Forgotten cradle of the space age (Germany)
A few dozen miles south of Berlin, Germany, in the province of Brandenburg, a narrow tree-lined road weaves across scenic meadows and lake-side villages.
Near the town of Kummersdorf, a complex of old brown buildings resembling military barracks stands at the intersection of a seemingly abandoned railway line.
Right across from it, a barricaded road made of rough concrete blocks cuts through the thick pine forest.
As it curves into the wilderness, strange ruins appear, lurking in the depths of the woods.
Covered with Russian-language graffiti, these semi-collapsed bunkers can be easily mistaken for remnants of the Soviet military bases which litter Eastern Europe.
Yet, these unmarked structures represent a forgotten cradle of the Space Age.
These were powers that were trying to catch up, they were willing to entertain rather outlandish ideas like rockets
Michael Neufeld, National Air and Space Museum
It is here that the German military initiated the world's first large-scale rocket development programme in the first half of the 20th Century.
Read entire article at BBC
Near the town of Kummersdorf, a complex of old brown buildings resembling military barracks stands at the intersection of a seemingly abandoned railway line.
Right across from it, a barricaded road made of rough concrete blocks cuts through the thick pine forest.
As it curves into the wilderness, strange ruins appear, lurking in the depths of the woods.
Covered with Russian-language graffiti, these semi-collapsed bunkers can be easily mistaken for remnants of the Soviet military bases which litter Eastern Europe.
Yet, these unmarked structures represent a forgotten cradle of the Space Age.
These were powers that were trying to catch up, they were willing to entertain rather outlandish ideas like rockets
Michael Neufeld, National Air and Space Museum
It is here that the German military initiated the world's first large-scale rocket development programme in the first half of the 20th Century.