Victoria Barracks
THE ABANDONED MILITARY SITE IN GERMANY
Victoria Barracks was a large military site hidden deep in the forest near Werl, Germany. Today little remains of what was once a busy Cold War base. This place tells a quiet story of soldiers, broadcasts, and nature slowly taking back what was once a stronghold.
The military area near the town of Werl included several connected camps, most known as Victoria Barracks. It was made up of two main sites originally called Fort Victoria and Fort Louis. Built in the 1950s, these barracks served as part of NATO’s forward presence in Europe after WWII.
From 1956 to 1970, the base was used by the Canadian Armed Forces. Single soldiers lived in the barracks here, while officers and families lived in a nearby settlement in the town of Werl. Radio Canadian Army Europe, known as Radio CAE, broadcast music, news, and shows to Canadian troops and families from the site. It was one of the first Canadian military radio stations in Germany and reached far beyond the immediate area.
British Rheinarmee
In 1970, the Canadians handed over the barracks to the British Rheinarmee. Fort Victoria was renamed Vittoria Barracks, and Fort St. Louis, along with Fort Anne, became Albuhera Barracks. Since 1994, these buildings have been abandoned.
An old rumor tells of an incident during the handover. The French Canadians tried to sell an ice rink to the British, who weren’t interested. Even when the price was dropped to just a pound, the offer was still refused. In response, the Canadians bulldozed the ice rink.
Abandonment and Decay
By 1994, after the end of the Cold War, the British Army withdrew, and the huts and buildings were abandoned. Over the next decades, the area fell into ruin. Churches, a cinema, a gym, a bowling alley, and living quarters stood empty as trees pushed through floors and weeds grew in hallways.
Local authorities eventually decided to clear the site. In 2018, demolition of most buildings began, and the area was planned for redevelopment into a public recreation and green space.
Today almost nothing remains of Victoria Barracks. Where once soldiers walked and radios broadcast from the top of a hill, there is now forest and grass. For urbex photographers and explorers, this place stands as a reminder of how even large military bases can disappear back into the landscape.
