Hidden in a forest between a somewhat busy road and a little housing estate, you can find an East German NVA bunker doing what a bunker does best – staying hidden. While it’s unclear when this Bunker it was built, it can be safely assumed […]
Read MoreUrbex Brandenburg
Flugplatz Alt Daber (Wittstock/Dosse)
This article is also available in: Deutsch While we are avid rail travel enthusiast and avoid flying whenever possible – we have an almost unhealthy attraction to abandoned airports. East Germanys landscape is littered with remnants of theNazi Luftwaffes airbases, more specifically with those that the […]
Read MoreThe Twin Villas of Fürstenwalde
This article is also available in: Deutsch One of the many allures of visiting and exploring the cities and towns in Brandenburg is the chance to basque in the architectural variety that these places have to offer. From medieval houses, to art deco villas and […]
Read MoreBrandenburgische Motorenwerke (Bramo Werk)
The forests of Brandenburg harbour many secrets – though more often than not, it’s almost impossible to fully decipher them. One of these secrets is what’s left of the so called “Bramo Werk” and “Zümo Werk” Werke in Basdorf and Zühlsdorf, just outside of Berlin’s […]
Read MoreMars La Tour Kaserne Fürstenwalde
This article is also available in: Deutsch Seemingly every larger village in Brandenburg has some connection to Germany’s military past – but few places can boast 360 years of continuous military use like the city of Fürstenwalde. When strolling through town, you’ll stumble across plenty […]
Read MoreFlugplatz Werneuchen
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 […]
Read MoreNVA Flugplatz Löpten
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, […]
Read MoreThe Avro Lancaster Crash Site
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 […]
Read MoreNVA Flugabwehr-Raketenabteilung 4123 Klosterfelde
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 […]
Read MoreThe MFS Buchheide – The Stasi Hotel
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 […]
Read More9 Legal Lost Places to visit in and around Berlin (and 10 that you can’t)
Urban Exploring has become quite a mainstream activity over the years, thanks to its ever growing presence and popularity on sites like youtube, reddit and even tiktok. Even this website contributes to people gaining interest in exploring abandoned factories, soviet military bases and train stations […]
Read MoreKraftwerk Vogelsang
Directly along the scenic Oder-Neiße border between Germany and Poland lies the concrete remnants of the Kraftwerk Vogelsang, a crumbling symbol of the destructive madness of the Third Reich. While most passersby probably dismiss the abandoned Power Plant as just another ruin – one of […]
Read MoreFlugplatz Rangsdorf
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 […]
Read MoreThe Abandoned Soviet Training Tank
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 […]
Read MoreThe Lenin of Fürstenbergs School Nr 27
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 […]
Read MoreFürstenbergs Soviet Murals
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, […]
Read MoreBunker Wünsdorf Zeppelin | Bunkeranlage Maybach
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 […]
Read MoreGut Gentzrode
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 […]
Read MoreLager Koralle
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 […]
Read MoreChemiewerk Rüdersdorf
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 […]
Read MoreHeilstätte Grabowsee
Just a few kilometers outside of Oranienburg – in the middle of the forest lie the ruins of what used to be one of Germanys most modern Lung clinics, the Lungenheilstätte Grabowsee, most commonly referred to as the Heilstätte Grabowsee. Having survived both the first […]
Read MorePanzerkaserne Bernau
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 […]
Read MoreAdolf Hitler Lager – Forst Zinna
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 […]
Read MoreSS Schießstand Sachsenhausen
The quaint Oranienburg, just an hours drive north of Berlin has a long history dating back to the 13th century when it was still known as Bötzow. Sadly the period between the early 1930s and late 1940s has tainted its history for time to come. […]
Read MoreRangierbahnhof Wustermark
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 […]
Read MoreLöwen Adler Kaserne
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 […]
Read MoreThe White Maria
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 […]
Read MoreThe Abandoned Forest Tram
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 – […]
Read MoreThe Artillerie Kaserne
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 […]
Read MoreThe Versuchsstelle für Höhenflüge
Oranienburg, 35 kilometers to the north of Berlin is a city with a heavy heritage. Not only was it home to two concentration camps – the KZ Oranienburg (one of the first in Germany) and the KZ Sachsenhausen, but it also housed a varied assortment […]
Read MoreThe SS Hundertschaftsgebäude
When the KZ Sachsenhausen was constructed in 1936, it was intended to be used as a blueprint for other concentration camps, both in its design and management. Just outside of its triangular walls, an SS-Truppenlager was established (along with the SS communications bunker Karo-Ass and a SS Dog […]
Read MoreThe SS Bath and Boiler House
When the KZ Sachsenhausen was constructed in 1936, it was intended to be used as a blueprint for other concentration camps, both in its design and management. Just outside of its triangular walls, an SS-Truppenlager was established (along with the SS communications bunker Karo-Ass and […]
Read MoreGasthof zum Schwarzen Adler
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 – […]
Read MoreCarinhall – The ruins of Herrmann Görings Villa
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 […]
Read MoreThe Nail Factory
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 […]
Read MoreThe Abandoned Helicopter
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 […]
Read MoreThe Classical Villa
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 […]
Read MoreHeeresbekleidungsamt Bernau
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), […]
Read MoreCheckpoint Bravo
The Berlin Wall didn’t go up on the 13th of August 1961. What actually happened was that East Berlin Closed all its borders with West Berlin that day. Roads were torn up, barbed wire barriers were erected and combat troops were stationed along multiple checkpoints […]
Read MoreThe Abandoned Friedhofsbahn
Berlins rail based public transport network is huge. Combined, the S-Bahn and U-Bahn have over 477 Km worth of tracks, 25 lines and 339 stations – something very few cities can match. Dating back to 1838 – the network expanded with the rapidly growing city, […]
Read MoreMunitionsdepot Oranienburg
After the Soviets liberated the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in April 1945, they immediately occupied all buildings and structures in and around Oranienburg which they thought they could profit from such as the Sachsenhausen Camp, The SS hundertschaftsgebäude and the SS Bath and Boiler House, the Flugplatz Oranienburg and […]
Read MoreFunkbunker Karo Ass
When the Nazis set up the Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen in Oranieburg (35km North of Berlin), the SS swarmed out in search for suitable space to settle their units. A small forest was conveniently located between Oranienburg and Friedrichsthal so the SS decided to set up […]
Read MoreSS-Hundeschule Sachsenhausen
While the horrors of the KZ Sachsenhausen in Oranienburg have been documented for posterity, and the KZ itself has been preserved as a memorial for future generations – many of the structures used by the SS connected to the Camp lie hidden in a forest, […]
Read MoreFlugplatz Oranienburg
Oranienburg is one of those German Cities whose not so distant history casts a very dark shadow over it. It was home to not one, but two Concentration Camps – the KZ Oranienburg (one of the firs Camps in Germany) and the KZ Sachsenhausen (with […]
Read MoreTruppenübungsplatz Döberitz
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 […]
Read MorePapiermühle Wolfswinkel
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 […]
Read MoreSanatorium E
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 […]
Read MoreKaserne Krampnitz
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 […]
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