Der Speigel, via Zero Hedge. Pictures at the link.
Vogelsang, one of the largest Soviet garrisons outside of the Soviet Union, was the base of the 25th tank division. For almost 40 year, soldiers belonging to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany lived here -- until they finally withdrew in 1994.
Sine then, Vogelsang has been left to the elements, a ghost town in the middle of the Brandenburg forest. And yet, two decades after the last light was switched off, there is still plenty of life at the site. Deer and raccoon roam among the trees as do feral sheep and goats.
The barracks too still hint at the life they once contained. While most look the same from the outside, plenty of differences can be seen on the inside. The type of heating within, for example, indicates whether they housed officers or mere foot soldiers. The former tended to have decorative, tiled wood stoves instead of simple potbelly stoves. Window grates in the form of a shining sun likewise provided a bit of ornamentation.
The residential buildings, similar to the gigantic halls housing military equipment and vehicles, were painted in standard shades of gray, blue, green, yellow and sometimes even pink. The resulting mixture is a photographer's dream.
These pictures conjure an odd, wistful feeling for the "simple days" of the Cold War. Although our "enemies" were more clearly drawn, so was our collective sense of optimism regarding our future path(National and global..). That optimism now seems quaint, naive, or even dangerous. So many different directions we could have taken the last 20 to 30 years, or after communism's fall, and yet, here is where we are.. How did we stray so far away from sanity and progress? How did this happen?
Vogelsang, one of the largest Soviet garrisons outside of the Soviet Union, was the base of the 25th tank division. For almost 40 year, soldiers belonging to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany lived here -- until they finally withdrew in 1994.
Sine then, Vogelsang has been left to the elements, a ghost town in the middle of the Brandenburg forest. And yet, two decades after the last light was switched off, there is still plenty of life at the site. Deer and raccoon roam among the trees as do feral sheep and goats.
The barracks too still hint at the life they once contained. While most look the same from the outside, plenty of differences can be seen on the inside. The type of heating within, for example, indicates whether they housed officers or mere foot soldiers. The former tended to have decorative, tiled wood stoves instead of simple potbelly stoves. Window grates in the form of a shining sun likewise provided a bit of ornamentation.
The residential buildings, similar to the gigantic halls housing military equipment and vehicles, were painted in standard shades of gray, blue, green, yellow and sometimes even pink. The resulting mixture is a photographer's dream.
These pictures conjure an odd, wistful feeling for the "simple days" of the Cold War. Although our "enemies" were more clearly drawn, so was our collective sense of optimism regarding our future path(National and global..). That optimism now seems quaint, naive, or even dangerous. So many different directions we could have taken the last 20 to 30 years, or after communism's fall, and yet, here is where we are.. How did we stray so far away from sanity and progress? How did this happen?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment