28 Kilometers north of Berlin lies the city of Oranienburg. Connected to the Berlin S-Bahn its a popular destination for day trippers as well as commuters. The area of what is now Oranienburg has been populated since at least the 12th Century - but saw its most rapid expansion and growth to prosperity in the beginning of the 19th Century with the onset of industrialisation. While Oranienburg has a long and rich history, it is sadly overshadowed for being the location of two Nazi Concentration Camps - the KZ Oranienburg and the KZ Sachsenhausen.
With an abundance of forced labourers from the Camps, Oranienburg became a hub for Nazi military installations such as the Flugplatz Oranienburg (testing ground for the worlds first stealth aircraft), Communication and Munition Bunkers as well as a whole host of Concentration Camp infrastructure used by the Waffen SS. After the fall of the Third Reich, the Soviet Military took over most of the military infrastructure - including a former Tuberculosis Clinic - and used it up until 1994. After the reunification of Germany, the Soviet Military headed back to what was now Russia, and most of buildings have been left abandoned. While many parts of Brandenburg have an abundance of urbex locations dating as far back as the 18th century (and sometimes even earlier) - the majority (with a few exceptions) of lost places in and around Oranienburg date around the 1930s to late 1950s.
Below are some of the abandoned and lost places that we've explored and documented in Oranienburg during our urbex trips - but our list is by far not complete. Be sure to check back on a regular basis - or sign up to our Newsletter and stay up to date whenever we explore a new Lost Places in Oranienburg.
Heilstätte 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 […] Read More
SS 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 […] Read More
The 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, […] Read More
The 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 […] Read More
The 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 […] Read More
Munitionsdepot 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 […] Read More
Funkbunker 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 […] Read More
SS-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 […] Read More
Flugplatz 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 […] Read More
Urbex Brandenburg: Adolf Hitler Lager / Forst Zinna - Avro Lancaster Crash Site - Bunker Wünsdorf Zeppelin | Maybach I - Chemiewerk Rüdersdorf - The Artillerie Kaserne - Flugabwehr-Raketenabteilung 4123 - Flugplatz Löpten - Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Carinhall - Fürstenbergs Soviet Murals - Gasthof zum Schwarzen Adler - Gut Gentzrode - Heeresbekleidungsamt Bernau - Jagdschloss Schwarzhorn - Kaserne Krampnitz - Kraftwerk Vogelsang - Lager Koralle - Lenin Bust Fürstenberg - Olympiastadion Wünsdorf - Panzerkaserne Bernau - Papiermühle Wolfswinkel - Sanatorium E - The Stasi Hotel - Truppenübungsplatz Döberitz - Abandoned Soviet Training Tank - Villa Bogensee
Urbex Oranienburg: The SS Bath and Boiler House - Flugplatz Oranienburg - Funkbunker Karo Ass - Heilstätte Grabowsee - Munitionsdepot Oranienburg - SS-Hundeschule Sachsenhausen - The SS Hundertschaftsgebäude - Veruschsstelle für Höhenflüge
Urbex Germany: Kernkraftwerk Greifswald - The Machine Factory - The Nail Factory - The Textile Factory - Rapunzel’s Tower - The Soviet Helicopter - The White Castle - Weißen Häuser Rechlin
Urbex France: L’église du Bon-Pasteur
Urbex Hungary: Párizsi Udvar
Urbex Italy: Il Grande Cretto di Gibellina - Tonnara del Secco