Following on from my report on the abandoned town of Wunsdorf https://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/overseas-sites/36592-wunsdorf-abandoned-town-de.html: A once thriving soviet town of 70,000 people, who even had a daily direct train to Moscow. Now completely abandoned. However in one corner, almost perfectly preserved is all of the officers accommodation and leisure facilities. I didn't get time to visit it on my previous visit. But with a free weekend, access to the Ryanair website and £32.99, I knew what I had to do.
Lets start with the swimming pool:
Immediately within reach of the officer's dining house is the indoor swimming pool with boiler house. There are many lovingly designed details in the building. The bathroom is connected via the sideways changing rooms with the former boiler house. The obligatory sauna is also provided fro hairy Russian men to sit around naked together.
The acoustics of the main pool building were crazy. Modern swimming pools are still fairly echo-y, and they are filled with acoustic baffled (often disguised as tacky palm trees / beach balls hung from the ceiling), as well as soft water and absorbent people. Here it is all hard, not even any water. The whisper of a fellow explorer only feet away turns into an incomprehensible hiss, which continues for seconds after they’ve finished talking.
I spent at least as long in the boiler room as I did the main swimming pool. Pulling various levers, and turning various taps declaring that I was turning off the gas pipeline to Ukraine.
With most old derelict buildings that are still standing today you can really see and even feel the level of craftsmanship that went into everything. They come from a time where materials were more expensive than labour, so craftsmen would really take their time. You’d never get architectural or workmanship quality to this level in a swimming pool these days.
But my favourite thing of all in there was the labels. They told the last 90 years of history in one photo….
The original labels were written in Germanic. Then you can see soviet labels written over the top, which since 1994 have been left to decay. A perfect metaphor for the site.
Don't mention the showers:
Thanks for looking.
Lets start with the swimming pool:
Immediately within reach of the officer's dining house is the indoor swimming pool with boiler house. There are many lovingly designed details in the building. The bathroom is connected via the sideways changing rooms with the former boiler house. The obligatory sauna is also provided fro hairy Russian men to sit around naked together.
The acoustics of the main pool building were crazy. Modern swimming pools are still fairly echo-y, and they are filled with acoustic baffled (often disguised as tacky palm trees / beach balls hung from the ceiling), as well as soft water and absorbent people. Here it is all hard, not even any water. The whisper of a fellow explorer only feet away turns into an incomprehensible hiss, which continues for seconds after they’ve finished talking.
I spent at least as long in the boiler room as I did the main swimming pool. Pulling various levers, and turning various taps declaring that I was turning off the gas pipeline to Ukraine.
With most old derelict buildings that are still standing today you can really see and even feel the level of craftsmanship that went into everything. They come from a time where materials were more expensive than labour, so craftsmen would really take their time. You’d never get architectural or workmanship quality to this level in a swimming pool these days.
But my favourite thing of all in there was the labels. They told the last 90 years of history in one photo….
The original labels were written in Germanic. Then you can see soviet labels written over the top, which since 1994 have been left to decay. A perfect metaphor for the site.
Don't mention the showers:
Thanks for looking.
