Near Brandenburg, Germany, there is a tiny village in a dense wood called Vogelsang. It is, and always was, a quaint little place. Through the 1950s, people lived off the forest, selling lumber to factories using the railways. Little did they know, the same forest that sustained them also held a dark secret.
Miles deep in the forest that surrounded Vogelsang, there was a secret Soviet Union creation that very few people knew about. The Soviets constructed a secret barracks town. Not only that, but this particular base held some of the most dangerous weapons in the world, capable of destroying several of the major Western cities with one push of a button.
The Russians began building the secret city in 1951 as a missile base to combat Western firepower should they be engaged in nuclear war.
The base was home to 15,000 soldiers and civilians. On the property, there were 550 buildings that held tanks, anti-aircraft missiles, tactical missiles, and nuclear missiles.
The nuclear missiles were meant to target England, US, France, Belgium, and Germany. They were 20 times more powerful than the bob that dropped on Hiroshima.
The East Germans did not know about the missiles as they were delivered to the city by cover of night using back roads.
The Soviet military would conduct drills at night so they were not discovered by the Americans.
The Russians removed the weapons near the Vogelsang compound after a few months because of a meeting between Khruschev and Eisenhower. But in 1961, the secret “Operatsiya Tuman” initiative resulted in the installation of more powerful weapons.
However, after the production of the R-14 Chusovaya missile, the weapons at in the camp became obsolete. The missile unit disbanded in 1962.
Then, from 1962 until the end of the Cold War, the base was home to The Red Army’s 25th Tank Division.
The Russian army withdrew in 1994 after the Cold War and the camp near Vogelsang has been decaying ever since.
Access to the barracks town is restricted. It’s said to be very dangerous, as it is crawling with wild boars and wolves. But that doesn’t seem to deter urban explorers and photographers.
There are no official tours of the ruins and trespassing is very much dissuaded by a small force of rangers. But if you really want to check this place out urban explorers say it’s best to bring a bike, as the barracks are more spread out than you think.