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ARCHIVE FILE · Lost Places
Behind dense greenery lies an extensive site that was once strictly organised. Today, overgrown paths lead to empty buildings, broken windows and rooms whose former purpose only gradually becomes apparent. Exploring this abandoned NATO base becomes a search for traces of military history, decay and an unexpected bowling alley.
01 / FIELD NOTE
A site reclaimed by nature
Even the approach reveals how long many areas have been unused. Bushes swallow former entrances, branches lie across paths and more buildings appear behind the greenery. Yet the site does not seem entirely abandoned: some sections still appear to be used for storage. This makes exploring confusing and calls for particular care.
Little of the original furnishings remains in the first buildings. Glass covers the floor, plaster peels from the walls and moisture enters through missing windows. The roof leaks in several places. Instead of spectacular relics, small details tell the story of slow decay: bare rooms, damaged pipes and cables long since ripped from the walls.
02 / FIELD NOTE
Kitchen, laundry — or a cinema?
The deeper the walk leads into the site, the more questions arise. Tiled rooms, a loading ramp and utility connections initially suggest a kitchen or cold store. Other traces point to a laundry. An old shaft may have been used to move washing between floors.
The atmosphere changes in a larger hall. Its dimensions suggest a cinema or assembly room, but the seating and equipment have disappeared. Only the room’s shape and a few architectural clues remain. That uncertainty is part of what makes abandoned places fascinating: every room offers clues, but rarely a complete answer.
03 / FIELD NOTE
The surprise beneath the base
The most memorable moment awaits deeper inside the building. Beyond a room resembling a former lounge or party cellar, an old bowling alley appears. Suddenly the austere military architecture has a human side. People did more than work and organise here — they spent their leisure time here too.
Among empty offices and decaying utility rooms, the bowling alley recalls the everyday life that always existed behind the military façade.
The discovery is no pristine museum piece. Wood panelling has fallen, pipes are missing and damp has left its mark. That is precisely why the place feels so immediate. It shows not only what once existed here, but also what years of vacancy do to a building.
04 / FIELD NOTE
The walk-through on film
The video follows the complete exploration, from the difficult access through the largely empty buildings to the bowling alley and the careful return over slippery stairs. It includes the less spectacular stretches too, giving an honest impression of this extensive site.
05 / FIELD NOTE
Between expectations and an honest impression
What remains is not a staged sensational discovery, but an honest view of a place in transition. Many buildings are mostly empty; others are barely accessible. Yet the laundry, possible cinema, former canteen and especially the bowling alley tell of a past that can still be read through the decay.
The way back leads over slippery stairs and through dense undergrowth. A visible surveillance camera is a reminder that abandoned places are not automatically open to visitors. Sites like this demand respect: cause no damage, take nothing, observe barriers and property rights, and stay outside if in doubt.
Verdict: This NATO base draws its character from contradictions rather than grand scenery: military uniformity meets overgrown paths, empty utility buildings reveal unexpected leisure history. A quiet, rugged abandoned place whose most intriguing story begins where the rooms’ original purpose is no longer clear.