7 MONUMENTAL ABANDONED WONDERS OF MILITARY ARCHITECTURE

7 Monumental Abandoned Wonders of Military Architecture
By Steph, Web Urbanist, 4 March 2013.

Rusted sea forts, top-secret submarine bases, sprawling military hospital complexes and entire islands still stand as silent reminders of wars long past, from Ukraine to New York’s Hudson River. These seven monumental wonders of abandoned military architecture are steeped in history, often still littered with decommissioned aircraft and pieces of weaponry.

1. RAF Stenigot, England

Images via: urban spaceman

Massive, alien-looking radar dishes litter the landscape at RAF Stenigot, a World War II-era radar station in Lincolnshire, England. Part of the Chain Home radar network, which was intended to provide long range early warning for raids, the site continued to serve for other communication purposes after the war and was decommissioned in 1980. Most of it was demolished by 1996, but four tropospheric scatter dishes still remain, along with a few other structures. [More info and images]

2. Russian Island Base in the Sea of Japan

Images via: english russia

A small horseshoe-shaped island in the Sea of Japan that was once the setting of a war over its gold resources, Askold has been abandoned for decades. In 1892, the Headquarters of the Vladivostok Fortress created a permanent observation post there, and it became a point of tension between Russia and Japan. The island is cluttered with the remains of what little was built or left behind - the base of a long-gone pier, derelict lighthouses, rusted artillery, a power station, a command post, barracks and a handful of vehicles.

The island has never been inhabited, and is rarely visited by tourists due to the difficulty of reaching it from the mainland. Unused since World War II, much of the infrastructure has crumbled, and one part of the island is now inaccessible after the collapse of a bridge. Though it was once a place of war, Askold is now remarkably peaceful - and still, incidentally, full of gold. [More]

3. Beelitz Heilstätten Military Hospital, Berlin, Germany

Images via: arcanum, studiospecialplace, 28dayslater

This beautiful abandoned 19th century sanitarium complex located in Beelitz, just outside Berlin, was used by the Germans as a military hospital through the second World War and then occupied by the Russians for the same purpose until 1995, well after the German reunification. It was abandoned altogether in 2000. Surrounded by pine woods, the hospital complex consists of about 60 buildings including a surgery, psychiatric ward and rifle range. Its most infamous patient is none other than Adolf Hitler, who recuperated there after an injury sustained in World War I in 1916.

Some of the buildings have been painstakingly restored by a German preservation group, but most of them are left to ruin. It’s a popular destination for urban explorers in the area, but of course, not everyone goes there just to enjoy the bittersweet beauty of such an ornate decaying complex. In 2008, a photographer lured a model to the abandoned operating theatre for a photo shoot, and murdered her. Its dark history also includes a period before it was abandoned when a serial killer known as The Beast of Beelitz began to terrorize local women connected to the sanatorium, strangling them with pink lingerie.

People who live in or near the restored buildings do so with caution. Local architect Michael Wetzlaugk bought and converted one of the outbuildings to live with his family, but stresses that he and his son are accomplished marshal artists with a collection of exotic weapons.

4. Bannerman Castle, New York, USA

Images via: bannermancastle.org, hlit

The skeletal remains of a beautiful castle on the Hudson River, 50 miles north of New York City, are littered with the burned and rusting remains of an eccentric Scotsman’s collection of Civil War weapons. Bannerman Castle can be found on the island of the same name. The island was initially established as a military prison by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, and purchased by Frank Bannerman in 1900. The world’s largest buyer of surplus military equipment, Bannerman spent 17 years designing the Scottish-style castle, complete with docks, turrets, garden walls and moats, to hold his collection. It served mostly as a warehouse for Bannerman’s business selling the military goods.

After his death, the estate was sold to New York State and the military merchandise given to the Smithsonian, but personal items and some weapons have been left behind. In 1969, a raging fire of unknown cause destroyed most of the buildings and their contents; the intact main structure can be seen in the top photo, above, before parts of it collapsed in 2009. Said to be extremely dangerous, the island is off-limits to the public, but Hudson River boat tours provide views of its exterior. [More] [Bannerman Castle Trust]

5. Fort Carroll, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Images via: urbanatrophy, archinect

The man-made island of Fort Carroll was constructed off the coast of Baltimore, Maryland in the middle of the 19th century, but never saw war; it was briefly used as a firing range for the Army and a checkpoint for ships during World War II and has been abandoned ever since. A variety of proposals were made for the island after that point, including using it as a prison and a casino, but none were ever carried out. Now abandoned, the hexagonal island has become a habitat for birds.

A recent proposal for the island keeps it that way. Colin Curley and Sara Allen Harper envision it as a ‘gateway ecological park’ with boardwalks.

6. Secret Soviet Submarine Base, Ukraine

Images via: english russia

Once so top-secret that even family members of residents couldn’t visit without special permission from the government, the Balaklava submarine base near Sevastopol, Ukraine was operational until 1993; almost the entire population of the city of Balaklava worked there. It is said to be virtually indestructible, able to survive direct atomic impact. Though warheads and torpedoes have been removed, the base remains in excellent condition and is now open to the public. Some parts have been converted into a museum, but many are still abandoned.

7. Maunsell Sea Forts, England

Images via: slimjim

Looking more than a little like rusted AT-ATs, the Maunsell sea forts were small fortified towers built by the UK in the Thames and Mersey estuaries during World War II and decommissioned in the late 1950s. Briefly used for pirate radio in the 1960s, the sea forts have been abandoned ever since. One became ‘Sealand’, the self-described ‘micronation’ with a controversial status as a data haven. The rest stand empty, just waiting to become the lairs of supervillains. [More]

[Source: Web Urbanist. Edited. Some links added.]

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