10 Shocking Things Found In Abandoned Locations

Krampnitz in Germany was used as a cavalry training center during WWI and then as a motorized vehicle barracks by the Nazis during WWII, housing motorbikes, tanks, and armored vehicles. When the Russians took Berlin, the Germans fled, handing themselves over to British and US forces rather than be captured by the Red Army, who soon claimed Krampnitz as their own.

Nazi imagery, especially the swastika, was banned in Germany after the war. Examples in public places were destroyed, and it is still illegal to display them outside authorised exhibitions. However, at Krampnitz, this original and painstakingly crafted mosaic inlaid with gold leaf, remained for decades. Some speculated the Russians may have kept it as a trophy of sorts, explaining its remarkable survival, but it remained there even after the Russians finally abandoned the site in 1992.

The Krampnitz eagle appears to have been the very last genuine example of its kind and was a haunting reminder of the reality of humanity’s darkest days. It was all the more powerful and disturbing to discover such a thing in situ in its original location without the distraction of signage, hordes of schoolchildren, or the lights of a museum gift shop nearby. It was eventually destroyed in the mid-2010s.