Regenwurmlager

The Festungsfront Oder-Warthe-Bogen (lit. 'Fortified Front Oder–Warta Bend'), also called the Festung im Oder-Warthe-Bogen or Ostwall (East Wall), and in Polish the Międzyrzecki Rejon Umocniony, MRU (Międzyrzecz Fortification Region), was a fortified military defence line of Nazi Germany between the Oder and Warta rivers, near Międzyrzecz. The part around Międzyrzecz (Meseritz) has been colloquially referred to as the Regenwurmlager (lit. 'Earthworm camp'). Built in 1934–44, it was the most technologically advanced fortification system of Nazi Germany, and remains one of the largest systems of this type in the world today. It consists of around 100 concrete defence structures partially interconnected by a network of tunnels. Some of the forts and tunnels are available for visiting.

The most interesting part is the central section, which begins in the south with the so-called Boryszyn Loop near the village of Boryszyn (Burschen) and extends about 12 km to the north. Another interesting part of MRU is located in Pniewo (Fischerhaus) in the Międzyrzecz District. In the central section the bunkers are interconnected with a system of tunnels, 32 kilometres (20 mi) long and up to 40 metres (130 ft) deep. In the underground system there are also railway stations, workshops, engine rooms and barracks.

It is also among the top 10 largest hibernation sites for bats in Europe according to the data of the EUROBATS Agreement. The numbers of hibernating bats exceeds 39,000 individuals in some years. 12 species have been found hibernating there and one more (the northern bat) roosts in cooler stand alone bunkers not connected with the underground system.

Text adapted from “Festungsfront Oder-Warthe-Bogen” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Regenwurmlager ranks #1,379 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #42 of the 366 mapped in Poland. Founded 1934 — one of 177 atlas entries founded in the 20th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 10,387 times in the last 60 days, more than 93% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Poznań, 97 km away. See how Poland compares in the castle statistics.

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