Uploads from Kecko, tagged furkels

St. Margrethenberg - Underground Lake

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 10:47:23 -0700

Kecko posted a photo:

This cave is not of natural origin. It was busted out of the rock by the army, and was used as a shelter for the soldiers of the antiaircraft defense. There are two angled access tunnels which are located opposite, with steel-reinforced doors. In the middle there is a hall that I have formerly photographed under the title of 'Dark Place'. Because the doorways are higher up than the ground of the cave, there is a flood in heavy showers like lately. The doors should locked for safety reasons actually, but I found one open. Taken with bulb exposure of 8 seconds/ISO 100 and light painting with a high performance LED lamp. Switzerland, June 13, 2013.

St. Margrethenberg - Furggels

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:03:21 -0700

Kecko posted a photo:

Under the hills of St. Margrethenberg, there is an old artillery fortress from the time of WW2 located. The armored turret gun No.3 of caliber 105 mm in the foreground (camouflaged with a cottage) is only 90 m away from the Restaurant Tristeli. On July 2, 1940 was this gun the first time fired for calibration. Tradition holds that the glasses are plunged from the rack in the restaurant. The cannon is located at a height of 1188 m. ü. M. (3897 ft ASL). The access tunnel in the fort is 32 m below the ground. A staircase with 150 steps leads up to the gun here. These guns were decommissioned in 1994. The metal cap on the round part of concrete in the meadow was one of three exhaust pipes from the engine room. This exhaust pipe had children once clogged with a ball, when the fortress was still active. An anecdote of retired military fortress guard Fidel Nigg. Switzerland, June 13, 2013.

St. Margrethenberg - Furggels

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:05:58 -0700

Kecko posted a photo:

Under the hills of St. Margrethenberg, there is an old artillery fortress from the time of WW2 located. Under the little cottage in the foreground, the armored turret gun No.3 of caliber 105 mm is camouflaged. For practice shooting in the target area Gleggtobel (7.5 km), a swath was removed from the hill towards the mountains Falknis and Grauspitz in the background. These guns were decommissioned in 1994. On the right side of the swath, where the antenna of the Swiss GPS reference station SARG stands, was once an observation dome. Switzerland, June 13, 2013.

Fort Furggels - Diesel fuel depot

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Sun, 26 May 2013 02:17:10 -0700

Kecko posted a photo:

Two large tanks are built under the mountain, each with a capacity of 100m³, these are totally 200,000 liters. After every 5 years, the rest had to be pumped out and replaced. The old diesel was then used to heat at another military facility. The fortress had no oil heating. It was heated with the waste heat from the diesel generators, for which this fuel was used. Two generators in operation consumed circa 1000 liters of diesel per day. So, it would have been possible, to run the generators during the war for 200 days without replenishment. Disused military fortress Furggels on St. Margrethenberg, active until 1994, used by the army until 1998, ammunition stocked by 2001, declassified in 2002. Switzerland, May 25, 2013.

St. Margrethenberg - Easter Day

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 10:03:57 -0700

Kecko posted a photo:

After the switch to daylight saving time. There is now an extra hour light in the evening to shovel the snow. Bus stop «Tristeli» 1190 m ASL. Switzerland, March 31, 2013.

Fort Furggels - In memoriam

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:57:21 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

Lothar war in seiner Dienstzeit Küchenchef in der Festung Kastels in Mels. Am 1. März 2010 hatte er sich einen Bubentraum erfüllt und die Festung Furggels gekauft. Vorangegangen war ein langer Kampf mit Behörden um Vorschriften und Bedingungen. Das Unternehmen wäre beinahe gescheitert. Am 25. Sept. 2010 war Furggels zum ersten Mal unter seinem Patronat öffentlich zugänglich.

The man who bought fort Furggels and fort Passati from the army has died unexpectedly. In his term of service, he was chef in the fortress Kastels in Mels. To own a fortress was a dream of his childhood.

3.Sek. Bad Ragaz in Furggels

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:27:28 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

Ein Schultag in der Festung. Das Thema lautete: 'Die Schweiz im Zweiten Weltkrieg'.
Da die Jugendlichen sehr nett und interessiert waren, bekamen sie auch mehr zu sehen als an einer normalen Besichtigung. Weil das Wetter ideal war, führte ich eine kleine Gruppe zu einem Beobachterbunker mit Frischluftansaugstelle in der Felswand gegen das Rheintal. In diesem Bunker überwintern aber auch zahlreiche Spinnen, und das ergab dann so eine Art Dschungelcamp-Prüfung. Es schafften aber alle den Weg durch die Spinnenkolonie zur Luke um ins Freie zu klettern und die Aussicht zu geniessen. Da waren auch drei Mädchen dabei die das Dankesschreiben verfasst haben. St. Margrethenberg, Schweiz, 18. Jan 2013.

St. Margrethenberg 1189 m.ü.M.

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:32:36 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

After fresh snow on Thursday - a beautiful day. A school class from Bad Ragaz came for a school day into the fortress Furggels, and so I spent the time just underground. Switzerland, Jan 18, 2013.

After many Years...

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 11:19:19 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

The fortress guardsmen are gone. They turned off the machines. It began the 'life after people'. 12 years later, privat people returned and reactivated the infrastructure. 14 years later, I walk along a tunnel and hear the phone horn. I search the nearest phone and... OMG! There is still much work to save this plant from decay. Disused military fortress Furggels on St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Dec 16, 2012.

Last Ventilation Inspection

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 03:21:38 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

The last entry of the fortress guardsmen of temperature and humidity in an arms depot dates from the 4th Week in 1998. Disused military fortress Furggels on St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Dec 16, 2012.

VØ - Messgerät (- Gauge)

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:34:10 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

A device of the Swiss artillery to measure the muzzle velocity (VØ). The sensors were mounted on the barrel of the gun. It was used in the forts and in the field. The muzzle velocity of a caliber 10.5 cm grenade was 700 - 800 m/s. The equipment is outdated and no longer used. Newer devices comprise of a Doppler radar. Fire control center of the disused military fortress Furggels on St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Dec 16, 2012.

Lost - The Movie

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:09:21 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

Darkness...dead silence...will to survive... For months in the fortress Furggels a movie was shot. Now, all the scenes are finished. The movie is now being edited and should be released next year. St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Dec 16, 2012.

Swiss Conscription

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:28:44 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

The spirit at the weapons and not alone the weapon wins. In all the lounges and canteens there are these sayings on the walls. The colored light occurs from a special lighting, because this canteen is decorated like a bar - the Bunker Bar. Disused military fortress Furggels on St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Dec 16, 2012.

Main Gate 1153 m.ü.M. 3783 ft ASL

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:58:30 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

Fort Furggels in winter. This entrance to the fortress could be used with smaller trucks like the Saurer 2DM. In this hole I've spent the most time of my military service. Now the plant is privately owned. Since a little more than two years, there is a public restaurant on the lower floor 19 m below. But to go there you have to walk a half a kilometer through tunnels. St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Dec 11, 2012.

St. Margrethenberg Tristeli

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 11:45:39 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

This restaurant was built in 1911. And it still exists, although it is quite outlying. It has also been renovated and expanded. Its heyday began when the military built a fortress up here at the beginning of WWII. The starting shot in the truest sense of the word began on 2nd July 1940. An armored turret gun caliber 10.5 cm which is only 90 meters away from the restaurant, fired the first time a test shot. As the landlady came storming out of the restaurant and called 'stop!' The glasses had fallen from the rack. Switzerland, Dec 11, 2012.

St. Margrethenberg Snow Groomer

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:21:01 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

Leo already groomed the cross-country skiing run above the old military fortress Furggels (1189 m.ü.M. /3901 ft asl). Switzerland, Dec 11, 2012.

The Chamber of Death

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:15:00 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

A creepy place in an old military fortress of the Second World War. Through a dusky tunnel, which was designed as a foul-air duct, you reach this place. This morgue was never used actually. Sometimes children are not easy to inspire for the visit of an old fortress, but hither they mostly want to go. Perhaps that's a kind of Harry Potter feeling. Then I do it on purpose something suspenseful. Disused military fortress Furggels on St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Dec 2, 2012.

Fort «Furggels» - Exit Door North

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:05:32 -0800

Kecko posted a photo:

This exit door from the tunnel between the large ammunition dumps and the bunker cannons caliber 15 cm, was also intended for discharge of a possible explosion pressure. The explosion pressure hatches on both sides of the steel-reinforced door are used now for ventilation only. Disused military fortress Furggels on St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Nov 25, 2012.

St. Margrethenberg - Onset of Winter 2012

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:23:31 -0700

Kecko posted a photo:

A few days ago you could still sit outside here. From Saturday to Sunday, there was the white surprise. The postal cars were fitted with snow chains. In the garden of the restaurant Tristeli above the fortress Furggels on 1190 m ASL, Sunday morning 10 o'clock. Switzerland, Oct 28, 2012.

Fort «Furggels» - Turret gun caliber 10.5 cm

nobody@flickr.com (Kecko) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 12:54:07 -0700

Kecko posted a photo:

How do you get the gun barrel the long stairs up to the gun in the turret? On rails which are inserted in holes on the stairs and with a big cable winch. The drive of the munitions transport elevator on the right side can not be used for this. The replacing of a gun barrel is done manually. Former military fortress on St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, Oct 14, 2012.