While the German Air Force was demobilized after the end of the first world war, and eventually dissolved as a condition under the treaty of versailles in 1920 – the German Luftwaffe made an unsurprising comeback in 1935 after years of secret training and rearmament […]

While the German Luftwaffe had 70 military air bases and airfields spread around Berlin and Brandenburg alone at the end of World War II, the newly created Air Force of the East German NVA seemingly wasn’t so focused on (re)establishing its air power. By 1989, […]

The year 1944 was the single most destructive year for both the RAF and USAAF during the strategic bombing of Germany. Combined, over 900 thousand tons of bombs were dropped – more than in all previous years combined. The German Luftwaffe had mostly lost air […]

The forests around Berlin harbour a great many secrets. The Prussian, Nazis, East Germans and the Soviets – all of them have lurked around Brandenburgs expansive Oak and Birch forests, hiding everything from art to nuclear missiles. At the height of the cold war, fueled […]

On the south eastern edge of the picturesque city of Templin, nestled in a small forest next to the Lübbesee lies the MFS Buchheide – also known as the Stasi Hotel. Originally intended for the East German State Security as a luxurious retreat, the abandoned […]

Berlin and its immediate surroundings have always been at the forefront of german aeronautical innovation and are steeped in history. Germany’s first Airport opened in (the now Berlin district of) Johannisthal in 1909, the first “stealth” aircraft were tested in Oranienburg, and the first non […]

Wünsdorf and its surroundings have a magical hold over us. Its long military history and abundance of Soviet Military “leftovers” keep pulling us back into its orbit. While Zossen and Wünsdorf Waldstadt are well known and documented, the surrounding forests which had been used as […]

Even 97 years after his death, Lenin still makes an appearance in the most unusual places. But considering that at one point, 1.5 million Soviets were stationed in Germany – it shouldn’t be too unusual to bump into a Lenin or two. If you pass […]

Fürstenberg – or to use its full name Wasserstadt Fürstenberg/Havel – has a long and difficult history. Its founding dates back to at least the middle of the 13th Century, but regardless of its achievements – its history is overshadowed by years of Nazi rule, […]

Wünsdorf could have been just like any other city in Brandenburg – but if it was we probably wouldn’t be writing about. Its location, close enough to Berlin – but also just far away enough made it the ideal location for the Nazis to establish […]

There are few places that have left us with a deep sorrow after we’ve visited them – but the Gut Gentzrode (also known as Herrenhaus Gentzrode) possibly tops our list. We’ve first heard of Gentzrode almost 10 years ago, and the images we saw were […]

In June 1939, a group of Kriegsmarine technicians set out into countryside outside of Bernau – a good 20 kilometers north of Berlin – armed with a mobile radio truck. The Navy Technicians were carrying out a series of radio tests in the area, which […]

Just a few kilometers outside of the city limits of Berlin, in the city of Rüdersdorf lie the ruins of the Chemiewerk Rüdersdorf – a former cement turned phosphate chemical factory – with a history dating back over a hundred years. Since its closure in […]

Bernau, just a few kilometers outside of Berlin was a city once known for its extensive Beer and Cloth Production skills. Today its known for being conveniently located on the S-Bahn line to Berlin and its UNESCO World Heritage site. But between 1941 and 1994 […]

An hour south of Berlin lay the ruins of the Adolf Hitler Lager – a sprawling military complex known more commonly as Forst Zinna. Between the 1930s and the early 1990s, thousands of Nazis, East Germans and Soviets absolved their military and political training in-between […]

Just a few kilometers outside of Berlin stands what’s left of the Rangierbahnhof Wustermark – once one of Germanys largest and most modern train shunting yards. Allied bombing in World War II, and the division of Germany into east and west sectors afterwards took their […]

The name Elstal might ring a bell for some – mainly due to it being the home of the (not so) abandoned 1936 Olympic Village. But the small village actually has a deeper, specifically military, history due to its proximity to the Truppenübungsplatz Dallgow-Döberitz. The […]

The vast forest and fields around Berlin have had a long military history. The Döberitzer Heide (also known as Dallgow Döberitz), just on the border to the West of Berlin saw its first large scale military maneuvers in 1753. This development continued through the first […]

When venturing out into the forest surrounding Berlin you can never be quite sure what lost and abandoned places you’ll stumble upon, especially when you head just a few kilometers west of Berlin to Dallgow-Döberitz. The first large-scale maneuver – with over 44,000 soldiers – […]

The seemingly sleepy town of Eberswalde, and hour north of Berlin has a lot more history than one could expect. Eberswalde saw a rapid industrialization in the middle of the 19th century with factories and industries ranging from Ironworks, a Paper Factory (now abandoned) to Silk […]

Not much can be dug up about the abandoned Gasthof zum Schwarzen Adler (Black Eagle Inn). The abandoned hotel and restaurant must have been quite the popular hangout seeing as it was located directly next to the entrance of a (now defunct) Phosphate Factory – […]

In the heart of (one of) central Europe’s largest nature reserves – the Schorfheide –  lie the ruins of Carinhall – Herrmann Göring’s luxurious villa, attracting treasure hunters, Neo-Nazis and the curious alike. While nature has reclaimed what belongs to it over the past 72 […]

Founded in 1867, the now abandoned nail factory specialised in manufacturing horse shoe nails. In 1871, the owners decided to relocate the factory to a new production site as they had developed a machine that allowed for a far more cost-effective and efficient production of […]

Wedged between some trees in a little forest stands a stripped Soviet helicopter. A Mil Mi-8 to be exact. As rumors have it, the Mil Mi-8 was pushed as a project after Nikita Khrushchev was so impressed by a flight he took  in the American Presidential helicopter […]

Once home to a wealthy industrialist or Businessman – this once stunning Villa has been left to fend on its own for several decades. Rotten to the core, its roof has collapsed taking the stairwell with it. Not that you would want to go upstairs […]

With more and more abandoned places in Berlin being converted into apartments and offices (or just outright being torn down) – it’s becoming increasingly more uncommon to find “untouched” and forgotten places in Berlin. Thankfully Startups and Hipsters don’t want to live in Brandenburg (yet), […]

Gut Ding will Weile haben – a good thing is worth waiting for. That is until you wait too long. When I first moved to Berlin I heard about an abandoned army training base dating back to the 19th Century – the Truppenübungsplatz Döberitz. What […]

Most people living in Berlin will be familiar with the name Eberswalde – mainly because of the U2 U-Bahn Station Eberswalderstraße (and the fact that Konopkes Currywurst and the Mauerpark are located there). Eberswalde is more than just an U-Bahn Station in Berlin though. The […]

The “Sanatorium E” was constructed as a Lung Clinic between 1912 and 1914 by the Jewish Doctor Walter Freimuth and his wife. After the German Reich introduced the first form of public health care, hospitals and sanatoriums sprung up all over Germany – such as the Beelitzer […]

After the end of the Second World War, the Allies – and especially the Soviets started a mad scramble to repurpose former Nazi Military installations. Never letting a good Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe base go to waste – the Soviets inadvertently ended up with a luxury […]