Heeresversuchsanstalt Kummersdorf, Military research facility in Am Mellensee, Germany.
Heeresversuchsanstalt Kummersdorf is a former military testing ground in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg, spread across 3,200 hectares. The site contains 160 buildings, including bunkers, barracks, shooting ranges, and testing stations from different periods of German history.
The site served as an artillery range from 1870 and later grew into a major weapons testing center during both world wars. After 1945, Soviet forces used the grounds until their withdrawal in the early nineties.
The complex shows buildings from four political eras standing side by side: Imperial times, Weimar Republic, Third Reich, and Soviet occupation. Some structures still carry inscriptions and markings from different decades of military use.
Visits are possible only through guided tours organized by the Historical Technical Museum, as the site still contains unexploded ordnance and unstable structures. Sturdy footwear and weatherproof clothing are advisable, since many areas are unpaved and exposed to the elements.
The water tower built in 1913 remained active until the eighties and counts among the few preserved monuments on the grounds. Its height once allowed water supply under sufficient pressure to distant parts of the site.
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