Tour Report: Soviet Fighter Control Center M.

After finishing our visit to the old industrialist’s villa, we decided to explore one more location. Architecturally and historically, this second site couldn’t have been more different. Instead of decaying bourgeois elegance, we were heading toward a relic of the Cold War: a Soviet fighter-control bunker near Merseburg.

Starting in the mid-1950s, the Soviet armed forces constructed four fighter control stations across the territory of the former East Germany (GDR). These installations served as subordinate command posts responsible for directing interceptor aircraft. Their role was to coordinate the defense of the airspace - especially guiding fighter jets toward hostile bombers.

Radar and reconnaissance data were received, analyzed, and used to guide aircraft directly to their targets, a process known as fighter control. During the Cold War, facilities like this formed an important part of the Soviet air defense network.

One of these bunkers was built on a mining spoil heap near Merseburg. Today the area has been renaturalized and turned into a pleasant landscape, making it a surprisingly nice destination for short hikes. With the weather on our side, that suited us perfectly.

I didn’t know the bunker’s exact location on the hill, but we were optimistic that the hiking trails and smaller footpaths would eventually lead us there.

We parked right at the start of the trail, grabbed our gear, and began the search.

At first we followed the regular hiking path winding its way up the spoil heap. After a while, the first small relics appeared—subtle signs that we were heading in the right direction. The first was one of those typical hydrants often found on former Soviet military sites. Nearby remnants of electrical installations confirmed our suspicion. A little further along, we spotted reinforced, earth-covered vehicle garages beside the path.

Vehicle Garages

So we had definitely reached the former military area. Now all we needed to do was find the bunker.

Luckily, the vegetation wasn’t too dense at this time of year. That made it easier to spot things that might otherwise have been hidden beneath thick greenery. The first structure we discovered was the bunker’s assembly shaft rising from the ground.

That meant the main bunker had to be nearby.

Since I had looked up a rough floor plan beforehand, I had a good idea where the entrance structures might be. A few minutes later we stood in front of a locked door - and felt the first wave of disappointment.

Access Structure

Fortunately, there was a second entrance.

And this one was open.

Through the entrance structure we entered a long access tunnel that eventually led us through an airlock and into the main bunker.

The structure itself is monolithic: essentially a massive concrete block measuring roughly 40 by 13 meters.

From the main corridor we could reach the different sections of the bunker: the kitchen, the water supply room, the ventilation filter chamber, and the situation room.

Main Corridor

Filter for the Ventilation System

Water Supply

Situation Room

At the far end of the corridor we found the room housing the backup power generator. Surprisingly, the installation was still in relatively decent condition, although many movable parts had already been removed by metal thieves over the years. Adjacent to it were the generator control room and the transformer room.

Generator Room

Generator

Generator Control

Considering that the bunker was already more than 60 years old at the time of our visit, the overall condition of both the structure and the equipment wasn’t particularly good. Comparing what we saw with older photographs, it was clear that many relics had disappeared over time.

Even so, exploring this Cold War bunker was a fascinating experience. Sites like this help paint a clearer picture of the once-extensive Soviet military presence in the region.

And in the end, we even discovered something unexpected: the shoulder board of a Soviet soldier. It was already badly deteriorated - but for me, it was still an incredible find.

Shoulder Board of a Soviet Soldier

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

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.

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

Tour Report: Chateau "Ornament"

Exploring this place was one of those moments that stay with you for a long time.

During our summer vacation in 2020, my wife and I visited the abandoned mansion of a former knight’s estate. Some time before, I had stumbled upon a few photos of its exterior and learned that it had most likely been vacant since the fall of the Berlin Wall. From the outside alone, it already radiated a strange kind of quiet dignity.

We hadn’t seen a single photo of the interior, so we had no idea what awaited us inside. Before heading there, we studied the area on Google Maps, trying to plan our approach as carefully as possible.

At the front, the property bordered a small neighborhood with still-inhabited houses. People lived there. Curtains moved behind windows. Approaching from that side was clearly not an option.

At the back, the grounds extended into a wooded area - but the way from there would have been long and inconvenient, and we weren’t even sure if we’d find a place to leave the car.

That left only one realistic option: a farm located on the neighboring land. It wasn’t ideal, and there was always the risk of being noticed. But since it was a Tuesday, we hoped that luck - and a quiet workday - might be on our side.

And it was.

We found a small parking spot on a side road near the farm. Everything was quiet. No one seemed to be around. With a slight mix of excitement and nervousness, we made our way onto the property.

Finding an entrance took a few minutes. The summer heat was intense, the air heavy and still. Every step through the dry leaves sounded painfully loud, as if the whole world could hear us. For a moment, we froze - but no one came. No dogs barked. No doors opened.

Finally, we slipped inside.

What we found there completely took our breath away.

Although the mansion was completely empty, it had somehow remained untouched by vandalism or graffiti. Sunlight filtered through dusty windows, revealing high arched ceilings, massive wooden doors, detailed stucco work, and incredibly ornate wood carvings.

The woodwork, in particular, fascinated us. From the finely carved wall panels to the decorated columns and stair railings, everything told a story of craftsmanship that simply doesn’t exist like that anymore.

My personal highlight was a huge wooden door, roughly 3 by 2 meters in size, covered in intricate carvings. Standing in front of it felt almost unreal - like facing a relic from another era.

We spent nearly two hours wandering through the building, quietly moving from room to room, trying to absorb every detail before leaving the same way we had entered.

Fortunately, from the photos I’ve seen in recent years, the place seems to have remained mostly unchanged. And who knows - maybe one day we’ll return, just to feel that atmosphere again.

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

Tour Report: The Villa on the Edge of Town

The day after exploring the "Green School", we didn't want to drive too far. The weather was still really hot, and we had a barbecue planned for the evening, so we looked for something in the area. We decided to check out an old villa that was only about 30 minutes away from our vacation spot. So after a nice breakfast, we packed our gear and got on the way. The friends that explored the air-raid shelter together with us were also with us.

As I've said, the place wasn't too far. And conveniently enough, there was a supermarket and various other shops almost right next door to the villa, so there was a huge parking lot where we could park our cars and not arise any suspicion.

From the parking lot, we only had to walk a few meters; then we were standing in front of the property. The walls of the ground floor of the villa were almost fully covered with ivy, and the property itself was completely overgrown, just as we had expected after looking at the place in Google Maps. Only a few paths were passable, showing that visitors repeatedly found their way onto the property and into the villa.

We followed the path to the backside of the building and found an open door right away.

The building was mostly empty, and we could see that many "visitors" apparently hadn't been kind to the old villa. There was a lot of vandalism - broken tile stoves, graffiti on the walls, and trash and leftover furniture scattered on the floor.

But there was also some nice decay, and I was particularly impressed by the few remaining Art Nouveau elements.

We spent a little over an hour and a half in the building before heading back to the cars to explore another location before making our way home.

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

Tour Report: Air-Raid Shelter W.

After visiting the “Moostaverne” on the sixth day of our 2020 summer vacation, we took a day off to relax a little. We often do this when we arrive at the husky farm, because the first evening is usually so full of joy at seeing everyone again that the next day is more about recovering from the hangover.

In this case, we also wanted to take it a little easier due to temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius.

Unfortunately, the temperatures hadn't changed much the next day. Nevertheless, we wanted to go on an outing, so we looked for a location that wasn't too far away and that we could explore in a short amount of time.

So we decided on an old air-raid shelter on the grounds of a huge former mineral oil plant. Originally, sixteen of these “Salzgitter” type bunkers were planned for the site. Eight were built, and only two have survived the decades since World War II. One of these two bunkers has been converted into a museum, but it rarely opens its doors to the public. The second remaining Salzgitter bunker on the site is located south of the premises of a metal recycling company. We drove around a bit to find a parking lot that wasn't too far from the bunker and, ideally, provided a little shade—given the heat, this was the right thing to do.

In the end, we parked in a small niche between some bushes right by the road and set off on the short walk.

Even this short distance had us sweating profusely.

When we arrived at the bunker, we could see an entrance and hoped that it would be a little cooler inside. But no such luck. The bunker is above ground and not covered with earth, so the summer sun and heat had plenty of time to warm up the walls. It was only marginally cooler inside than outside.

But of course we took a few pictures—nothing spectacular, because this place didn't really offer much in terms of photo opportunities. Nevertheless, visiting this place was another piece of the puzzle in our picture of the mineral oil plant, other parts of which we had already visited in the past.

As I said, it was just a little trip to satisfy our desire for abandoned places and history. But that was really enough in this heat, and we made our way back to the husky farm, where a nice siesta awaited us.

To find out more about the history ofm this place, click the button below.

Tour Report: Electrical Control A.

After we had finished our second visit to the former mineral oil works, we had actually planned to go straight back to the Husky camp. So we got in the car and drove along the lonely paths that used to connect the individual areas of the huge plant. Today, they no longer cut through a huge industrial area, but only mostly empty, steppe-like wasteland. Shortly before we left the site in the direction of the main road, we saw a group of trees and bushes on the right-hand side, behind which there was apparently another building that we hadn't even planned to see. Of course, we immediately stopped to take a closer look.

It was a classic industrial building, but its purpose was not recognizable from the outside. But the door was open, so we were able to solve this mystery quickly.

It was the control room for the power supply of the former mineral oil plant. The building was full of large control cabinets and everything needed to supply a large industrial plant with many thousands of volts. There were switches and distributors for various distillation stages of mineral oil production, for lights, sockets - and even for the street lighting!

Unfortunately, copper thieves removed all the cables from the building shortly after the plant closed - but the graffiti artists seem to have overlooked this building until now - there were no (or almost no) graffiti. Apparently, the place is rather quiet - so much so, that birds have begun to nest in the cabinets and the controls. We even found a nest that had eggs in it!

This was really a nice unplanned addition for our tour, and we got some nice photos from this place.

To find out a bit more about the place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.