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Bombodrome: Clearance work reveals threatening secrets of the past!
The evacuation of the bombodrome in Brandenburg will take until 2030. 180 workers are securing dangerous ammunition residues in the Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide.
Bombodrome: Clearance work reveals threatening secrets of the past!
In the northwest of Brandenburg, in the picturesque Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide, an elaborate battle against the ghosts of past military activities is raging. The area was a military training area for the Soviet Army until 1993, and even today the situation shows that the aftermath of these times is far from over. As Tagesschau reports, there are still hundreds of thousands of grenades, rockets and explosive debris underground, including numerous dangers in the form of cluster munitions.
180 clearance workers are currently busy clearing the area of internationally banned weapons. Work is carried out hand in hand using probes, spades and armored excavators. Safety distances of at least 50 meters ensure that the clearance teams do not come into direct danger during their operations. Technical operations manager Gerd Fleischhauer and his team regularly detonate bombs found, some of which come from Soviet stocks.
Protracted clearance until 2030
The munitions clearance, which began in 2017, was originally scheduled to be completed by 2025. But progress is slower than expected. According to rbb24, those responsible now expect that the work will probably last until 2030. By the end of July 2025, 76% of the suspected area had already been cleared, which includes around 7,500 cluster munitions. The total costs for the clearance work are estimated at around 200 million euros.
The particular level of danger posed by cluster munitions should not be underestimated. Many of these explosive devices fail to detonate and remain in the ground as unexploded bombs, complicating the entire security situation. A ray of hope for the residents: They benefit from the demolition operations, as rented accommodation represents a welcome source of income for clearance workers.
A destination for nature lovers
The area also has a second facet: parts of the area are now accessible as a natural paradise for walkers, cyclists and horse-drawn carriage rides. The resistance to the use of the site as a military training area, especially after reunification, has led to the area not only being used for military purposes, but also offering a space for recreation, as the nature park managers make clear in their future plans to open a star park in the region.
This explosive ordnance disposal project is unique in the world, and not just because of the amount of dangerous materials generated. It is the only one of its kind in Germany where cluster munitions were actually used. The cleanup began with the entry into force of the Oslo Convention in 2010, which gave Germany eleven years to clean up these deadly legacies.
Progress is being coordinated by the Federal Real Estate Agency (BImA), which is working on elimination in collaboration with the Federal Foreign Office. Despite the efforts, it is clear that the pollution caused by the contaminated earth, which has already been reported to the UN, has cast its shadow over the entire region. We remain excited about developments in the coming years, because there is still a long way to go until 2030 to finally free the bombodrome from one another.