<strong>Soviet secret: </strong>A<strong> </strong>Soviet Russian T-34 tank on a pedestal in the Polish town of Borne Sulinowo is a reminder of the location's former role as a clandestine Soviet military facility.
Soviet secret: A Soviet Russian T-34 tank on a pedestal in the Polish town of Borne Sulinowo is a reminder of the location's former role as a clandestine Soviet military facility.
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>Complicated past: </strong>Images on display in Borne Sulinowo relate to the town's dark history. As well as being a mysterious Soviet base, it was a Nazi military camp and housed prisoners of war during World War II.
Complicated past: Images on display in Borne Sulinowo relate to the town's dark history. As well as being a mysterious Soviet base, it was a Nazi military camp and housed prisoners of war during World War II.
Vadim Pacajev/Sipa USA/AP
<strong>Museum display: </strong>Artifacts from the Soviet occupation of Borne Sulinowo are on display in a small museum run by Wiesław Bartoszek. ''There was only one road leading there, one railway track ending up in the mysterious town behind electrified fences," he says.
Museum display: Artifacts from the Soviet occupation of Borne Sulinowo are on display in a small museum run by Wiesław Bartoszek. ''There was only one road leading there, one railway track ending up in the mysterious town behind electrified fences," he says.
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>Officers' building: </strong>The abandoned buildings of the Soviet officers' "casino," or mess, are still standing.
Officers' building: The abandoned buildings of the Soviet officers' "casino," or mess, are still standing.
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>Major deployment: </strong>Nearly 12,000 Soviet troops were stationed in the Borne Sulinowo military complex at the height of the Cold War.
Major deployment: Nearly 12,000 Soviet troops were stationed in the Borne Sulinowo military complex at the height of the Cold War.
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<strong>Missing from the map:</strong> The Soviets removed all mention of Borne Sulinowo from their maps to increase the level of secrecy.
Missing from the map: The Soviets removed all mention of Borne Sulinowo from their maps to increase the level of secrecy.
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>Tourist attraction: </strong>Only Russian troops could access the site," says local museum owner Wiesław Bartoszek. "The whole area was excluded from the Polish jurisdiction. This was a de facto Russian territory."
Tourist attraction: Only Russian troops could access the site," says local museum owner Wiesław Bartoszek. "The whole area was excluded from the Polish jurisdiction. This was a de facto Russian territory."
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>A taste of Russia: </strong>A cafe in Borne Sulinowo offers Russian cuisine -- reflecting the Soviet influence in the area, which is now attracting tourists interested in exploring the town's mysterious past.
A taste of Russia: A cafe in Borne Sulinowo offers Russian cuisine -- reflecting the Soviet influence in the area, which is now attracting tourists interested in exploring the town's mysterious past.
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>Still standing: </strong>The Germans built most of the infrastructure later used by the Soviets. There were barracks for troops, a railway, and a huge military hospital complex that today stands abandoned.
Still standing: The Germans built most of the infrastructure later used by the Soviets. There were barracks for troops, a railway, and a huge military hospital complex that today stands abandoned.
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>Wide open: </strong>Security fences and barbed wire are long gone, leaving the abandoned grounds wide open to curious visitors. Visitors wander among trees and bushes that have sprung up around the skeletons of the remaining buildings.
Wide open: Security fences and barbed wire are long gone, leaving the abandoned grounds wide open to curious visitors. Visitors wander among trees and bushes that have sprung up around the skeletons of the remaining buildings.
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>Unraveling the past: </strong>Some mysteries are yet to be solved, including the purpose of a tunnel that runs underneath the hospital, connecting a room used for dissecting human bodies to the railway.
Unraveling the past: Some mysteries are yet to be solved, including the purpose of a tunnel that runs underneath the hospital, connecting a room used for dissecting human bodies to the railway.
Michal Fludra/NurPhoto/Getty Images
<strong>Dark chapter: </strong>Birch crosses stand as memorials to soldiers who died while incarcerated at a German prisoner of war camp on the site.
Dark chapter: Birch crosses stand as memorials to soldiers who died while incarcerated at a German prisoner of war camp on the site.
Vadim Pacajev/Sipa USA/AP
<strong>Nuclear silo: </strong>A silo in Brzeźnica-Kolonia, south of Borne Sulnowo, that was believed to have housed part of the Soviet nuclear arsenal.
Nuclear silo: A silo in Brzeźnica-Kolonia, south of Borne Sulnowo, that was believed to have housed part of the Soviet nuclear arsenal.
Courtesy Malgosia Krakowska
<strong>Warehouse of doom:</strong> This facility in Podborsko, now a Cold War museum, contains equipment apparently used to store nuclear warheads.
Warehouse of doom: This facility in Podborsko, now a Cold War museum, contains equipment apparently used to store nuclear warheads.
Courtesy Grzegorz Kiarszys. www.trzeciazona.pl