The central role taken by Britain in WWII, firstly containing and then countering the expansion of the Third Reich, is duly and proudly celebrated all around the Country, with memorials and thematic exhibitions, often hosted in historical locations, regularly open for a visit.
The United Kingdom joined NATO as a founding member in 1949, and had already been at the forefront of a European anti-Soviet alliance with France since 1947. The strategic political and military ties with the US, pivotal in putting and end to WWII in Europe, were kept over the following decades, against the menace constituted by the Eastern Bloc. Thanks to its geographical position, and bolstering a nuclear arsenal, strategic bombers and submarines of its own, Britain was a major player of the Cold War.
Despite that, the Cold War left behind comparatively less memories than WWII, with only a handful installations open to the public, and somewhat out of the spotlight. In this regard, this reflects an attitude generally widespread in Europe towards the traces of the second half of the 20th century.
However, for people with an interest in the Cold War age, and more in general for those with a thing for (especially nuclear) warfare technology, there are two really unmissable sights in Northern England, which make for a vivid hands-on experience of the ‘era of Soviet threat’.
One is the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, with a fascinating history starting in WWII and spanning the entire duration of the Cold War. Here one of the finest collections of nuclear-war-related material in Europe can be found, together with much additional material from the era, in a largely preserved historical site.
Another is the York Cold War Bunker, built in the Cold War age to provide protection to the staff of the Royal Observation Corps (ROC) in case of a nuclear attack, as well as the ability to help coordinating fundamental public functions – health, transportation, food and energy supply, etc. – in a post-attack nuclear fallout scenario.
Both sites are regularly open for a visit, and provide a vivid testimony of civil and military plans and facilities seriously prepared in England for a nuclear apocalypse scenario.
The Hack Green site is located deep in the Cheshire countryside, about one hour driving south of Manchester. Actually, it is in a really secluded location, far from any sizable urban center, and away from major roads. Even today, when this facility is working as a top-level museum, some attention to the signs is needed to reach the site.
Once by the gate, you are immediately driven back in time by the appearance of the tall military-style external fence with official government signs, and by the blunt and in impenetrable appearance of the big concrete bunker – what you see is only the part above ground level! – with a big antenna protruding from the top. Nearby, you can see an apparently still off-limits area, with a now-dead radar antenna and an old Jet Provost trainer in RAF colors.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
History
The history of the Hack Green site dates to as back as WWII, when it was established as one of the 12 most developed Ground Controlled Intercept (GCI) centers, out of 21 total nodes in Britain. Essentially based on the airspace scanning radar plants available at the time, the so-constituted ‘Chain Home’ surveillance system was operated by the RAF, and intended to track intruding German aircraft, thus directing air force planes against them. Radar aerials appeared on site at the time, suitable against relatively slow moving propeller-driven aircraft of those years.
With the start of the Cold War, and the need to reconfigure the defense against the USSR and Warsaw Pact forces operating with jet-powered aircraft of increasing speed, several modernization plans were started in Britain, aimed at implementing more effective detection and threat-countering radar technology, like ‘Green Garlic’, and later ROTOR. The latter called for the institution of a chain of detection nodes, not much dissimilar in concept from the older ‘Chain Home’ of WWII, but much more articulated, efficient and technologically advanced. At the time one of the most expensive government-funded operations ever, 66 installations were implemented all over Britain within ROTOR before the mid 1950s, with different roles in the network. The bunker you see today on the Hack Green site was one of them.
Keeping up with the fast-developing offensive technology of the 1950s and 1960s required a continuous update of the defensive network, in particular asking for the addition of intercontinental missiles to the enemy arsenal to counter. The US-led ‘Ballistic Missile Early Warning System’ (BMEWS) included 12 early-warning radar stations around the Atlantic, including a single station in the UK (RAF Fylingdales, Yorkshire, still in operation today). Before BMEWS went operational (early 1960s), triggering a re-organization of all other defense radar systems by the time obsolete, Hack Green took an interim role as one of only 4 radar stations operated by the RAF monitoring all military and civilian traffic through the British airspace, coping with new fast jetliners. The name of the Hack Green radar site in that stage was ‘Mersey Radar North’. Finally, in 1966 the RAF released the site to the government, which put it in mothballed status.
It was in 1976 that a new life began for Hack Green. Starting in 1958, the Home Office invested much in the preparation of an emergency structure, capable of keeping of managing a post-nuclear attack scenario, and keeping the basic public functions active. In the event of a total nuclear war, a failure of the national hierarchy and military chain of command was forecast, as a result of an extensive damage to the infrastructures and communication systems. In order to recover as fast as possible in such an emergency, the UK would split in 11 regions, each with a regional seat of government (RSG). In the region, a civil Regional Commissioner would take a leading administrative role, and would be responsible for coordinating disaster recovery operations, like supplying medical resources, food, water, and reconstructing infrastructures, while waiting for the national government to reactivate its functions. The Commissioner would be aided by the UK Warning and Monitoring Organization (UKWMO), which took over the function and organization of the older Royal Observation Corps (ROC) established during WWII. This structure was further potentiated in the 1960s and 1970s, also introducing a similar regional scheme for the military in case of a nuclear attack.
The seat of the RSG was in the Regional Government Head Quarters (RGHQ). Following some years when it was hosted in Preston, then in Southport, north of Liverpool, the RGHQ for the 10th region (then 10:2, following a split in two halves of this large region) found its home in Hack Green. The former radar facility was potentiated enormously, and set up with the ability to host 160 civil and military staff for 3 months without resupply in case of a nuclear attack on the UK.
Within the framework of the emergency plan for a nuclear attack, the RGHQs all over the UK went on operating until the demise of the USSR in December 1991, to be soon deactivated over the following years. Hack Green was scrapped of all content, and put up for sale in 1993. It was privately acquired in the mid-1990s, and carefully restored in some parts, or being stocked with interesting material from the Cold War era in some of the many rooms.
A tour of the bunker
Access to the bunker is via a concrete slide, and through a metal gate. Originally the male civil servants dorm, the first room you meet is now a kind of storage for items recently incorporated in the collection. These include a jeep, a model of an Avro Shackleton, and interestingly a nuclear warhead. The original system to activate the rooftop antenna is in a cabinet along a sidewall.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
The ticket office and canteen are now in the original canteen area of the Hack Green site. Restored to a 1960s appearance, parts of the kitchen furniture are original from the site. Along the sidewalls are several memorabilia items, including some original Soviet emblems, not unusual today in museums on the other side of the Iron Curtain (see for instance here), but hard to find in the UK.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
An adjoining room reproduces the environment where the ROC would have worked in case of a drill or real nuclear attack. Among their function was the pinpointing of nuclear explosions. The forecast and monitoring of the fallout is strongly bound to the local weather and winds. This was kept under surveillance through reporting stations scattered on the UK territory (more than 1 thousand), which transmitted information to Hack Green and other RGHQ and UKWMO bunkers (see the York bunker later in this post). They could then coordinate recovery operations, avoiding extreme exposure to radiation of the emergency staff.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Monitoring was through dedicated sensors, and communication through specific transmission gear. Two display cases in the same room feature interesting instruments, training documents, and memorabilia items from the rich history of the ROC, documenting also their activities in WWII.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Ground floor
The Hack Green bunker largely retains its original arrangement. It is composed of a ground and an underground floor. Along the main corridors are interesting examples of the papers produced by the UKWMO, and by the civil defense service during the Cold War. Among them, are leaflets for the population, with best practices in case of a nuclear attack.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Also interesting are more technical posters from the era, either outlining the role of the public organizations monitoring a potential nuclear apocalypse scenario, or providing technical details on the effects of nuclear weapons – what to expect in terms of damage or health issues, depending on the type and local condition of a nuclear explosion.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
For sure a focal point in the exhibition of Hack Green today is the display of nuclear warheads, and nuclear-related material. Hosted in a room previously employed by emergency staff, the exhibition retraces with original material, mock-ups, rare pictures and videos, the history of the British nuclear arsenal, managed by the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE).
The WE177 was designed to constitute the backbone of the air-dropped nuclear deterrent of the UK. Examples of this bomb are on display together with technical material employed to monitor their status and manage launch or drills. In service between the 1960s and the 1990s in association with larger strategic bombers like the Vulcan, or smaller fighter-bombers like some versions of the Harrier or Jaguar, it could be assembled in some different versions, sharing the same baseline construction, but with nominal yields ranging between 10 to 450 kilotons.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Also on display are pictures and mock-ups of the old Polaris warhead, together with the original casing employed to transport this 200 kilotons item! A US design, the Polaris was acquired by the UK in 1963, to supply the Royal Navy and constitute the UK underwater deterrent. The Polaris missile featured a three-warheads fuse, bearing a total yield of 600 kilotons.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
A very rare artifact is the warhead of project Chevaline, a British design to improve the potential of the Polaris, which saw limited service with the Royal Navy in the 1980s. The Polaris/Chevaline was replaced by the Trident missile system, still employed today in the nuclear deterrent role.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Besides the central exhibition of nuclear warheads, the display cases in the same room offer a wealth of super-interesting technical gear and memorabilia related to nuclear weapons. These include components and cabinets of radio and radar systems, to be transported on board aircraft or to be employed on the ground. These parts come from different ages, and from several Countries, including the Eastern Bloc – for instance, a very rare Soviet suit to work on high-power radar antennas for maintenance. Powerful radars actually emit rays with a high power-over-volume (power density) ratio especially in the vicinity of the emitting apparatus. This may even turn deadly for humans (roughly like being in a microwave oven would be!), and precautions are needed when working in such environment.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
A really unique collection on display is related to Geiger counters and dosimeters. These include environmental and personal use devices, from various ages and nationality.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Two display cases are dedicated to material coming from beyond the Iron Curtain, most notably from the USSR and the GDR! It is really hard to imagine how this material could manage to come to Hack Green.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Part of the display is dedicated to the civil defense corps of different Countries, with helmets, emblems, papers and uniforms, showing how similar actions in preparations for a nuclear war were carried out in many Nations of continental Europe, also in the Eastern Bloc. Actually, a very close relative of the UKWMO RGHQ control center, with a totally similar function, can be found in a perfectly preserved condition in Poland (see this post).
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
More memorabilia items come from the history of civil defense in the UK. Among the most rare artifacts are the only surviving example of the ‘Queen’s telephone’, which was employed for enforcing the Emergency Power Act, which among other things may have transferred power to the Regional Commissioner. There used to be one such phone in each of the RGHQ, but all were destroyed for security reasons following the shut-off of the bunkers, except this one, and the one at the other end of the line – in the Royal residence.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
An adjoining room hosts a reconstruction of the radar screen room from the age Hack Green was employed as a radar station managed by the RAF. All panels are lit, providing a vivid, pure Cold War experience!
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
To the end of the main corridor, you can reach another entrance to the bunker, which is nowadays normally shut. However, this used to be the main entrance, and close to it are the control room of the bunker and the decontamination area.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
The control room is not accessible, but the large windows allow to take a glance to its original appearance. It is still employed to control electric power and air conditioning. Manned nuclear-proof bunkers are customarily pressurized, sucking contaminated air from the outside, which is carefully filtered for poisons and radioactive particles, and pumping unfiltered bunker air to the outside (see this post for another example in a Soviet bunker).
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
People entering after work out in the fallout-polluted environment were decontaminated through showers, and used anti-radiation suits were left in an isolated sink still on display.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Before leaving the ground floor, you can find on the ground level the female dorm for the staff of the RGHQ bunker. In the same room, an original system for communicating on the very low frequency bandwidth has been put on display. This Cold War relic could be employed to issue orders to the strategic submarine force. This very cabinet was employed by Prime Minister Thatcher for ordering the attack against the Argentinian ship General Belgrano.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
A final room on this floor is the sick bay, sized for the staff of Hack Green only, but equipped to manage health issues resulting from the exposition to a nuclear attack.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Underground floor
Descending to the underground floor is possible via the original stairs. The first room you meet features an exhibition of original Soviet uniforms, belonging to some high-ranking officials from various branches of the Red Army. Really hard to see in this part of the world, their origin is well documented.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Close by, is a small display of military material from the Soviet bloc, ranging from original weapons, to communication systems, emblems and instructional posters for the troops (similar to what you can find in dedicated museums in former Warsaw Pact Countries, like here or here).
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Nearby is a communication room originally employed by the military staff of the bunker, working in parallel with civil servants in the management of the nuclear emergency. Original radio transmission gear of military standard is still in place.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Before entering the core preserved area of the bunker, i.e. the rooms of the RGHQ, you can find the original water and air supply systems, and the corresponding technical cabinets, in a big room on the underground level.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
The rooms of the RGHQ are all interconnected, and located to the side of the corridor on the underground floor. The way they look is from the days of activity of Hack Green as a RGHQ, i.e. the 1980s. Typical Cold War technology from the time is featured in this area.
Firstly, you enter the warning room, which used to be the contact point of the RGHQ with the national surveillance system. By design, the BMEWS at Fylingdales should have picked up an incoming ICBM within 30 seconds from launch, spreading an alert signal at all levels. This would have been received here and by the entire civil defense system within 90 seconds. This would leave roughly 4 minutes (out of a total of around 6 minutes for the missile to come to Britain from the Eastern Bloc) to tell the population of the incoming missile, which would happen through some thousands sirens scattered around the UK. The physical alarm signal management system was called HANDEL, and was employed from the 1960s to 1992. The apparatus on display at Hack Green, a node of HANDEL, is notably still working, albeit disconnected.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
The warning room can be accessed directly from the Commissioner’s room, both an office and private room. Original maps and furniture can be found in this room, the only private one in the bunker. Immediately next to it is the cipher office, a communication office connecting – at least in non-emergency conditions – the center with the external world. Ciphered language was employed for safe communication with governmental offices, both domestic and abroad.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Next are a conference room, for meeting within the staff of the RGHQ, and a broadcast studio. The latter was focused on radio broadcast instead of TV, since the latter would not work in case of a nuclear attack. The idea was for the Commissioner to communicate directly with the administrative region, possibly repeating messages of national significance, or instructing about local disaster recovery actions, evacuation operations, etc.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
The tour goes on with a very interesting area, stuffed with original electronic and communication material. Communication from the bunker to the other similar bunkers withing the UKWMO was possible through a dedicated system called Emergency Communication Network (ECN). The main function was that of constantly updating the map of the fallout and of the operations taking place at all levels, including all surviving infrastructures. Many maps and teletypewriters, original components of the system, are part of the display.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
The ‘brain’ of the system was the Message Switch Exchange (MSX). A top-tier system elaborated by British Telecom in the 1980s, it looks exceptionally complex. The lit cabinets and modules provide a really vivid impression of how it should have looked like back in the Cold War years. The electronic cabinets and wiring driving to the rooftop antenna are still lit as well.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
A rare, incredible portable satellite communication antenna is on display. This was employed in peacetime condition, and stored inside the bunker when under attack.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
The screens where the meteorologists and nuclear scientists displayed all the information gathered and prepared forecasts are another unusual Cold War sight.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Perhaps unexpectedly in a 1980s hi-tech environment, a purely analog, wired telephone exchange system is on display. This is original as well, and was kept in service as a ‘last line’ backup system within the ECN until 1992, should the futuristic MSX system fail under an attack.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
A complement to the exhibition of the RGHQ is the fire control room, where a big screen and several communication consoles were employed for directing firefighting actions at a regional level. Following the experience of Nagasaki and the extensive nuclear tests of the 1950s, it is known that fires resulting from the extreme temperature and radiation intensity associated with a nuclear explosion are possibly even more dangerous to buildings and infrastructures than the shock-wave itself.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
A display which is not original from Hack Green, but found an ideal home in this bunker, is made of a reconstructed room from the Regional Air Operation Center (UKRAOC), which would gather information from the BMEWS. The material on display used to be at RAF High Wycombe, where the UKRAOC facility was located in the Cold War years.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Fed by the BMEWS early warning station at Fylingdales, the apparatus in this room was constantly updated on the defense situation. A Soviet ICBM attack would be detected here, and from here the alarm signal to the entire national civil and military defense system would be triggered. This really one-of-a-kind reconstruction is really evoking, with the original panels all lit, and a dim light background!
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
A final room on the underground floor hosts a reconstruction of a Soviet missile launch room. Perhaps not accurate as a reconstruction, it is however centered on original material and memorabilia items from the Soviet bloc. This area has been employed as a set for movies.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
At the base of a second stair well ascending to the ground floor you can find a reconstruction of one of the more than 1 thousand peripheral posts of the ROC. Such posts, scattered on the UK territory, gathered information for the RGHQ, and constituted the ‘sensors’ of the nuclear attack detection network. The technical gear includes over-pressure and radiation intensity transducers.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Getting there and visiting
The bunker is in a very secluded location, about 25 miles west of Stoke-on-Trent, and roughly 60 miles from Liverpool and Manchester. Very little advertised in the area, and not much known to the general public even in the UK, this hidden gem can be reached very conveniently by car, not much conveniently with public transport. The exact address is French Ln, Nantwich CW5 8BL, United Kingdom.
The bunker was built far from the crowds. Do not be worried as you see the road getting narrower and you feel like your NAV is taking you to nowhere – you are probably on the right path! Once there, you will find a large inside parking, and a top-level management of the entire facility.
Hack Green – Secret Nuclear Bunker – Crisis Regional Government – Cold War – UK
Visiting is on a self-guided basis, with tons of explanatory panels and illustrations allowing to make the most out of your visit even if you have just a normal interest and preliminary knowledge of the topic. For a specialist, this super-interesting, one-of-a-kind site may require at least 2 hours for capturing the details, and possibly take pictures. Website with visiting information here.
York Cold War Bunker
Besides the impressive Minster and the beautiful historic town, York has the distinction of being the seat of one of the few Cold War bunkers preserved in the UK. Differently from Hack Green (see above), the bunker in York was installed relatively late in 1961, in the middle of the Cold War. Since then and until the collapse of the USSR, it acted as a node in the UK Warning and Monitoring Organization (UKWMO), collecting information and coordinating emergency actions around York in the event of a nuclear attack. A cluster of reporting points was linked to the bunker in York, which took the name of Headquarters of the N.20 Group within the UKWMO.
An eminently intelligence collection and information relay facility, the bunker was manned by the Royal Observation Corps (ROC), who provided voluntary civilian staff to support the monitoring and communication functions of the bunker in the UKWMO network. The bunker ceased operations and was basically sealed in 1991. Until that time, the ROC ran the facility, carrying out regularly scheduled drills and simulations. The bunker was designed and sized to offer its staff a self-support ability of a few weeks in a nuclear fallout scenario. Besides all supporting facilities, including water tanks, pumps and power generators, the facility was centered on a set of sensors for nuclear blast detection, as well as provision for fallout forecast and monitoring.
The bunker has been taken over by the English Heritage, a structured nationwide historical conservation association, which restored the site and opened it to the public.
The York Cold War Bunker is not far from the historical center, yet in a quiet residential area. Access is from a small parking area among low-rise buildings. The greenish paint of the concrete walls and the tall metal antenna on top cannot be spotted from much farther away than the parking itself. Curiously, the pedestrian door of the bunker stands some feet above the ground, and can be reached via a concrete stairway. Then once on top and inside, you need to descend some flights of stairs to get underground.
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
Compared to the Hack Green bunker, the York group headquarter is more cramped, with smaller rooms, lower ceilings and narrower corridors.
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
The first part of the visit covers the supporting facilities. These include a ventilation system, which as customary for nuclear-proof bunkers (but the same is true for older bunkers dating from WWII) filtered the incoming air and ejected the inside air, basically pressurizing the bunker environment with respect to the outside atmospheric pressure. This avoided passive ingestion of contaminated air from the outside.
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
A power generator and a water pumping system are also visible. A control panel for all the plants has been preserved, similar to the machinery in this area, dating from the time of construction.
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
The centerpiece of the visit is of course the reporting room. The reason for putting a headquarters in relatively low-sized York was the presence in the area of significant food production industries, as well as of a major railway node in Northern England. Furthermore, military facilities like the only BMEWS station in the UK happened to be in Fylingdales, northern Yorkshire. These features would make York a valuable strategic target for an attacking enemy. The main function of the bunker within the UKWMO was that of ascertaining the position and intensity of a nuclear explosion on the territory covered by its jurisdiction.
Anticipated by the early warning ballistic missile detection system protecting the UK, the hit could be recorded by the sensors available in the bunker or in other reporting points scattered around in the country. The bunker would then try to predict and follow the evolution of the fallout. This would allow coordinating emergency and recovery actions including fire suppression, medical evacuation, water and food transport and supply, etc.
The central reporting room looks mostly like an operations room in a military headquarter. It is structured on two levels, with large maps and boards for visually updating the situation and writing information. Batteries of telephones and teletypewriters allowed obtaining communications and sending updated information to allow emergency services as well as decision centers to carry out post-attack operations. This system was not dissimilar from the counterpart beyond the Iron Curtain (see for instance this center in Poland).
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
Nearby the reporting room, the components of the sensor suite allowing to detect the position and intensity of a nuclear explosion are on display.
The first is the bomb-power indicator (BPI). The working principle is that of reading the over-pressure caused by the shock-wave invariably produced by an explosion, and particularly intense for a nuclear explosion, releasing an immense amount of energy in a small volume and within a very short time. The supersonic traveling shock-wave is responsible for the mechanical breaking of building and superstructures, like antennas, suspended power lines, bridges, piers, etc. Being a wave of pressure, its intensity can be measured by pressure transducers, which for the BPI show the reading on a simple analog dial.
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
The transducer, seen handing from the ceiling in the exhibition, would stand on the rooftop of the bunker, exposed to the explosion. This type of sensor was also installed in smaller reporting points scattered over the territory of the UK.
A second sensor was the ground zero indicator (GZI). Here the working principle was also very simple. The main element in the GZI is a metal drum with a small hole in the side, and a piece of photographic paper covering the inside surface of the cylinder. An explosion would send a high-energy light beam through the hole, producing an impression on a precise point on the paper. By positioning in a very accurate way the drum on its pedestal on top of the bunker, according to a precise fine-tuning, it was possible to retrieve the direction of the incoming beam. By composing the reading of more than one precisely-located drum, it was possible to pinpoint the position of the explosion by triangulation, both in terms of geographical position and altitude. The latter is a very relevant practical information, since for instance the quality and hazard of the fallout are strongly related to the proximity of the explosion to the ground.
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
The GZI, a purely analog sensor, had the odd feature of requiring collection of the photographic paper by venturing outside of the bunker after and explosion, i.e. facing the fallout.
The third and most evolved system on display is an AWDREY computer. The name stands for Atomic Weapon Detection Recognition and Estimation of Yield. This artifact is very rare to see, and a quite refined piece of engineering for the time. It was supplied to 12 headquarter bunkers of the UKWMO, including York, and was operative from the early 1970s. The computer is the computational part of the system, whereas the detection system was based on a sophisticated transducer put outside, on top of the bunker. The working principle was much more sophisticated here, and related to the evolution of the intensity of the radiation coming from the core of the explosions in the first instants of the detonation process. Several stages of a nuclear explosions happen in a row on a scale of a few millionths of a second. These include a predictable oscillation of the intensity of radiation. The exact features of this oscillation are correlated to the yield of the explosion. The ability of AWDREY to collect and interpret data from the early stage of the explosion would allow it to reconstruct the position and yield of the explosion at once.
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
Tuned on experimental data from nuclear testing in the field, this system delivered good general performance, with some inaccuracy in case of intense atmospheric phenomena taking place – or during fireworks, when the York system was apparently misled in one occasion, interpreting it as a Soviet attack!
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
York Cold War Bunker – York – England
The tour is completed with a view of the dorm for the civil servants of the ROC, and with a short exhibition on some historical and political aspects of the Cold War.
Getting there and visiting
The York Cold War Bunker is professionally managed by the English Heritage. Visiting is only possible with a guide. Please note that as of 2022, pre-booking is strictly necessary, since there is no ticket office on site. The guided tour lasts about 45 minutes, including a well-crafted introductory video. At the time of writing, only the first underground floor is open for a visit, but plans for an expansion of the visible part of the facility are being drafted.
The tour is very interesting and detailed, with some educated humor to make it more enjoyable! For specialists, it will be too quick, especially if you like to take pictures. However, the site indeed deserves a careful look also for the more technically-minded people, especially considering the little number of similar facilities open in Europe – and of course in the UK, where it is a one-of-a-kind destination, and a true must for Cold War historians.
The location is about two miles west of York Minster. Convenient to reach by car, several public parking lots are available in front of the gate or in the neighborhood. The exact address is Monument Cl, Holgate, York YO24 4HT, United Kingdom. Website with full information here.
War actions in Scandinavia constitute a crucial stage in the unfolding of WWII events in Europe. The strategic position of the Scandinavian peninsula was not overlooked by strategists in the Third Reich and the USSR, and by the Western Allies. As a matter of fact, the German invasion of Denmark and Norway took place as early as the Spring of 1940, starting just weeks before the invasion of Holland, Belgium and France.
History & Remains – A Quick Summary
For Germany in WWII, the long and impervious coast of Norway constituted an ideal strong point to carry out raids over the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, the northern Atlantic and the Barents Sea, interfering with resupply convoys from Britain and the US. Especially after the start of the war against the USSR in 1941, the polar routes going to Murmansk – the only non-freezing port on the northern coast of the USSR – were within range of German warships and aircraft operating from the north of Norway. Control over Norway and Denmark meant total control on the access to the Baltic Sea, thus protecting the northern coast of Germany from direct attack by the Western Allies, allowing unimpeded action against the Soviet Union on that sea. Of the greatest importance in the northern European territory was also the abundance of raw materials – mainly metals for industrial production – so desperately needed by the Third Reich.
For the Allies, keeping Scandinavia was an objective of great relevance in the early stages of the war, since this territory could be a convenient springboard to launch attacks against the flat and easy coast of Germany. In the rapidly changing complex alliances and diplomatic relationships of the early stage of WWII (1939-40), Norway and Sweden tried to keep out of the war. Finland fought the Winter War against the USSR (itself one of the results of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, albeit not to the knowledge of the Finns), loosing part of its territory and strengthening its link with Germany for some years to come (see this post). The Third Reich attacked Norway by air and sea in April 1940, and help was sought especially in Britain. King Haakon VII of Norway left for exile in England, and the initial battles of WWII between the Reich and the UK were fought – mainly at sea – in proximity of Norwegian ports.
The Atlantic Wall
Possibly the most impressive military trace of WWII in Europe, the Atlantic Wall – a defense line stretching from France to northern Norway – was designed and built in Denmark and Germany, immediately following the successful push of the Third Reich into these Countries. Actually, those are the Countries where the most relevant remains of this interesting trace of war can be found today. A very ambitious project both in purpose and required resources, the Atlantic Wall never reached completion. Despite that, the geography of Norway, with a coastline featuring only limited access to the inland area, allowed to create an effective barrier against a potential enemy landing. Hundreds of gun batteries, complemented with anti-aircraft artillery and radars, constituted a powerful deterrent against any invasion. As a matter of fact, after the unique episode of the Battle of Narvik in the early stages of WWII, no Allied forces ever landed in Norway from the sea for the rest of the war.
A complete visit to all sites of the Atlantic Wall in Norway is a really immense task, due to the number of installations and their geographical remoteness. However, a few impressive highlights can be found in convenient locations, and can be easily visited by everybody. In this post some of them are presented – the colossal battery ‘Vara’, the southern fortified area of Lista, the forts of Fjell and Tellevik near Bergen, and the massive cannons of Austratt.
War Museums
But other fragments of the rich legacy of WWII in Norway can be retraced also away from the preserved installations of the Atlantic Wall. An interesting page is that of naval warfare deployed by the Navy of the Third Reich – the Kriegsmarine – to counter Allied shipping activities. Names like Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are frequently found in history books as well as in movies or scale model shops, and they are just a few of the mighty vessels linked to the Scandinavian war theater. Dedicated exhibitions can be found in little but impressively rich museums on these topics. In this post, the Tirpitz Museum in Alta, the War Museum of Narvik and the exhibition in the visitor center of North Cape are covered.
Special interest sites
Heroic actions involving the Norwegian resistance organization are proudly remembered all over the Nation. A particularly interesting location being the Rjukan hydroelectric power-plant, which produced heavy water, a key-component in the research leading to the preparation of fissile material. This strategic asset was highly needed by the German nuclear program. On the other hand, its possession by the Third Reich was seen as a clear and present danger by the Allies, who tried to have the plant destroyed in several instances. The Norwegian resistance was clearly much involved in sabotage missions, due to the difficulty in targeting the place through air bombing raids. The power-plant is today a nice museum, covered in this post.
Photographs in this chapter were collected on a visit in August 2022.
Sights
The map below shows the location of the sites mentioned in this chapter. Their listing in the descriptions roughly follows a clockwise sense, starting from the southernmost point of Kristiansand (Vara battery). Red items are in disrepair, whereas blue ones are official tourist destinations.
The Vara battery was built as the core of the strongly fortified area around Kristiansand. Thanks to its position close to the southernmost tip of the Norwegian territory, this port town is still today very busy with passenger and freight traffic from nearby Denmark.
The Third Reich military started to lay sea mines as soon as it gained control of both sides of the Skagerrak strait. The coast around Kristiansand was reinforced with several coastal artillery pieces, and production of a set of special 38 cm caliber guns – called Siegfried -was started by the Krupp ironworks in Essen in 1940. The aim was that of controlling access to the Baltic sea by means of two batteries of long-range naval guns, one to the south in Denmark (Hanstholm, see here), and one to the north in Kristiansand.
The cannons should be capable of revolving by 360 degrees, and special concrete rotundas were prepared for the scope in a location called Møvik, on the southwestern end of the gulf of Kristiansand. The complex morphology of the terrain in this site led to a smaller than desirable area for the battery, where all technical buildings – including ammo storages – had to be built relatively close to one another. These massive constructions alone, built by the same ‘Organisation Todt’ responsible for the implementation of the coastal defense positions all over Europe, make for a remarkable work of engineering, carried out with the help of local builders, working relentlessly around the clock to have these emplacements ready as soon as possible.
In the event, only three of the four Siegfried cannons made their way to the battery in Kristiansand, one being apparently lost when the transport ship carrying it was sunk on the Baltic Sea. Transporting these 110 ton, around 60 ft long barrels by rail from Germany into the narrow valleys of Scandinavia was not an easy task. However, two cannons were test-fired in May 1942, and the third in November the same year.
The battery received the name ‘Vara’, after a high-ranking official killed in Guernsey in 1941.
Battery Vara went through the war without seeing an involvement in any major war action, and was mainly test-fired only. The whole installation, comprising target detection points, analog computers for target aiming, ammo storages – including more than 1.400 shells! – and many other service buildings, was inherited intact by the Norwegian Armed Forces in 1945, similar to many other installations along the coast of the Skagerrak and the North Sea. It was incorporated in the Norwegian coastal artillery between 1946 and 1954, being later placed in reserve having by then become obsolete for Cold War warfare standards. Two cannons were scrapped, whereas one – the only entirely surviving battery Nr. 2 – was luckily kept. The site survived subsequent stages of demolition works over the next decades, but in the early 1990s it was finally re-opened as a museum.
Cannon Nr. 2
Today, the centerpiece of the visit is constituted by a walk around the perfectly preserved building of cannon Nr.2. This bunkerized building is composed of a set of technical rooms, for ammo assembly and storage, as well as for services like Diesel power generators, and an adjoining rotunda, where the big cannon revolved around a pinion, and could be pointed to its target, following instructions from the battery control center. The latter elaborated target data from detection, identification, measuring and range-finding positions scattered around the battery perimeter.
Access to the back of the concrete building is via the original hatch, closed by iron doors. You can see the narrow-gauge railway track leading in. This linked the cannon buildings with the ammo storages around, and allowed to supply the cannon with ammo parts (the explosive cartridge and the shell are not assembled in a single unity for larger cannons, unlike for lighter weapons). The hatch drives you into a long corridor, the backbone of the bunkerized quarters behind the cannon rotunda. Here some shells have been put on the original railway trolley for display.
The cannon building hosted a permanent watch of a few men, which manned it permanently in shifts. A living room with some berths is the only one offering some comfort in the building.
A number of rooms in the bunker are dedicated to the power generator plant. A primary and a back-up generator share the same room. Of special interest are the labels on all machines and mechanisms, proudly made in Germany – in some cases, by brands still existing today.
Electric power was required for the motion of the cannon, besides for smaller appliances like lights and radios. The cannons could make use of the regional grid, but since an unstable supply might have damaged the cannon motors, aiming operations were often carried out on the controlled internal power grid, fed by the generators, and producing an optimal output.
Beside the generator room, the air conditioning plant (not for comfort, but to slightly pressurize the bunker in order to repel and pump-out poisonous or exhaust gas), the Diesel tank and the water tank for cooling the generator can be seen in adjoining rooms.
To the far end of the corridor, a radio room was used to maintain a link with the battery command post, located more than 1 mile away from Vara battery. Actually, by design the electric signals to orient the cannon could be given by the control post, and the radio communication system was there for backup.
On the other side of the corridor with respect to the generator rooms – i.e. towards the cannon rotunda – are four adjoining rooms, used to store the components of the explosive cartridges and shells. The shells and cartridges prepared for firing were moved via a crane to a tray, and from there sent side-wards to the rotunda, where they were loaded on a trolley. The cranes, trays and slots linking these rooms to the rotunda can be found around the area of the bunker closer to the rotunda.
The cranes moved along tracks hanging from the ceiling. These tracks had some switch points, allowing to allow the crane to move across different rooms in the bunker.
Inside these rooms, today you can find much original material of special interest. Specimens of high-explosive (yellow) and armor-piercing (blue) shells are displayed. The weight of the shells was around 800 kg, where the cartridge could feature different weights, roughly from 100 to 200 kg.
The top range of these cannons and shells was around 43 km. Smaller 500 kg shells could alternatively be fired by Siegfried cannons, with a longer range of 55 km. Furthermore, the cannon could be test-fired during drills with smaller caliber shots, by reducing the bore of the cannon. This was a very useful feature, since the estimated loss of barrel metal due to attrition was a staggering 0.25 kg per shot, implying a life of the barrel of only around 250-300 shots, firing with sufficient accuracy. Shooting smaller shells allowed to spare barrel wear and extend the time between overhauls of the cannon.
The sealed canisters for the explosive cartridges, with original markings in German, can still be seen piled in a room!
More material on display includes a rare example of fire direction computer. Actually, that on display is smaller than the one originally used for the long-range cannons of Vara battery, but it provides a good idea of the level of sophistication of this mechanism. Data like target distance, velocity, orientation, wind speed and direction, etc. were set as input to this analog computer, producing fire direction variables to point the cannon. An incredible masterpiece of engineering and craftsmanship, this type of computer is difficult to find in museums, and allows to appreciate the level of development of warfare back in the 1940s.
Data including range of the target was found with the help of special instrumentation. A stereoscopic range-finder was installed in the battery command post, with an arm of 12 m, which allowed good accuracy for very distant targets – required for the long range of the cannons of Vara battery. Smaller instruments with the same principle are displayed in one of the rooms.
Among the special features of this bunkerized building are the restored, original writings from German times, as well as a one-of-a-kind painting made by a Soviet prisoner of war.
From the bunkerized room, you can get access to the rotunda. Cartridges put on trolleys moved along a circular railway track all around the rotunda. This way, cartridges could be taken to the cannon whatever the direction it was pointing. Once to the base of the cannon turret, the explosive charge and the shell were lifted separately by means of two special elevators, up to the level of the gun shutter.
An impressive feature of the rotunda is the ring cover for the circular railway. In order to protect the railway passage from above, while allowing the cannon to rotate, a roof made of thick metal scales was implemented. When revolving around the pinion, the cannon turret would automatically lift the scales on its passage. The sound of the scales being lifted and released while the cannon body was revolving must have been really an experience!
Here the back of the barrel dominates the relatively large firing chamber. The shutter has been left open, so you can see the sunlight through the barrel.
The shell and explosive charge were received from the two elevators on a special tray, and here they were finally aligned one before the other. Somewhat in contrast to the top-notch technology level of the installation, the cartridge had to be pushed from the back into the barrel by hand. A long wooden stick was used for the task. Actually, it was so long that it protruded from the back of the cannon turret, thus requiring a small hatch to be pierced in the metal armor correspondingly. On one side of the barrel, instrumentation for measuring the pointing direction is still in place.
The position of cannon Nr.1 was prepared unusually close to that of Nr.2. As said, this was due to the limited available area on the uneven coast section where the battery was put in place. However, Nr.1 never received a cannon. Conversely, it was modified later in the war, when experimenting with cannon protection from air-dropped high-yield bombs. The rotunda was capped with a very thick concrete roof, sustained by sidewalls which limited the side-wards rotation of the cannon to 120 degrees.
The rotunda can be walked freely. The central pinion is still in place. Inside, the ceiling is covered in original metal panels. The round corridor for the trolleys can still be seen, but there is no access left to the bunkerized part.
Following the railway around the site is a great way to find what remains today of the original installation. There are two bulky ammo storages. These were reportedly more thickly armored than usual, in view of a higher risk of getting hit, due to the unusual proximity with the cannons – designated targets for the enemy.
Furthermore, other smaller buildings are scattered around, which may have served as storage for lighter weapons.
The positions of cannons Nr. 3 and Nr. 4 have been largely demolished, and access is permanently shut to the bunkerized part. However, you can easily climb to the top level, to get a nice view of the rotunda.
Vara is in the top-five list of the most famous surviving installations of the Atlantic Wall in Europe, and a visit to this destination is in itself a good reason for a detour to Norway for war historians and like-minded people. Due to its proximity to the port of Kristiansand, just minutes apart by car, and the relatively easy-to-reach location in the most populated part of Norway, it is also a top destination for any tourist in the area. As a matter of fact, the place is run as a top-level museum, with great reception capability, and is visited by thousands of visitors per year.
Visiting can be performed on a self-guided basis, with an explanation leaflet which allows to get much from your visit, especially if you are not new to installations of the Atlantic Wall (which are mostly standardized, despite Vara having really oversized guns!). A tour of the main features – cannon Nr.2 and the building of Nr.1 – may take 1 hour at least, for an averagely interested person. For an in-depth visit and a quick tour of the premises including other remains, more than 2 hours are needed. Thanks to the exceptional level of conservation and the explanation of whatever is on display, the visit is not boring and may be very rewarding even for younger people.
Large parking on site, picnic tables and warm reception are available – as usual in Norway! Website with full information here.
Nordberg & Marka Batteries – Farsund
Located in the southwestern corner of the Norwegian territory, about 100 miles south of the port of Stavanger, the municipality of Farsund encompasses a number of small coastal villages, around the landmark represented by the lighthouse of Lista.
Two batteries were set up by the German occupation forces as part of the Atlantic wall, both fully operative by 1942. The northern one is called Nordberg fort, where the southern one, very close to the shore line, is known as Marka fort. Between the two, the Germans installed a full-scale airbase, with a runway of roughly 1.5 km, complemented by hangars and shelters largely standing today. Following the end of WWII and the withdrawal of the German military, all these installations were converted for military use by the Norwegian armed forces, which also developed the original airfield into a more modern airbase by stretching the runway.
Today, Nordberg fort is a museum. The German Navy was in charge of the station, which had as centerpieces three 150 mm cannons, with a range of around 23 km. The cannons have been scrapped (with the exception of a lighter piece of Russian make). However, the firing positions are still there, linked by a semi-interred trench.
You can see also the original control point for the battery, developed by the Norwegians more recently, and the concrete base for a radar antenna originally on site.
Several original buildings for services – canteen, hospital,… – are still there, making for a an interesting opportunity to see how this installation looked like back in the 1940s.
The Marka fort was assembled around six 150 mm guns, located very close to the sea, grouped in two batteries of three firing positions each. A huge bunkerized command post was built in the premises of the fort. Today, after the Norwegian military left at the end of the Cold War, the Marka battery is basically a ghost site, despite being still in a relatively good shape.
The control bunker is especially interesting, since you can access the top level and watch the sea from the very same room and windows originally used by the German Navy troops! The general arrangement of the bunker is similar to other command posts you can find on the Atlantic Wall – especially in Denmark (see here).
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
The positions for the coastal guns can be reached close to the control bunker. They are uncovered round areas, slightly below the level of the ground, framed by a circular reinforced sidewall.
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
More Atlantic Wall remains, like bunkers, foundations for radar stations, or emplacements for lighter guns, can be be found scattered in the area of Farsund – which kept its military site status well after the Germans had left.
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Marka Battery Lista Farsund – Atlantic Wall – WWII – Norway
Visiting
The museum of Nordberg keeps some of the buildings on the respective site open. However, the majority of the site is open 24 hours, and can be walked freely. A visit may take about 1 hour. A convenient parking can be found right ahead of the modern and welcoming visitor center, from where you can effortlessly reach most of the points of interest in this installation. Website with full information here.
The site of Marka – not part of any museum – can be approached at any time with some walking in the rural area along the coast line. A good starting point for an exploration is here, where you can leave your car and move along an easy trail to the command bunker and the gun rotundas about 0.5 miles west.
Fjell Fortress – Bergen
Bergen was a strategic base of the German Navy, which received a fortified submarine deck among the largest, most active and longest lasting in the history of WWII. The complex morphology of the territory around this port town allowed to effectively protect the access by means of a network of nine firing emplacements. One of them – Fjell – was of exceptional power and range.
It was built between 1942-43 diverting one of the batteries of battleship Gneisenau, which had been damaged beyond repair by an air raid while in port at Kiel (Germany). The battery was composed of three 28 cm guns in a single turret. The latter was very compact in design, a real masterpiece of naval engineering, but nonetheless it featured a rather tall substructure, with all that was needed to operate the guns – protruding from the relatively sleek top of the turret, surfacing on the ground.
Placing this special battery in Fjell required carving the rocky coast, creating a cylindrical underground pit, inside coated with concrete, to host the turret. The turret, an assembly of around 1.000 tonnes with the guns on top, was then transported up to this elevated site, and lowered into the pit. The battery was test fired in the mid of 1943. It acted as an effective deterrent, and reportedly never used in combat.
The battery was incorporated in the Norwegian coastal defense after WWII, and sadly scrapped in 1968, since by then obsolete, but not yet considered an historical landmark.
Clearly, the battery was in the middle of an off-limits military area in wartime, where bunkers for several services and for the the troops, at least two radar antennas and many emplacements for lighter defensive weapons were installed to protect the battery from ground and air attacks.
Today, the bunker-pit where the turret used to rest is the centerpiece of a visit to the site. Starting from the visitor center on top, where the guns used to be, you can descend to the base of the cylindrical pit – roughly 30 ft in diameter and 75 in depth! Here you can see the rooms originally employed for storing the explosive cartridges and the shells for the cannons. These were supplied on trolleys and slides, and sent inside the metal turret, to be lifted up to the level of the cannons for firing.
Most of the original German mechanical and electrical systems is still there to see, including wiring, phones, cranes, trolleys, and examples of shells and cartridges.
Back then, you got access to these storage areas from an entrance on the same level (i.e. not from the top of the turret, but from the base). You can see this entrance, as well as the curved corridor leading from the gate to the ammo storage area. Here, examples of sea mines and other war material can be found. The corridor has narrow-gauge railway track, which was used for resupplying the ammo storage from outside.
The corridor is curved, and firing positions are strategically placed to cover it, in order to counter enemy intrusion.
The bunker gives access to the living quarters for the troops. These are well preserved, and feature brick walls to help insulating the inside from the wet rock of the walls and ceilings.
Services, like toilets, sauna, washing machines and more, are original from the German tenancy. Especially the water basins appear very stylish, a good example of German design from the era.
Besides the main turret bunker, as said the Fjell site offers other constructions on a vast area, which can be checked out from the outside – also since the premises are at least formally military grounds still today.
The road reaching the site from the parking, gently climbing uphill, is reportedly the original main access to the Third Reich site. An interesting tank-stopping device can be seen to the lower end of the road – heavy stones on top of light pillars on the sides of the road. The pillars could be blown, and the stones would fall cutting the road, in case of a potential intrusion.
The fort of Fjell, about 15 miles west of central Bergen, is professionally run as a museum. Parking is only possible to the base of the cliff where the turret used to stand. From there, a 0.8 miles road climbs to the entrance. The scenic location and the nice rural area around make for an enjoyable walk. Visiting inside is only possibly on guided tours, offered also in English (an possibly other languages). A small restaurant can be found on top, where an observation deck has been built in place of the battery.
The location of the parking is here. A visit may take around 45 minutes, excluding the time needed to climb uphill and descend to the parking. Website with full information here.
Tellevik Fort – Bergen
The coastal fort of Tellevik, on the eastern head of the Norhordland Bridge, 15 miles north of Bergen, was part of the lighter defense artillery put in place by the German military to defend any access by water to Bergen. The battery was built by order of the Third Reich, profiting from the forced labor of Soviet prisoners of war.
Lighter howitzers were enough to cover the narrow water passages in proximity of the town. The elevation of the emplacement is low, slightly above the water surface.
The battery of Tellevik was centered on two such howitzers, placed on open-top positions. The two guns can be seen still today, on round concrete firing positions. The giant bridge today largely obstructing the field of sight was not there at the time of the German occupation.
A monument to Norwegian seamen victims to sea mines laid by the German to protect the access to Bergen is concurrently located on the site of the Tellevik battery.
Tellevik is an open air memorial, which can be walked freely 24/7. It can be reached by inputting these coordinates to a GPS navigation app.
A visit may take about 15 minutes, a nice detour from exceptionally crowded downtown Bergen.
Austrått Fortress – Austrått
Similar to Bergen, the major port of Trondheim was a strategic base for the German Navy. Protected by a long firth, the port was an ideal base for submarines and warships, to intercept convoys in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. Correspondingly, a number of coastal forts was prepared by the German occupation forces to counter any unauthorized access to the waterways leading to Trondheim.
The most powerful and impressive of these batteries is the Austratt Fort. Similar to the fortress of Fjell near Bergen (see above), Austratt received one of the turrets of the ill-fated battleship Gneisenau, damaged while moored in Kiel, in February 1942. A control and aiming position was put in place a few miles apart along the coast, whereas the battery was surrounded by an off-limits area, stuffed with bunkers for the troops, ammo storage bunkers, and lighter guns for protection against an attack by land.
A major difference between the two ‘sister sites’ of Fjell and Austratt is that in the latter the cannons are still there!
Following the installation of the turret, test fired in September 1943, the fort saw little action, acting as a deterrent, and effectively preventing any serious intrusion by the Allies towards Trondheim from the sea. After the demise of the Third Reich, the fort was taken over by the Norwegian coastal defense, stricken off in 1968, and restored as a museum in the early 1990s.
The cannons are on top of a hill. From the outside, the massive three-barreled turret is really impressive in size!
The barrels can be seen besides the original range-finder – with its impressive arm, granting good measuring accuracy even at a large distance from the target. This item, with its bell-shaped cover, was originally part of the control point, located southwest of the battery, in a location currently very close to an active base of the Norwegian Air Force (Orland).
Despite access to the the firing chamber being possible through a hatch to the back of the turret, the tour follows the way a shell would travel from storage to firing. Hence you start your tour from an entrance to the side of the hill, at the same level of the bottom of the cylindrical tower supporting the guns. This metal tower was taken from the Gneisenau together with the cannons, and put in a pit carved in the rock for the purpose in Austratt.
Access through the side of the hill is protected by a smaller gun. Once inside, you find yourself in a curvy corridor, with a narrow-gauge railway track for the trolleys needed to carry the shells and cartridges inside. A firing position behind an embrassure points against the entrance, for further protection of the site against an intrusion.
The bunker in Austratt – but the same happened to many installations of the Atlantic Wall in Norway – was plagued with severe humidity problems. Immediately besides the entrance, a room with a water basin is fed by natural water dripping from the ceiling and from the rocky walls around.
Original machines for tooling, put in place for maintenance purposes back in the Third Reich years, are still there and working. Similarly, a primary and a backup Diesel generators supplying the fort are still in place, with all ancillary plants, like big Diesel and water tanks for cooling. This is original machinery too, as witnessed by the tags of the mechanical components, all made in Germany.
Living quarters were at the bottom level too. Trying to supply some comfort, the rocky walls were covered with bricks and wood, especially against humidity. These rooms have been partly refurbished with a good resemblance to the original ones. They include the kitchen and some of the sleeping quarters for the troops. However, since humidity was really extreme, troops spent limited time here especially for sleeping, and provisional barracks were built outside of the installation instead.
Hygienic services were reportedly extremely advanced compared to Norwegian standards of the time. Fully working toilets, lavatories and showers were taken as a blueprint by the Norwegian Army after the war. The electric water heater put in place in the Austratt battery was apparently among the first installed in the whole Country – it can still be seen.
Explosive cartridges, fuses and shells arriving from the bunker entry you have walked through at the beginning of your tour would be eventually lifted upstairs. Shells, either high-yield explosive or armor-piercing, would be stored in a chamber featuring cranes hanging from the ceiling, used to put the shells on trolleys. These trolleys transported the shells to the lower level of the turret. The chamber where the shells were stored is physically separated by the turret by means of a concrete wall.
Tight compartments are often found in war bunkers of the Atlantic Wall, and this can be explained by the fact that the deadliest effect of an enemy shot (either a cannon shell from a warship, or an air-dropped bomb) would be that of an overpressure wave (shockwave), capable of killing many in just moments. Overpressure effects can be effectively reduced by putting physical obstacles on the way the shockwave would travel – walls, tight doors, etc. – or by forcing it into smaller passages, like hatches or smaller doors and windows. Therefore, bunkers like Austratt are built in rather small rooms, connected only through narrow hatches and doors.
Again in the storage chamber for the shells, extensive writing in German can be found on many of the mechanisms and electric plants. Everything is original and exceptionally well conserved, just like the Germans had just left!
The lowest level of the turret, where the shells would arrive from the storage chamber to be loaded on elevators going to the upper levels, is a masterpiece of engineering. The technical problem here was that of connecting the slides from the storage chamber, which are anchored to the ground, to the receiving slides on the turret, which could pivot around 360 degrees. The designer of the turret solved the issue by placing an intermediate ring, revolving independently, and capable of connecting the fixed slides from the storage chamber to the revolving platform on the turret. The extremely compact size of the overall design, originally prepared for fitting into a warship, and the elegance and precision of the mechanism resemble those of a pocket watch from the 1920s more than a cannon!
On the turret, you can see three elevators for the three barrels, which were therefore fed independently.
Going upstairs, you meet the storage room for the explosive cartridges. These used to be stored in sealed canisters on display, original from the time. This storage room is placed to the side of the corresponding level in the turret, in a similar fashion to the shells storage below.
Climbing up one more level inside the turret, you reach a platform with the motors for moving the battery around its vertical axis, and for lifting or lowering the three monster barrels. The motion involved high-pressure mechanisms, rather complex and requiring many valves and extensive piping.
To the back of each of the barrels, you can see a large empty volume for recoil. The battery rested on a ball bearing – one of the pretty sizable metal balls is on display.
Finally, the firing chamber can be found on the top level in the turret. Here the shells and cartridges were received, aligned and loaded from the back into the barrels by a pushing mechanical arm. Three independent mechanisms were put in place for the scope in the firing chamber.
You can exit the turret from the hatch to the back of the turret, concluding your tour. In the video below you can see a portrait of the battery from the air, made with a drone.
All in all, similar to the Vara battery (see above), Austratt is in an exceptional state of conservation in the Norwegian and European panorama of artillery engineering from WWII, and a visit may be super-interesting for any public.
Visiting
Despite being relatively close to Trondheim on a map, as usual in Norway, Austratt is a more than two hours drive from the town, and reaching requires taking at least one ferry. However, as noted, this location is a pinnacle in the Atlantic Wall, and surely deserves a visit for technicians and non-technical public as well, and of course for the kids.
Access to the exterior is possible at any time, but visiting inside is only possible on guided tours. The guide is very knowledgeable and makes the visit interesting also for a technically-minded public. The visit inside may take around 1 hour, more if you make questions and show some interest. Convenient parking by the gate of the fort, easy access to the area around the battery. Moving inside can be requiring for non-fit people.
As pointed out in the introduction to this chapter, Norway is rich of memorials from WWII. Even close to some of the attractions in this wonderful Country which are must-see stops for other reasons, features recalling memories from war actions are offered to a curious eye.
Two notable examples are the visitor center of the Arctic Circle along the E6, as well as that of North Cape.
Scandinavia has been a bloody and extremely active theater of war all along WWII, and Norway was directly involved in significant war actions since the first year of the conflict. As a matter of fact, most of the impressive line of fortifications constituting the Atlantic Wall was erected by deploying forced laborers, typically prisoners of war from the Eastern Front, primarily including Russians, other people from the USSR, and Balkan prisoners.
Soviet troops attacked the northernmost German-occupied region from the North, together with the Finns, after the latter negotiated a separate peace with the USSR in late 1944. The retreating Germans opposed a fierce resistance, and it was in this latest stage of the war that most physical damage to towns and installations was caused in Norway, since German troops were ordered to burn up all positions they had to leave.
These facts explain the many Soviet monuments and war cemeteries scattered especially in the northern part of Norway still today – commemorating Soviet soldiers fallen either in war actions or as prisoners of war in the harsh conditions of northern Norway.
One such monument, albeit overlooked, is prominently placed besides the visitor center of the Arctic Circle.
Soviet Memorial – Arctic Circle Visitor Center – WWII – Norway
Soviet Memorial – Arctic Circle Visitor Center – WWII – Norway
Soviet Memorial – Arctic Circle Visitor Center – WWII – Norway
The interest of Germany for Norway was primarily for its strategic position, which became an asset of special value after the start of the war against the USSR in mid-1941. The convoys feeding vital material to the USSR from Britain and the US had to go to Murmansk (see here) and the Kola Peninsula, i.e. over the Barents Sea. This was conveniently controlled by the German occupants, operating from the Norwegian coast.
In the visitor center of North Cape some panels are dedicated to this topic, showing an impression of the structure and routes followed by Allied convoys going to the USSR.
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Detailed panels with maps and pictures recall the last battle of the German battleship Scharnhorst, which was confronted by the group of the British battleship HMS Duke of York, in an epic battle relatively close to North Cape. The massive German battleship, deployed to Norway with Tirpitz (a sister ship of the famous Bismarck) to block the resupply traffic to the USSR, was hit several times and finally sunk in the freezing last days of 1943. The battle was posthumously named ‘Battle of North Cape’. A detailed scaled model of the German battleship is similarly on display in the visitor center.
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Polar Convoys to the USSR & Scharnhorst Exhibition – North Cape – Nordkapp – WWII – Norway
Visiting
The visitor center of the Arctic Circle on the road E6, with a small Soviet monument, can be found here. The monument is open 24/7.
The visitor center of North Cape is… at North Cape! The inside can be accessed during opening times, and the tables with information on WWII convoys and battles are on an underground mezzanine. Website with full information here.
War Museum – Narvik
The port town of Narvik was founded in the 19th century as a commercial base for exporting iron ore from Sweden. A small town by the sea, surrounded by steep-climbing mountains, and in a remote location well north of the Arctic Circle, Narvik was turned for about two months into a though theater of war for the Germans, following their occupation of Norway.
It was here that the British started a battle to stop the German push to the north, as soon as the 10th of April 1940, basically at the same time as the Germans had reached the town during their conquering campaign.
What resulted was a complex, multi-stage operation, lasting until early June 1940.
At first, the British fleet mounted a naval attack, carried out with a flotilla of five destroyers. This force clashed with the local German complement of ten destroyers. The British operation met with mixed success, and was finally repelled by the German navy operating in the narrow waters around Narvik, at the price of two destroyers on each side – plus several cargo ships destroyed in the battle. Three days later, on the 13th of April, a new force, composed of the British battleship HMS Warspite and 9 destroyers, launched another assault, resulting in the complete loss of the German destroyers fleet in the region – German warships were either sunk or scuttled.
The Germans however kept control of the town. A mixed force of British, Polish and French troops, together with the Norwegians, started an operation to conquer the town by land. The operation was successful, and the German troops had to retreat along the coast, away from Narvik. However, the start of the Battle of France – the invasion of France by the Third Reich – on the 10th of May, 1940, resulted in a rapid loss of priority of Narvik as a strategic target for the Allies. It was decided in Britain to withdraw from Norway, and to evacuate all previously landed military forces from Narvik. The town fell under German control on June 8th, basically concluding the conquer of Norway by the Third Reich.
The Allied landings around Narvik in 1940 where the first on the European continent in WWII, carried out without the participation of the US, more than three years before operations in southern Italy or Normandy.
The town of Narvik is still today an active commercial port of primary relevance in the region. The heritage of war actions is preserved in a purpose-installed museum, modernly designed and easy to visit.
On a first floor, the naval operations around Narvik are described by means of technological 3D board with virtual projections – very nice and lively. Around the board, memorabilia from the British and German warships taking part to the operations back in the Spring of 1940 have been put on display.
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
They include an original Nazi eagle from one of the ships. Since the campaign around Narvik included also air and land operations, war traces including parts of aircraft, guns, mortars, machine guns, first-aid kits and many uniforms are also on display.
Uniforms are from the many corps which took part to those actions – they are British, German, Polish and even French.
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
On a second floor, you are offered displays of artifacts retracing other aspects of WWII in Norway. These include land mines – put in place by the Germans along the coast, similar to Denmark, to impede Allied landings – an Enigma coding machine, Third Reich memorabilia, a section of the Tirpitz armored hull, radio machinery supplied to the resistance, as well as personal items belonging to former prisoners of war.
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
Finally, on the last floor heavier weapons are put on display, including torpedoes, light armored vehicles and more, even for post-WWII times.
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
War Museum Narvik – WWII – Norway
Visiting
The battle of Narvik is one of the best known from WWII in Norway, and the little museum in the town center duly retraces its timeline, through an elegant exhibition, sufficiently rich to satisfy even the most exigent experts, but not so extensive to be boring for the general public. A really well designed museum, surely worth a visit, which may last from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your level of interest.
The location is right besides the town hall, and can be found here. Parking opportunities on the street nearby. Website with information here.
Tirpitz Museum – Alta
The German battleship Tirpitz was laid down as the only sister ship to the well-known Bismark. Eventually, she underwent developments which made her the heaviest battleship built in Europe. Her actions were concentrated along a limited time frame, between January 1942 and November 1944, when she was finally sunk by British Lancaster bombers, making use of Tallboy high-yield bombs.
She spent her operative life along the coasts of Norway, where she constituted an effective deterrent against a sea-launched Allied invasion, and was employed tactically against resupply convoys going to the USSR.
Tirpitz was a strategic target for the Allies, which tried to get rid of her by no less than seven war operations, meeting with limited success until the last one.
With an armor more than 30 cm thick, Tirpitz was marginally maneuverable especially at lower speed, but the hull was very difficult to penetrate, and the four turrets and eight 38 cm barrels, plus twelve side-shooting 15 cm barrels, complemented by many more defensive weapons, made it a dangerous asset against land and sea targets.
The ship capsized and sunk in shallow water in the bay of Tromso, and following the end of the war, she was largely dismantled. Original pieces of the ship could be collected, as well as some personal belongings from the crew. Some more were taken out from the water over the years.
The museum in Alta is dedicated to the memory of the ship, and offers an extremely rich collection of items connected with Tirpitz. Furthermore, by means of memorabilia items, it retraces the history of the war years in the northernmost region of Norway – Finnmark. The reason for installing the Tirpitz Museum in Kåfjord, near Alta, is bound to the fact that the battleship was based here for a period, as witnessed by some historical pictures. The museum has a rich guestbook, which includes top-ranking military staff from several Countries.
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
The small museum is home to some of the finest and largest scales models portraying Tirpitz. The level of detail and the accuracy of the reconstruction is really stunning.
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Some smaller diorama models portray scenes from the life onboard, or details of special interest. An unusual one portrays the capsized hull of the ship, following the sinking!
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Besides the scale models, original instrumentation, shells, wooden slabs from the deck, and more parts of the ship are put on display.
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
A room is dedicated to the operations carried out against the battleship. The ship was reportedly attacked several times without substantial damage. One of the attacks was carried out by the British, recurring to mini-submarines. Among the artifacts on display are the decorations to the men involved in these operations.
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Extremely interesting artifacts in the museum include material from the crew, taken away after the sinking over the years – sometimes found in the area as recently as the year 2000.
These include typewriters, cutlery with swastika emblems, musical instruments, sport suits with prominent Third Reich insignia, and many personal belongings.
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
In one case, the cabinet or wallet of a crewman revealed cash and stamps from the time.
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Among the countless items in this exhibition are original material – including radio stations – employed by the resistance movements in Norway, as well as light weapons, uniforms and decorations of the Soviet troops who operated in the Finnmark region, helping in repelling the Germans in the last stages of WWII.
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
On the outside, the anchor and parts of the armor of Tirpitz can be seen, together with an official memorial stone.
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Tirpitz Battleship Museum Alta – WWII – Norway
Visiting
The museum is located some five miles from Alta, in the small settlement of Kåfjord. It is hosted in a single, small wooden building – possibly a former canteen – to be found here, with a small parking nearby. A website with full visiting information is here.
Visiting the museum may take from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your level of interest.
Vemork Hydroelectric Power Plant & Heavy Water Facility – Rjukan
The nuclear program of the Third Reich is still today a matter for researchers, since – mysteriously enough – most documentation disappeared by the end of the war. Among the ascertained facts were the excellence of nuclear scientist in Germany at the time on the one hand, and the total lack of adequate quantities of raw material, or plants for processing it, to actually build real nuclear weapons on the other.
The latter is witnessed by the great strategic value attributed to the plant in Rjukan, hidden in a scenic deep valley in the region of Telemark, in southern Norway, about three hours by car from Oslo. A hydroelectric plant there – the exact name is Vemork power-plant – was employed to produce heavy water through a dedicated electrolysis separation process, which requires huge amounts of energy. Heavy water is a key component for the production of Plutonium – in turn required for atomic weapons – in heavy-water reactors.
Also the Norwegians understood the value of the plant. As soon as the winds of war started blowing from Germany in early 1940, heavy water then in storage was taken away to France, and later to Britain following the invasion of France by the Third Reich.
After Norway had been occupied by the Reich, the plant was at the center of three sabotage operations. Extremely risky and partly ending in disaster, these operations were carried out both by Norwegian and British staff, parachuted from Britain.
It took until 1944 to mortally hit the plant, well protected by its own natural setting. Two dedicated bombing raids carried out by US bombers damaged the plant beyond repair – at least in the late war scenario, when the Third Reich reaction capacity was weakening every day. The final act in the Norwegian heavy water saga was the sinking of the small boat – named Hydro – loaded with the reserve of heavy water from Vemork, having just started its trip to Germany on Lake Tinn.
The plant was again in business in the years after the war, and remained operative until the early 1990s, involved in production of various chemicals.
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Today, it is a much visited museum. Actually, the most impressive part of the plant is that of the hydroelectric turbines. Aligned in a single immense hangar, these now silent giant machinery send glimpses of the original, fashionable early-1900 industrial style.
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Some of the turbines and generator assemblies – manufactured by AEG, as witnessed by the labels – are really huge.
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
A suspended platform allows to capture with a bird’s eye the entire hall. Here you can see also completely analog control panels, again in a very elegant style from the era.
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Vemork Power Plant Heavy Water Rjukan – WWII – Norway
Visiting
The museum in Vemork can be reached in less than 3 hours driving from central Oslo. The power-plant can be approached walking from the parking (here) over a suspended bridge crossing the deep valley. The area is very scenic. The highlight of the show is the hall with the power turbines. A visit may take from a few minutes to more than 1 hour for more interested subjects.
A website with full information can be found here.
The republic of Georgia, located on the Caucasian isthmus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, was founded in the turmoil following the collapse of the Czarist Empire during WWI. Located on the border with Turkey, at that time this region tried to untie from neighbor Russia, and proclaimed a libertarian socialist state.
Following the seizure of power by Lenin and the Bolsheviks, producing a devastating civil war which would go on raging all over the former Russian-controlled territory well into the 1920s, Georgia lost its independence, being sucked into the Soviet Union, similar to many other nations sharing a border with Russia – like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Latvia, etc.
A country with a remarkable wealth of history, inhabited since when traces of mankind started to appear on earth, with a deeply rooted Christian culture since centuries, a strong independence movement started to show in Georgia already in the 1980s, when the Soviet system was still destined to last for long in the eyes of many western observers. This independence feeling would culminate in the republic of Georgia leaving the USSR months before its actual end, already in early 1991. Since then, the country is openly hostile to Russia, and the formation in the early 2000s of two de facto Russian-backed independent states – South Ossetia and Abkhazia – over the sovereign territory of Georgia witnesses a mutual state of tension between Tbilisi and Moscow, still lasting today.
Despite this, and almost paradoxically, the Georgian individual possibly best known to the general public and to the world is an eminent communist character, a one-of-a-kind contributor to the history of the USSR and of the world – and someone would say, the most authentic incarnation of a communist leader – Stalin.
While Georgia, most comprehensibly, is striving to delete every tangible trace of the Soviet era – from statues to symbols and pieces of architecture – a few notable exceptions include some of Stalin-related relics in the country. In Gori, Stalin’s hometown, the house where Stalin was born is preserved under a bombastic Soviet-era canopy. Nearby, a unique museum dedicated to the Soviet leader, opened back in the late 1950s with a display of incredible memorabilia, is reportedly the most successful attraction in town, with crowds of visitors still today.
In an old district in Tbilisi you can find another unique point of interest – the so-called Stalin Printing House Museum. It was in this unapparent house that young Stalin operated as a pro-communist clandestine agitator in the early 20th century, well before the Bolshevik revolution in Russia.
This post covers these Stalin-related remains in the man’s home country, with photographs taken in summer 2019.
Sights
Joseph Stalin Museum – Gori
Stalin’s hometown, where he was born in 1878, is dominated by a scenic ancient fortress, sitting on top of an isolated mound. At the time of Stalin’s birth, that was also the geographic center of the town. When Stalin became… Stalin, his birthplace was turned into a place of pilgrimage, and a new purely-Soviet master plan was implemented in the city, creating a new gravitational center around the modest house of his parents.
The long axis which drives you from the major access road and the railway station south of the city to the house follows an almost north-south direction. A typically Soviet alley – straight, too wide and with mostly sad-looking buildings to the sides – links a bridge over the local river to to the house, going through a square with the town hall, built in a Soviet classicist style. A tall statue of Stalin used to stand on the side of the square, and it was torn down only in the 2000s.
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
Closer to the house, the alley bifurcates into a ‘Y’. Between the arms of the ‘Y’ you can find a garden with fountains and flowers.
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
To the far end of the garden, the small half-timbered house where Stalin’s parents used to live is preserved under a Soviet-style canopy.
Stalin’s parents were not well-to-do, and they actually rent the house, where they occupied only one room. Back in the 19th century, it was just one in a row of similar buildings. Following the radical reshaping of the area for celebrating the Soviet leader, the whole neighborhood was completely demolished, and only this block was left.
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
On the side and front facade of the house are marble signs in Russian and Georgian. The ceiling of the canopy features a stained glass light, with hammer and sickle signs by the corners.
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
To the back of the birthplace you can find a smaller statue of Stalin. Considering his generally acknowledged status as a bloody communist dictator, similar open air statues have been removed almost everywhere in the world – this is one of the few remaining exceptions (another being in Belarus, but most likely apocryphal – look for Stalin’s line museum here).
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
The most conspicuous building in this celebratory installation is the actual Joseph Stalin Museum, which occupies a pretty large palace in Stalinist style. The master plan dates back to the final years of Stalin, and its realization was carried out during the 1950s.
The building is interesting from an architectural viewpoint, and features a colonnaded porch giving access to a main entrance hall.
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Birthplace Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The latter is rather formal, with another colonnade and a perspective leading through a staircase to a mezzanine. In the focus of the perspective you can see another statue of Stalin. Every particular in the architecture here is extremely Soviet – grim, menacing, heavy.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The ticket and toilets can be accessed to the sides of the hall on the ground floor, which acts also as a meeting point for groups – but guided visits are not compulsory, you can tour the museum on your own.
Upon reaching the first floor, you meet two busts of Stalin, and a couple of interesting paintings, portraying the young Josip Vissarionovich Dzugansvili – Stalin’s its real name – as a student talking to his class mates at the seminary of Tbilisi, and later as grown-up, well-established Stalin talking to his collaborators.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The museum is composed of a few big halls. The first rooms retrace Stalin’s personal story, and are based on a mix of documents, original or reproduced, newspapers, paintings and photographs. The latter are often reproductions, often magnified – since when he was not yet famous he mostly appeared in group photographs.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Here you learn about his humble origins, and you can see the photographs of his parents, his early school reports and the first known photographs of Josip as a young boy.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
A rather brilliant pupil, he was granted access to the Orthodox seminary in Tbilisi – which back then was called Tiflis – where he moved to attend lectures and to grow to become a priest. Some works of poetry from the time, published on local newspapers in Georgian, are part of the exhibition.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Something went wrong at that time, as he got excessively fascinated with the leftmost socialist theories, spread by several authors including Lenin. A rare naive portrait of his meeting with the principal of the seminary, when he was expelled for his unacceptable and dangerous views, is part of the collection.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
This was the beginning of a militancy period, when he became known to the department of internal affairs of the Czar due to open subversive propaganda activities. He worked irregularly, publishing clandestine works in Tbilisi (see about his printing house below), holding open-air meetings in port town Batumi, and so on.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Finally, he was arrested and deported by the Czar to inland Russia. As his fame grew, he was tasked with some role in the apparatus of the clandestine political formations headed by Lenin – the factions against the Czar and even in the socialist area were many, and the intricate civil war that followed the 1917 revolution was also the result of the struggle for power of these opposing forces.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Between internment periods, he started traveling to the capital – St. Petersburg. He also met Lenin in Tampere, Finland, a country politically bound to the Russian empire until 1917. Photographs and documents from the time, a suitcase and models of the houses where Stalin resided can be found in this part. Busts including one of Stalin as a young agitator, pretty rare and likely taken from the few portraits from the time, are also parts of the collection.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Again following a historical timeline, you can find more documents and portraits of a grown-up yet young man of the apparatus. It is well known that Lenin, after the 1917 revolution, saw Stalin as a potential problem for the future of the Party. A copy of Lenin’s ‘testament’, telling his comrades to get rid of Stalin, is on display in the exhibition. As a matter of fact, Lenin’s illness and demise in 1924 started a period of transition.
Stalin, by 1922 general secretary of the communist party of the USSR, fought and won against all other members of the communist party, making his appointment in the government the most powerful. He managed to maintain his role until his death in 1953, reigning as an unopposed tyrant at least since the end of the 1920s, when he prevailed over his most strenuous opponent, Trotzkij.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
As he started to gain power, official portraits started to appear, both paintings and photographs. These pieces of the collection are also interesting, for not many portraits of Stalin have survived in official displays, after he was condemned by his political heirs.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Also books from his speeches and prints from his personal history, to be distributed to the general public, are displayed here.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Prominence in the communist party of the USSR gained a special status also to Stalin’s family. His mother had a decent place to live, and his son payed a visit more than once – this is the subject of some portraits. A porcelain set from Stalin’s mother household is on display.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Curious artifacts in this part of the museum include a desk from some communist office of the time of Stalin’s purges.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
As a marshal in WWII – the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 as it was known in the USSR – Stalin reached international recognition and world fame. His ability as a general is open to critics, for he managed to kill most of the most experienced staff in the purges of the 1930s, and appointed generals – mostly like Hitler – based on their political attitude. It is questionable whether without substantial help from the then-allies of the Soviet Union (Britain and the US) a victory against Germany could have been reached, despite a disproportionate number of casualties in the rows of the Red Army. However, the final march to Berlin, which gained him control over half of Europe, raised him to the level of a world leader. The exhibition reflects this recognition, with books by Stalin translated in several languages, gifts from generals of the Red Army – including an authentic monstrosity donated to the museum by WWII hero General Zhukov in the 1960s – and many pictures from the war years.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
A showcase is dedicated to Stalin’s sons and heirs. He had five sons, from two wives and other women, and his descent is still existent today.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
A corner hall hosts a kind of monumental installation, a small Soviet monument not among the best of the kind. Made of lighted reproductions of photographs, it is a kind of recap of Stalin’s triumphs and special moments.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The next hall concludes the climax, and is really unique. It is a circular room padded with black leather panels. At the center of a circular colonnade you can see at the level of the ground one of the few – apparently 12 – original reproductions of Stalin’s head from his death mask.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Thanks to the special installation featuring a strong symmetry and a special lighting, the head is really magnetic.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Stalin died at 75 in March 1953 in undisclosed circumstances, possibly to the hand of somebody in his entourage. Some paintings from his funeral can be seen around the room, together with a model of the mausoleum of Lenin on the Red Square in Moscow, where Stalin was interred for a few years, until removed when finally condemned by his party – note the writing in Cyrillic ‘Lenin – Stalin’ on the mausoleum, later reverted to ‘Lenin’ only.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The next hall is dedicated to international relationships, displayed through photographs, memorabilia and the plenty of gifts Stalin received in his years as a communist dictator.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
There are presents from Georgia and other Soviet republics, and from international delegations. The latter were from both the eastern bloc – Eastern Germany, Poland, China – and most strikingly from the West, and even from NATO countries like France and Italy!
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Back to the top of the staircase, you get access to one of the highlights of the exhibition. In a final room you find on display the original furniture of Stalin’s office at the Kremlin. There is a desk with an armchair, a sofa, and a set of smaller chairs. Stylistically not very appealing, this furniture is of course of great historical relevance.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Close by, more unique items are on display in two showcases – Stalin’s personal belongings. There are a few cigars – now decomposing to age – some cigarettes, a cigarette box, a ruler, two pipes, a pen, a chessboard, a hand-written message to a friend, and some other trinkets. Finally, there is a military uniform, with boots and coat.
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum and Birthplace Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
When you have got intoxicated by the Soviet aura of this place, you can finally get out and visit the last item in the park, Stalin’s personal railway car. This was actually used by Stalin, who did not like flying, to travel around the Union and abroad. He went to Teheran and Jalta conferences during WWII in this car.
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
The car is special in having a bullet-proof armor all around – which produces a weight comparable to that of a Diesel railway engine… – and some special services, like a bathtub, a personal studio and a meeting room.
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Joseph Stalin Museum Railway Car Gori Georgia Soviet Relic
Stalin’s ‘memorial park’ in Gori is really a one-of-a-kind museum, of exceptional interest for people interested to his period and his historical figure. You may be surprised by the very existence of this place, primarily because of the well-known and heavy responsibility of this man in mass-murders and misconduct as a head of state, and also because it is located in Georgia, a country openly hostile to Russia and its hard political domination, implemented through the institution of the Soviet Union. It is one of the expressions of the contradictory attitude of most peoples touched by the USSR – including Russians – towards that era. It remains a thought-provoking collection of historical value though – gifts from international delegation from the West are a vivid memory of the recognition obtained by this mass-murderer during his lifetime. They are particularly instructive about how propaganda can draw international consensus to the most unthinkable subjects.
Getting there and moving around
Getting to Georgia from the West will be hardly for Gori alone. Despite the nice, well-kept town center, with the castle and several refurbished churches and alleys, and of course the Stalin-related part, there are far more significant places to visit in Georgia, at least if you are coming from far away to this relatively hard-to-reach angle of the world. Yet Gori is located in a convenient position along the major road and railway connecting Tbilisi to Kutaisi and the coast of the Black Sea, which makes for an ideal one-day or even half-day stop.
The town is a good place to sleep, for there are a number of guesthouses and restaurants, and it does not look derelict or unsafe, differently for instance from more prominent Kutaisi. The whole Stalin-themed park, with the birthplace, museum and railway car, is rather compact, and not big, so visiting may take from 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on your level of interest. This is the main attraction in town. Strangely, I could not find an official website – this is strange for most labels are translated also in English, and there is even some merchandise, so the place is run as a modern museum. However, Google or TripAdvisor timetables were correct at least when I visited.
Plenty of public parking space around the museum.
In town there is also a war museum dedicated to the Great Patriotic War (covered here), as well as other non-communist themed attractions.
Joseph Stalin’s Underground Printing House Museum – Tbilisi
This museum was opened in Soviet times in the place of a house where young Stalin spent some time as a political agitator. His main activity related to this place was printing clandestine material.
Access it through modern Soviet buildings, with a hall which unfortunately cannot be visited.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
The house is presented inside a small garden. There are two light buildings, a half-timbered house and a smaller hut.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
The two are connected by a deep underground passage. This double access to the underground was of great help to evade controls by Czarist authorities. The main underground hall is original.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Possibly intended as a food cellar, it was used to store a 19th century printing machine – made in Augsburg, Germany, as witnessed by the rusty but still readable factory label!
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
The half-timbered house is apparently a Soviet-era reproduction of the building originally in place. It is a two-rooms house, very similar to Stalin’s birth house in Gori (see above). The two rooms have been furnished with a few berths and tables, to provide an idea of the original look, and with tons of artifacts from Stalin’s and Soviet times.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
These include portraits, photographs, books and emblems. There is also a model of a similar clandestine print house in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
Tbilisi Stalin Underground Printing House Soviet Era Communism Museum
All in all, this place has a historical significance as Stalin’s early headquarter, and as a Soviet place of pilgrimage. Differently from Stalin-themed park in Gori, it has been basically forgotten – it is kept open by aged volunteers.
Getting there and moving around
The museum is located at the following GPS coordinates – 41.690454, 44.829999. It is located west of Tbilisi city center, at a walking distance from it, but the walk is not recommended for the neighborhood is nothing special. Going by car or taxi is more time-efficient. Public parking on the street available around the block.
There is no official website to my knowledge. Entrance is by cash only, free offer. See Google for opening times, which are mainly in the central hours of the day. You can visit on your own, but one of the local enthusiasts running the museum will likely provide some information, and there is also a basic leaflet in English. Visiting may take about .5 hours.
While almost all nuclear sites you can find in European Countries once beyond the Iron Curtain are today totally abandoned and fairly unaccessible, there exists a perhaps unique exception. The Plokstine site in northwestern Lithuania has been selected around 2010 for complete refurbishment with the help of public money, and in 2012 it has opened its doors as a museum. Located in a beautiful natural setting crowded with hikers – namely Zemaitija National Park, a national recreation area around Plateliai lake – it has quickly grown to international fame, and is now recording several thousands visitors per year, with guided tours in multiple languages – including English – offered on a regular basis during the warm season.
What is today an intriguing tourist destination, used to be part of a large Soviet installation for launching ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads. It is worth mentioning that Lithuania was a ‘Soviet Socialist Republic’ in the realm of the USSR, i.e. not just a satellite country of the Soviet Union, but part of it. Actually, this small country on the shores of the Baltic Sea, on the extreme western border of Soviet territory, was an ideal location for deploying weapons to hit European targets from within the Union. Furthermore, the Plokstine forest was – and still is – a little populated area, where construction works for a large top-secret military facility for storing and operating offensive cutting-edge hi-tech warfare would go likely unnoticed.
The missile complex was completed in December 1962, in the years of Khrushchev and Kennedy. The Plokstine site comprises of four interred silos and an extensive underground command station in the middle – the ensemble constituted a so-called ‘Dvina’ launch complex.
The ‘Dvina’ site in Plokstine was actually the last part of the missile base to be built. Two more sister surface sites, with four launchpads each, had been completed one year before, just west of the nearby village of Saiteikiai. These surface sites were similar to those you can find in Latvia (see this post), a neighbor country where unfortunately the last remaining ‘Dvina’ site was demolished in 2017, but abundant traces of the Soviet presence can still be found.
All three launch complexes in this region were designed around the R-12 missile. The R-12U missile was actually used in the underground ‘Dvina’ complex, slightly different from the surface-launched R-12. This weapon was better known by its NATO designation – SS-4 Sandal – and was a 2.3 megaton, single warhead, single stage nuclear missile. It reached true international notoriety before the base in Plokstine was activated, for this was the type deployed to Cuba in the missile crisis of 1962. Coincidentally, part of the staff transferred to Cuba in the days preceding the crisis was from the same rocket regiment of the Red Army (the 79th) stationed in Plokstine. Sandal missiles from here were reportedly transferred in complete secrecy to Cuba, via the port town of Sevastopol in Crimea in that occasion.
The base remained operational until the last missile – by then obsolete – left in 1978.
The Baltics were the first republics to leave the dying Soviet Union, openly defying the military authority of neighbor Russia. After the collapse of the Union and the end of communism in Europe, these three states – which historically do not belong to Russian culture – quickly joined the NATO and European Union, to escape Russian influence as much as possible. Most Soviet military installations were shut down and abandoned, and have been for two decades an interesting destination for explorers and war historians (see this post for many examples). Later on, most sites have been slowly demolished or converted into something else. Really a few of them have been preserved for posterity.
In this post you can find photographs from the Cold War Museum now open in the former ‘Dvina’ site of Plokstine, from a visit in 2017. Close to the bottom, you can find a few further photographs from a previous visit made by appointment in 2009, before the site was selected for renovation – these may be more appealing for Soviet-aura lovers!
Sights
What can be visited today is all in the area of the old ‘Dvina’ complex. The complex is mainly composed of four interred silos, covered by heavy steel & concrete bulged covers, placed on the four corners of a square. These gigantic caps are the most prominent components of the site from the outside. Today, an observation deck has been erected on the south of the area. From there, you can appreciate the distinctive plan of the ‘Dvina’ complex, with an access road terminating in a loop touching all four armored silo covers.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
The weight of each cover is told to be around 100 tonnes, as it was armored to withstand a nuclear explosion. The covers would be pulled sideward with a sled mechanism, to open the silos before launch. Unmovable missile launch complexes, like the ‘Dvina’ site in Plokstine, were easy and attractive targets for western weapons, thus requiring a very strong defense barrier. Similar considerations led the design of the Titan missile sites in the US, which albeit more powerful and capable of a greater range, are roughly from the same era (see this post).
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
To get near the silos or get access to the museum, you need to pay a ticket and join a guided tour. The visit includes a tour of the Cold War Museum, which has been prepared inside the rooms of the former control center. The tour will start from the visitor center, a new modern building. You will soon go through a specimen of the original fences which ran around the ‘Dvina’ complex, and which included barbed wire and high-voltage electrified lines. Close by, you can find traces of original unarmored constructions, likely service buildings. The missile site was operated by more than 300 troops stationing in a number of smaller centers in the area around the complex.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
The guide will lead you along a walk around the surface part of the complex, where you can see the construction of the caps from very close. The metal part is very rusty, but the concrete cover has been refurbished and looks like new – a pretty unusual sight, for connoisseurs of Soviet military relics!
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Access to the underground missile service and control center is via a small metal door, right in the middle of the square formed by the four silos.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
A few rooms in the control center today host the exhibitions of the Cold War Museum. A room displays a quick time-line of the Cold War, since the end of WWII to the end of the USSR. In the adjoining rooms you can find propaganda items
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Another room is about defense against nuclear threat. This is interesting, with many artifacts like dosimeters and medical tools, plus easily readable instructions of ‘dos and don’ts’ in case of nuclear attack.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Another room is about the evolution of weapons over the Cold War decades, with original material from the time, including heavier tactical weapons.
The exhibition is modern, small but not superficial, and may appeal to any public, including children. Besides the exhibits, you can appreciate the relatively small size of all rooms and connecting corridors in the former control center.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
As you are driven next to the missile operation part, you can find a scale model of the ‘Dvina’ complex and a cut-out of a R-12U silo, together with a map of the relatively few missile sites in Lithuania – from the map, it can be argued that, for some reason, many more sites were prepared in nearby Latvia.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Resting quarters for the troops and a communication station with original electronic gear have been reconstructed based on original footage and pics. Communication with the military headquarters was clearly an essential task – it was the only way an order to launch could be issued – and the serviceman on duty was responsible for assuring a permanent link with the chain of command. In other words, he was instructed not to leave his headphones under any circumstances, during a several hours-long shift!
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
On the sides of the corridors you can see holes for the extensive network of cables and pipes. Further on, you meet the most ‘hardware’ part of the exhibition. First, the original diesel-fueled power generator has been refurbished and is standing in its original room. The underground complex was designed not only to withstand a nuclear blast, but also to provide shelter for all servicemen for several days following an attack. This meant air filters, food, water, technical supplies and of course electrical power, were all essential assets. Oil for the generator was stored in a container in an adjoining room.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Finally, you get access to one of the four silos. You need to go through a tight door opened on the wall of the concrete structure of the control center. Writings in Cyrillic can be spotted on the walls in this area. From there, you will see the cylindrical shape of the metal structure of the silo from the side. This metal canister is really big, the ‘Dvina’ silos featured a much greater diameter than the SS-4 missile they were built for. This was somewhat different from their US counterpart (see this post), where the missile diameter fits the size of the silo without much margin.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
You can get access to the silo via the original hatch, cut in the metal wall close to the rim on top of the silo, just beneath the external cap. Going through this hatch is incredibly difficult – it is extremely narrow, much longer than the size of a human step, and tilted upwards! It is hard to understand why the Soviets built it in a size so small – this applies to the control center too, for all corridors are really narrow and the ceiling in the rooms is so low you may easily need to bend forward! For those who don’t want to try the original entry to the silo, there is now a non-original door cut in the side of the canister.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War
The inside of the silo can be observed from an original service deck, immediately under the external cover. From here you can clearly appreciate the size of the construction – the missile was more than 70 ft long, and sat here in a vertical position. The SS-4 was among the first missiles to make use of a storable liquid propellant, which allowed it to stay in almost-launch-ready conditions for a prolonged time, if resting in a silo. Nonetheless, the time for opening the armored caps was about 30 minutes, which meant this was not exactly quick to launch. The understructure of the armored caps can be clearly appreciated from inside the silo.
Photographs Before Restoration Works – Ghost Base
When I visited this site for the first time in 2009, it was open only by appointment. Unfortunately, I had only a compact camera at the time, and the very low light inside plus a rainy day outside, meant I could take only a few acceptable pictures.
However, they provide an idea of the state of the ‘Dvina’ complex before it was decided to reconfigure it as a museum.
As you can see, the armored silo caps were in a worse shape than today, yet not heavily damaged. The barbed wire fence around the four silos was probably original Soviet.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Inside, the control rooms were basically empty, except for some communist emblems and flags. Green wall paint and Cyrillic writings could be found even at the time, so what you see today is likely original. The generator, whilst in bad shape, was there.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
The silo could be accessed only via the original hatch, and except for the partial darkness, its appearance is similar today.
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
Dvina Plokstine SS-4 Sandal Soviet Missile Base Lithuania Cold War Old Before Restoration
It is out of doubt that the ‘Soviet ghost aura’ of the base was somewhat lost in the restoration process, yet credit must be given to the effort of the local government in preserving a rare and relevant trace of military history through an expensive restoration process.
Getting there and moving around
The Cold War Museum (Šaltojo karo muziejus in the local idiom) is located in the Zemaitija National Park, northwestern Lithuania, east of lake Plateliai. Access is via the road 2302. The place is totally accessible and well advertised locally. Visiting the outside of the armored caps and inside is possible only with a guided tour, offered in many languages including English, and lasting about 50 minutes. No fee is required for climbing on top of the observation deck. Full information through the official website here.
During the last two years of WWII, the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany was slowly retreating from the eastern front, pushed back by the mighty blows of the Red Army. The bombing runs carried out by the western Allies from airfields in Britain were systematically hitting most urban centers in mainland Germany and over the territory occupied by the Nazis. It is hard to imagine, but it was in the year 1944, when the destiny of Germany was almost sealed, that industrial production in Hitler’s Third Reich reached an all-time record.
At that time the Germans were desperately short of fuel, raw materials and troops, and their production efforts would not spare them from a complete defeat in 1945. Yet it was in the last stages of the war that some of the most ambitious industrial facilities were designed, built and in some cases made operative before the end of the war.
The driver of the design was in most cases the need to move production lines to secluded and well protected areas, difficult to spot and to destroy through air bombing. As a result, these sites were placed far from urban centers. They were also designed to withstand bombing, by putting them underground, or building them with substantial reinforcement, making large use of one of Nazi Germany’s favorite materials – reinforced concrete.
In this chapter two major sites of this kind are described. One is in southwestern Poland, a region which had been part of the German Empire for long before WWII. The second is in eastern Bayern, today one of Federal Germany’s most prosperous states, close to the border with the Czech Republic. Photographs were taken in late summer 2018.
Construction around this cluster of underground sites started in late 1943, and reportedly lasted until the closing stages of WWII, just days before the Soviets entered the region. The name ‘Riese’ means ‘giant’ in German, and it is surely well suited for this complex, which while far from finished is really striking in size. It was actually composed of at least six major construction sites, which in the intention of their designers should have been developed deeper in the mountains, until a link could be established between them forming a formidable network of tunnels and large halls.
Besides the size and historical meaning of these sites, what makes project ‘Riese’ so fascinating is also the actual purpose of this incredible complex is far from established. Three major theories exist in this respect. The complex might have been intended to be an underground industrial city, a kind of Noah’s Ark for the ‘superior race’ embodied by the top-ranking military and governmental staff of the Reich, or a gigantic secret laboratory for innovative technologies.
What is sure is that the construction was carried out by forced labor, mainly by prisoners of Gross-Rosen concentration camp, just a few miles north of the complex. For the scope, the Nazis created a number of satellite camps next to the entrance of the construction sites. Rather incredibly, only very scant traces of the project remain in the written records of key figures of Nazi Germany – Albert Speer’s personal diary notably reports some millions marks allocated for project ‘Riese’, and at some point after the war he cited the item resulting from the completion of the construction works, whatever its purpose, as sized to be capable of hosting some tens of thousands people.
Today, six construction sites have been discovered, of which two – Osowka and Rzeczka, the most conspicuous – have been opened to the public, whereas the other are visitable basically for speleologists only.
Osowka
The first visitable site is in the town of Osowka. This site is composed of two parts, one underground with access from the side of a hill, the other close to the top of the same hill.
The underground part can be visited only with a guide. The plant of the completed construction features two accesses, and you will be driven in using the first and out using the other. Between the entrances, the site is mainly composed of an array of parallel tunnels pointing towards the mountain, connected by long halls.
Close to the entrance you can spot a concrete guardhouse with loopholes for machine guns. Some wooden structures like in a mine have been put in place to give an idea of the appearance of the working technique at the time of construction.
Most tunnels have been dug but not reinforced with concrete walls, whereas others are almost complete, showing a peculiar two-level design. The lower level features a smaller section, and the top one a taller, round shaped section.
A feature of the ‘Riese’ complex is a special technique for building the inner concrete coat of the rocky tunnels, producing the distinctive ‘church-ceiling-like’ appearance of some of the halls, with a round shape and frames close to one another.
The Osowka site features also a collection of smaller artifacts, collected from the ground and dating from the construction years, i.e. from late WWII.
Life-size silhouettes of some WWII tanks are on display, to show how the size of these items was totally compatible with the size of the tunnels, in support of a potential use of the site for weapon manufacture.
The outside part, which can be accessed freely, is the most mysterious. At the base of the trail leading uphill you can spot a strange concrete platform, with provision for – possibly – interred pipelines.
Close to the top of the hill you can find a huge concrete platform, with an apparently chaotic ensemble of slots, pipes, handles, stairs and pools. This item has been deemed close in shape to the base of a service building for the valves and pipelines of a power-plant. Theories have flourished in support of the use of this item as a prototype control system for a nuclear power-plant.
The nuclear program of the Nazis, which indeed existed and is even documented to some extent, is shrouded in mystery for what concerns the actual findings obtained during the war. These dark spots are also due to the destruction of most of the hardware connected with the program everywhere in Germany, and with the inherent secret nature of the program itself. No evidence exists of the Osowka site in the public papers about the nuclear studies of the Reich, so the true purpose of this object is likely to remain an unsolved riddle.
Close by this platform, you can find an original concrete building, part of the same construction plan. It is pretty long, with large windows, and likely intended for troops or technical staff.
Compared to Osowka, this site is more centered on the inside part. Again, there are two entrances, close by a creek on the side of a hill, providing access to a network of tunnels. Similar to Osowka, close by the entrance you can find guard-houses in concrete. These were built soon, possibly for keeping a watch on the forced workers.
The construction works in Rzeczka were less advanced than those in Osowka. Yet thanks to the lack of the concrete coat, you can appreciate the size of the tunnels, some of which are really tall.
There are small collections of artifacts found in the tunnels, and an original concrete room offers a description of all discovered sites of the ‘Riese’ project.
A 1:1 copy of a V-1 German flying bomb has been placed in one of the tunnels, to show the compatibility of the size of this weapon with the tunnel. Such weapons were reportedly assembled in underground facilities elsewhere in Germany.
Visiting is again possible only with a guide. Some multi-media experiences with sounds, lights and voices are included in the tour, but these are not so impressive for those who don’t understand Polish.
On the outside, you can spot some relics from construction years, including trolleys, and concrete slabs watermarked with symbols of the local construction companies tasked with the practical realization of the site. There is also a copy of a V-2 rocket, operative in the last months of WWII but little effective in changing the fate of Nazi Germany.
As pointed out, the sites connected with project ‘Riese’ are many, but most of them are not visitable unless to specialists and with the help of a speleologist. On the other hand, the two sites of Osowka and Rzeczka are professionally operated as primary tourist attractions. The distance from these two sites is about 20 minutes by car, so you can surely arrange the tour of both sites on the same day, with much spare time in your daily schedule.
At Osowka you can find a large parking and a fully equipped visitor center, where you can book a guided tour, or join a departing one – the only way to get inside. Please note that the number of people admitted on each tour is relatively small, so I would suggest booking at least one day in advance through their website (partly also in English) to be sure to get a place at the time you like. They offer several different tours. The most complete include a visit to a part of the underground site which can only be accessed by boat. This is given only on some days by reservation, and only for groups. The standard tour of the inside is offered several times a day.
The guided may turn out really boring, cause you are provided an audio-guide in English with explanations lasting a couple of minutes for each of the circa ten stops, in face of the Polish-speaking guide talking about 5 minutes per site. You may try to spend your spare time taking good pictures, but even though groups are relatively small, they tend to obstruct the view inside, leaving poor chances for acceptable shots. Furthermore, lighting is not very good, so a tripod would be recommended, except you don’t have the time and chance for undisturbed long poses. Therefore, if you are interested in top-level pictures, you would better arrange a dedicated tour out of the normal touristic offer. Otherwise, you’d better go prepared to a difficult visit.
The outside part of the site is less frequented and more rewarding. It can be reached in about ten minutes following a pretty steep, unpaved trail in the trees. This part is unfenced and unguarded.
The Rzeczka site has only an inside part, which can be visited only on a guided tour. You can join one of the frequent tours they provide even without reservation. There is a small visitor center and plenty of parking space. Similar to Osowka, the guide will speak in Polish, and you are provided an audio-guide in English. The visit lasts less than in the case of Osowka, and the audio-guide explanations are more proportionate to the speech of the Polish-speaking guide, making for a more enjoyable visit. The multi-media experiences are of little relevance for non Polish-speaking people. Outside you can find also some panels with explanations on the history of the site in both Polish and English. Website with some info in English here.
The tunnels in Rzeczka are poorly lighted too, so photographing will be difficult unless with a tripod, but the conditions are not very favorable for operating with a tripod – many people around and short times between stops along the tour.
‘Weingut I’ Aviation Industry Complex, Germany
The giant complex known as ‘Weingut I’, the original codename attributed by the Nazi staff at the time of its design and construction, is the direct result of a plan to relocate all major industrial production lines of the Reich to protected areas, far from the line of the front and from any major urban center. In this particular case, the new factory was intended to shelter the production line of the new Junkers Jumo 004 jet engines for the ‘Schwalbe’ – also known as Messerschmitt Me-262, this was the first jet fighter in the world to be pushed into service, back in 1944.
The huge factory was designed based on a basic module made of a reinforced concrete arch, some 250 ft open, 100 ft tall and 10 to 15 ft thick. This item was to be built on site and partly buried under ground level. Twelve such modules were needed for the complete hangar, with a total intended length of the factory of around 1.200 ft. Of the planned twelve sections, seven were actually built between mid-1944 and the end of the war.
Despite the intended scope was that of hiding the factory to protect it from aerial reconnaissance, due to the size of the construction works the object was reportedly spotted by US aircraft, but not attacked. Actually, the special construction was tested against explosives by the US Army after the war, resulting in the collapse of all modules except one, which is still standing today besides the pretty sizable relics of the others.
The site is not actively guarded, but it is located in a regional nature preserve, so access is through a nice walk in the trees. Once next to the hangar you can find multiple access points.
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Close to the main arch, the only one still standing, it is possible to find an explanatory panel in German only. It commemorates also the forced laborers from the nearby concentration camps, who had to take part substantially in the construction works.
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Walking under the arch is at your own risk, cause despite the bulky appearance of the structure, smaller pieces of concrete are hanging from from the ceiling. However, a walk inside will give you the most striking impression of the size of the hangar.
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Just nearby the remaining module to the west you can find a walkable, half interred bunker, likely with a technical function which is today hard to imagine.
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
The module still standing today is the westernmost of the hangar, so walking east you will have the chance to step on the roof of the demolished modules. A number of thick iron rods can be spot at ground level.
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Walking along the former southern side of the hangar, you can spot a deep well, probably part of the construction strategy. It may have been used to take out the gravel from beneath the base of the arches to lower them to a rest position on more compact ground.
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Along the same side you can find a way to walk below the fallen structure. You can also get a view of the edge of one of the modules.
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
Weingut I Hitler’s Messerschmitt Hangar Germany
The eastern end of the complex is probably the most hazardous, cause you find an unprotected concrete cliff a good 10 ft high, constituted by the edge of a fallen module.
All in all, the place is a nice example of the undeniable structural design abilities of the German military, really interesting to visit both from a technical viewpoint and as a witness of the utopian visions of the Nazis, which unfortunately cost the lives of many.
Getting there and moving around
Reaching the trail-head is very easy by car. Leaving Mühldorf am Inn for Waldkraiburg along the road St2352, about 0.5 miles south of the crossing with St2550 you will find a sizable gravel factory to your right, preceded by an unpaved road taking west in the trees. You can park on the unpaved road on the northern side of the factory – probably a heir of the original factory built to feed the construction works of the hangar.
From there, you should take the unpaved trail into the trees, closed to vehicle traffic. It is another 0.5 miles to the site, on a flat and easy trail. A quick scan of the Google map will allow you to plan the trip. The place is not remote, cell phones work and you may use a virtual map to get oriented on site. Visiting might take about 2 hours for a very interested subject, including the trip from the parking and back, plus all time needed for pictures .
Belarus is exceptional in the panorama of post-soviet countries. Maybe thanks to its geographical location, next to the heart of Europe yet in the closest vicinity of todays Russian Federation, this large piece of almost flat and fertile land is the contact point of two civilizations and ways of life – Russia and core Europe – which merge here in an inexplicable harmony. And this is perfectly reflected in the appearance of its unique capital town – Minsk.
If you have never been there but you are not new to former-communist countries in Europe, what you might expect from the capital of very little-mentioned Belarus, a republic once in the realm of the USSR, is a chaotic town, full of rotting, stripped buildings built with the huge volumes typical to the peripheral areas of Moscow and St. Petersburg, old and smoky Ladas and Chaikas rumbling along rough roads full of puddles, like ten years ago in Sofia or Bucharest (see for instance this chapter). Once there, you will soon understand the picture is really different.
The impression is that of a rich country, with infrastructures right at the level or even above those of western Europe, large and paved roads, modern cars, gas stations everywhere, freshly painted buildings, leveled walkways, colored lights and nightlife.
Of course, the soviet grand architecture is all there. Actually, since Minsk was totally destroyed in 1944, in a fierce battle between the Red Army and the slowly retreating German Wehrmacht – an episode which gained the town the high honor of ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’, still eagerly displayed today – after the war was over, a master-plan for the reconstruction in a perfect Stalinist style was put in place. As a result, Minsk is a rare – perhaps unique – example of a Soviet model-capital from the early Cold War era, when the USSR ruled by Stalin had just triumphed on the stage of a world conflict, and it was setting about to keep up its hold on all eastern Europe. In this sense, at least for a westerner Minsk looks today a town more soviet than others in Russia.
Another element you perceive clearly, not so typical to bigger and way more populated metropolitan areas in the nations of eastern Europe and even in Russia, is a strong sense of order. Nightlife is quiet and not bombastic, cars move around at moderate speed and without creating jams, everything is very clean and calm. Minsk is both busy and quiet, thriving and disciplined – maybe this is just how a soviet capital should have looked like? Belarus suggests how the Soviet Union might have evolved in our days, had it survived its own social and economic failure.
Still today the strong ties with the Russian Federation help feeding the economy on the one hand, but on the other make entering this country a complicated business, like the case is for Russia – anticipated invitations, visas, stringent time frame limitations, … All these rules are gradually being lifted, but the country remains oriented mainly towards its huge eastern neighbor – something you see confirmed looking at the airport timetable in Minsk, from where you can fly to anywhere in Russia, but almost nowhere in Europe. While possibly difficult to deal with, all these controls and bureaucracy help preserving some ‘soviet aura’, which may add to an uncommon travel experience.
This post presents some photographs from central Belarus, taken during a visit to Minsk and some neighbor sites – conveniently reached with a car in less than two hours – in spring 2018.
Map and Visiting
The majority of the sites listed on this chapter can be reached with a relatively short walk from whatever hotel in the city center. Nonetheless, the city is not small and some perspectives are really broad and long. For a more relaxed visit as well as for reaching Khatyn and the Stalin’s Line a car is highly recommended.
Entering the country with a car can be a nightmare, but flying into Minsk and renting a car is indeed possible – I landed in Minsk from Kiev in the Ukraine, and got my car from Avis. Differently from most former countries of the Eastern Bloc, roads are well in line with the highest European standard. Gas stations are abundant, and they accept credit cards. Plus traffic is really well-disciplined, totally different from the Balkan states or even Russia. Parking is generally not a problem, so hop-on/hop-off from your car allows for a time-saving, very effective way of moving in downtown Minsk.
Of course, if you are not planning to go beyond the city limits, you may choose to move around with the public transport system, with a fairly extensive network. Generally speaking, everything is like in the western world from the viewpoint of services, most top-tier western hotels are represented, there are shopping malls with international brands, and so on.
Minsk and its surroundings are unrealistically ordered, you feel perfectly safe both day and night – totally to the other end of the spectrum, compared to other post-soviet cities in eastern Europe.
I spent three full days visiting Minsk and its surroundings, including some historical sites not covered in this chapter, located farther west in the country. I would say this is a good compromise for getting a decent insight of this city.
The backbone of the Stalinist architectural master-plan put in place in Minsk is a multi-miles boulevard called Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi, the longest boulevard in the world at least in Minsk’s tradition, cutting through the most monumental districts and connecting the executive airport to the southwest of downtown to the eastern peripheral belt of the city. The end of the boulevard to the east is not evident, for at some point it changes into a highway, leaving Minsk behind, heading for Smolensk and Moscow.
If you are coming in town from the main airport, located well out of the urban area to the southeast, you are likely to be driven along the full length of this boulevard – with its unpronounceable name.
Along this boulevard, or very close to it, you will meet the majority of the sights described in this chapter.
You may get a really striking impression from this boulevard visiting at night, for every building along it is lighted. The pictures below give some examples.
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Victory Monument
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Independence Square
Locating the actual focal point in the center of Minsk is not easy, but a choice may be Independence Square, once Lenin’s Square – as the name of the underground station recalls. This may be also a trail-head for your tour of the town.
This long and narrow square hides an underground shopping mall. The crystal cupolas on the ground are a distinctive feature of the square. The central monument is centered on the stork as a subject. This bird is not uncommon in this part of Europe, and is the national bird of Belarus.
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square University
Around the square you can find some notable buildings. On the northern side is the Roman Catholic church of Saint Simon and Saint Helena, dating from the beginning of the 20th century, and closed for the long decades of the communist dictatorship.
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Catholic Church
Minsk Belarus Catholic Church
Minsk Belarus Catholic Church
In the northwest corner it is impossible to miss the huge Palace of the Government, with a prominent statue of Lenin. Similar to Russia, the father of pragmatic communism and of the Soviet Union is still kept in high respect.
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square Statue
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square Statue
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square Statue
Continuing around the square, the tallest building to the west and the adjoining facades on the southern side are all part of the Belorussian State University. To the southeastern corner you can spot an office of the Department of Justice.
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square University
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square University
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square University
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square Court
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Central Post Office
Leaving the square along Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi to the east, a first distinctive building is the central post office. The hammer and sickle emblem is still proudly standing on top of the eclectic, soviet-classicism façade. You can find also an interesting clock, looking like a gigantic copy of a vintage radio alarm from the 1960s.
Minsk Belarus Central Post Office
Minsk Belarus Central Post Office
Minsk Belarus Central Post Office
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square Post Office
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square Post Office
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square
Minsk Belarus Lenin Square Post Office
Inside, the small cupola covers a fully functional post office, where also many items of philatelic interest from the Eastern Bloc can be found (they accept credit cards).
Stately apartment and office buildings can be found on both sides of the boulevard as you walk east.
Minsk Belarus Central District Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Central Buildings
Minsk Belarus KGB Building
Minsk Belarus KGB Building
Minsk Belarus Central Buildings
Minsk Belarus Central Buildings
Minsk Belarus Central District
Minsk Belarus Central District
Minsk Belarus Central District
Minsk Belarus Central District Worlds Longest Boulevard
KGB Headquarters
Yes, the name is correct. It is not an exaggeration. Differently from the Russian Federation, the Belorussian government did not change the name of the world-famous State’s security service since the time of the USSR. The huge building of the headquarters is clearly the same. The façade looks impenetrable and grim.
Minsk Belarus KGB Building
Minsk Belarus KGB Building
Minsk Belarus KG Building
Minsk Belarus KG Building
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
The shield and sword emblem is still prominently standing on the wooden front door.
Minsk Belarus KGB Building
Minsk Belarus KGB Building
Minsk Belarus KGB Building
Minsk Belarus KG Building
Minsk Belarus KGB Building
The ‘soviet aura’ around here couldn’t be more intense. This building is really magnetic, a living witness of a bygone era.
Cross the street, where a nice boulevard – with the very Soviet name of Komsomolskaya Ulitsa – takes to the south going slightly downhill, you can even spot a bust of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a Bolshevik, Lenin’s friend, revolutionary, and founder of the Cheka – the revolutionary executive repression service, years later to evolve in the KGB.
Minsk Belarus KGB Building Dzerzhinski
Minsk Belarus KGB Building Dzerzhinski
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Dzerzhinsky was the armed hand of Lenin, and due to its clear and heavy responsibility in the killing of many of the early victims of the October Revolution, he was put aside even in Russia, his statue being reportedly removed from ahead the Lubjanka, the KGB headquarter in Moscow. The same did not happen in Minsk, possibly because the man was from a noble family from around here.
Crossing with Ulitsa Lenina
Moving on, you will find more buildings with nice soviet-themed friezes and decorations, including the building of the Central Bank of Belarus.
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Bank Worlds Longest Boulevard
The crossing with Ulitsa Lenina – not unexpectedly – is another focal point of the architectural master-plan. Clearly, here is McDonald’s – probably the neatest in the world!
Minsk Belarus Lenin Street
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Dzerzhinski
Minsk Belarus Dzerzhinski
Minsk Belarus Art Museum
Minsk Belarus Downtown Buildings
Minsk Belarus Downtown Buildings
Minsk Belarus Downtown Buildings
Minsk Belarus Downtown Buildings
One block to the south from this crossing along Ulitsa Lenina, you can find a house with tons of marble commemorative tablets on the front, where many notable people have lived. They include Felix Dzerzhinsky.
Kastrycnickaya Square
Taking again Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi and going west, you soon find to the north of the road a huge square – Kastrycnickaya Square – with the modern-soviet building of the Palace of the Republic right in the middle. This building was designed in the 1980s and partly built under soviet leadership. Following the collapse of the USSR, construction was halted for years, and the building was completed only in the late Nineties. It is basically an auditorium for artistic performances, conventions and public governmental meetings as well.
Minsk Belarus Palace of the Republic
Minsk Belarus Palace of the Republic
Minsk Belarus Metro Stop Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Metro Stop Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Palace of the Republic
Minsk Belarus Metro Stop Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Metro Stop Worlds Longest Boulevard
Minsk Belarus Worlds Longest Boulevard
To the eastern side of the square the Labor Union Palace of Culture is a great example of soviet classicism, with sculptures adorning the façade and corners of the greek-temple-like building.
Minsk Belarus Labor Union’s Culture Palace
Minsk Belarus Labor Union’s Culture Palace
Minsk Belarus Labor Union’s Culture Palace
Minsk Belarus Labor Union’s Culture Palace
Minsk Belarus Labor Union’s Culture Palace
Minsk Belarus Labor Union’s Culture Palace
Minsk Belarus Labor Union’s Culture Palace
Minsk Belarus Trade Union’s Culture Palace
Presidential Palace
Cross the road there is a garden going gently uphill. There is no car access to the eastern side of the garden, and you can spot the stately, grim front of a building of the Armed Forces – once the Soviet Red Army. Today this is mainly a representative building, featuring also a theater. On the southern side of the park you can find the Presidential Palace, a pure soviet-style monster occupying the majority of the block. You will see policemen discreetly keeping a watch on the area.
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus Hotel President Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
There are other smaller government-connected buildings around, some with soviet insignia. On a corner of the park there is the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre, which for the location and style may be one of the few remains of pre-soviet Minsk in the area.
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus Armed Forces Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus Theater
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus Armed Forces Palace
Television Center and Lee Harvey Oswald’s Home
Again on Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi, the road goes downhill and crosses a small waterway. The area is really nice, and looking northeast from the bridge you can spot the Television Center, with a distinctive tower made of iron beams and likely dating from soviet times.
Minsk Belarus Television Center
Minsk Belarus Television Center
Minsk Belarus Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK
Minsk Belarus Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK
Getting close to the center, you see the building right ahead of the tower, still today hosting a TV channel, is just another Soviet neoclassical building, still part of the Stalinist master-plan.
Minsk Television Center Belarus
Minsk City Center Television Center Belarus
Minsk City Center Television Center Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
The nice apartment building to the the southern side of the TV channel headquarters has some historical significance, since it was there that Lee Harvey Oswald used to live when he spent some years in the Soviet Union in the Fifties.
Minsk Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK Belarus
Minsk Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK Belarus
Minsk Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK Belarus
Minsk Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK Belarus
Minsk Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK Belarus
Minsk Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK Belarus
Minsk Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK Belarus
Minsk Lee Harvey Oswald Home JFK Belarus
Much has been said about the intricate plot leading to the shooting of President Kennedy, and the actual part of Oswald will probably remain largely unknown (see this post). Especially his relationships with the USSR are shrouded in mystery, but looking at the building – stately and very nice even for todays standard – the idea that Oswald could live there while being a poor, anonymous worker in a soviet factory does not seem very credible.
House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
This small and modest house belonging to the pre-soviet era was until the end of the USSR a pilgrimage destination from all over the Union. It was here that the embryo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, namely the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, held its first congress. This happened back in 1898, and the reportedly largely unsuccessful meeting was held in secrecy among only a few notable political figures, known as troublemakers to the government of the Tzar.
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Minsk House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party USSR Communist Belarus
Besides the political-historical interest, the small museum offers interesting memorabilia and furniture from the late Tzar’s era. This house was visited also by communist dictators and dignitaries from around the world, including Nikita Khruschev, Walter Ulbricht and Fidel Castro, whose visits are witnessed by signed documents and photographs.
Victory Monument
Going back to Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi and proceeding slightly farther east, you immediately find an oval square, with an eternal flame and a tall obelisk in the middle. This is the Soviet Victory Monument, celebrating the triumphal march of the Red Army against the invading forces of Nazi Germany. Passing under German control soon after the invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Minsk was hit with extreme violence by the maneuvers of both contending armies three years later, in a crucial battle which opened the Red Army the gate to the last rush through Poland to Berlin. The town was besieged by the Red Army, and as a result of the heavy fighting it was almost leveled when the front line moved west.
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
The monument celebrates without excesses the sacrifice of many soldiers and civilians in the struggle. Minsk and a handful of other Soviet towns – Stalingrad, Kursk and Murmansk, to name a few – were later decorated with the title of City Hero of the Soviet Union. These towns, which were the stage of as many fierce battles, are remembered here with stones bearing their names.
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
The monument is particularly striking at night, thanks to the eternal flame ahead of it and the accurate lighting of the buildings nearby making for a nice scenery.
Minsk Belarus Victory Monument
Minsk Belarus Victory Monument
Minsk Belarus Victory Monument
Minsk Belarus Victory Monument
Minsk Belarus Victory Monument
Yakuba Kolasa Square
Further east along the Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi buildings start to look more average, but there are also more nice examples of soviet architecture. You soon meet the Yakuba Kolasa square, with a the philharmonic theater and other office buildings presumably from Stalin’s time or a little later.
Minsk Belarus Philharmonic Building
Minsk Victory Monument Belarus
Minsk Belarus Central Buildings
National Library of Belarus
Closer to the eastern border of Minsk, where big apartment buildings from soviet times as well as more modern ones frame the road, you can find one of the most prominent modern buildings of Belarus, the state’s National Library, dating from 2006. The large glass volume over the main building is nicely lighted at night, but unfortunately I could not get a picture.
Minsk Belarus National Library
Minsk Belarus National Library
Minsk Belarus National Library
Minsk Belarus National Library
Minsk Belarus National Library
Minsk Belarus National Library
Minsk Belarus National Library
Minsk Belarus National Library
Close to this point, the long Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi changes into the M2 highway, leaving Minsk to the east.
Mound of Glory
An incredible Soviet relic lies about ten miles along the M2, right on the interchange with the road leading to the main airport of Minsk a few miles south. This monument is a further celebration of the victorious battle of 1944 against Germany.
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
It is built in the form of a mound with an assembly of four bayonets on top, representing the cooperation of various armies and local partisans, and a victory crown with the faces of representatives of the branches of the army and of soviet society. The monument is really soviet in style, and while not necessarily esthetically pleasant, is not excessively bombastic either.
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
The monument on top of the mound can be reached with a flight of stairs. From there you can enjoy a 360° view of the hilly and relaxing countryside around.
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
Mound of Glory Soviet Victory Monument Minsk Belarus
The monument is lighted at night, but I could not take a picture at that time.
Belorussian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War
This fantastic museum alone may easily justify a trip to Minsk! It is hosted in a building prepared on purpose, overlooking a huge green area in the city center. At the base of the hill you can spot a kind of triumphal arch, presumably built with the main building itself and forming an interesting ensemble.
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
The always growing collection relocated from a previous venue, where it had been opened to the public back in 1944, before the war had ended! By the way, the Great Patriotic War is WWII in the Soviet/Russian culture. Website here.
The collection is really huge, with rooms devoted to the many major battles fought by the Red Army in WWII. There are tons of memorabilia, including a very good collection of light weapons, and even a few larger crafts – tanks, aircraft, Katyusha rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns, field cannons, …
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Similar to other museums in the USSR, it is packed with material from Nazi Germany, which by comparison cannot be found in Germany, nor in this measure in western Europe or the US. Among the countless items, you can find also display cases devoted to soviet war spies in the west, modern dioramas and uniforms from the time.
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
On the top floor there is a large modern commemorative installation, with the names of fallen soldiers, and hammer and sickle insignia. This installation is recent – or recently refurbished – so the presence of abundant Soviet symbolism produces a strange ‘dystopia effect’.
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Outside, on top of the building you can find a further monument, with an obelisk, some sculptures, and a Red Banner waving above the cupola. Behind, there is a Lisunov Li-2, a licensed USSR-built Douglas C-47.
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Belarus Museum of the Great Patriotic War Minsk WWII Red Army Soviet
Minsk hosts an excellent aviation-themed museum, centered on warplanes and transport aircraft from the soviet era. This is covered in this dedicated chapter.
Palace of Independence
This palace not far to the back from the Museum of the Great Patriotic War is apparently another building of the Government or where the president lives – not very clear. On the rare occasions when Belarus is mentioned internationally, this is what appears on TV. It is very big and carefully watched, so the only pictures I could get were from cross the road.
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Minsk Belarus President’s Palace
Zamcyska District
This central district is located roughly between the KGB building and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. It features a large and nice pond in the middle. Here some of the few remaining notable buildings from pre-soviet age in Minsk can be found. The main group is composed of a handful of churches making for a nice sight on a low hill to the south of the pond.
Minsk Belarus City Hall
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk Belarus Lenin Street Catholic Church
Minsk Belarus Lenin Street Catholic Church
Minsk Belarus Lenin Street Catholic Church
There are an Orthodox and two Catholic churches, surrounding the old city hall. The area is really nice to tour, and at night it is very lively and fully lighted.
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Minsk City Center Trinity Hill Belarus
Close by, the Trinity Hill displays some rebuilt or refurbished buildings from the 18th century or earlier, giving an idea of how Minsk would have looked had it not been totally destroyed. Also this district is very picturesque at night, definitely a nice place for a relaxed stroll.
To the far end of the pond you can spot an unimaginable residential building, with a façade roughly as long as an airport, made a little more digestible when lighted at night.
Minsk Belarus City Center City Hall Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Church Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus Palace of the Republic
In the same area there are a large soviet-themed metallic sculpture on the front of a building, and multiple huge banners in neon lights with celebration exclamations and slogans.
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus Lenin Street
Minsk Belarus City Center Trinity Hill
Minsk Belarus Lenin Street
…More!
The city is full of majestic perspectives and interesting buildings. One of them is the totally ‘Stalin’s gothic’ Gate of Minsk, right behind the central railway station. It is composed of two bulky towers, with the façade adorned in a way resembling Kutuzovsky Alley in Moscow, or Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin, two eminent examples of this style. See this chapter for more examples of this iconic architecture.
Minsk Belarus Gate of Minsk Railway Stalin’s Gothic
Minsk Belarus Gate of Minsk Railway Stalin’s Gothic
Minsk Belarus Gate of Minsk Railway Stalin’s Gothic
Minsk Belarus Gate of Minsk Railway Stalin’s Gothic
There are also churches dating back to before the USSR era, or rebuilt after it. One of them is quite central, and surrounded by an Orthodox cemetery still used today.
Minsk Belarus City Center Church
Minsk Belarus City Center Church
Minsk Belarus City Center Church
Minsk Belarus City Center Church
Minsk Belarus City Center Church
Minsk Belarus City Center Church
Minsk Belarus City Center Church
Minsk Belarus City Center Church
To the west, the peripheral belt has been built functionally, with large infrastructures but also very big – let’s say, excessively big! – apartment buildings, in a style which is typical to post-soviet countries. Yet, as previously observed, even these areas do not look degraded, but on the contrary rather well looked after and actively maintained.
Minsk Belarus City Peripheral Buildings
Minsk Belarus City Peripheral Buildings
Minsk Belarus City Peripheral Buildings
Minsk Belarus City Peripheral Buildings
Minsk Belarus City Peripheral Buildings
Minsk Belarus City Peripheral Buildings
Minsk Belarus
Minsk Belarus
Minsk Belarus
Minsk Belarus
Minsk Belarus
Sights around Minsk
Khatyn
Much confusion exists about this location, which is actually where the forces of Nazi Germany burned an entire village with its occupants back in 1943. By chance – or may be not – in a place with the same name but some 100 miles to the east in Russian territory the NKVD (later to evolve in the KGB) by direct order of Stalin had deported and mass executed a substantial quota of the officials of the Polish Army – in the order of the thousands – in 1940. The responsibility for this tragedy was fully recognized by Russia only after the end of the USSR.
The memorial in (Belorussian) Khatyn is a celebration monument made in the 1960s to remember the local tragedy with typical soviet pomp, with statues, stonewall retracing the area of the village and stones with inscriptions.
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
There are also bells producing a sad rhythmical tone. The place stands as a memorial of all similar horrible episodes for which the Nazis are responsible.
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
Khatyn Memorial Minsk Belarus
This location is very popular since the Cold War years, and it still attracts many visitors from Belarus and nearby Russia these days. There is also a very small indoor museum, which I had not the chance to visit.
Stalin’s Line History and Heritage Museum
Similar to other countries in the inter-war period – for instance, France and Czechoslovakia – the Soviet Union invested in the preparation of a long defensive line, to fortify the western border against an invasion from central Europe. The name of the USSR’s defensive line, which passed close to Minsk, was ‘Stalin’s Line’.
This was composed of a backbone of reinforced concrete bunkers, with a capability to withstand fire from the tanks of the enemy’s armored divisions. In these bunkers, often prepared in groups of interconnected pillboxes, anti-tank cannons and machine guns were installed for effectively counteract an invasion.
The strongholds of the line were surrounded by various obstacles, including anti-tank obstacles, barbed wire traps and so on.
Construction of the Stalin’s Line was interrupted after the Ribbentrov-Molotov agreement between the USSR and Hitler’s Germany in 1939. The unfinished line turned little effective in containing the surprise aggression by the Wehrmacht in 1941, when the country fell under German controls.
Nonetheless, parts of this line are duly preserved as monuments. The Stalin’s Line History and Heritage Museum is centered on one such fort, which can be visited thoroughly. The inside of most of the bunkers have been restored to a mint condition, and are really interesting to visit.
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
The size of the rooms in the bunkers is generally smaller than the French, Czechoslovakian or Finnish counterparts. All bunkers are painted in a camo coating.
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
The museum presents also a reproduction of the border line with the Soviet Union, with a watchtower, anti-penetration barriers and green-red posts with the emblem of the USSR. In the same area, a collection of turrets from more countries is displayed.
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
A second, very large part of the museum is composed of a world’s class collection of weapons, dating from various ages from WWII and the Cold War, and providing an insight on the USSR’s warfare capabilities.
On a first apron there are field cannons, motorized cannons, rocket-launchers and armored vehicles. Close by, you can try shooting with a machine gun or even an anti-tank cannon! This unique feature of the museum makes it very lively, for you are often distracted by the loud bang of a firing weapon!
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
In another area you can spot a group of soviet aircraft and helicopters, a steam locomotive, and a full array of prefabricated structures, intended to be buried to form bunkers with various purposes – missile storage, interred barracks, … These are extremely interesting, as you can see here the actual shape of the items often found elsewhere in the former Eastern Bloc, typically in abandoned bases covered in other chapters (see for instance this chapter).
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Furthermore, there are both tactical and strategic missiles with their launching and monitoring equipment. Of particular interest is the SS-4 ‘Stiletto’
– involved in the Cuban crisis of 1962 – with its launching gantry. Notice the rig anchoring the gantry to the ground – you can find similar items even in Germany (see for instance this chapter), witnessing the deployment of this type of missile in eastern Europe.
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Finally, if you dare, you can enjoy a run on an armored vehicle. The place is reportedly active with reenactments, and actually you can find a good reconstruction of a theater of war from the WWII years.
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
A striking feature, a recent bust of Stalin has been placed in the parking – close by an Orthodox chapel, to suitably exorcise his deadly presence.
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
Stalin Line Minsk Belarus
The place is managed like a top class museum, and reportedly there are many visitors, also due to the close proximity with Minsk. Website with full information here.
Possibly one of the worlds best-known architects from the 20th century, Alvar Aalto – together with his wife Aino, also an architect – enjoyed a great popularity since the beginning of his working career. He began with experimental works mostly based on mixing and harmonizing many styles from different ages and countries – especially Italy, a Country the Aalto couple visited for the first time during their honeymoon, and which they fell in love. In the last 1920s with the birth of the functional style Aalto became a herald of this new architecture, which he mixed with an instinctive and very personal vein, resulting in something really original and easily identifiable. Aalto’s creations usually feature a great care for any detail, making any room in his buildings natural to use for its intended function.
Aalto’s work is of course well represented in his Finnish mother country, a nation which always acknowledged him as a great artistic personality and which he never left for long.
This short post presents some of the highlights of Aalto’s production in Finland. While far from complete, the sites listed here may offer already an idea of the diversity of the functions of Aalto’s buildings.
Photographs were collected on a visit to Finland in August 2017.
Surely one of the best known creations of Alvar Aalto, this beautiful mansion was built in 1938 for the Gullichsen family, owner of a successful wood pulp business and paper factory. This was not the only work commissioned to Alvar and Aino Aalto by this family.
This residential building was designed in Aalto’s typical interpretation of functional-organic architecture. The great variety of the materials and the attention to all details both inside and outside is also typical to this architect, which in this case could work without any relevant budget constraints.
The mansion is immersed in a young forest, in the hilly countryside north of Pori, close to the western coast of Finland.
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
The front façade features a small covered porch leading to the door.
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Access to the slightly overhead garden is through a pergola on the northeastern corner of the house. The garden features a large swimming pool, a fireplace and a dinner table.
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
The large windows can be removed completely to transform the large ‘double living room’ occupying most of the ground floor into an open space communicating directly with the garden and nature around.
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
Villa Mairea Noormarkku Alvar Aalto
The windows are pretty heavy though, and this technological feature was used only rarely.
Visiting
The villa is still property of the Gullichsen family, and sometimes used for vacation or party time by the owners. Tours are arranged through a local guide by permission of the owners on a semi-regular schedule. You will need to make a reservation through their website for visiting, picking one out of the available dates. Payment is due on the day of visit, credit cards accepted. Parking is possible close to the villa. Unfortunately, on regular tours it is not possible to take pictures of the inside, and only the ground floor can be visited. Anyway getting a view from inside will add value to your visit, so it is highly recommended. The guided tour of the inside takes about 45 minutes.
Finnish Glass Museum, Riihimäki
This beautiful museum traces the history of Finnish glass design. While not an ancient tradition in this Country, Finland has reached in the 19th and 20th century a great fame in this field.
A first part of the museum is dedicated to the evolution of the techniques for glass manufacture.
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Riihimaki Glass Museum Finland Iittala
Then follows a huge collection of glass artifacts produced in Finland in various ages and for different purpose. Among them, there are also some very famous designs by Alvar and Aino Aalto, as well as other Finnish designers.