Lost Places – Russia I – Moscow and vicinity

These photos were made in 2012, when I visited Moscow and a town south of it as part of a tour around the Baltic Sea.
There are three places worth to mention. It was hard research work to localize all these places. To get there was quite easy.
1. Abandoned planes
2. Satellite dish/ Radio telescope
3. Mining cars south of Moscow
4. Russian Space Shuttel Buran

1. Abandoned airplanes
On the area of a former airport in the North-west of Moscow there are some old planes and helicopters from the Soviet era.
Around the airport there were many buildings and construction of a shopping centre. The runway was used by driving schools and bikers. If the plane and helicopter cemetery is still there or whether it’s been removed – I cannot tell especially because the look of the outskirts of Russia’s capital is changing fast.

Build complexes next to the former air field

Around the old airfield

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Lost Places – Spreepark Berlin – cooler than Chernobyl?

The Spreepark was once the only amusement park in Berlin, opened all year.
Built in the GDR (DDR) in 1969 around 1.7 millions people per year visited Spreepark from 1969 till 1989. At that time it was officially named VEB Kulturpark Plänterwald (Cultural park Plänterwald) and Kulti by the people. The 45m high Ferris wheel was the main attraction. A TV Show named Spuk unter’m Riesenrad (Spook under the Ferris wheel) made Kulti more popular.

Ferris wheel

On the Ferris wheel

Fasten your seatbelt

Lost Places – VEB Chemiewerk Coswig, Rüdersdorf

To the photos

The chemical factory in Rüdersdorf, nearby Berlin, was part of the VEB Chemiewerk Coswig (chemical factory Coswig). The VEB was integrated in the VEB Kombinat Agrochemie Piesteritz (Agrochemical Holding Piesteritz) and produced the feed phosphate Rükana. It was obtained by de-fluorining a mix of raw phosphate, phosphoric acid and soda.

Rüdersdorf has rich soda sources and even today the Rüdersdorfer Zement GmbH diggs and extracts soda processing it to cement.

The mining history in Rüdersdorf leads back more than 750 years.

Today the area of the VEB Chemiewerk Coswig lies abandoned at the end of a street just over a bridge. In summer 2013 it served as scenery for the movie Monument’s Men (with George Clooney, Kate Blanchett and Matt Damon).

There are still some wooden signs indicating the presence of a film crew around the area, which is in general a bit creepy. Especially the basement, where the sounds of the outside world sound quite scary. But it’s nice to record some “Zombie” videos.

Still it is really cool to climb around and onto of the silo high towers (not the really high ones, god forbid). Though they led to great pictures.

Lost Places – VEB Kühlautomat Berlin

To the photos

At the beginning of 1950 the VEB Kühlautomat Berlin (a cooling factory) was founded in Berlin-Johannisthal. First only industrial refrigerator were built and repaired.
Later on all different types of cooling devices were produced (e.g. for grocery stores).
In the mid 1950s the conservation of food concentrated on the one of fish. That’s why the production of refrigerating plants for ships started. Meanwhile 1000 people were employed at the VEB Kühlautomat.

In 1968 the VEB Kühlautomat Berlin (KAB) and the VEB Motorenwerk Johannisthal (engine factory) merged. The result were excellent fabrication conditions for the VEB KAB, that made the fabrication of screw compressors (dt.: Schraubenverdichter) possible.

In the 1970s research and development concerning new technical concepts were undertaken to avoid high licence fees.
That’s why the screw compressor advanced over a couple of years.

In the 1990s, the now called Kühlautomat Berlin GmbH a new sort of screw compressors was developed. It was designed for industrial cooling devices and AC as well as CFC-free (dt.: FCKW-frei) cooling fluids and ammonia.

Unlike other former VEB, the KAB GmbH did well in the first years in the capitalism after the socialism.
Though in 1994 the well-known GEA AG bought KAB GmbH and merged it with its subsidiary company to GRASSKO*KAB.

During that time the GRASSKO*KAB was split into five GmbHs, which started to become autonomous in 1996.
At the end of 1996 the last companies became independent and moved from Berlin-Johannisthal to Berlin-Reinickendorf, the headquater of GEA.

Lost Places

These posts will show pictures of my Urban Exploration of lost places.
These are buildings that are usually abandoned once were cinemas, cultural centres or industrial complexes.

I used to live in a part of Berlin, where there are and have been many abandoned industrial and cultural buildings.

Many interesting buildings are already wrecked, like the old buildings of the East German TV Broadcast, a swimming pool, a cultural centre or a cinema. They ground was needed for new TV buildings, a university and supermarkets.

1. Tuchfabrik A&A Lehmann / VEB BMHW #Dec ’13	2. Chemical cleaning factory W. Spindler / VEB Rewatex #Dec ’13	3. Abandoned railway area I #Dec ’13
4. Bärenquell Brauerei #Dec ’13	5. VEB Kühlautomat Berlin #Dec ’13	6. Chemiewerk Rüdersdorf #Jan ’14
7. Spreepark Berlin – amusement park #May ’14	8. Russia I – Plane cemetery, telescope, bucket-wheel excavator #Aug ’12	9. VEB Bärensiegel Adlershof #Jun ’14
10. Chernobyl / Prypiat #Jul ’12		12. VEB Fotochemie #Jan ’16