The municipality of Halbe was the location of the Brand-Briesen Airfield, a pivital location for both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for many years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. But now the past has all been overshadowed. Looming in the centre of the former airfield complex is the fourth largest building by volume in the world. A former airship hangar turned tropical paradise.
The huge hangar was built to house creation of huge airships. Construction began in 1999 and as far as I can tell, has been never used for its original purpose, due to Cargolifter AG going bankrupt in 2002. The hangar, now home to Tropical Islands Resort an indoor tropical water park, has been transformed with pools, sand, and a painted sky. Today you can camp, swim, relax, and pretend to not be in Germany’s cold winter anytime you want.
I started my exploration of the site in the south looking for Lenin mosaic, who is said to still oversee the crumbling old military buildings. He greeted me as I arrived through the forest, forever looking west. By design or by coincidence, it is fitting he looks in this direction. Previous looking out to the adversaries of the west, now he looks out to the train station which brings sun seeking holidayers and urban explorers.
Following a newly built bicycle path you can trace the perimeter of the old airport grounds until you arrive within view of the huge hangar for the first time. It looks much closer than it really is, likely a trick of the mind, unable to correctly gauge the real size and distance of something so gigantuan.
Further north are over a dozen reinforced aircraft hangars. Large stuctures part buried in the ground to hide and protect planes like SU-24s and MiG-27s. The hangars are unfortunately being poorly used today, full of Tropical Island’s rubbish. You can find everything from wooden deck chairs, pool noodles, ball-pit balls, and even pirate-themed tea-cup rides. You just have to squeeze through some barely open hangar doors.
