Tour Report: The Chateau by the River

One week after exploring a former Naval Air Base to bridge the time until our vacation, the long-awaited day had finally arrived. Our vacation had begun! For our first tour, we had chosen two promising locations: an abandoned factory owner's villa and a Soviet bunker.

We started the day with a relaxed breakfast before packing the car. The first location was only about 30 minutes away, making for a short and easy drive.

Our first stop was the abandoned villa. Information about the building is scarce, but it was most likely constructed in the early 20th century as the residence of a factory owner. During the GDR era, it may have been repurposed as the administrative building of a local VEB (state-owned enterprise). Since German reunification, the villa appears to have been left to decay.

The property lies between a quiet river and several still-active industrial buildings – a striking contrast between past and present. Although it would have been possible to approach by car, there were no official parking spaces nearby, so we decided to park a little further away. Fortunately, we found a public parking lot within walking distance. From there, it was about a 15-minute walk along a combined pedestrian and cycle path that runs right beside the river. The peaceful scenery and the gentle sound of flowing water provided a calm and almost deceptive introduction to what awaited us.

As we approached the villa, we were surprised to find no real barriers keeping people out. The old cast-iron fence had largely disappeared, and numerous well-trodden paths across the grounds suggested that the place was no secret among explorers.

Following one of these paths, we quickly discovered several possible entry points. At some stage, the doors and ground-floor windows had been boarded up, but many of the wooden panels had been forcibly removed, leaving multiple openings.

The moment we stepped inside, we were speechless.

Intricate woodwork, richly patterned fabric wallpaper, and beautifully crafted Art Nouveau windows immediately caught our attention. Despite visible vandalism and the unmistakable signs of decay, the villa still radiated a quiet elegance and hinted at its former grandeur.

The large stained-glass window was mostly concealed behind wooden boards – likely the only reason it had survived at all. I was also relieved to see very little graffiti inside. Perhaps we were simply lucky – or perhaps time and crumbling plaster had already claimed what once covered the walls.

We spent well over an hour exploring the rooms, taking our time to capture the atmosphere in photographs. Eventually, we made our way back to the car, ready to continue our day at the next location.

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Tour Report: Naval Air Station E.

Early in November 2020, it had been more than a month since our last tour, and our next vacation was still a week away. It was a Sunday, the weather was unusually good, and we felt the familiar urge to get out and explore. So we decided on a quick trip to visit a former naval air station not far from our hometown.

The airfield had been closed by the German Air Force in 2005. Since then, the site had been undergoing major changes: parts of it were being transformed into a solar park, while other areas were gradually being repurposed as a business and industrial zone. Because of that, we didn’t expect many untouched spots - or great photo opportunities.

The upside, however, was that the entire area was now publicly accessible. We could simply drive around, take our time, and see what was left of the base.

And the situation was pretty much exactly what we had expected: Several companies had already moved into the former aircraft shelters, parts of the runway had been turned into a solar field, and cattle grazed peacefully on the wide open land next to the control tower—an oddly surreal contrast to the site’s military past.

Our first stop was the parking area near the tower. We parked the car, set up our camping stove, and brewed a strong cup of coffee - one of those small rituals that instantly makes an exploration feel like an adventure.

After that, we started looking around. There was no way into the tower building itself, and the cattle in the nearby field made it impossible to get a closer look at the underground bunker next to it.

There were, however, two large bunkers nearby that we could at least approach. One was the electronic warfare bunker: a massive concrete block so large it even had its own vehicle ramp leading inside. The second bunker belonged to the supply and transport squadron of the local naval air wing. Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly what its function was - but it was almost as big as the first one. Judging by the vehicle ramp and the truck parking bays outside, it was most likely used for storage and logistics.

We started with the larger one - the electronic warfare center. Using the ramp, we were able to enter the bunker complex, and we even found an open door leading inside. Unfortunately, it only gave access to a small section containing part of the ventilation system. Climbing onto the roof would have been possible, but it didn’t feel safe enough at the time, so we decided against it.

The second bunker was tightly locked as well, with no chance of getting in.

So in terms of accessibility, this sunny Sunday in November 2020 wasn’t exactly a success. But we still had a fantastic little excursion: great weather, delicious coffee, and a few nice photos - even if most of them had to be taken from a distance.

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Tour Report: Anti-Aircraft Missile Site FRA-134

As the last location on our tour of various Cold War relics in northeastern Germany in October 2020, my buddy Andreas and I explored the remains of an anti-aircraft missile unit of the National People's Army of the GDR.

From the abandoned maintenance unit at the former Soviet air base, it was just over 30 kilometers to the former site of the GDR air defense.

The site is located a good distance outside the nearest town and can be reached via an old paved road. We found a parking spot right at the entrance and set out to explore the grounds.

First, we reached the accommodation area and the service and utility buildings. Unfortunately, we discovered that cable thieves and local vandals had done a thorough job – it really wasn't a pretty sight, so I didn't even bother taking any photos inside these buildings.

Passing a large vehicle hall, we made our way through the now heavily overgrown grounds to the command post. This consists of a garage bunker with six garages built next to each other, connected at the rear by a cross corridor, as well as two smaller annexes.

Here, too, we were confronted with a scene of destruction: the exterior is covered in graffiti, the garage doors have been torn out, as has the electrical installation inside the bunker.

On the bunker hill, we discovered the location of the “PW cabin,” the missile guidance radar of the S-75 “Volchov” anti-aircraft missile complex.

It was getting late, so we decided not to search the heavily wooded area for further relics and headed back.

On the way to the car, our assumption that the area was used by local youths as a party location was confirmed: a group of young people with mopeds and cars had gathered in the parking lot and were ending the weekend with music and drinks. It didn't look like they planned to take their trash with them...

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Tour Report: Soviet Maintenance Unit P.

And so we continue with our travelogue of our little excursion to some relics of the Cold War in eastern Germany. After exploring the command bunker at the airfield, we only had to walk a few meters east to reach our next location. Right next to the command bunker site are the remains of a Soviet maintenance unit. There is very little information about the site, but it can be assumed that, among other things, weapons for the Soviet Air Force units stationed at the airfield were maintained and prepared here.

I assume that the two areas used to be strictly separated, as I had seen in many Soviet properties—but almost 30 years after the withdrawal of Soviet troops, this separation is no longer taken so seriously ;)

The grounds were easy to access, and we were able to move around freely.

We looked around the residential and service buildings and then explored the halls and garages. Unfortunately, there wasn't really much to see apart from a few Cyrillic inscriptions (“Pyrotechnician's workplace,” “Workplace for the installation, dismantling, and storage of the product”) that gave some indication of how the site was used.

As I said, there wasn't much left to see, so we set off again relatively quickly to take a look at another location.

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Tour Report: Soviet Command Bunker 172 ОБВП

For our trip in early October 2020, my friend Andreas and I had put several Cold War relics in northeastern Germany on our list. After taking the opportunity to photograph an old mausoleum along the way, we headed straight for our first planned location.

Our destination was a former command bunker of the Soviet Air Forces. Originally, it had been constructed as the operations center of the 20th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment in Parchim, before later being repurposed as the command post of the 172nd Combat Helicopter Regiment - a small but telling example of how military infrastructure was adapted during the Cold War.

After roughly 45 minutes of driving, we reached the former Soviet military compound. It was easy to identify: a classic guardhouse at the entrance and a solid concrete perimeter wall left little doubt about the site’s past.

Parking directly in front of the main gate felt like a bad idea, so we left the car a bit farther away along a dirt road. According to our plan, this path should lead us around to the rear of the compound, from where we hoped to make our way inside and search for the bunker.

The plan worked out perfectly. The dirt road ran surprisingly close to the site, and before long we discovered a breach in the wall - part of it had collapsed, leaving a hole just large enough to climb through.

Since we had no precise information about the bunker’s location within the compound, we expected a lengthy search. That fear turned out to be unfounded: after only a short walk, we had already spotted the entrance.

With a floor area of roughly 150 square meters, the bunker itself is fairly unremarkable from an architectural point of view. It closely resembles other Cold War-era structures we’ve explored at former airfields. As was often the case when Soviet forces withdrew from East Germany, very few original items were left behind. This site was no exception. A handful of pieces of furniture were scattered around, though it’s hard to say whether they actually belonged to the bunker’s original equipment—at least the armchair struck me as rather doubtful.

After completing our exploration, we stepped back outside into the daylight.

There were several more abandoned buildings on the site waiting to be explored, so stay tuned - and look forward to the next post.

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Tour Report: Mausoleum L.

On a warm, sunlit Sunday in late summer 2020, my friend Andreas and I were on the road in the north-east of Germany, once again following traces of a vanished world. Our original plan was firmly rooted in the Cold War: abandoned military infrastructure, forgotten installations, places once designed for conflict and control.

But as so often on trips like this, the most memorable stops are sometimes the unplanned ones.

While mapping out our route, we had noticed a small mausoleum dating back to the late 19th century. It lay almost directly along our way, close enough to justify a brief stop - especially under such perfect weather conditions. Just a few minutes from the motorway, we left the car in the quiet village and set off on foot.

The path led us away from the road and into a more secluded landscape. Between scattered trees, across a meadow still glowing in the morning light, and over a narrow stream, the mausoleum slowly came into view. It stands on the raised mound of a long-lost medieval castle, a place that had already seen centuries pass before the mausoleum was ever built. A surrounding moat accentuates its elevated position, making the structure appear even more isolated and prominent in the open landscape.

Unsurprisingly, the building itself was locked. Entry was never an option. Yet standing there in the calm of the countryside, with the low autumn sun casting warm light across the weathered stone, it hardly felt like a disappointment. Some places don’t need to be entered to leave an impression.

The exterior alone offered plenty of details to explore - textures, shadows, and subtle signs of age. And through one of the windows, we managed to catch a brief glimpse of the interior: just enough to spark curiosity and leave the rest to imagination.

For us, this short detour turned out to be a quiet, almost timeless interlude — a moment of stillness before returning to the harsher, more utilitarian relics of the Cold War that awaited us further down the road.

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Tour Report: Sand-Lime Brick Factory L.

On the way back from our tour to the abandoned dialysis clinic, we had two more locations planned. The first one was an abandoned prison, which of course promised to be an interesting exploration - if we had found a way in. But at the time, that wasn't in the cards. However, six months later, I did return and had more luck - but that will be another story!

The second location was more or less a last resort, because we didn't have anything left that was en route. So we tried it out.

The place was located right next to a residential area which conveniently offered a public parking lot only a short walk from the old factory building.

As we arrived at the location, we could already see that there weren't going to be many photo opportunities: lots of trash had been dumped on the premises, the walls were covered in graffiti, and there were no windows left intact.

The fence around the area hardly deserved that name, so we could just walk onto the premises as we pleased.

We only needed about an hour until we had all the photos that we wanted, so it was a short visit. It wasn't spectacular, but at least we got to see the place before it was demolished a few yeas later.

To find out more about the history and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.