German Ghost Town detecting and exploring...

[Bavaria Mike]

Through my job on a military installation, I have just been given access to a few German ghost towns. These towns, 58 in all, were evacuated by the German Army between the early 1900s-1935 to form this training area. The Americans took it in 1945 and have used it ever since. I explored this ghost town yesterday and today, several cellar holes and a church ruin. I discovered wild boar tracks everywhere and that worried me. Well, getting back there today, I found the wild boar, LOL, a Shepard and a herd of sheep. The tracks kind of look the same. I had a good laugh over that but there really are wild boar around.

Here are a few pictures of the town ruins. Since these towns were moved, the people took the houses with them, stone by stone and rebuilt elsewhere. They left the church shells as monuments to the towns. Some of the towns date to 800 AD. The following are three cellar holes close together. Some of the cellar holes have caved in.



A foundation between the cellar holes. I took a site picture but it came out blurry. Was hoping someone could help me find trash pits and outhouses however, I do not think they used them much. All forms of trash and human waste went onto the manure pile and eventually made its way to the farm fields.

Front of the church.

Back of the church, that tree on the right is a good 5’ wide. Can you spot the detector?

Peering through the church door.

This is an awesome site!!! However, it is a military training area and has been for 101 years. The ground everywhere is saturated with brass ammo casings, live rounds and trash throughout the years. The only way to detect is to clean an area out, then go back over it. I dug this old mason’s trowel today and a 1921 coin yesterday, not pictured. And a big pile of brass.

I have noted many people who MD also hunt mushrooms so here is a picture of a basket of German mushrooms my wife and daughter just brought home. It is customary here to fry the mushrooms then add an egg or two and scramble them with. They are tasty and have a wild taste to them. HH, Mike

[vibes]

Absolutely enchanting! ALL of it !!

the ruins are incredible...and..

...The mushrooms look, well, like Alice in Wonderland collides with Dr. Suess.

[Prime]

Now that is impressive. What a great site to search, it just lets your imagination run wild doesn't it?

[seger98]

cool place, thanks for sharing!

[airborne1092]

Bavaria Mike - you still in Germany? I would be a lot of money, I know where this 'Large training area' is!

Out west where I am, we have a rather small training area. However, ours has quite a variety of history. There is a Roman road cutting through the middle of it, several Celtic barrows that are as of yet, untouched and many hunting trenches and cellars dating to the 30-Years War.

I am SO itching to get my MD out there when the Forestmeisterin is on vacation! I don't think she'd take too kindly to me with a MD in my hands!

I also have a 'gut-feeling' about the rough terrain immediately behind our little installation here, too.

[Bum Luck]

You got some Cantharellus cibarius and and a few varieties of Boletes (some are edible and some not), and some others I'm not familiar with, but one thing I can tell you is that PLEASE know your mushrooms before you eat them. Some can kill you right quick, like some Amanitas, and some can make you very sick. They can be hard to tell apart.

I was told by veteran mushroomers not to put different varieties in the same basket, unless you're sure they're all known safe. Unknown species should be kept separately since even spores from a poisonous one can make you very sick.

They are good eating, but stay safe!

[SouthSideHunter]

WOW... Great place...

[Jay-in-Pa]

Awsome find and good luck in the future. Make sure you share your pic's, thats what keeps everyboby pumped up to get out and detect.

[AlabamaRelic]

When I was in the Army in the early 90's, I looked around in some of the old house places and churches in Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr.

[Frank1960]

That would be fun to detect as well as just roam around and look at things. Good luck and post your finds

[Cool Hand Fluke]

When I was in the Army in the early 90's, I looked around in some of the old house places and churches in Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr.

I did the same thing in the mid to late 1970's! I remember that old church ruins in Hoenfels and the graveyard next to it. I bet over a 100,000 G.I.'s
stomped all over this area over the last 6 decades..............