Off the beaten track: bunkers, abandoned houses and tunnels. My second Balkan trip in 2016 brought me to Montenegro and Albania, which are two fascinating countries with an attractive combination of history, culture, and landscape. We were able to locate the fortress of Gorazda not too far from the city of Kotor in Montenegro. The fort was constructed during the time of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy and was still in use until World War I. Back then, the massive construction occasionally hosted about 200 soldiers.
Published on stern.de
Gorazda Fortress
On the top
the bay
At about 500m above sea level, the fortress, protected by a deep water canal which surrounds the grand complex, overlooks the city majestically.
Escorted by spiders and other insects, we explored a myriad of subterranean corridors with our flashlights.
the fortress is huge
end of the line
Then we decided to stay overnight in front of the structure. With a couple of beers and a delicious barbecue, we enjoyed the stunning sunset and later the beautiful night sky.
beer time
the fortress and the night sky
the morning after
During our trip, we also traveled to Albania, a land where dramatic mountains meet fantastic beaches, modern cities, and remote villages. The country had been ruled with an iron fist by the communist dictator Enver Hoxha. During his time, hundreds of thousands of bunkers and military structures were built. Also nowadays you can find the so-called concrete bunkers everywhere.
all in one: mountains, cows, sheeps and bunker
the hidden entrance
one of the countless mini-bunker
an abbandoned military airport is now range land
For us, it was incredibly fascinating to explore the silent witnesses of this time. On the west coast of a peninsula, we even found a U-boot bunker. Given that on the other side was still an active military basis, we carefully sneaked on the opposite side. There, in the middle of the turquoise-blue water, we found the monumental bunker. However, the structure was under seal. The massive, rusty gate made of reinforced concrete told us: there is no getting through it. However, on the side, we detected a small hole in the concrete. We plucked up courage, and we squeezed our self into the small opening.
the entrance of the bunker
In the inside, trying to overcome claustrophobia, we took some pictures.
it was like in a horror movie
On our travel, we visited the ancient steelworks in the city of Elbasan, not far from Tirana.
The vast, abandoned complex got built up with the help of China and looks like the paradise for adventure tourists. In Indiana Jones style we walked through the ruins. The sky was covered in Grey clouds which underlined the post-apocalyptic scenario. In the past, most of the door posts got stolen. Some buildings looked so fragile that we were wondering how they are still standing.
A remarkable building can be found in the heart of Albanians capital Tirana.
A huge pyramid, made out of concrete, rises in the middle of modern buildings and skyscrapers: A relict of the dictatorship.
