Berlin has more to offer than everin the spring: Outdoor music, long evenings, and warmer days are finally returning to the capital. But the better weather also invites you to take a trip. And if you’ve already seen everything in the immediate vicinity, you can take advantage of the proximity to Poland: The fortress town of Küstrin is known as the “Pompeii on the Oder.” Isn’t that reason enough for a visit?
From Fortress Town to Field of Ruins
Küstrin lies 80 kilometers east of Berlin on the Polish side of the Oder as Kostrzyn nad Odrą. Once upon a time , the old town was a proud Prussian fortress and royal seat, which held significant military importance due to its strategic location at the confluence of the Warta and the Oder. The castle, the town hall, the parish church, and the market square shaped the cityscape.
During World War II, however, it was almost completely razed to the ground. More than 90 percent of the city fell victim to destruction. Today, that very fact makes it one of the most impressive and melancholic memorials to German-Polish history.
Instead of being rebuilt, Küstrin has been a field of rubble since World War II . Only a few buildings have been reconstructed in recent years. You walk over historic cobblestones and can make out the foundations of the former buildings. Since 2009, information panels with old photographs have been showing you the former density and elegance of the town in Polish and German . This town is almost a giant abandoned place.
Half Poland, half Germany
But of course, you won’t just find rubble and ruins there. The fortifications have been partially restored and house a museum worth seeing that tells the story of the city. The Berlin Gate has also been restored. Today, it houses a tourist information center.
Incidentally, after 1945, the Oder became the border. It divides the city: About 65% of the old Küstrin city area was placed under Polish administration, while the more rural suburbs remained with Germany. The border bridge between Germany and Poland connects life in modern-day Kostrzyn with this ghostly city of ruins. It remains a silent testament to the destructive power of war.
