statue of Stalin used to stand on top of the huge pillar! This was removed in the early 1960s, being swapped with a nicer statue resembling an Armenian young woman, and titled ‘Mother Armenia’.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

The base of the monument features a few decorations, based on typical Soviet iconography.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

Around the monument, in what is called Victory Park, a few specimens of Soviet military technology are there to see. These include a few tanks, missiles and aircraft.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

Ahead of the monument, an eternal flame is still lighted today (invisible in the pics due to the extreme sunlight). A majestic perspective leads to a balcony, from where you can enjoy a nice view of the Armenian capital city.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

Armenia & Yerevan

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

The base of the statue is home to a war museum, conceived in Soviet times, and later updated with documents over the most recent Armenian war actions.

The latter, including the countless clashes with Azerbaijan and Turkey, are documented on the much visited ground floor, besides the main hall.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

A part on the same floor is dedicated to the actions of soldiers from the Armenian SSR in Soviet times, and more generally to the Cold War period.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

Little or no attention is devoted by visitors to the rich collection on the underground floor, mostly centered on the actions of the Red Army against Hitler’s Wehrmacht in WWII.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

Here the exhibition is very rich of relics from both the German and Russian sides, including weapons, papers, uniforms, … Several maps retrace the epic battles and actions, leading to the defeat of the German military machine.

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

Portraits of generals, insignia and mottoes in Russians, not limited to the actions in WWII, relive the genuine ‘Soviet remembrance’ feeling, to be appreciated also in similar museums like in Kiev (see here) or Moscow (see here).

Mother Armenia & Victory Park – Soviet Military Museum, Yerevan, Armenia

Visiting

Reaching Victory Park, where the monument is immersed, is easy with a taxi, or climbing uphill from downtown on top of the Cascade described previously. Visiting inside the monument is totally recommended for curious visitors, war history enthusiast and similar folks. Nothing can be found in a western language. A visit of about 45 minutes may suffice for a rich overview of the inside exhibition.

Railway Station, Matenadaran, Opera Theater & Other buildings in town, Yerevan

Soon after its annexation to the USSR, Armenia started receiving many prototypical items of Soviet architecture. However, like in the case of Republic Square (see above), some buildings were designed by local architects, including elements of traditional Armenian style.

A typically Soviet building in Yerevan is the Railway Station, dating from the 1950s, still featuring the emblem of the Armenian SSR on top of a tall spine, and double Russian/Armenian signs on top.

Erevan Soviet-style stalinist railway station with emblem – Armenia

An example of a blend between Armenian architecture and Soviet ‘magnificence’ is constituted by the Matenadaran, designed soon after WWII (Stalin’s era), to host a unique world-class collection of ancient books and papers.

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist buildings – Armenia

This enigmatic building, despite of course imposing, is definitely not the usual Soviet ‘monster block’ like other museums elsewhere in Soviet capital cities.

Similarly peculiar is the Opera Theater, dating back again to the years of Stalin. Soviet pomp is scaled down to Armenian proportions, and the color of local stone makes the outcome different from buildings with a similar function in other communist capital cities.

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist buildings – Armenia

Other examples of Soviet buildings can be found scattered in downtown Yerevan, which is generally speaking a nice-looking, neat city center. These include residential buildings, as well as hotels and more.

Yerevan weird architecture – Armenia

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist buildings – Armenia

Even for more recent low-level, purely-‘communist style’ blocks, they put some effort in reducing the inevitable impact of these bulky constructions.

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist buildings – Armenia

Yerevan weird architecture – Armenia

Yerevan Soviet-style stalinist buildings – Armenia

Visiting

With the exception of the railway station, located south of the city center, all sights just cited can be found in the very center of Yerevan, at a walking distance from one another, highlights along a nice stroll in the area.

Mikoyan Brothers Museum, Alaverdi

Besides the gorgeous monasteries gracing the area of Sanahin, in the northernmost part of Armenia, an unmissable destination in the area for seekers of Soviet relics and aviation enthusiasts is the home of the two Mikoyan brothers.

For aviation connoisseurs, the name ‘Mikoyan’ is one of the most prominent – the ‘M’ in the acronym ‘MiG’ being borrowed from the surname of Artem Mikoyan. This marvelous aircraft designer, whose design bureau grew to top fame in the Cold War period, created with his designs the backbone of the fighter force of the USSR and all its Eastern Bloc satellites. Some of his models have been manufactured in the highest numbers in aviation history, and have served in the Air Forces of the world for several decades. The firm remained alive well after the collapse of the USSR, until the (Russian) state-imposed incorporation of several aircraft design bureaus in a single conglomerate, in the early 2000s.

Possibly less-known today, but a really prominent personality in his era, and perhaps even more influential in recent history than his brother, was Anastas Mikoyan. This was a member of the Soviet Politburo since its foundation in the years of the civil war following the communist revolution in 1917, until 1965 – i.e. managing to stay on top for the entire length of Stalin’s and Khrushchev’s reigns, and resigning only some time after Brezhnev had taken the lead. He over-viewed production in the USSR, acted as an emissary to the US and Cuba in the years of the Kennedy administration, and especially during the missile crisis in 1962.

The two Mikoyan brothers were born in the small mountainous town of Alaverdi, Armenia, where a monument and museum was created back in Soviet times to commemorate their achievements.

The most notable feature, really an unexpected view in this mountain town, is a MiG-21 placed under a concrete canopy, with inscriptions nearby. This supersonic fighter is a true icon of the Cold War, and of course a good way to commemorate Artem Mikoyan’s contribution to aviation history.

Mikoyan MiG memorial – Alaverdi, Armenia

The museum is housed in a small building, where visiting is with a guide (English speaking) and photography forbidden and impossible. Several artifacts, pictures and papers unfold the life of the two brothers, since their birth in this village until their respective rise to prominence and success.

An old Soviet car, likely belonging to one of the two (unclear), can be found in an adjoining building.

Mikoyan MiG memorial – Alaverdi, Armenia

Despite a primary touristic destination, the area around Alaverdi and the town itself is (as of 2019) a prototype of post-Soviet decay, with a monster-size, partly abandoned factory building dominating the valley, and old-fashioned, shabby working-class blocks scattered along a road in poor conditions, where buses dating back to the Soviet middle-ages move people around.

Mikoyan MiG memorial – Alaverdi, Armenia

Visiting

Visiting the museum is recommended for all aviation enthusiasts and for those interested in the Cold War. The town is a tourist destination thanks to the beautiful monasteries. The museum and monument can be visited in less than 1 hour by a committed visitor.

Sights in Azerbaijan

Museum Center, Baku

One of the few prominent remains of Soviet Baku, the Museum Center has taken over the former building of the Lenin Museum, born in the the early 1960s to celebrate the achievements of communism in the USSR (?).

Today this relatively small building hosts several institutions, including a museum on the history of Azerbaijan. The latter includes many pics and smaller artifacts from older and more recent history. Among them, mock-ups of the famous statues in Berlin-Treptow (see here) as well as the one in Volgograd can be found. The museum covers also the contribution to the history of the country made by the influential Heydar Aliyev, a former member of the Soviet Politburo and first president of newborn Azerbaijan.

Baku Museum Center Lenin Soviet Communist architecture, Azerbaijan

However, the Soviet roots of the building are clearly visible in the details of parts of the decoration, which include hammer and sickles on the facade as well as inside. The Soviet-neoclassic architecture of the exterior, and some evident miscalculations in the size of the stairs inside (the ceiling is embarrassingly low!), are other distinctive features of communist design.

Baku Museum Center Lenin Soviet Communist architecture, Azerbaijan

Visiting

Centrally located along the nice seaside park, this museum is worth a visit for the small art collection and for the history exhibit. Visiting may take about 45 minutes for the committed visitor.

Martyrs’ Lane and Shehidlar Monument, Baku

Despite not dating to the Cold War, this monument is strongly bound to the Soviet impact on the history of Azerbaijan – in particular, to the victims of Soviet military actions.

The annexation of Azerbaijan by hand of the Bolsheviks was fiercely opposed by the population, and many lost their lives trying to stop the attack of the communists. A first memorial for them was erected here, wiped out soon after when the Bolsheviks finally gained control of the area.

A small monument from Soviet time can be seen in the area, from the time of WWII.

Shahidlar monument, Baku, Azerbaijan

A more recent episode in the closing stages of the Cold war, largely forgotten in the West, was the brief but bloody war fought by Azerbaijan against the agonizing USSR, which militarily invaded the region of Baku to prevent secession. Many were killed in the so-called Black January of 1990.

Today’s monument, made of an alley with graves and an eternal flame, is rather scenic but not excessively pompous.

Shahidlar monument, Baku, Azerbaijan

The location is really gorgeous, with a stunning view of Baku and the gulf in the Caspian Sea, as well as of the iconic Flame Towers.

Shahidlar monument, Baku, Azerbaijan

Visiting

Reaching is easy with the funicular starting from downtown Baku. Highly recommended for both the significance of the place and for the panorama.

House of Soviets & Other buildings

The government of the Azerbaijan SSR operated from a stately building, designed in a purely Soviet formal style, and completed under Stalin after WWII. A statue of Lenin originally ahead of the building was demolished following the independence war in 1990 and the secession from the USSR. The building still retains an official role, hosting some ministries of Azerbaijan.

In the peripheries of the pretty big town of Baku, more typically Soviet alleys, architectures… and cars can be easily found. These are in striking contrast with the hyper-futuristic architectures of the big central district, dominated by the iconic Flame Towers.

Shahidlar monument, Baku, Azerbaijan

Visiting

The House of the Soviets, now Government House, can be found in central Baku, along the nice seashore garden. For touring the outskirts of Baku, rich of interesting touristic destinations, a full-service taxi or a car rental are advised.

Sights in Georgia

Georgian Parliament Building, Tbilisi

The Parliament of Georgia was designed and built under Stalin, starting in the 1930s, as the seat of the government of the Georgian SSR. The formal appearance of the front facade is typically Soviet. A now empty medallion on top of the facade used to display the emblem of the SSR. This was destroyed following the clashes against the agonizing USSR which led to the independence of Georgia in 1991-92.

Visiting

A look to the outside is easy to take walking along very popular Shota Rustaveli avenue, a short walk from Liberty Square (formerly Lenin’s Square).

Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi

This world-class museum is dedicated to the history of the Georgian culture, and displays invaluable artifacts dating from all ages.

A small but pretty rich hall is dedicated to the bloody invasion of the Bolsheviks in 1921, which quickly destroyed the short-lived independent Georgian state. This had been created following the collapse of the Czarist empire as a result of WWI and the ensuing revolution/civil war in Russia.

The communist invaders did not waste any time, and openly persecuted all political opponents, quickly imprisoning and killing many in more instances.

The exhibition is centered on documents on both the sides of the independence movement and the invading communists.

Georgian National Museum - Soviet Section, Tbilisi, Georgia

Artifacts from the quick and bloody war of 1921 are on display, including guns, insignia, and more. The setting of the shooting of political opponents in a prison (similar to the one you can see in the KGB house in Riga, Latvia, see here) is reconstructed.

A particularly striking memorial is constituted by a train truck used for mass execution – bullet holes are clearly visible.

Visiting

Anybody with an interest in Georgian culture will hardly miss this wonderful museum. Visiting the hall dedicated to the communist attack and the installation of a Soviet dictatorship will take just a part of the overall time devoted to the visit. The place is centrally located in front of the Parliament Building.

Mother of Georgia Statue & More buildings, Tbilisi

Georgia has got rid of most Soviet relics as quickly as possible. Elusive traces of Soviet architecture remain especially in Tbilisi. This gracious town is not dominated by any Soviet monstrosity, and with the exception of the Parliament Building (see above), buildings dating to the years of Soviet tenancy are blended among older and more modern ones, luckily sparing the town from the typical post-Soviet ghost aura.

The very central Lenin Square has been renamed into Independence Square, when the statue of Lenin gave way to that of St. George.

A nice addition from Soviet times is the Statue of Mother Georgia, from the late 1950s. The idea of gigantic statues was pretty popular in the Soviet Union and other communist countries, like Yugoslavia (see here). However, the nationalistic inspiration of Mother Georgia meant it was not torn down when the Nation gained independence.

A few buildings and decorations from Soviet times can still be found in Tbilisi – side by side with futuristic ones – as well as many cars from the Cold War era!

Batumi

A thriving holiday destination on the Black Sea, closely resembling Miami Beach, the contrast between old-Soviet and novel American-style buildings is sometimes striking in Batumi. International hotels are there side-by-side with old monster apartment blocks from Soviet times, now less visible thanks to the application of some architectural cosmetics.

The town is very lively and enjoyable, as a result of a serious effort to make it an international-level seashore location. Even Donald Trump has been reportedly involved for a while in the construction of a resort on site!

Besides older buildings, some from before the Soviet era, as well as some small-scale Soviet-style monuments are still there. Only rare examples of really shabby Brezhneva (‘Brezhnev-era housing’) can be found in more peripheral areas.

A former port town of the Czar, Batumi was the target of the young communist Stalin, who preached to the workers of the port, spreading the word of Marx in the early 1900s.

Visiting

A visit to Batumi may be for the nightlife, for the sea, or for the Gonio Fortress nearby. The place can be reached directly by plane, car or train.

Kutaisi

The central square of Kutaisi, the second largest town in Georgia and the seat of the Parliament, is centered around the Colchis Fountain, designed in a style similar to that of Mother of Georgia in Tbilisi (see above).

Around the square, the Drama Theater and an adjoining building are clearly built in a Soviet formal style.

Visiting

Easily reachable, the ancient town of Kutaisi may be visited for the many historical and natural attractions in town and around. It is totally easy to reach by plane, train or car.

Borjomi

The name ‘Borjomi’ is known everywhere in the territory of the former USSR, thanks to the water springs in town. The water label ‘Borjomi’ is still today the perfect analogous of ‘Perrier’ or ‘San Pellegrino’ for the western world, meaning a top-quality sparkling water.

Actually, this natural spring was discovered when Georgia was part of the Russian Empire, when Russian soldiers fighting against the Turks were mysteriously healed from some belly sickness while stationed in the area. The place became famous all over Russia for the its springs. A railway was put in place to connect Borjomi to the rest of the Empire, and famous personalities like Tchaikovsky are celebrated among the illustrious visitors to this nice location in the mountains. This town is still today a popular destination for vacation, with top-level hotels, a theme park, and much nature around to be explored.

Besides some older buildings, dating from before the Soviet era, some others are typically Russian style, like the railway station. Original timetables in Russian are still on display.

Look at this pic from an old Soviet base in the former DDR, to see the name ‘Borjomi’ among the railway stops in Soviet times!

Visiting

Reaching secluded Borjomi is not difficult by train or car from Tbilisi, or from nearby Gori.

Great Patriotic War Museum, Gori

Besides Stalin’s birthplace and the corresponding museum (see this dedicated post), for more curious visitors many memorabilia items, documents and artifacts can be found in Gori, in a museum dedicated to the Great Patriotic War (i.e. WWII for the Soviets). A scaled-down museum totally like the one in Kiev or Moscow (see here and here respectively), this exhibition is centered on the role of the Georgian SSR in the fight against Hitler’s Wehrmacht during WWII.

Great Patriotic War Museum Soviet Red Army, Gori Georgia

Many documents and photographs make this exhibition very lively.

Rare German relics are displayed in dedicated cases.

Similarly interesting are various artifacts from WWII and the Cold War.

The local hero – Stalin – is of course celebrated with a dedicated wall sculpture, photographs, and more.

A part of the museum is actually a memorial.

The museum has been more recently updated, with some displays concerning the most recent actions of the Georgian Army.

A large commemoration monument from Soviet times, slightly modified after independence, can be found outside the museum, making it noticeable when passing by.

Visiting

This small but interesting museum is located at a minimal walking distance from Stalin’s birth house, but it is a separate entity from it. It can be easily found at the southern tip of the garden leading to Stalin’s house. The entrance can be spotted thanks to the wall monument ahead of it.

Tbilisi Automuseum, Tbilisi

A full immersion in the history of automobiles of the Eastern Bloc! This museum is a true must for 4-wheels enthusiasts. The collection is hosted in two hangars.

The larger one is stuffed with cars from several decades of the Cold War timeline.

Older Soviet cars from Stalin’s era sit side-by-side with more modern Chaikas.

Tbilisi AutoMuseum Georgia Soviet Cars Collection

Not only stately ‘official’ cars, unreachable for the general public, are on display.

Tbilisi AutoMuseum Georgia Soviet Cars Collection

Smaller Ladas and Zil, often license-built Russian versions of Italian FIAT cars, can be found – some in the colors of the Police or other services.

Tbilisi AutoMuseum Georgia Soviet Cars Collection

At the time of visiting (2019) at least one original Soviet Pobeda car could be boarded!

Tbilisi AutoMuseum Georgia Soviet Cars Collection

The second hangar hosts a few light military vehicles, and some motorcycles.

Tbilisi AutoMuseum Georgia Soviet Cars Collection

Visiting

Visiting this museum is definitely recommended for car enthusiast, Cold War fanatics and alike. Easy to reach with a car or by taxi, moving from downtown in the direction of the airport. Totally worth a detour from Tbilisi city center. Don’t be discouraged by the ‘industrial’ setting around when approaching this elusive location. The place is polished, and managed like a regular museum. Website here.

Traces of the Cold War in Western Poland

March 14, 2021 CarloRLeave a comment

The western part of Poland, today on the border with Germany, used to be largely part of the German Reich before WWI. Following the defeat of the central empires in 1918, the borders of Poland were partly redrawn, but with respect to today’s political map of Europe a large territory of what is today western Poland was still German. Most notably, the Baltic town of Gdansk (or Danzig, in German) was the port town of Poland in the interwar period, linked through a narrow corridor to the main inland region of that country. The severing of this link and the attack on Gdansk by Hitler’s forces in late summer 1939 was the first act of WWII.

With this map in mind, it is no surprise that most towns in the Polish region on the Baltic shoreline, and south to the border with today’s Czechia, are pointed with former Luftwaffe airbases, German made concrete bunkers and coastal guns similar to the Atlantic Wall (see this post for an idea). As a matter of fact, also the remarkable border forts of Czechia were put in place in the 1930s to counter warlike Hitler’s Third Reich on the other side of the border, not Poland, today bordering Czechia to the north (see this post).

Western Poland was swept by Stalin’s Red Army in the closing season of WWII in winter and spring of 1945. Soon after WWII, Poland had its borders this time totally redrawn. A new big communist state was created in central Europe, which to the uttermost delusion of the fierce local population, was basically a feud of the USSR – actually, the largest and most populated of the countries in the Eastern Bloc.

Just like any other country in Moscow’s suffocating embrace, Poland was strongly militarized. The armed forces of Poland were among the most developed branches of the Polish state, but this was just a part of the overall picture. As soon as the former Allied forces of WWII split, and the USSR became an undeclared enemy of Western democracies in the late 1940s, a strategic Soviet force was installed in Poland, taking over many formerly German military assets in the western region. The Northern Group of Forces was the name of the branch of Soviet military deployed to Poland.

As the strategy for a war in Europe envisaged by the Soviets was based on a kind of nuclear-assisted blitzkrieg-style westward push from the border between the Eastern and Western Blocs, the westernmost regions of the Soviet satellite countries on the border with the west were the most heavily reinforced. These included all the territory of the strongly Soviet-presided German Democratic Republic (see for instance this and this post, but there are really many on this topic on this website, and a dedicated book as well!), western Poland, western Czechoslovakia (i.e. Czechia), and to a lesser extent also Hungary (see for instance here) and Bulgaria.

Traces of the Cold War are very abundant in Poland, where they have received a generally greater attention in later times than in other former communist dictatorships, with some good examples of preservation, besides an array of inevitably abandoned and rotting facilities. These traces include both Polish and Soviet relics.

Some conspicuous Cold War leftovers in Poland have been described in this post, a brilliant example of preservation of a nuclear bunker, and also here. In this one, some more are shown, either preserved or abandoned, Soviet or Polish. They include the abandoned Soviet command bunker in Legnica, the partly abandoned Soviet airbases of Chojna and Kolbrzeg, the Museum of the Polish Artillery in Torun, the Polish command bunker on the island of Wolin (‘Vineta Battery’) and the one-of-a-kind nuclear fallout control bunker in Kalisz. The war cemetery in the fortress of Poznan is also portrayed as a special feature – a unique testimony of the dramatic history of Poland in the 20th century.

Photographs are from a trip to the area in 2020.

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Soviet Northern Group of Forces Command Bunker, Legnica
Chojna Abandoned Soviet Airbase
Kolobrzeg Abandoned Soviet Airbase
Museum of Artillery, Torun
Nuclear Fallout Control Bunker, Kalisz
Vineta Battery – Polish Army Command Bunker
Poznan War Cemetery & Soviet Memorial

Sights

Soviet Northern Group of Forces Command Bunker, Legnica

The role of the town of Legnica in Poland during the years of Soviet occupation was comparable to that of Wünsdorf in the German Democratic Republic (see this post). It was here that the Northern Group of Forces, i.e. the branch of the Red Army stationed in Poland, had its headquarters. Just like Wünsdorf, operations in Legnica could count on dedicated high-security facilities.

A complex of underground halls, connected by a network of tunnels, formed a nuclear-proof command and control center, capable of fully operating for more than a week without resupply from the outside world. Different from Wünsdorf, this extended network was prepared in the trees at a certain distance from the stately ‘official’ buildings of downtown Legnica, precisely west of the small village of Wilkocin.

The secret bunker in Wilkocin is actually formed by two separate items, once in the middle of an extensive fenced and strongly defended area, totally impenetrable and guarded by watchmen and watchdogs.

The western item, isolated in the sand dunes typical of this area, yet actually not far from the village of Wilkocin, was partly visible from the surface. The codename of this installation was ‘Syrius’, and it was a reserve command post for the western war theater, i.e. the war in central Europe, to be fought along the border with NATO forces, in case the Cold War should have turned ‘hot’.

A group of apparently normal buildings form the visible part of this complex. The latter might have been more numerous, and perhaps demolition works have stricken in the recent past – the site is basically abandoned since the early 1990s when the Soviets quit. Traces of colored floor tiles, electric wires with voltage indications in Russian – many items recall more or less explicitly the Soviet tenancy of this place.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

A small water tank/pool and some service buildings can be found in the area at the base of the low-rise mound where the biggest building of the complex is.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Traces of the original camouflage can be seen still today on the walls. Also the building date – 1983, a relatively recent date – is clearly reported on a sidewall.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The invisible, underground part of this complex can be accessed from small hatches, surfacing all around the main building, and even inside it – albeit the latter have been obstructed for safety, since the building is really rotting.

The underground part of the complex is basically made of a long straight corridor, giving access to an array of halls placed at a 90 degrees angle with respect to it. These halls vary in size. Some of them are really small, and were possibly intended for storing supplies, for sleeping stationing troops, or as technical rooms.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Traces of direction signs in Russian can be seen on the walls.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Some of these smaller halls are also interconnected, creating a kind of labyrinth. Tight doors were likely installed between adjoining rooms. They are gone now, but the passages between the rooms in the bunker are very small and make moving around difficult.

Not all of the halls were on the same level, so stairs can be found here and there.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

To the far end of the main corridor, a much larger hall greatly resembles the military air control center in Wünsdorf, perhaps its intended purpose in the days of operations.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Behind this larger hall, technical rooms might have been designed for gear to support control and monitoring operations – computers, projectors, etc. A long tunnel takes you outside directly from this area.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Back inside, the main corridor ends in a descending flight of stairs, giving access to another roomy hall. There used to be (likely) a massive tight door here, as suggested by traces in the walls.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

This final hall is rather peculiar, having a kind of smaller control cabin in it.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

From the outside, the cusp profile of the latter hall surfaces from the side of a hill, taking the shape of a hangar with two entrances – possibly a garage for radars or antennas, linked and providing data to the adjoining hall, likely a control room.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

A walk of about 1 mile to the southeast of the first item takes you to the second bunker in the secluded area of Wilkocin. Codenamed ‘Tuman’ (meaning ‘fog’ in Russian) in Soviet times, this was the central communication node of the Northern Group of Forces. Differently to the ‘Syrius’ item, this second facility was built totally underground.

The only surfacing components are an array of bulky but relatively small concrete constructions, possibly the base for electric/electronic gear like aerials, capacitors, or something alike.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Concrete hatches give access to very steep, narrow and long staircases, taking you down into the core of the hill.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The ‘Tuman’ item is basically articulated along two long parallel corridors, with halls between them.

The function of the halls is today hard to guess. Some unusual features, maybe associated to the original role of the corresponding rooms, are the different, often bright colors of the walls and ceiling, ranging from orange, to lurid green, to sooth black.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

In some spots, the pavement is covered with ‘elaborated’ tiles, unexpected in an underground military facility.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Traces of hardware are relatively few, and include a few lamps, metal pipes emerging from the walls, and some cabinets with writing in Russian.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The numerous interconnections between the halls, tunnels and passages in this bunker result in a very complicated labyrinth!

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The majority of the halls are similar in structure. A couple are roomier and feature a significantly taller ceiling.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

The sand of the dunes outside has somehow managed to come in one of the halls!

The secluded location of these mysterious and silent bunkers, isolated deep in the trees and far from any populated settlement, makes for a very thought-provoking walk.

Legnica Poland Soviet Command Post Underground Bunker North Group of Forces

Getting there and moving around

This site is an interesting example of ‘semi-wild’ conservation. It is advertised by means of dedicated explanatory panels in the village of Wilkocin, and can be reached leaving your car there and taking well-maintained trails to the two items. Actually, both bunkers are also sanctuaries for bats. Once there, you can explore the underground networks without restrictions, and modern emergency exit routes are also visible on the walls. However, the tunnels and halls are completely dark, and there is no map. Visiting is at your own risk. So a torchlight and a good sense of direction are required if you are visiting alone. Yet given the limited size of these bunkers and the many exits, you are not likely to run into any trouble. In my view, this is a good compromise for interested people to visit these historically relevant installations, which are not being demolished, but left to interested people without spending a cent of public money to preserve them.

Due to the size of the area and the walk required to reach the points of interest from the parking in Wilkocin, you might easily spend 4 hours exploring this site thoroughly. Due to the location, pretty far from everything, it is likely you will not meet a single person for the whole duration of your stay – this may add much to the ghost aura of the place. Cell phone coverage is so-so, and obviously null inside the bunkers. You might better go with some offline maps (Google maps of the area are fine, as you are not required to move out of technical roads, clearly visible from satellite pictures).

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Airbase

The western districts of Poland hosted basically all Soviet airbases to be found on the territory of this country. This was clearly connected with the strategy of the USSR in case of a war in Europe. Having most offensive forces ready for action along the border with the West meant a significant time advantage in the quick invasion of core Europe and the rush to the North sea, which were in the plans of the top-ranking military in Moscow in case of an outbreak of hostilities.

Actually, the Soviets did not have trouble in finding suitable locations for growing modern airbases in this area – the Luftwaffe had in this district an outstanding number of airfields. Chojna, known as Königsberg before 1945, was one of them.

The Soviets took control of this airport in February 1945, and since them it became one of the most developed in Poland. Today, the airport is basically closed except for minor ultralight operations. However, its original size and prominence can be appreciated moving around its premises – today possible, as the former taxiways and service roads have been turned into car traffic roads, albeit not much used except by the local companies who have taken over some of the original hangars.

Among the many interesting sights of this former airbase, the runway is – as of 2020 – basically intact! This makes for a very unusual and impressive sight – the length of the runway is remarkable, since the airbase was potentiated over the years, and in the closing stage of the Cold War, the Soviets operated from here with massive Sukhoi Su-27 fighters (late 1980s).

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

Differently from western standards, the Soviets always preferred runway surfaces made of relatively small adjoining concrete slabs.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

In connection with the operation of larger fighters, in the form of Su-27, Chojna was one of a handful airbases in the Soviet empire to receive the AU-19 type shelter, the biggest in the inventory of the Soviet air forces.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

Only a few of these hangars were built, and today some of them in Chojna have been sadly demolished.

Along the main taxiway running parallel to the runway, smaller AU-11 shelters can be found – their size being compatible with MiG-15 or MiG-21, both types operating from Chojna over the years – converted for storage by local companies or private owners.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

A larger maintenance hangar has been taken over by a major engineering company.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

Another remarkable feature of Chojna is a well preserved ‘Granit’-type bunker. This type of bunker was the lightest and cheapest in the Soviet inventory. It could serve different functions, from theater missile storage, tactical nuclear ordnance storage, reinforced command bunker, etc.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

The actual function of the bunker in Chojna is shrouded into mystery, but similar bunkers can be found in association with tactical nuclear deterrent in Poland (see this post). This might suggest the presence of air-dropped nuclear weapons in this airbase, at some point in history.

Chojna Abandoned Soviet Air Base Poland

Despite too populated and lively to evoke a thick Soviet ghost aura (unlike several bases in the GDR, see for instance this post), Chojna is definitely worth a quick visit for the many unique spots it still offers, as well as for the ease of touring it moving around by car.

Getting there and moving around

Chojna is pretty close to the German border, some 30 miles south of Szczecin. The airbase is located south of the town, with now public roads providing access from the former Soviet village originally for the troops, today normally inhabited by the local population. A visit of less than one hour may cover most of the spots. The ‘Granit’-type bunker can be found in the south-western corner area of the base, with access just south of the western extremity of the runway.

Kolobrzeg Abandoned Soviet Airbase

The airport of Kolbrzeg is actually not really abandoned. Originally a Third Reich’s Luftwaffe installation, the Soviets took over this airfield, located right on the Baltic shoreline, potentiating it through a much longer runway, and turning the original German one into a taxiway and apron.

Today, the long Soviet runway is still used for general aviation operations, with private Cessna and Cirrus aircraft flying to this touristic location.

Kolobrzeg Soviet Airbase Poland

However, the airport was too big for the traffic it needs to support today. Hence large parts of the former area have been opened to public car traffic, and abandoned shelters from Soviet tenancy can be found scattered around.

The area of the apron, with large concrete slabs making the pavement, can be freely walked and allows to appreciate the big size of this air base.

Kolobrzeg Soviet Airbase Poland

Part of the original technical hangars, likely dating back to Hitler’s era, have been re-used by local companies.

Kolobrzeg Soviet Airbase Poland

Similar to Chojna (see above), Kolobrzeg once had a ‘Granit’-type bunker built on its premises. Unfortunately, this was selected for demolition, and nothing remains of it today.

Kolobrzeg Soviet Airbase Poland

Getting there and moving around

The airport of Kolobrzeg can be found about 3 miles east of the village, along the Baltic shoreline. The former German-then-Soviet village is today a tourist destination (name Podczele), thanks to the proximity with the beach. You may have a quick visit by car to the airport area, moving along the old Soviet taxiways, before parking on the former apron and going to the beach.

Museum of Artillery, Torun

Just east of remarkable UNESCO-town Torun, the small collection of the Museum of Artillery makes for an interesting detour from the touristic path. This museums occupies the westernmost building of the School of Artillery of the Polish Army, still active today.

The collection is clearly centered mainly on artillery, documenting the history and potential of this branch of the military with an interesting collection of shells, fuzes, warheads, cannons, howitzers and firearms mostly from the 20th century and up to our days.

Museum of Artillery Torun Poland

Being a Soviet satellite for the whole duration of the Cold War, Poland received war material made in the USSR in large lots. Among the artifacts on display, didactic cutouts of Soviet warheads from theater missiles are extremely interesting.

A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

The БАРС system – The tropospheric network of the Warsaw Pact

The Wollenberg site – Bunker 301 ‘Tushurka’

Sights

Getting there & Visiting

A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

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Sights

Seelow

Getting there and visiting

Lebus

Getting there and visiting

Baruth

Getting there and visiting

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History – In brief

Soviet Nuclear Depots in Czechoslovakia

Sights

Javor 51 – The Atom Museum, Míšov

Getting there and visiting

Javor 52 – Bělá pod Bezdězem

Getting there and moving around

Javor 50 – Bílina – Quick note

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A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

Sights

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Shelter Albrecht

Getting there and Visiting

Granit Bunker and Hangars in Jüterbog/Altes Lager

Getting there and Visiting

Military Hospital

Getting there and Moving around

Soviet Cemetery

Getting there and Visiting

Railway Yard, School and Command Building

Getting there and Moving around

Soviet Ghosts in Germany

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A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

Sights

Computer Bunker

Command Bunker

Technical Bunker

Intelligence Bunker

Museum Bunker

Getting there and Visiting

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Sights

Sighet Prison, Sighetu Marmatiei

Visiting

Museum of the Communist Consumer, Timisoara

Visiting

Museum of Communism, Hunedoara

Visiting

Ceausescu Trial and Shooting Place, Targoviste

Visiting

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Armenia

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Sights in Armenia

Republic Square, Yerevan

Visiting

Cascade, Yerevan

Visiting

Mother Armenia & Victory Park, Yerevan

Visiting

Railway Station, Matenadaran, Opera Theater & Other buildings in town, Yerevan

Visiting

Mikoyan Brothers Museum, Alaverdi

Visiting

Sights in Azerbaijan

Museum Center, Baku