Krampnitz Kaserne was built in 1937 as a cavalry school and driving training centre and was used by the Nazis until the end of the Second World War. Soviet troops took control of the area, taking over a day after the Germans abandoned it on April 26th, 1945. The 35th Guards Motor Rifle Division was then stationed there until its abandonment in 1992, after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The whole complex consists of more than 50 buildings, most of which are apartment buildings and storage, though it also includes an officers' club, a tennis court, a theatre and more. It is now well known that movies such as Inglourious Basterds and Enemy at the Gates had scenes shot here.
(History adapted from Wikipedia.)
This was the first site that Dystopia and I visited on our short trip to Berlin in August.
As I'm sure is the case for many visitors to this site, we wanted to see the eagle mosaic in the Adler building so we looked at the map we had taken with us. Sadly, I am a stereotypical woman when it comes to maps and was totally useless! Luckily, the amazing Priorty 7 and TeeJF were on hand via text to tell me to turn the map round - oh yeah! I get it now! Finding our way, we tried to gain access. The whole site is quite densely wooded and absolutely teeming with mosquitoes. Every time we went off the footpath towards the buildings, we were being eaten alive and so we didn't venture too far from the path. The initial access we therefore discovered to the Adler building was a challenging one so we decided to call it a day. Forlornly heading back to our main access point, I did the urbex 'jump back' as I'd spotted someone! Luckily, we quickly realised that it was another group of explorers who asked us if we had found the Adler building. "Well, we have, but we haven't made it inside yet. If you help us get in, we'll show you where..." Success! With a new, larger team, we made it in.
There is much speculation about whether or not the eagle mosaic was put in place as part of a film set. The argument goes that the Soviets wouldn't have allowed the Nazi era decoration but I agree with others who say that it's a very elaborately constructed mosaic to have been put in simply for a few shots in a film. Also, the mosaic in the Kasino building is very similar and seems to be original.
The reason for the limited number of shots here is simply because I, unlike others, was underwhelmed by Krampnitz. Looking at others' photos, it seems to have deteriorated dramatically recently and there was a lot of debris, graffiti and general destruction around the place.
So after the Adler, and with our new team in place, we headed off to Beelitz...
The whole complex consists of more than 50 buildings, most of which are apartment buildings and storage, though it also includes an officers' club, a tennis court, a theatre and more. It is now well known that movies such as Inglourious Basterds and Enemy at the Gates had scenes shot here.
(History adapted from Wikipedia.)
This was the first site that Dystopia and I visited on our short trip to Berlin in August.
As I'm sure is the case for many visitors to this site, we wanted to see the eagle mosaic in the Adler building so we looked at the map we had taken with us. Sadly, I am a stereotypical woman when it comes to maps and was totally useless! Luckily, the amazing Priorty 7 and TeeJF were on hand via text to tell me to turn the map round - oh yeah! I get it now! Finding our way, we tried to gain access. The whole site is quite densely wooded and absolutely teeming with mosquitoes. Every time we went off the footpath towards the buildings, we were being eaten alive and so we didn't venture too far from the path. The initial access we therefore discovered to the Adler building was a challenging one so we decided to call it a day. Forlornly heading back to our main access point, I did the urbex 'jump back' as I'd spotted someone! Luckily, we quickly realised that it was another group of explorers who asked us if we had found the Adler building. "Well, we have, but we haven't made it inside yet. If you help us get in, we'll show you where..." Success! With a new, larger team, we made it in.
There is much speculation about whether or not the eagle mosaic was put in place as part of a film set. The argument goes that the Soviets wouldn't have allowed the Nazi era decoration but I agree with others who say that it's a very elaborately constructed mosaic to have been put in simply for a few shots in a film. Also, the mosaic in the Kasino building is very similar and seems to be original.
The reason for the limited number of shots here is simply because I, unlike others, was underwhelmed by Krampnitz. Looking at others' photos, it seems to have deteriorated dramatically recently and there was a lot of debris, graffiti and general destruction around the place.
So after the Adler, and with our new team in place, we headed off to Beelitz...
Last edited:
