The abandoned Cold War-era listening station on Teufelsberg near Berlin has a second life as one of Germany’s biggest open-air galleries. (iStock)
Through the weekend, one of the hottest raves of the European summer unwinds to a beat that seldom finds a moment’s rest.
It’s not just the 350 international DJs and live acts spread across 20 distinct levels, a stellar lineup including Fatboy Slim, Paul Kalkbrenner, Holy Priest, Sven Väth and Lilly Palmer, some 60,000 anticipated attendees or one of the most anything-goes festival campsites ever that make this event stand out.
It’s the setting. NATURE ONE, one of Europe’s largest and longest-running electronic music festivals, takes place near Kastellaun, a small town in Germany’s remote Hunsrück region, on the grounds of the former Pydna Missle Base. Since 1996, what was once a high-security U.S. military facility designed to store nuclear-tipped cruise missiles has served as the unlikely site of round-the-clock partying to electronic music in all its myriad sub-genres. Cold War infrastructure including former airfields, impenetrable bunkers and missile storage bays finds new purpose as stages, clubs and dance floors. Curious to see the base where your dad or uncle once served in a flashy new light? Day tickets for Aug. 1 were still available at the time of this writing for 139 euros. Online: nature-one.de
The Pydna Missile Base is just one of many examples of how former U.S. military infrastructure in Germany has found new use. Here are some other places to ponder the changes we’ve seen to the U.S. military footprint in the past several decades.
Teufelsberg/Field Station Berlin: Atop Teufelsberg, a manmade hill composed of post-WWII rubble in the Grunewald Forest, a former National Security Agency listening post set up to intercept East Bloc communications during the Cold War, has found new life as one of Europe’s largest open-air street galleries. Five slowly deteriorating geodesic radar domes hovering above the site serve as a testament to its former use.
The history and development of the Teufelsberg is brought to light by a temporary exhibition titled “Declassified - The Secret of the Teufelsberg.” Visitors can learn about Teufelsberg’s eventful past 100 years, from stories of the “rubble women” to tales of the Cold War, international espionage and the site’s role in global politics. The exhibition’s location within the original preserved rooms of the facility makes these incredible stories all the more compelling.
An additional highlight is the Allied Museum, which takes on the heady subject of the history of Berlin from the end of the war in 1945 until the Allies left the city in 1994. Children might find it more interesting to simply take a seat in one of the vehicles on display. Access to both the exhibition and the museum is included in the cost of entry to Teufelsberg: 12 euros for adults, 5 euros for ages 7-17 and free for those 6 and under. Various guided tours, including one led by torchlight, shed additional insight on this relic of the not-too-distant past. Online: teufelsberg-berlin.de
Denkmalzone Area 1: Amidst the surreal rock formations of the Dahner Felsenland area of the vast Palatinate Forest and just a stone’s throw from the French border, one finds Denkmalzone Area 1. Sprawling across some 42 acres, the former Fischbach Ordnance Depot is today the site of preserved munitions bunkers, a guardhouse and its watchtower. Since the 1994 closure of this high-security NATO special weapons depot used to store nuclear artillery shells and warheads for tactical missile systems, vandals have covered its once-gray concrete structures with colorful graffiti. The historical monument now kept up by a local historical preservation association is explored by means of a walk along a milelong path. Thirteen informational panels, written in both German and English, shed light on the site’s eventful history. Entry is unrestricted and free at any time. Online: tinyurl.com/4p9ve8x6
Mark Twain Center for Transatlantic Relations: Vast changes have transpired across Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg, the former site of the headquarters for the United States Army Europe, since it was officially decommissioned and closed in 2013. One of the most interesting transformations occurred to the Keyes Building, originally built as an officers’ mess for the German Wehrmacht in 1937. Since 2022, the space has hosted a facility designed to examine the past and present of U.S.-German relations by storytelling across state-of-the-art multimedia. Heidelberg serves as the canvas upon which the ties between Germans and Americans, warts and all, have developed since the end of WWII. Via tablet, visitors acquaint themselves with 29 digital “witnesses” who speak of the highs and lows of everyday life together. Photographs, newspaper and magazine articles, along with donated articles from uniforms to high school yearbooks, round out the exhibition space. The center is open from 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, and admission is free. Online: heidelberg.de/1777841.html
Bitburg Air Base: The former home to the US Air Force’s 36th Fighter Wing stands ready to serve: this time, as the grounds of the Bitburger Oktoberfest. Across five weekends, from Oct. 23 to Nov. 21, the old airfield will be transformed into a Bavarian-inspired party zone complete with beer tents, brass and carnival music, themed evenings and guests of all ages sporting traditional dress. Ticket prices come in at around 19.75 euros. Online: bitburger-oktoberfest.de
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