Krampnitz
Nazi and Soviet military complex
The wooden floorboards creak when stepped on, quivering with the excitement of something new after more than 20 years.
All around the otherwise bare room sheets of Russian newspapers sag limply or hang from the ceiling, wallpaper reincarnation now redundant in the monotony. All quiet, all still – but for the wind outside brushing branches lightly against the window, trees’ limbs craning for a peek through the opaque panes.
Suddenly a bang! Clanking! Creaking from below. What the fuck?! I freeze. Listen. Dare not breathe. It must be a Russian soldier coming up the stairs to reclaim his jacket! A door slams.
Carefully, I inch my way back out of the room, back into the hall. I nudge open the offending door across the hall. Creeeeeaaakk!!! I peer in. An empty room. A vodka bottle the sole inhabitant. Open windows swing gently in the breeze. Glass miraculously intact all these years.
I assure myself I’m still alone, physically anyway. There may or may not be someone downstairs, but at least nobody’s coming up the stairs. I hope, at least. I continue on, heart in my mouth.
It was actually much easier to get into Krampnitz than I thought when looking at it from the outside. The old ‘Kaserne’ was abandoned by the Russians in 1991, and surrounded by a high unfriendly wall that doesn’t exactly encourage unannounced guests.
The Nazis who used this old military training compound before them weren’t too fond of visitors either – it wasn’t that kind of riding school – so I was quite happy none of them were around anymore.
The German army operated here from September 1937 after its High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres, or OKH) decided to establish a cavalry riding and driving school with a separate training and testing detachment (Kavallerie-Lehr und Versuchsabteilung).
The former cavalry school moved over from Hannover, where space was an issue and the focus was switching to weapons and motors.
The OKH also figured the troop-training ground at nearby Döberitz might come in handy at Krampnitz, too. The move happened bit by bit, over a couple of years, which was just as well as construction took a couple of years as well – probably no coincidence.
In October 1937, Oberstleutnant Joachim Degener became the first commander of the training detachment, succeeded by Oberstleutnant Hans Cramer, who took troops off to participate in the invasion of Poland. Cramer earned the Iron Cross and later became General der Panzertruppe.
It was as good as it got for him, though. Cramer’s was among the many arrests made following the failed plot to assassinate Hitler in July 1944.
He was imprisoned by the Gestapo, then interned in a sub-camp of the Ravensbrück concentration camp before being dismissed from the Wehrmacht in September. He saw out the rest of the war under house arrest.
Cramer had had dealings with Erwin Rommel, and he knew Claus von Stauffenberg from their days at the cavalry school in Hannover.
Before any of this happened, back at Krampnitz the poor horses were feeling a little unappreciated and helpless. As much as they tried, they couldn’t fly as high as planes, dive as deep as submarines, or drive their way through battlefields as fearlessly as Panzers.
Krampnitz increasingly catered to Panzers, and it was here that horses handed over their reins to new technology. As the Versailles Treaty didn’t outlaw the development of armored scout or reconnaissance vehicles, different types were tested and handed over to the troops.
The first Panzerspäh (armored scout) teaching squadron got three Büssing-manufactured heavy eight-wheeled armored cars with a closed turret and armed with a 2-cm cannon and MG-34, said to be the world’s first “general-purpose machine guns.” General-purpose, so you could use them for anything – washing-up, shopping, unblocking drains, sealing leaks etc. – and not just for riddling people with bullets.
These eight-wheeled Panzers (armored vehicles or tanks to you and me) had a crew of four men each and they carried on the golden cavalry tradition of, well, death and misery. Let’s not gloss over the facts here – they killed people. Apparently they were among the best at it at the time. Most tanks are based in the eight-wheeled Princip to this day.
I guess you gotta hand it to them: the Krampnitz car was pretty good. They were equipped with radio communications, had all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and could reach 90 km/h.
While the Panzers were hogging the limelight, horses weren’t completely ignored. The riding school carried on beside the armored divisions up the first few months of 1945.
The Kavallerieschule was renamed Schule für Schnelle Truppen Krampnitz (School for Rapid Troops Krampnitz) in 1941 and Panzertruppenschule II (Panzer Troop School II) two years later.
Oberst Arno von Lenski, who was involved with the cavalry school since its Hannover days, became the Krampnitz school commander on December 1, 1939. He was off fighting on the Western Front, and was later made an honorary judge of Roland Freisler’s notorious Volksgerichtshof (People’s Court) by Hitler.
Von Lenski commanded the 24th Panzer Division at Stalingrad and ended up in Soviet captivity. He boosted his post-war career chances by joining the National Committee for a Free Germany (NKFD).
Sure enough, after the war, he joined the East German Kasernierte Volkspolizei and in 1956 became head of the DDR’s Panzer troops. His work for the Nazi Volksgerichtshof suddenly didn’t matter anymore.
The horses also found refuge after the war. With the Red Army closing in, they’d been moved to safer pastures in western Germany.
Everyone was heading west away from the Soviet advance. German Army command abandoned ship at Wünsdorf with yellow-livered Wehrmacht chief Wilhelm Keitel staying in Krampnitz for a few days before legging it to Fürstenberg.
The Russians had put an end to the Nazis’ little gallop, and they took over a day after their foes abandoned it April 26th, 1945. They in turn abandoned it nearly 50 years later.
Now paint flaks off the walls, bathtubs are pulled out of their homes, are strange Russian graffiti lurks in attics. There are dark corridors of power where soldiers and officers stomped about in boots thinking they were big and important.
Offices, toilets, kitchens, dormitories… I opened every door, peered in every dark recess. My eye was caught by everything it saw; I was entranced. Not even Adolf himself could have dissuaded me.
What must have been the clubhouse or pub still had signs on the wall outside. Huge bay windows inside must have been impressive in their day. Damn it, they were impressive now. A theater stood beside it empty and silent. Behind another high wall there was an underground bunker. Deep, dark, absolutely huge, facing an immense industrial-looking building.
Another building looked like it hadn’t been touched since the end of WWII; shiny wooden floors, wooden panels on the walls, destroyed Nazi eagles over fireplaces, chandeliers brought down from their lofty heights and one still hanging majestically, absolutely magnificent.
But still I hadn’t found what I was looking for. My frantic search had yielded nichts.
Just as light was failing however, I found it. The tour de force. Absolutely incredible. The Eagle. Imperious in the middle of a huge cross, clutching a swastika in its claws, surrounded by four more, one in each corner. These were painted over in red paint, supposedly by the Russians who destroyed all the Nazi imagery. Apart from the Naziest Nazi image of them all that is – the flippin’ eagle.
Some swear the eagle is real. It certainly looks the part – the attention to detail is frightening. Others point out that ‘Enemy at the Gates’ and ‘Inglourious Basterds’ were filmed here, while others again will tell you it doesn’t appear in either. I don’t know. Some of the mosaics are missing and such attention to detail for a film is extraordinary.
If authentic, it will have managed to live through the Red Army’s occupation, but it’s unlikely to survive the real estate invasion. If Potsdam planners get their way, Krampnitz won’t be unoccupied for much longer.
LOCATION AND ACCESS (HOW TO FIND GUIDE)
- What: Former military training school, once used by the Nazis and Russians, now abandoned and awaiting exploration.
- Where: Krampnitz, Potsdamer Chaussee, 14476 Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany.
- How to get there: The RE1 regional train from Friedrichstraβe, Alexanderplatz or Hauptbahnhof will take you to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof from where you hop on a 639 bus to Krampnitzsee. Allow an hour altogether. The 639 bus goes to S+U Bahnhof Rathaus Spandau, so if you’re coming from that direction you could get the bus the opposite way. Krampnitz is about half-way between Spandau and Potsdam. I recommend cycling though. There’s a good cycle path from Spandau, although it’s a good way and you don’t want to be knackered by the time you arrive. Here it is on a map so ye can figure it out for yourselves.
- Getting in: Just off the main road there’s a line of run down-looking holiday homes for rent. These are actually former officers’ houses. You can wander in past the sign which says “Betreten und Befahren verboten!” and, if anyone asks, pretend you’re thinking of renting one. Anyway, go past the last one, follow the worn path – watch out for brambles – and you’re in! Those who favour the more direct approach can simply hop over the front gate. It looks easy enough once you don’t mind barbed wire.
- When to go: Preferably when the sun is shining. Daylight is best for exploring.
- Difficulty rating: 6/10. Tricky enough to get to but easy to get in. (Just look for the big tower, now a [hopefully abandoned] saw mill or something.)
- Who to bring: Like-minded explorers. If you’re mean, people who are easily scared.
- What to bring: Camera. You’d be pissed off if you made it out that far and couldn’t take photos. Bring a few snacks too – there ain’t no shops in Krampnitz – and a few Sternis for the road. You can drink them en route. Don’t forget to bring a torch for exploring those dark underground bunkers.
- Dangers: As always, watch out for nosy neighbours or passing outdoor-types who can’t resist sticking their noses in places they don’t belong and getting involved when it’s none of their business. Also watch out for ticks and things like that. One of the fuckers bit me. There are mozzies too, but it’s cold enough now; they should be long gone. I didn’t spot any security guards or anything like that but again, keep your eyes peeled.
Photos (2010)
Filed 20/10/2010 | Updated 13/4/2020
Other military sites
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Wünsdorf
Wünsdorf was the Soviet military forces’ HQ in Germany, Little Moscow, the Forbidden City. The Nazis used it before that for their underground army HQ.
Niederlehme TSL 44
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I’m here and I’ll be lookout…
email me and let’s ride! (with our cameras of course! [email protected]
When is it supposed to be teared down?
Couldn’t find the eagle, but it was awesome.
Wow really cool article. Enjoyed reading it and great shots. Been there twice now, but I have not seen the entire area. Keep up the good work.
Forgot to say that the only thing I don’t completely agree with is giving out such detailed information on where your locations are. Many people are only interested in destroying these places.
Robin – not sure there are any actual plans to tear it down just yet. Only a matter of time I’m sure.
Jolman – Yes. It is.
Uexplorer – Thanks for the kind words! I checked out your blog and it’s great!
Have to disagree with you about giving out detailed information though. I do it so others can go check them out too. These places are generally in pretty bad condition anyway, and I don’t think vandals are going to go to too much trouble to travel just to smash up already-smashed up places. As far as I can see, it’s better for people to enjoy them now before they are destroyed when they are converted to apartments, a far more scary prospect than vandals in my view.
I’ve been in Krampnitz two weeks ago. Here are some of the photos I took: informationsschaum.de/2011/02/21/kaserne-krampnitz/
I liked that place. It’s a realy huge area with a lot of interesting buildings to explore.
Hello there,
I’ve just discovered your blog and really love it. Such a great idea to go out and explore these places before they make way for flats and hotels. Sadly I have too nervous a disposition to explore places like the Spreepark and the Iraqi embassy but ones like Teufelsberg and this look amazing and i’m tempted to ignore those “Verboten signs”. Keep up the good work.
great blog! thank you very much for the info…now I have some activities for the nexts weekends!
Thanks for the kind words!
Hi Irish B.
I want to thank you for the information, it has been a great day to go there and explore the place. it seems that there has been some kind of event going on in the big building as there were plenty of empty wine cases and loads of feathers in the floor. i was impress by the mosaics, the rhino head ant the white room was extremely ramdom…
but one thing that i was to ask you, where it was the eagle??? look for it in the fancy building everywhere, fin the mosaic in one of the rooms, the russian frescos in the wall…but couldnt find the eagle (was there a white room with a rhino head on it when you went there??…)
the bunker and the little “mine factory” was amazing. and yes, doors and windows have the tendency to open and close when they feel like it.
i also have to get in the building were all the windows are intact!!!
anyway, thank you for the detailed info and sharing your experiences with us!!!
Thanks Taran!
But if I told you where the eagle is, it would spoil all the fun of exploring! Now you have the perfect excuse to go back. A hint though – it isn’t in the fancy building (although you might have suspected that by now).
I also have to go back. Krampnitz is HUGE and there’s loads of exploring to be done. I certainly don’t remember any rhino heads or white rooms…
thank You, Irish B.
Bufffff, Glad that the eagle is not in the fancy building. My fear was that the white room with the rhino head was the room with the eagle and some gang of artist decided to paint the whole room white. Iam planing to go back in my next visit to Berlin…this one was too short for having enough time to visit the place more than twice. Also i did not explore the building that has all the windows intact so i am really curious about that one( and this is where i suspect the big nest is hidden).
Thank you Again for sharing!!!
PS- although i did not see security or ear anyone i can tell there must be someone watching the place and they do it by car. in the little road of the complex the path of the car is well marked by fresh broken branches.
Cheers Taran – good sleuth work!
I put this, alsong with all the other places on your blog on my to-do list for this summer!
Wie wäre vielleicht nächstes Mal mit einem Artikel auf Deutsch? 😀
Viel Spaß im Sommer! Ich würde gern einen Artikel auf Deutsch schreiben aber es dauert schon Ewig auf Englisch. Eigentlich wollte ich alles auf beide Sprachen machen am Anfang aber wenn ich das getan hätte, hätte ich kein Zeit zum erkunden gehabt!
Hi, love the blog, and as i have just here (Berlin), i have checked out almost all of your recommendations! I command you, sir, with your help, advice and instructions, where most of us would be lost without. Can you tell me where exactly is the building complex? It isn’t marked on the map you provided, and i’m sure i’ll be able to see it when we get there. We are planning to go tomorrow, if the weather is better than today. Any more help would be great!
Keep up the good work!
flickr.com/photos/hiro-protagonist/
Cheers Anteater! I checked out the link to the map and it seems to be working fine – Krampnitz ain’t a big village and consists of little more than the complex. Find the houses, delve in behind them and you’re there. Alternatively, look for the big long prohibitive wall and it’s behind that.
Nice post… I can’t say that it’s entirely un-hypocritical though, after reading your comment: “watch out for … passing outdoor-types who can’t resist sticking their noses in places they don’t belong and getting involved when it’s none of their business.” Remember, many of those outdoors types who can’t resist getting involved are actual Berliners who really lived here in GDR times. They arguably have much more right than you do to stick their noses into Stasi buildings when a foreigner is doing the same! 😉
Interesting point, but I think you miss mine, unless you’re simply writing to cause mischief.
The passing outdoor-types I was referring to are people with no interest in abandoned buildings, or their history, but who ring the Polizei from an uncontrollable urge to inform as soon as they feel someone is doing something verboten. I’m not talking about Berliners in particular, but your average old biddy walking her dog through the forest who sees a guy taking pictures of an empty, abandoned building, and who straightaway rings the police, her sense of well-being assuaged by the notion she has fulfilled her patriotic duty in reporting to the authorities. There are quite a lot of people like this in Germany, for some reason.
As far as I’m concerned EVERYONE has a right to explore these buildings – foreigner or not. I do not think Germans have more right to explore Stasi buildings than others, simply because they were controlled and spied on for so long. It’s people like that biddy in the woods who rings the police at the drop of a hat who made the Stasi possible, and who probably hark back for the good all days when everyone was kontrolliert. THESE are the people to watch out for, now as it was then.
Hey again Just thought you should uodate its the bus 638 und 639 der ist keine 629 mehr.
I went there today, amazing place have to go back soon.
Thanks again for your blog and for sharing.
Thanks for a great post.
Another easy entry: The south-east corner of the compound has a big hole in the wall right next to a bus-stop. The first building you find is the officer’s mess (Kasino in German). The building across is the one that has the mosaic Eagle.
The place IS guarded. I know because I got caught. The guard drives slowly around and also walks. When he saw I was only taking photos he was quite friendly. I don’t know if I would have been fined if his mood had been different. I talked with him for a while about the place. He continually complained about vandals.
See the book “The German law of torts: a comparative treatise” by Markesinis et al., page 88, for additional insight as to why they guard these places: (Use google books)
“… anyone who exercises a sufficient degree of control over a particular thing (moveable or immovable) which is likely to cause danger is under a duty to take reasonable care to ensure that this danger does not materialise (…) it is, therefore, for the defendant to exculpate himself and not – as is normal – for the plaintiff to prove the formers fault.”
Translation: If you get hurt in an abandoned site it is for the owner to prove that he did everything he could to prevent you from getting hurt there. Otherwise he is automatically liable for your injuries.
You might be able to get permission from the owner if you sign a waiver of liability. Of course, that takes a lot of fun out of exploring.
Oh, by the way, the guard said the Nazi Mosaic is genuine from WW2. Of course, he’s a guard and not an art expert, historian or anything, so take it for what it’s worth.
Wow, thanks for the comment and for the explanation of German law. I think it’s the same in most countries. Surely they’d avoid all the hassle if they just put up signs saying “tresspass at your own risk”?
Robin – thanks for the heads up on the bus situation. Good work!
Found the eagle while scouting the last building we were looking in. It was fantastic, so thanks for the tip! I reckon it to be genuine, though I’m no expert either. I simply looking at the state and craftsmanship that went in building that building. Because it was one of the best build I guess. Checked out the gym, which was obviously built by Russians; Russian boards were used to make the walls :O But that part of the building was falling apart much more rapidly than other (German built) buildings.
We also saw the security car near the fence where we parked our car, but didn’t see him anywhere on the terrain. Maybe because it’s a lot of ground to cover. Did saw another photographer who spotted us and ducked behind a tree 🙂
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Alistair, thanks for the comment. I’m very sorry but I removed it as I feel it’s against the point of urban exploration to provide detailed instructions on EXACTLY where the eagle is located. Surely the whole point of urban exploration is the “exploration”, the feeling you don’t know what’s around the corner, what you will find around the next wall you look, at the bottom of the next hole you look in?
It’s not hard to find the eagle if you just look for the damn thing, and looking for it is most of the fun. If you just want to see it and nothing else, then there’s a picture of it published on the blog for those who are so inclined.
Yes, I know there’s a hypocrisy of providing detailed instructions on how to get to these places, but I think once you find the places it’s up to you to explore.
Again, I apologise for removing the comment – I’ve never done that before – but I think in the interest of exploration it’s better to leave certain things unsaid.
You’re right about the mozzies: “bring long pant or mosquito repellent!! im from africa and I have never experienced such a feeding frenzy! i look like i have been shot with a shotgun.”
ich war heute in krampnitz … der zutritt ist inzwischen sehr leicht, da ein loch in der mauer ist und der draht runtergetreten. die gebäude sind allerdings vielfach verrammelt und man sollte sehr sportlich sein, um mit hilfsmitteln einstieg in die hochliegenden fenster zu finden 😉 … leider sieht man aber auch den vandalismus der letzten jahre 🙁
Hi guys, very thanks for this site, that’s fuckin unbelievable what u can find in berlin neighbourhood.
we’ll be in berlin from 18 to 25 of july and we are looking for someone who would like to come with us.
if interested email us at shari_vari[at]hotmail.it
This is our 3rd trip to Berlin thanks to you !! It’s costing me a fortune in Diesel 🙂 Just wanted to say thanks. You’ve saved us from return trips to Severalls. Krampnitz really is the gift that keeps on giving everytime we come we discover more. We spent 8 hours there yesterday and were still coming accross stuff as we were leaving ! The cinema/gym/canteen building was mental ! How noisy would it have been in there at chow time. Always feel very comfortable wandering round the buildings although one of the ‘dorms’ left us with a very uneasy feeling to the point we got out quick for no apparent reason.
Thanks again and we feel as if we owe you a beer or 10. Today is Doeberitz Day
Kingrat and Lillimouse
This nazi base is going down. On August We will tare this place apart and destroy the nazi eagle. Nothing will survive. Time is ticking…
Thanks again for all the comments, musings, advice and attempts to be funny (I hope). I presume senseless vandals would not have the wherewithal to signal their intentions in advance, so I sincerely hope the last comment was a misguided attempt at humour.
Kingrat and Lillimouse – you’re very welcome. Maybe some day we’ll have a beer or ten.
Shari – I wasn’t in Berlin for much of July, but hope you had a good time.
Tuennelef – Ja, das Vandalismus ist Scheisse, aber was kann man tun? Leider gibt’s Idioten überall. Wichtig ist, diesen Orten zu genießen so lang man kann.
This is an excellent site with the WW2 and Soviet artwork that still remains.
Status: Many trees are marked with red paint and others with numbers. I wonder if they’re planning to cut them down soon? There were clear signs of the guard’s vehicle but I was there for 4 hours on a Sunday and I didn’t hear or see him. There was also a fresh Securitas barcode on the back of the Offizier Kasino. In the gym I saw tracks of a moped and in a house I saw bicycle-tracks on the 1st floor. Some of these explorers are bold! If you prefer to go incognito and if you go while the trees have leaves you can stay out of the guard’s sight except when crossing the roads as the place is quite overgrown. You should be able to hear him coming in his car. Although, when I was there it was one of those days where you can hear cars a mile away so it was difficult to say if it was the guard. I also heard sirens 3 times and dogs on occasion. But I don’t think it was related to the site and I believe the guard mostly just drives slowly around the site.
I can understand they guard it well, though, as a garage had had a couple of manmade fires in it and many buildings are in very poor condition and dangerous to enter, there are open manholes in the undergrowth that can be hard to see, etc.
The ticks and mosquitoes are huge and hungry as our dear blogger has noted. There are many animal paths and I wonder if there are wild boar as it looks like they have been digging in the soil many places.
A theory as to why the Russians have not destroyed the nazi mosaic could be that it has either been concealed – which they did with much nazi artwork in the buildings they took – or perhaps they considered it a trophy to show guests. To this day it remains an impressive sight.
Thanks for the update and the advice. Those bicycle tracks might have been my own. It IS a big site! I heard about the red paint and that it’s on the buildings too. They are literally numbered and their days are too. I assume they want to knock down the site much like they’re doing with Vogelsang. I feel another visit coming on…
Hey, went in the weekend and it was great, cold but great and very much not teared down. Opposite actually with one building looking more like it was being fixed. Found the eagle, in the last building we looked in and it was well worth the search. My favourite was the theatre though. With the coloured glass and holes where the projectors sat. Amazing!
Thanks for posting information like this, its making my weekends most exciting 🙂
You know, I haven’t been in the theatre – I don’t think I’ve been anyway – I really have to get out there again soon, but there are so many places and so little time!
Hi Berliner!!!
I pay another visit and finally i found what i was looking for…i knew it had to be in the only building i did not have time to search in my last two visits…thus, i must come back there with my super 8 and when days are a bit brighter.
Regarding security, Yes they are around. i saw them today in the left site outside of the compound(were there is a man selling apples and honey and yummy stuff). but my guess is that they are not working there full time and they do not care much about the unexpected visitors.
Having never done any urban exploration I was a bit concerned about going in but I managed to pluck up the courage and visit during my short trip to Berlin. Managed to meet another explorer going in so that helped with the nerves. He’d been there before but still not found the eagle or the theatre. Had a very successful day and found them both + the ‘Inglourious Basterds’ room. I personally don’t think the Eagle and Swastika are totally authentic. There are four painted over swastikas – one in each corner. Why would the russians do this and leave the central mosaic? There were also signs of recent filming and more worrying recent vandalism. If you’d like to see my pics they are here
flickr.com/photos/16531669@N07/sets/72157628502435147/
Glad you finally found it Taran – best it was worth the wait!
Anon – who knows what those crazy Russians were thinking. Maybe they went off to get more paint and then forgot what they were doing.
That vandalism is a problem though. I don’t really know what anyone can do about it. I suppose we could ask the Russians to come back…
Hey IrishBerliner!
Your blog is amazing. Me and my girlfriend are new to this but so excited. After visiting the Tempelhof airport when it was just closed down and visiting Teufelsberg three times last year we went to Krampnitz to test our luck there. First we ended up at the wrong site, an elderly-home just two miles down the road, where some interesting stuff was lying around (parts of old military trucks). We soon enough found out that we were not at the site you mentioned as Krampnitz Kaserne, so we tested our luck and followed the road further away from Berlin. We soon enough found that Krampnitz is hard to miss.
We only had two hours of daylight left so we gathered our confidence and snuck over a fence next to the main road. There are people living at the houses down the road so it is hard to sneak around them, but we managed to get in just behind the tower in the southwest corner of the site. We walked around the plattbau blocks and checked the big yellow two-family villa’s. We didn’t have enough time to get to the officer’s mess or anything else but the housing area, but we sure want to go back. We didn’t encounter any guards, but the tire tracks were fresh and we heard a dog barking in the distance (turned out to be living at one of the houses at the street).
We saw a lot of resemblance when we passed the Olympic village the day after. The same sovjet housing flats were build there. Would you recommend visiting that too? Oh and we tried to get into the Spreepark four days ago, but some guy with a dog chased us away in angry German (luckily we understood what he was saying and could save us some police-crap). I hope we can still visit that some other time!
Anyway, thanks for your blogs! Looking forward to see some updates. 🙂
Had a great day out there today, but unfortunately only got into a few of the larger buildings (theater/officer’s mess and a couple of others) before being spotted by the guard. Thankfully it seemed like his job was simply to point tourists back to the hole in the fence from whence they came rather than try to ‘scare’ them off with fists and batons. I’d love to go back some time for further exploration.
At least you got to see something before being caught! Good to know the guard isn’t a nutcase. Next time you’re out, you’ll know what to look out for. Sneaky does it!
Freeekie, the Olympic village is definitely worth a visit, although I see they’re trying to restore it and charge people/take the fun out of it. Nowhere’s safe.
Oh man, the link you give for the map is way wrong. I was stupid enough to not double check – and it added 10km onto my journey overall (by bike). Guess I got some extra exercise tho 😉
I checked the link again and it checks out. Where’d you end up?! At least you picked a good day for it, albeit cold. Hope you were wrapped up.
OK, now it works. You sure you didn’t change it? 😉 Before it went to the address that’s still showing – “PP Pension Potsdam, Tieckstraße 4, 14469 Potsdam, Germany” – not sure what that’s about but it’s quite far from the actual site of course. Yeah, I chose the day carefully, gotta make the most of these rare sunny days. Couldn’t find the eagle sadly and also missed the casino, but like you said it’s so bit it requires multiple visits. Will head back soon…thanks again for the posts, keep ’em coming!
Hello there~
Went recently to Krampnitz twice and had a nice exploration. Though I’d like to point a few things out. First of all, our worst idea was trying to carry on with the bikes. We got out at Potsdam Hbf station and couldn’t get on the bus with our bicycles. The way towards Krampnitz is quite long and very tiring, so by the time we got there, we were already too tired and with legs on pain. Also, reaching the bus station Krampnitzsee by bike we got into the place that you show in the pictures, the white houses and the red star, but couldn’t get in from there. <b>The advice is: DON’T GO BY RIDING. Get the bus that’s really easier and by the 639 bus you get into the right Krampnitzsee bus station, having a big hole in the wall making it really easy to get in (the bike can’t get through)and close enough to the “Inglorious bastard” building.</b>
Also, found the “mess/casino” but couldn’t find the eagle and the theater. We have a good guess of in which building they are, but they were total and completely locked, with wooden walls covering the doors, the windows and the holes in the ground possibly leading to the bunkers. There’s also a lot of vandalism, broken glasses and creepy stuff (like a swastika carved on the wall with a stake in the middle and something really gross and red that we don’t want to know what it is), so gotta be a bit careful about the people showing up in there. Always go with lots of sunlight and a nice group of people.
It’s a great place,we wish we could go back there again =) Thank you for sharing
Pablo – I’m very sure I didn’t change it! Maybe it was the Russians/Nazis trying to throw you off the scent…
Mittsu – thanks to the hilarious image of a group of you trying to get into a bus with all your bikes! Personally I’d recommend making a day of it and cycling from Potsdam Bahnhof but of course the bus is another option – without the bikes. 😉
These posts you make are wonderful. I plan an adventure soon with some friends, but I’m wondering (maybe you already have, but I skimmed the comments… sorry) if you could give me a better idea of how to find the building with the eagle in it. It’s unbelievable it still exists. I must see with my own eyes!!!
D.
I was there yesterday and it was great thanks. The rhino head is not in very good shape any more vandals! The bus comes at 13 and 45 past on every hour and on sundays every hour at 13 past 638 and 639.
Back in Berlin in January and will be visiting.
Was there today, mosquitos are still a nuisance! Definitely bring spray or a hoodie, couldn’t find the Eagle but wandered around the housing complex/theatre/vehicle storage place. Entered near Kremnitzsee, was easy enough.Seems that the latter may have been used for a film, recently constructed structures inside of the garage had comments written on drawers e.g. torture room/stunts etc.
I’ll upload a picture so you guys can decide for yourself.
Word of warning though, we were about 20 seconds from being caught by the guard, we dropped our guard enough to walk around by the roads away from the midges, luckily for us he didn’t check his mirrors!
So there is still someone there, but, as others have commented definitely big enough to escape capture without too much hassle though.
Did anyone else find the weed plant on the roof? It’s got about 3/4 weeks left until it’ll be ready i think. I won’t say where so it can add to the fun alongside the eagle haha!
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imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13/film1bt.jpg/
Thank you Irish berliner for your tips and your discoveries.
We went today to Krampnitz, got wet feet, saw the guard driving his car but did not get spotted, visited around 20 different buildings, found the rhino, the factory, the gym, some bullets, etc, but not the eagle :(.
Anyway, it was a great trip!
We’re looking forward to the next sunny day so that we can tick another site on our list.
Thanks again!
Vozduh
Hi guys, very thanks for this site.
i live in berlin and i’m looking for someone who would like to come with me. first time.
if interested email at gusik24[at]gmail.com
I went back there for the second time a few weeks ago (first visit was early 2011). Still great, but I have to say I could have cried upon discovering that some pizduk (this is an unfriendly Russian word) has spray-painted the interior walls of the Casino. You could see the same idiot’s ‘tag’ in various other buildings of lesser consequence as well.
Otherwise the place seemed the same. No sign of a guard, but I generally kept well away from the main drag.
I disagree with those who take issue with biking there. If you take a ferry to Katow then bike towards Potsdam it’s a really pleasant trip and a basic level of fitness should be enough. We actually went for a stroll in Sans Souci after the Kaserne.
Btw I love this site.
Unfortunately there are pizduks everywhere. It’s the main reason I consider not publicizing locations and so on but I figure they’ll find and destroy these places anyway. And if they don’t, the developers or the local authorities will. They’re pizduks too.
I ran across this via a pin on Pinterest and was simply amazed. How awesome! I run a site called Abandoned Gulf Coast in the USA and have nothing that measures up to this. What a great job and I enjoyed all of the history behind it.
Thanks Kim! Cool site you got going there!
Hi everybody,
Nice article about abandoned Krampnitz. I lived there in 1975-1978 when i was a child (9-12 years old). You know it’s most sweety childhood age, so i have very fond memories with Krampnitz. And now it looks so sadly.
If you’re interesting a history of Krampnitz you can see many photos in the albums of Krampnitz group of our social network odnoklassniki.ru (direct link: odnoklassniki.ru/krampnits/albums ). There are photos of people who lived or be on duty in Krampnitz, photos of alive Krampnitz and even photos of pre-WW2 Krampnitz.
Hey Alexander, thanks for your comment!
I’d love to see those pictures and read more but unfortunately it seems you need to be a member to be able to log in to see them. My Russian isn’t as good as it should be! 😉
Is there anywhere else people can check out the photos?
Thanks again,
IB
Ops, i forgot about registration… sorry
The easiest way is try yandex search engine – use this url: yandex.ru/yandsearch?text=%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86&lr=191 (search text is Крампниц meaning Krampnitz in russian). There also are some video shooted by ex-soldiers when them vizited Krampnitz.
About odnoklassniki – i can make some fake account for you can get access to photos.
Made it to Kampnitzsee yesterday, almost to easy to get inside. Went straight for the Eagle and found very easy. Is it real and autentic?
regards Tina
Tina,
You don’t have to give away the exact location (because i know Irish Berliner won’t like that too much!) but could you just confirm if its in the building with all the windows intact?! Cheers, Perinne
I was just wondering.. from all your experience do security guards tend to work 24/7 or just 9-5 on weekdays?
Hi Saz. 24/7 security is very rare because it’s quite costly. So unless there’s gold or something valuable to protect they generally don’t bother!
Alexander, I don’t know how I missed your reply, but I’ve just seen it now. Thanks! I’ll check out that link. And if you can create an account for odnoklassniki that would be great too!
Many thanks,
IB
Was there during the week, some vans are parked during the day infront of the gates so just stay off the main road to avoid being seen I’d say. Managed to get in to all the buldings but not to the ground floor of the Officer’s Mess unfortunately which is pretty well boarded up.
The mosquitos are very much alive and well.
I was here with my boyfriend last week. It has unfortunately changed quite a bit for the worse in the years since these pictures were taken, though it’s still definitely worth seeing. Unfortunately security spotted us maybe two hours into our visit and sternly told us to leave after demanding to take down our information from our Ausweis. Can they do that? It scared the boyfriend away from this place, but I plan to return this weekend because I still have a date with the eagle. After all, it may not have much more time before the stupid vandals destroy it too.
I’m not sure they can do that. The might be within their rights to keep you there until the police arrive, but that’s about it. Only the police can demand shit like that. It depends how far you want to push the security guards though… I guess if you’re nice to them and show you know your rights, they may just leave you off.
I have seen a lot of abandoned places, but Krampnitzsee is one of the most interesting places. Regards from Tina, Denmark.
was there before a week,the swastikas on eagle not exist anymore,probably the workers slipped them,with gypsum.
First of all, thanks for a great website!
I went there on Friday 19 June. The hole in the fence by the bus stop is still there and there was no security around. The “fancy” building has been closed up though, there is a padlock on the main door and wooden panels on the windows. One window was broken, it might be possible to climb through it if you are a small person but we didn’t try it. The only window we could kind of see through was one of the windows in the casino room (where the window was broken). Despite being there in the middle of the day in strong sunlight, the place was eerie. Will definitely go back another time, we only had about an hour or two there and that was definitely too short.
Thanks for the update! Yep, an hour or two isn’t enough. I don’t think even a day is enough. I’ll have to go back too.
Visited this about two weeks ago and man, it was great.
Just as a previous commenter mentioned, the main “fancy building” is well boarded up but it was possible to climb in thru two broken windows. Amazing place. But very, very vandalized.
Grafitti tags everywhere. But its big, god how big it is! If you continue to walk among the wall you will reach apartment complexes built by the soviets, they look almost exactly like the aparments in Pripyat. Very cool.
Thanks for this great blog, it inspired me to travel to Germany and explore. 🙂
Thanks for the very kind words Per! A shame to hear it’s so vandalized. People can be idiots.
Happened to pass by there last weekend, so couldn’t resist dropping in again to see how things are progressing (if that’s the right word).
First thing I noticed was a mountain of razor wire blocking the hole I had always used in the past, so that wasn’t very friendly. There are workarounds, but it suggested that a bit more effort is being made to keep people out.
Inside, the casino is boarded up indeed (although again there are workarounds). Sadly, as mentioned above, the vandalism inside has only increased, which is a dagger in the heart of anyone who saw it in its pomp.
Perhaps the biggest surprise: the swastikas on the eagle have been plastered over with great precision. The rest of the eagle remains in view, just the symbols in the corners and centre are gone (wie vom lustigen Gesetzgeber bestimmt). This is a very professional job, and may or may not answer the ongoing speculation about whether it is the real thing.
Otherwise it’s the same as it ever was really. Still worth visiting if in the neighbourhood – the friend I was with had never been there and she loved it – but I’ll never understand why some see the need to spray their paint around like so many territorial dogs.
Went there for the second time today, the hole in the fence by the bus stop is still there. The fancy building is locked up but there were lots of broken windows so easy to climb in. The building where the eagle is was slightly harder to get into but still ok. No security. The great stuff is still there but very, very vandalised.
Andrea
Krampnitz is going through its last days as a viable place to be visited/explored. There are plans to develop the site and it looks like they’re going to go through soon.
because of this post, i ended up spending two days there and there is no more eagle.
ftrc.me/17Of3R4
above you can see how it looks right now.
=[
been there on 3.10.2013.
the casino is sealed, huge massive bricks and beton blocks blocking everything.
in the remaining houses the same process is underway, they are blocking the sections of the floors inside the houses.
lots of building stuff lying around (bricks etc.) suggesting some very recent developments.
so i’d say – if you want to go, go now.
but on the week-end, as there might be some workers around during the week.
Thanks for the update. Seems Krampnitz’s days are indeed numbered. I still plan on getting out there soon – definitely before it’s too late.
i just got back from krampnitz and everything is bicked and sealed up. including the theater/cinema
flickr.com/photos/gastaum/sets/72157637523724234/
Why would they even bother? It’s all going to be developed anyway…
You still managed to get some really great pictures though! Kudos!
oh! no! I was planning to shoot part of a film there in May 🙁
It seems like the fairytale of Krampnitz is about to end forever. According to german newspapers the Krampnitz areas has been sold off and will be re developed into housing for 3200 people. It began in october last year (just months after my visit, what luck i had) and will last until 2023.
Very very sad but maybe its the right thing to do considering how trashed the area has become. But still, sad.
Any news? Plan to go there and heilstätten in a few days.
According to this report:
youtube.com/watch?v=CJ7Md8DnWzg
Work will soon begin to transform Krampnitz. For thoose of you that know of the Hitler-project “Prora”, that is also beeing turned into apartments. Nothing is safe anymore..
Yeah, it’s a shame. Telling that there was very little mention of the site’s history.
I suppose apartments are better than a golf course but still, the last thing Berlin needs right now are more fucking “luxus” homes. It’s all they’re building nowadays. A concrete gold rush.
Thanks for posting the clip.
I have visited the place today with 2 of my friends. Though it wasn’t really a problem to find a spot in the fence where we could enter, after about 5 minutes we ran into a security guy driving a white car. he told us to leave the area, that’s it. i guess rebuilding the area will soon start there because we saw several cars and trucks drive in and out of the place. i’d say it’s no longer safe to go there because there’s no real chance to take pictures when there are securities driving up an down the roads and probably those trucks already were construction workes. greetings
I went there this weekend. We were walking around for about 2-3 hours before the security found us. There was a lot of them outthere, but one of them told us to come back in two weeks. So it is possible to be there for some time. But avoid the big roads and look out for cars – we saw one an ran into a house. It is easy to hide from them:)
Sounds like fun!
kommt man da noch hin?
It’s better to wait until end of June/early July, when shooting of “The Hunger Games” (german “Tribute von Panem”) is over there at Krampnitz. At the moment, you’ll have to avoid *two* security services: The usual one and those of the film crew, who are very much interested in keeping unwanted witnesses of coulisses, stars and shooting off. The same applies to Rüdersdorf chemical factory “Rükana”! Who hasen’t been to Krampnitz for a longer time: Trees have been cut down in large extent, so it became more difficult to hide in the bushes, when security car comes…
Today we went to Krampnitz for the third time in 4 years, just had to see it one more time before it’s end. We saw that the front gate (Potsdammer Chaussee) was open, maybe because of security? We drove to Gellerstrasse, parked the car en went under the fence. The buildings on that side were not boarded up and everything was accessible. We went on visiting the west side of Krampnitz and no security to be seen. That side is very badly accessible by car so maybe that’s te reason the security was absent (they hate walking 😉 Very nice to see the old garages on big open spaces with nice views.
Thank you for this wonderfull website. We read it a lot before coming to Berlin. I’ll soon be posting about our visits to de Iraqi Ambassy, Gutterbahnhof Pankow, Siemensbahn, the Bowling and our visit to Lenin in Waldstadt. Keep up to good work!!
We were there 2 weeks ago and walked into the movie security guys indeed. They put us outside (by 4×4, no walking needed) and that was it. They wanted to see our pictures, just to make sure we didn’t take pictures of the film set.
Can anybody confirm and/or deny that the most interesting buildings (casino etc) are inaccessible now? We want to go back in august (we only saw regular barracks last time), but no point in that if everything is closed.
Update from ~May 2014:
The place is huge and it is tricky to go around and find the interesting places. There are actually only a few interesting buildings/places, but you can spend a lot of time going around in the whole site, including to check out paintings somewhere on the right side of the site, close to the site wall.
Otherwise the building with the eagle is still there (amazing!).
The building with the casino is completely sealed up and damn hard to enter into. The only way involved escalating, getting on a roof and entering – but perhaps it is already too late for this way.
There is definitely some security on the site. A car goes around the site; the man in the car seems also to walk a bit around. Avoid large roads and hide in bushes.
I went there just yesterday and was unable to find the eagle 🙁
We did enjoy exploring some of the buildings and saw a lot of cool old ballrooms and other such things but we were very disappointed to not find the eagle. Which building was it in??
Hello, I went there today. It is difficult to get because almost all the exits are blocked. To the right of the building you have to climb on the roof of the entrance and then drag the window on the first floor. Or there is an open above stairs leading to the basement window.
There are currently no security.
To the person who left all the coordinates, I deleted your comments.
I’m sorry, but people already have the address. You’ve got to leave the some exploring to do! Please see my response to Alistair Vlok’s comment above.
I also deleted your comment in Russian (at least I presume it was yours) giving the location of the gas station.
Appreciate your willingness to help, really, but to be brutally honest, half the fun of finding these places is looking for them in the first place.
So, please remove link to my Vogelsang map also as that might to be too much of information for your taste.
Maps are fine, even useful. They’re not foolproof – you can still get lost with a map and there’s still an element of exploration involved.
But coordinates pinpoint a location, removing the element of stumbling across something else when you’re looking for your primary goal. Most of the stuff I’ve found has been in the process of looking for something else. I hope you understand.
I won’t remove your very useful Vogelsang map unless you’re still adamant you want it removed…
entered the area today from the most southern part of ketziner str. where the hole in the wall is right in front of the big concrete buildings. i managed to discover nearly every southern and western part of the area. and saw the kia suv of the guard parking at the outta western part where the fields begin. i think he saw me but i gave a sh*t and made my way to the more eastern part, because i had the same feeling as you had. the crave to find something real cool and surprising. as i made it to the big wall where i guess the so called bunker is behind i heard the security car and hid into bushes. he didnt see me, but at this point i got a little bit scared, as i didnt really recognized the car as “the” sec car at the first time i saw it on the western side. i followed the car to avoid getting caught and left the area through the hole i came from. sad that i didnt experienced the really cool things you guys talk about here. but i will come back soon in the next days certainly. maybe its also interesting for you that i saw a blue t4 parking in the same western area as the beige-metallic kia suv did but more central at one end of the main roads. when i left i also recognized two vans parking in front of the gellertstr. entry which were obviously from a service who were adviced to spot left and hidden ammo. there is definetely work in action atm so maybe better visit on sunday. maybe we will meet their next sunday ;P
I went today (sunday) all of the juicy spots were accessible without force. there WAS security patrouling the area by car, but they were not too hard to avoid. we also heard voices and noises sometimes inside the buildings, but maybe those were other explorers.
Any hints at where the Nazi building or the clubhouse and theatre are located? I walked and biked around today for a few hours but saw mainly barracks. Mind you one or two buildings were very well sealed
Hi Caleb, there is a huge tower at the main gate. Just use this mounment for your orientation. The House of Officers – picture 3 in this article – is on the right side of the main road. The House of Staff with mosaic of the Army riding school’s flag is vis-à-vis. The House of Cadets is further north of main road on the right side. You seem to have been cycling in the southwesterly parts of the area.
😉
We visited yesterday and found many of the “cooler” buildings to be boarded/bricked up. Didn’t see the building that is meant to be completely in tact (photo 6 and 9) but did find a cool military strategy book from the Russians. Had no trouble getting in. We took the 638 bus because I don’t think the 639 goes along there anymore.
There were some other people who passed by, probably explorers like us, but we decided to get out of there sooner rather than later to avoid confrontation. There were some wild boars running out from the Pine trees, around 8 of them, so watch out if you’re alone or just with one other person, they can sometimes attack.
Would be good if you consider and also realise that Soviets are not Russians even though Russians were Soviets. And so you could use proper terms. Also using the term “Nazi” instead of “German” does not match the idea of using the term “Russian” instead of “Communists”. After-all East Germany was German and Communist just like Germany was German and Nazi before that.
yzzil106: The building on pic 6 & 9 was accesible if you entered thru one of the windows but you have to be veeery thin..
Just a quick update. Looks like someone has spray painted over the Eagle, which is now easily accessible for the last few months.
If anyone s interested in going and Exploring Krampnitz, please email me at dishanth.kembhavi[at]gmail.com
I do not want to go alone and I am looking for company.
Cheers!
Thanks Ciaran for all the detailed and useful information you provide on your website. It made our first real urbex trip a great success.
Past Sunday we took bus 638 to go to Krampnitz. Access via the main gate (next to the tower) is quite easy. You don’t have to climb any barbed wire, you can climb through the booth next to the gate. Just don’t take too long since cars driving by can see you. The complex is quite big. We were careful but didnt see any security. We only ran into 2 other explorers, and 1 deer.
We started at the building with the private driveway. It looks like there was quit a lot of effort put into preventing people from getting in. After walking around the building we eventually found a way to get in. It was worth the efforts. After this one we visited about 6 more buildings.
When we left we had seen the theatre, rooms with fancy ceiling, and yes also the eagle mosaic. The eagle mosaic is easy to miss though, and we almost did. The swastikas have some white plaster over them. Their shape is still visible though.
In one of the building there were signs of renovation activities taking place. For that reason I would recommended explorers to visit this site on a Saturday or Sunday.
Hello! Planning on going to this rich, historic site tomorrow but just wondering if anyone has any updates re security, access to budings and the refurb that was mentioned? Any help it greatly appreciated!
went there the other day
access 1/10 just walk trough one of the many holes in the fence
no one around
the site is quite huge, I was a bit disappointed not to find to many historical artefacts, in fact the only one I found were some russian newspapers used as wallpaper and a few russian writings over some entrances..
didn’t find the eagle and at least the buildings closest to the road seem pretty wasted
after 2,5hrs I got bored and I left for something else 😉
If you’re bored of empty rooms with wallpaper pouring down I would recommend going north-east. There’s an industrial building which seems to have done something with coal. Slightly more interesting than the empty barracks. A tiny, old railway station and a gas station are to be found in the area as well. Nature seems to be taking them back, though.We felt like we were doing a hike just as much as urban exploring.
In the south-east area the Plattenbauten and tiny houses are also worthy of perusal.
Went there today, and there were a couple people around, but no gurads, although we mistook one fellow explorer for security.
If you visit between May and christmas make sure to stop by the curious geese (Ketziner Str.).
Went to Krampnitz with a friend yesterday. Beautiful weather, got some great photos.
So I can confirm it’s still there, and there were no guards. It’s absolutely massive, we were there over five hours and felt that was much more to explore. We met about fifteen others in total, including a group of five carrying a couple of toddlers. A little strange.
It’s true that in some buildings there is not much, but there are a couple of old factories/industrial buildings, and here and there a few clothes and other artefacts. The most impressive thing really is the size of the place.
The Eagle is still there, and there’s a way into the building where movies were filmed. I won’t spoil the joy of finding it out.
Highlight for me was finding an old deflated basketball in the sports hall and shooting it through the hoop a couple of times!
Can somebody give me the address as I’m going back to Berlin and try to fin a great thing to show to my friend !. Please let me know!
The address is above, as is a link to a map showing you where it is, and if you look in the top right corner you’ll find another map where all the sites are pinpointed, including Krampnitz.
We have been there yesterday.Still no security at all only a guy living on the other side of the street was watching us for a long time.
We have been there the second time and there are a plenty of buildings we didn´t explored because it is too much for two days !
But we found the eagle and I can say that it isn´t so easy to go in the building now. But I don´t betray more, because you don´t want that. One thing I have to tell you. An Idiot ( must be a big one ) put a big (ugly )tag over the bottom of the mosaic. Why do people this ?? It doesn´t look as nice as on your pictures.
At least I want to thank you for all your interesting ideas and informations. Your site makes a lot of sundays for me much more exciting.
I have been there for the last two days and all I have to say: amazing! The areal is so huge, you have to take a lot of time if you want to see everything. On Friday there was no security and we were able to take a look inside all the old barracks on the beginning of the area. Today (Saturday) we saw 3 cars there and at the end of our tour we had to hide and run of the securityguy. He never get out of his car so it was easier than expected. But well.. I think it’s better to go not on the weekend to this place. Also I have a sad information: there is a huge shield on the entrance, who says : from March sale every Saturday and Sunday. I’m not sure what does it mean but I think it’s less good.
Hello, Kinogutschein,
this shield in front of the entrance isn´t a problem. From Spring to Summer people from the surroundings sell fruit and rattan furniture. They have nothing to do with the Kasernen-Aerea.
By the way. Last Sunday a security guard locked us in one of the houses by a massive wire. We were lucky to have tools with us.
I went to Krampnitz last Thursday in the afternoon. You can access the areal by either hopping over the fence next to the bus stop or climbing through the broken window of the sentry at the main gate. I would recommend to hop over the fence, though, since I heard barking dogs at the main gate, but actually I think that they are confined in kind of a cage, since I never got them to see. However, in the beginning of my stay of 4 hours I saw a white car driving slowly down the main road. After 5 minutes of hiding I could continue exploring the areal without any trouble. I also found the eagle, but unfortunately some son of a b…. sprayed an ugly graffiti on the bottom of the eagle. Anyway, the areal is massive and definitely worth a visit!!! Cheers
We went yesterday. We first accessed it from the north east corner and didn’t even have to climb over any fences, just a 2 foot high mound of earth (near the big sign saying they are building 3800 homes here). We spend about 3 hours going around the garages and barracks. We then drove back to the main road and entered to the left of the main gate through a gap in the railings. Spent another hour in this area.
There was security in a white van driving around, but he missed us.
The tall tower is now used by Vodaphone.
I didn’t find the eagle, but then again we only managed to see about 20% of the buildings!
Had a look around yesterday. Also entered via North-East corner (followed path around the perimeter from the parking area until we found a hole in the fence/wall).
Best place was a large building (ok, most are large) in the east, with some obvious signs of construction. Large ballroom in there, which obviously was used for the mother of all parties at some point.
Construction also going on in the northwest corner, though not actively at is was a Saturday. We got more ballsy as we moved around without seeing any sing of security. Ballsy enough to walk on the tracks and roads in the end. Got caught by a security guy in a white van. Talked our way out of it easily, in his harshest tone he threatened us with a “a thousand euro penalty” if we ever come back again. So we were lucky after all – just stay cautious.
Went there today, parked at the Northeast corner and jumped the wall. After walking around for 2 hours, the security janitor found us. He told us that we had to leave the premises immediately, or he’d have to call the polizei. We went back out the way we came in.
I think the mistake was to park where we did … next time we’ll park a bit away, where it’s not so obvious.
Light was really good for some ominous photos — flickr.com/photos/morganroderick/albums/72157663158515144
Great to see that this place is still active. Krampnitz was the first stop on my first big urbex trip to another country back in 2010 or so. What great memories.
I heard some douche bags set it on fire and sprayed all over the place recently.
Anyone knows what’s Kramnitz’s current status?
Some friends and myself whent there a few days ago. Its hard to go arround the main area, since they are starting constructions there now. Nearly catched us both the times we were there.
Hello, can we still visit Krampnitz, there are lots of guards? Thanx
One or two guards along the main roads of the complex. If youre carefull its possible
Thank you ;-). Ok on sunday? Do you think it’s good to enter by the east side near the small lake?
I went there last Sunday with a few friends. There was security driving along the main road now and again but they didn’t see us. Due to the security around the main road, I’d recommend entering by east side near the the lake. There’s plenty holes in the wall there to get through. Make your way through wooded areas as much as possible and try to stay off the main road. As long as you’re vigilant and don’t make loads of noise you should be fine.
Hello to everyone. Firstable, I would like to thank to all the peopple that post their experience here. Really useful info.
I will make a short trip to Berlin next week, and I am planing visit Krampnitz. Does somebody knows how the status is? Is there anybody that makes guided tours to show the most impressive things? Ofcourse with a refund.
Contact weth me if someone is interessed.
Thanks in advance!
Spent around 4 hours there last Monday. Easy to access if you walk around the side (to the right of the main entrance if you have your back to the lake). There were several workers milling around the main entrance but no security on the rest of the site. Great atmosphere. Sadly the officers’ casino (presumably the building with the nazi eagle mosaic) was completely bricked up, so unless you have a very long ladder or bring a sledgehammer, there’s no way into this building 🙁
I’ve just read through all the comments – again – and realized that the eagle mosaic isn’t in fact in the officers’ mess building!! Cannot believe we missed it. We’ll have to return. Can anyone advise in which area of the site the building is located? Thanks!
We went there today, easy to get in. Many buildings are impossible to get in because of brick walls in the doors as said before. The guard in the white car got us and made us leave – at least without paying money.
The Eagle was an amazing discovery….You are fortunate !
The Eagle was an amazing discovery….You are fortunate !
This site reminds me of a publication here in my State….Weird New Jersey…Which details all kinds of abandoned homes/buildings…Thanks for sharing !
Hi, the hoheits adler – eagle you question is real – as far as I can deduce by all the photos I’ve seen. 1) the quality 2) it is a representation of a regimental flag including the correct waffenfarbe or aarm of service colour for the cavalry – gold/yellow. But who defaced it by defacing the hakenkreuze. Its in one photo but not the others, pitty to destroy history – like the Italians are doing to Pompeii
I was there. A beautiful and huge area.
marodes.de/kavallerie-und-panzertruppenschule-krampnitz
br zar
Thanks for sharing, I was here last weekend and loved it! Felt like I was in a zombie movie. Recent pictures here –
wanderingwolfchild.com/2017/06/20/abandoned-nazi-and-soviet-military-complex-berlin/
You are really keeping me busy while I am in Berlin 😀
I was there the other day. There has been restoration carried out to some of the buildings at the front entrance. The ones you really want to get into have been very well bricked up. However one kindly soul has knocked a hole in. The eagle has been covered up and requires some determination and good route selection as most of the access routes have been blocked up. However stick with it and look for the less obvious route which is unblocked. Another , probably the same soul, has hacked a piece of the cover off the eagle and it can be partially seen with a simple light. I assume it has been covered for preservation.
Was there few days ago with my gf. They are workers trowing away boilers and sinks also workers cutting of threes. We manage to enter only 5-6 of the buildings, which were closer to the road. There were three workers and also one car. No one saw us. Sadly we didn’t manage to get close to the districts center and to to the bunker. But, yeah, nextime. There is “plenty” of time till 2019 when they will star officially to build the new neigborhood for berliners.
Potsdam Tourismus is organizing tours (May – September) on the premises from time to time. But places are filling up quickly. They released some new dates last friday
These are wonderful Alexander thank you very much for sharing. Your photographs and videos bring it to life again. Colin
How do we find out about tours? Does anyone have a link? Thanks in advance.
Ik was er in augustus 2018. Op een zaterdag, ik heb mezelf toegang verschaft via een kapot hek. Komende vanuit Berlin-Spandau via de Potsdamer Chaussee, fiets/rijd je de (voormalige) hoofdingang van kamp Krampnitz voorbij en dan na ca. 200 meter tweemaal rechtsaf slaan. Staan nieuwe woningen. Aan het einde van deze doodlopende straat kun je via een kapot hek toegang verschaffen tot kamp Krampnitz. Let wel: bewoners zitten NIET op nieuwsgierigen te wachten. Ontwijk ze dus. Heb uren rondgelopen en leuke plaatjes geschoten. Ben een bewoner tegengekomen dit telkens tegen mij zei ‘Dat ist verboten…’ (maar toen had ik het hele kamp al gezien). Leuke ervaring. Maar er zijn ook bouwprojecten op het terrein gaande.
I am the person who posted on the tours..sorry to reply that late, but don’t look at comments very often. I contacted PMSG Potsdam Marketing und Service GmbH
Humboldtstraße 1-2, 14467 Potsdam
[email protected]
Tel. +49 (0)331 27 55 88 99
Don’t know if they still organise tours, but worth calling
I passed by the main entrance yesterday, and have the impression some building have already been demolished
Hey! We went with a friend on Saturday and IT WAS AMAZING!!! However, some of the most majestic buildings were locked with blinded doors… I guess the eagle and the wooden-floor room were there 🙁 . We were so pissed about this, because most of the other buildings were the same. It is indeed HUGE, one day was not enough at all. Neither securities nor polizei around at all. Looking forward to coming back!
Hi. I made an informative documentary about the place, before the tours started there: youtu.be/LObxveQzxP4 Krampnitz is the largest lost place that I have ever seen and it keeps fascinating me. Apparently there are visited tours there now. Go before it gets refurbished and demolished.
Been there last weekend, there’s a camera at the main gate but I guess it’s not doing anything since nothing happened. We walked into the forest and I you walk a bit you will find many ways to enter. No need to climb. Still a very nice place to visit, it is insanely huge so be careful, you can get lost pretty easily. Most building were super easy to enter. There’s already some construction going on and some building are gone already. Go now or go never.
Was here earlier this week. In general terms the camp has significantly deteriorated with more plaster dust on the floors and less on the walls exposing the red brick underneath. The contractors have ringed the place with security fencing. Entry was not really challenging but slightly more difficult than before. Hop up over the fence at the bus stop and in you go. For the first time managed to gain entry into the Casino which was a big thrill and another tick on the bucket list. It did not disappoint. There are plenty of vehicles racing about the place but I suspect they are only contractors but felt it was best to take cover and avoid. The Western part of the camp seems to have been demolished with the old Gym gone. We only stayed in the southern sector due to the proximity of contractors noisily working in buildings. Destruction of the originality is moving on at a pace but those building that are left are easy to access. There are a few cameras about with the main ones being at the main entrance covering the main routes. As we came in from a different direction these were easily avoided. In any event if you are spotted it will take time for anyone to react. Even if someone bothers to react the undergrowth can easily be used to hide and the buildings vast and warren like. Entrance to the Eagle has now been boarded up now making it very difficult to access. The trouble is people have gone in before and spray painted it which I personally find mindless. Graffiti is one thing but mindless destruction another. We exited via the south which proved to be an interesting experience. We reckoned our luck was running out due to the increased activity in our vicinity. We managed to visit a few of the family homes. There are still personal effects to be seen. Children’s toys have been left behind. Wallpaper is still on the walls. As we were in the southern section it was noticeable that the community center had been demolished but the noticeboard beside the perimeter wall is still in good condition. We were slightly disorientated by this stage. The plan was to exit by a side gate but this idea was shelved upon the discovery of a camera in the trees. Thus we decided to climb a fence beside the old Officers houses that are now occupied. That is when it started to go wrong. Instead of one fence there was double fencing which is not very secure but very noisy. That set the dogs off quickly followed by their inquisitive owners. Both fences were noisily scaled. The trouble was we were still inside the secured area and pissed off. It was at that point we agreed to go over at the contractors gate despite the camera but as we broke cover a van appeared. We did not hang about to find out if they were friendly forces or not. We then spotted a small gate to the right of the contractors gate and went though that to what we thought was safety. And guess what another security fence loomed. That was scaled almost with the loss of the family jewels but the real world beckoned. This place is going to go soon. My advice is to visit now while you can.
Я должен был добавить, что если бы кто-то служил здесь, вы могли бы связаться … мне нравится слышать, что вы говорите.
I should have added if anyone served here could you get in contact …… love to hear
what you have to say.
Ich hätte hinzufügen sollen, wenn jemand hier gedient hätte, könnten Sie sich in Verbindung setzen …… gerne hören, was Sie zu sagen haben.
Dubber
Went there with my girlfriend last Friday. Access is still very easy through a piece of open fence close to the main gate, or through the other site of the compound where there are no fences at all. Definetely a lot of constructors are at work here, clearing trees and stuff. All interesting buildings are closed off but actually most of them have holes in them or open doors so you can enter them (walk up to the silver doors, a lot of them are actually open if you try them). That way we could make it all the way up to the room with the swastika and the eagle. They are still visible, but the building is in bad shape, not nearly as good as a few years ago. I guess in a few months time the contractors will start to raze or renovate the buildings of the barracks and then it is really game over. We were lucky it was a holiday, so the contractors were not working that day – the machines were there though.
hello, any recent news ? I was wondering if it’s still worth to get there and if the access is easy or not… I went already once but couldn’t explore the whole area… Especially, I would like to see the casino as I couldn’t see it last time…
Went there yesterday still lots to see, I didn’t see the Eagle I suspect it was in the heavily boarded up building.
No security about was able to roam around freely
There today, a good four hours, a lot of builders on site and vans driving round Still got some great shots 👍
Hey guys, do you have any update for me? 🙂 Is it still possible to go inside? Would be great! Thank you!
Went there today on a bank holiday so there were no construction workers. Got in through a gap in the fence to the right of the main entrance, off the road as it was busy with cars passing. Roamed around most of the buildings but didn’t see the Eagle unfortunately. Plenty of buildings to explore though, will be back! Also saw some deer running around!
went there yesterday. Still a lot to see. A car from the security was there but since the area is huge, it was easy to avoid. We had the chance to find the Eagle (!), so I can confirm it’s still there, in one of the fully window-blocked buildings (you can surprisingly access through a broken door). Also we had the chance to find an access into the main building (the casino), so look for it, it’s located on the ground-level on the left-size and you will have to access through the basement (and eventually remove some bricks to get inside).
Thats amazing that you got to see the eagle! Some friends and I are going this weekend! Is there any specific direction, or just follow your nose and look for the broken door?
Was there this week. The area is huge, unfortunately the buildings are in a pretty bad shape. However, there are some nice spots, including the casino with some paintings on the walls and the eagle in another main building. Latter is closed with iron doors but some of them were open to enter. Didn’t see any security but other explorers. Entering is quite easy, there are many holes in the fence. Don’t forget to respect the environment and the buildings, this place needs to be protected from vandalism and is not a playground rather than a historical spot. As finding the eagle was difficult, I’ll give a small hint. The eagle was about to fly, to the bus which was parked behind, but stormy times made it hard to land, the flight came too early to an end. Close to its target the eagle stopped, and since this day, the ceiling keeps him blocked. He waits to be discovered by you, the line stack and bus was the one he drew. Have fun!
Haha, brilliant!
It’s true!!
I just went today! and found the eagle! It was pretty easy to get in. A lot more graffiti than what the photos here show, and all the items except newspapers are gone. I guess it’s been some time. Here’s some extra details:
I came from Spandau by bike. Once I got to the bus stop, I could see the fence to my right and behind the bus stop towards the lake there was a very inviting piece of rusted fence that almost look like a staircase, this is where he hopped. Super easy.
For the eagle, I’ll also try to be a bit mysterious… There is a “?” shaped building. The answer is to go in. The doors loos pretty boarded up, but they are less heavy can you imagine.
good luck!
Hey Leute 🙂 habt ihr eine aktuelle Info was die Security vor Ort betrifft?
Riskant und rumlaufender Wachschutz oder eher auf leisen Sohlen freie Bahn?
Just read the previous comments.
wir waren vor ca einem Monat da und da wars echt entspannt – aber geh am Wochenende; unter der Woche sind Leute da. Und betrete das Gelände durch den Zaun bei dem Wanderparkplatz; oder, wenn neben dem Haupteingang, lauf an der Mauer entlang, sonst geht die Alarmanlage los (selbst dann hatten wir ncoh genug Zeit, und zu verkrümeln, aber muss ja nicht sein^^) Viel Spaß!
Went there today (sunday). I was very surprised how huge the whole complex is and how many buildings are still left. It‘s definitively still worth to go there! I am always super cautious not to get caught, so I went all the way around the small lake from the „Wanderparkplatz Döberitzer Heide“ and entered the site from the north which was easy. Never saw any security during the whole day, just saw some other explorers from the distance. Found a way to get into the casino and to my surprise I found the eagle quite easily. Just a small hint: It‘s probably not the building you expect it to be in.
We checked the site last Saturday. Very easy access from the north: Follow the path from Wanderparkplatz Döberitzer Heide around the lake. By reaching the entrance, follow the wall on your left-hand side, pass the rotten car, easily open the hoarding – and your´re in – no need to crawl!
The western part of Kaserne Krampnitz is completely demolished. Go for the eastern half, there´s a still a lot to explore: Start with the power plant and its rusty interiour. Then head to the south, but beware of the main entrance (tower), it seems that contruction workers, visiting groups of architects/planners or security personell meeting there even at the weekends – we heard voices and sounds coming from this direction… That means: heads down and stealth mode!
A small hint: The eagle is quite near the… ehhhm… final “bus-stop” – when you found the place, you know it…!!!
Enjoy!!
@all taggers and vandals: fuck you, stop wasting everything!!!
@spudnik: We really apprechiate your work, go on! Thank you very much indeed!
Literally just got back. We spent atleast 5 hours there today. When you get off the bus at Krampnitzsee stop, walk across the road to the front gate, if you wanna try get in there and jump the main gate go for it, but construction people / trucks are around. So, turn to your right and follow the fence around until you get to a small car park on your left and you’ll see some kind of dilapitated kind of entry point where perhaps was a checking point. Jump the fence / building here. Much quieter and stealth. Couldn’t find the casino. We checked which felt like almost all buildings. Yes, the Eagle is beautifully preserved. And sparkling. I feel it’s days are numbered so make sure you check through the doors that look newer 😉 some are unlocked…. 😉 We had to stop and drop at one point because construction workers we’re finishing work, but after 5pm they had left. Only big machinery workers were working was over the back. Lots of gorgeous wallpapers / soviet newspapers / colours and things to see. But I’d go soon. And keeps your wits about you. Also watch out for ticks. We saw one . Happy hunting 😉
We went this Saturday. Very easy to get in; there was even a clear gap in the fence right near the main entrance if you’re brave. We decided to go in through the checkpoint area off the carpark a bit to the east of the main entrance, which was also quite easy access since there’s an obvious spot to hop the wall where others had preceded us. We heard some sort of engine running somewhere on the grounds for most of the time we were there, so though none of the construction equipment was moving we were pretty sure we weren’t alone. We went into 4 of the buildings but unfortunately didn’t find the eagle and couldn’t tell which building was the casino. Just as we were crossing one of the main paths we were spotted by a couple of men who were pretty far away. At first we couldn’t tell if they were other explorers or security or what but then they seemed to rush after us, so we panicked and ran back to the place where we’d gotten in. Right as we were jumping the wall some sort of alarm or siren thing went off somewhere behind us. Nobody came out after us or called cops or anything, but you definitely need stealth, and if I’d realized you could come in from the north I’d have done that for sure since there’s a fruit market happening in the carpark and that made for a very awkward exit. The grounds are big enough I feel like it’s very possible to evade security but just be careful if you go!
Went there last week looking for a Lenin mural, which after a long search I was able to find: https://leninisstillaround.com/2021/06/01/lenin-mural-krampnitz/
It’s easy to enter the complex, but you need to be careful. Saw the security car and almost ran into a guided tour to the apartments that are being built. Time is running out, but there is still plenty to see 🙂
Went there today. A few things have changed since August ’20 (some roads have been torn down and the structuces opposite of the former stables have been demolished). One former entry point has been closed off, but there still are plenty of ways to get in, just follow the fence.
Some construction is even going on on Saturdays (“fled” from two Polish construction workers, although they didn’t really seem to care), so stay vigilant. The officers’ mess was sadly closed (only one small window into the basement was open, but didn’t bother to go in), but the eagle can still be visited and is actually pretty easy to find. There are plenty of construction vehicles on site, so teardown is progressing in full.
If you have the chance, you should go asap (and preferably on a Sunday, since it’s very unlikely you’ll encounter any workers).
Krampnitz – time of death : july 2021. To be clear, it has mainly become a gigantic construction site (which means trespassing is more difficult and forbidden than ever, and only doable on sundays). A lot of buildings are already destroyed, condemned, or under renovation. Don’t expect to visit the casino, it’s still there but completely sealed… Didn’t see any murals or vintage posters, except these good old “Pravda” wallpaper that could resist to a nuclear winter. Even the few deers I met on my way were clearly disappointed, even disoriented. That’s life. As Martin Heidegger used to say, “Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei…”
We were there on Saturday 2 weeks ago. If you want to visit the site too, you should hurry. At the moment you can still discover a lot of cool stuff, but the renovations have already started. We also just hopped the fence at the checkpoint in the parking lot.
The area is huge and we haven’t seen everything by far. However, we were near the construction equipment and also at the main entrance and nowhere was security to be seen. Many of the buildings are unspectacular and simply run-down. You can still get into the casino by squeezing through a small basement window. But it is definitely worth it. For the eagle, unfortunately, the trip is no longer worth it, if we have correctly understood the riddles of the others, we have found the right place, but the mosaic was screwed shut with chipboard.
I went many years ago, 2010 I believe…great seeing soviet relics, eerie rooms and some Nazi impressions.
What startled most was turning the corner into one of the large board-rooms to see a bright light and a backdrop of a swastika flag illuminated. There was a man holding a video camera over his shoulder, filming two skinny men dressed as neo-nazis, one sucking the other off. Fucking surreal. We stood in awe for a sec, then creaked a floorboard and they turned to us, calling at us for ruining their nazi-gayporn scene.
We ran like the devil, in practical disbelief. Cant say we didn’t debate returning to catch more of the odd spectacle.
Really want to check this place out, anyone been recently and is it still possible to see the eagle?
2023: plenty of workers but they didn’t bother us. Not sure about security. We were very cautious and got to see most of the place. The casino is hard to get in but still very worth it. Eagle is alive and well.
We tried today from the Northern side, but the stone fence is tight and we couldn’t enter.
Then we trued from Potsdamer Chaussée – Same result ;-((
Tried today from several ways. First, just off of Potsdamer Chaussee, there is a little side road; turn right onto this road then right again, and there is a small residential street. At the end of the street, there is a wire fence that reads “betreten und Befahren ist verboten„. One can easily hop the fence, but be cautious as the homes next to the fence have residents.
The perimeter from Potsdamer Chaussee is very in the open, so I didn’t even try this route.
I then tried going around the back through gellerstraße, however there is no good area to enter as it is fenced off and very residential.
Not sure if there is an easy way to enter at this point. Anyone have any suggestions?
I should add that I didn’t hop the wire fence at the original spot mentioned (at the end of a residential road) because nosy neighbors were curiously watching me 😅
Hi you all, i went there couple of weeks ago. I went in from the road potsdamer chausse on south east side. There is a little sideroad with a dead end and a fence to the terrain. I followed the fence eastwards and walked like 10 minutes where i found a gap between the fence and could squeez myself in. A littlebit exposure from the road (cars), but no residents or problems of any kind. Really worth it! A lot of builders, but you can visit a minimum of 3 buildings inside still. Unfortunatly the officiershouse is totally sealed of, even the basements, but of you bring a ladder it might work. 🙂 Thank you Cirian for your wonderfull sories and work, and the community for your advise, im glad i can do something back, hopefully it helps anyone to see al this decaying beauty and history. Bye!
Further update: I was there this weekend, still eminently explorable. Not sure what trouble others are having getting in, Potsdamer Chausee is absolutely viable, it’s in the open but not heavily overlooked. Their are plenty of other gaps in the perimeter around the back. Follow the fence right round to the opposite side and entry is trivial. Inside, largely stripped of anything interesting, and rooves are collapsing quickly. Felt dangerous in some places. Watch your step outside too, the ground is very uneven, and there are some pointy things lying around. Some heavy machinery there so work is happening there.
S’ comment about the officer’s house is correct, pretty tightly sealed, but with some prodding I think it’s possible. Still very much worth it, especially if you’re just getting into this kind of thing.
I haven’t been there myself but I was curious as to the fate of the Officers Mess and other buildings. I found this brochure: https://www.kjmk.eu/assets/Uploads/Krampnitz-Broschuere-EN.pdf and a couple of other articles about the new development which include these buildings as listed. In fact, on the bottom right of page 5, you can see what should be the room with the eagle in it (covered with a board of course). Hopefully this means that the building will survive total demolition (although in Germany… you never know).
In my opinion, unless they decide to turn that part of the officers hall into a museum about the history of the place (which would be pretty cool), I do not see how they can keep a Nazi eagle on the roof in its original state. I can only hope that, if possible, it can be disassembled and transferred to a museum for preservation and display. Worst case, if they just want to save a few bucks, they’ll just paint over it / cover it with a thin layer of concrete which would destroy it for good.
I was there in the last weekend or two and can give a bit of an update. What I assumed is the casino building is all boarded up, only accessible if you are a very good climber to a 2nd story window. The eagle is still accessible, follow the hints in the comments above. I doubt it’ll be explorable for long, the rest of the building has been gutted back to the bricks in every room, except the eagle room. With all the renovations happening in the buildings next to it, I don’t think it’ll be long until they start on real renovations on the eagle building. As VV23 said above, it is hard to believe keeping it without a museum. Only time will tell.