FARAONE ANTICO [IT]

Exploration #229 Faraone Antico. Faraone Antico was a fortified village built between the 18th and 19th centuries around an ancient castle of which almost no traces remain today. It consisted of some 20 houses and a church dedicated to Santa Maria della Misericordia. At one time, it was completely surrounded by defensive walls, now almost entirely collapsed except for the monumental gate, which is still used to reach the village. Since the mid-1960s, the village has been abandoned, mainly following an earthquake in September 1950 that damaged many buildings.

The church of Santa Maria della Misericordia was also seriously damaged by the earthquake, but nevertheless, years later, it still retains its former splendour and is the best-preserved building in the old village of Faraone Antico. Next to the church stands the old rectory, to this day the only house still inhabited in the village.

HAUS DER OFFIZIERE [DE]

Exploration #206 Haus Der Offiziere. Haus Der Offiziere, also known as the Forbidden City or Little Moscow, is a big abandoned military complex located in Wünsdorf, a small town not far from Berlin. The town was the headquarters of the Soviet forces in communist East Germany and was the largest military base in Europe. From 1994 it is abandoned.

The history of this place begins in 1910 when a military training camp and the Prussian military railway were built. The complex “Haus Der Offiziere” was built in 1914 as a military sports school. During first world war Wünsdorf became the headquarters of the Reichswehr, the German military. After the war the site was also used as a gymnastic training camp to take advantage of its facilities and during the race to 1936 Olympic games some of the Olympic team trained here.

Everything changed drastically in 1945 when the town was occupied by the Soviet army and the Germans surrendered without fighting. The soviets transformed Wünsdorf into a closed town which become the largest Soviet military camp outside of the Soviet Union. A daily delivery via a direct rail link from Moscow allowed the town to isolate itself from the surrounding areas, having its own shops, bakery, and hospital. In preparation for the construction of the Berlin wall Commander-in-Chief Marshall Ivan Konew organised the Soviet armoured protection for the project from here. The Haus Der Offiziere was certainly the best most elegant of town with leisure facilities such as a theatre and swimming pool and the locals were not allowed on site to enjoy the luxuries the Soviets had. A giant statue of Lenin stands was also erected in front of the central building.

Wünsdorf changed again in 1994 when the Soviets left the area and its population dropped from about 60.000 to 6.000 people. Many former Soviet buildings were left abandoned and are still up for sale.
Haus Der Offiziere was also abandoned but luckily it was preserved and today is guarded, waiting for future development projects. The statue of Lenin is still in its original position and it is one the few statue still surviving outside Russia.

If you like this exploration you can also have a look to others abandoned military sites in Germany: the CCCP pilot school, the abandoned soviet hospital.