{"id":180329,"date":"2023-09-27T11:49:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T11:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotworldreport.com\/?p=180329"},"modified":"2023-09-27T11:49:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T11:49:10","slug":"inside-the-abandoned-devils-mountain-spy-hq-now-caked-in-graffiti-where-spooks-eavesdropped-behind-iron-curtain-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotworldreport.com\/world-news\/inside-the-abandoned-devils-mountain-spy-hq-now-caked-in-graffiti-where-spooks-eavesdropped-behind-iron-curtain-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the abandoned \u2018Devil\u2019s Mountain\u2019 spy HQ now caked in graffiti where spooks eavesdropped behind Iron Curtain | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"
AN ABANDONED spy station where spooks eavesdropped on the Soviet Union has now become a gigantic canvas for street artists.<\/p>\n
Those brave enough to scale 'Devil's Mountain' in Berlin, Germany, have added a splash of colour to the crumbling concrete structure. <\/p>\n
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It is hard to believe Teufelsberg was once home to US and British intelligence agents who snooped behind the Iron Curtain. <\/p>\n
At the height of the Cold War, the 80-metre man-made hill served as the ideal vantage spot for surveillance of Soviet communications.<\/p>\n
State-of-the-art listening towers sat on top of a mound of WW2 debris that was hauled from the German capital to Grunewald. <\/p>\n
An unfinished Nazi military-technical college is buried underneath the non-natural hill, only adding to the spookiness in the region. <\/p>\n
The US National Security Agency constructed one of its largest listening stations on top of Teufelsberg in 1963.<\/p>\n Rotating antenna radomes, dubbed "Berlin's balls" by locals due to their shape, picked up even the slightest Soviet whisper. <\/p>\n The bulbous white globes helped expose the Communist Bloc's secrets to US and British spies thanks to their incredible design. <\/p>\n The ominous spheres were a complex puzzle of Teflon triangles, each one meticulously arranged to form the perfect shape. <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The golf-ball-like domes were kept inflated by internal air compressors to combat the powerful winds plaguing Teufelsberg.<\/p>\n Signals between East Berlin and the Soviets were intercepted, transcribed and translated by spies at the historic HQ.<\/p>\n US army veteran turned Devil's Mountain tour guide Christopher McLarren described the spot as a "type of forewarning post."<\/p>\n He explained: "We had to gather as much information as possible in order to find out if the Soviets or the Warsaw Pact were plotting against us."<\/p>\n Their efforts were aided by an unlikely ally – a Ferris wheel which was erected each year as part of the annual German-American Festival.<\/p>\n The fairground ride bizarrely helped relay signals and improved the quality of their listening efforts, prompting the US to ask if it could be left up for a while after the celebrations were over. <\/p>\n Despite Teufelsberg being a top-secret spy base, it didn't stop Germans from making the most of the steep slopes. <\/p>\n A huge ski jump with the capacity for 5,000 spectators had been built there in 1962 and it became a renowned recreational area. <\/p>\n One million trees were planted at Devil's Mountain, providing a curtain of privacy for spooks while adding some life to the region. <\/p>\n But following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Teufelsberg once again became a desolate ghost town. <\/p>\n The NSA stripped the listening station of all its equipment and ditched the key spying spot, leaving only the building and Berlin's balls behind. <\/p>\n Investors talked of transforming the base into a spy museum, but the plans never came to fruition. <\/p>\n Instead, it fell into disrepair and was ravaged by the elements for decades – until a new generation gave it a new purpose. <\/p>\n Despite being privately owned and fenced off from the surrounding forest, the HQ is now one of the largest graffiti galleries in Europe.<\/p>\n Inspired by its colourful history, street artists have created a series of vibrant murals, political cartoons and bright doodles. <\/p>\n The listening towers that were left to rot have become a never-ending art project for spray painters from across the world. <\/p>\n The walls brimming with Cold War secrets are now defaced by scrawls, while the radomes which boasted enviable acoustics are lacking more than a few of their Teflon triangles. <\/p>\n However, it still serves as an incredible spot to take in the views of Berlin's skyline. <\/p>\n Teufelsberg has now become a tourist attraction for history buffs with a penchant for art. <\/p>\n<\/picture>RUST BOWL <\/span><\/p>\n
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