It is only now as I write this up that I have come across this press release.
"The terrain is highly dangerous. The property owner insists on being accompanied by an ammunition recovery company. Where you are allowed to step is marked on a confusingly detailed map: red paths, green hatched areas, they are walkable. White is the risk zone
There is little red and green on this map. Almost everything is white. There is a warning about munitions and explosives of any kind, chemicals and underground structures that are in danger of collapsing
Nobody should set foot on the Marked soil. No one who is not expressly authorised to do so"
Had I known this at the time, would it have stopped me?
What do you think!
Weapons of Mass Destruction
In one form or another this weapons and equipment testing facility has been here since around 1874; a testing ground for the Prussian army, atomic weapons research centre for the nazis, and the Soviet Union. It sits deep in the Kummersdorf forest. So deep that during my visit I got lost several times and couldn't remember where I parked my car!
Spread over an area of seven and a half square miles ( though at the time I didn't know this!), I guess I only saw a fraction of it. One of my local contacts has visited the site 4 times between 2019 and 21 and still hasn't sesn it all, he found it quite amusing when i told him of my less than standard exploits!
As of 2020 circa 4,000 buildings have been discovered some totally destroyed a lot in really rather good condition, they are dating from from the imperial era, the Weimar Republic, National Socialism (Nazi) and the Soviet occupation.
So most of the time I was tramping through the woods blind, thankful for finding buildings when I could, (and now thankfull I still have all my body bits). Though annoyingly a large proportion of them were impregnable, no matter how hard, I fell against the doors. Very annoying
In its day Kummersdorf was one of the most important and probably the most diverse military research centre in the world for weapons technology.
At the time of the First World War, one of the most devastating pieces of artillery, "Big Bertha" was developed and tested here.
During WW2, the site was used for testing of off-road vehicles. The testing of rocket science and experiments and investigation into atomic weapons. I didn't find the rocket testing range.
Porsche, the manufacturer of "my cock is bigger than your cock" penis envy cars designed and built here the heaviest war tank ever. A complete failure, two prototypes were built, failed miserably and the project binned.
A secret WW2 code? nah! just advice on not using nails nor staples. adhesive tape only.
I get the feeling my visit here was in the headquarters, residential/office/admin areas
Monday 23rd July 1984, A copy of Pravda, well preserved under cushioned wall coverings
Yes the Soviets took control of the area post WW2, and used the base and nearby Sperenberg Airfield for co-ordinating supply routes and flights during the cold war. As well as continuing to use other onsite facilities
I wonder if this upmarket building was where the despot East German dictator, Erich Honecker, spent his last night before fleeing to Moscow from the airfield in 1991. During his time he used the site to test, display and present East German and other Warsaw Pact countries' armaments and equipment for International Trade.
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (born 1931) was General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991 and President of the Soviet Union from March 1990 to December 1991.
It not only heralded a political turning point in the Soviet Union, but also the end of the Cold War.
I know not why this information is here
The water tower built in 1913 and only decommissioned in the 1980's ,is, along with a number of the more significant buildings an historical protected monument.
I guess this the platform where the salute was taken on the parade ground
Really difficult to fully make out the armorial inscription, (this is cropped, it measured about 3ft x 2ft)
RANDOM INTERNALS
Looking from the roof space nothing for miles around
Happy smiling faces studying the "Battle Sheet"
Someone's forgotten sweetheart, a face in time left on a mirror
The basement, a long corridor of storage rooms (?)
So the surface barely scratched, so much seen so much more to see, who knows if my feet will tramp this way again.
Now, where is my fucking car?
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Very cool, and looks huge! In the middle of nowhere you say?..., I couldn't do these alone.., but saying that.., my next is that Ridge Lea.. alone.., bloody creepy place. I did get in eventually.
well done, with ridge lea, i loved the damp and darkness in there. I am just weird I love the edge of solo runs.
It fascinates me to see these kind of structures still standing despite the harsh events it had been through especially during world wars. It will always be a reminder from the horrific past.
thanks for stopping by @themanualbot , good points well made,
Lmao that sign 😆. Of course you always find that sort of thing out after the fact. Sometimes is better to be oblivious of the dangers of a place and of warnings. You see cooler stuff that way.
if you aint living on the edge you are taking up to much space!
Right up my alley with a great explore, the history, turmoil reminders through excellent photography and story telling.
Hope you found the car..., do return again, this looks an epic place to find out more!
!BEER
cheers @joanstewart yes it deserves further investigation,
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Wow, Going there at night shouldn’t be very funny, very good photos 👌🏻👌🏻
cheers @xerox94 , stick to daylight methinks!
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Wow what an astonishing place. I've heard of big Bertha and that massive tank that failed miserably luckily.
I read Gorbachev's book Perestroika back in the day. It was a very tedious read lol but explained his thinking quite well.
You are lucky to have got out of there alive by the sound of it. Who knows what toxic chemicals are soaked into the ground?
I wonder what else lurks in the rest of the site?
Good read. Thanks.
the former GDR is full of places like this, have visited so many they really do draw me in. Maybe on e day I shall return , but I am currently plotting Poland for a road trip for 23.cheers @molometer , yes I didn't know the back story when I rocked up lol.