After leaving the aqua park, we made our way to our friends at the "Huskyhof", where we wanted to spend the last few days of our November 2019 vacation. On the way, we took a small detour to scout out a place we'd been eyeing for a trip for a while.
It is a large ammunition factory that was built in the 1930s, initially to produce ammunition for large-caliber guns. It later began producing chemical weapons in the form of grenades and aerial bombs. After the end of the war, part of the site continued to be used for the production of armaments such as hand grenades, fuses and landmines, including the PPM-2 infantry mine and the SM-70 automatic firing system.
Another part of the site was later used by the Red Army as a garrison base.
It was already early afternoon when we arrived, so we only had time for a short exploration tour. We found a parking spot right next to the road that bordered the site. There is an industrial area on the other side, so another car didn't really stand out. To our surprise, access to the site was not sealed off - the only sign we saw told us not to dump any garbage. But that wasn't our plan...
We had to climb over a few tree trunks that had fallen onto the paths, then we reached the first buildings relatively quickly.
We had no idea what to expect, so we were all the more surprised at what we found.
Most of the buildings we found were from the time of the war - recognizable by the large windows, which ensured that the detonation energy was dissipated to the outside in the event of an explosion - and only windows and personnel had to be replaced, but the building itself suffered as little damage as possible.
Ammunition factories built in this way remind me again and again of the cruelty and inhumanity of war, and not just on the battlefield.
The part of the site we were looking at belonged to the area that continued to be used for the production of ammunition during the Cold War. One building in particular caught the eye. A meter-high concrete wall had been built on each side at a relatively short distance, again to protect the surrounding area from the effects of an unplanned explosion.
These huge, smooth walls are obviously an invitation to graffiti artists, as they were full of paintings - and some of them were really beautiful! The huge whale in particular really inspired us - for me one of the most beautiful works of art we have ever discovered in an abandoned place.
As it was getting late, we still had a good hour's drive ahead of us and were expected for dinner, we decided to cut our visit short but come back the next day.
This visit should also be very exciting and bring some unexpected surprises..., so stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment