Miedzrecki Rejon Umocniony
Probably the most interesting sight in the area of Wielkopolski is the Miedzrecki Rejon Umocniony, a hugely fortified underground tunnel system built by the Nazis between 1934 and 1938. Today you can tour over 10 kms of this underground. There are guides who speak English, German and the price is 16 zl each (US$4) for a small group. The young guide was a mine of information and said he’s only met three English people before. It is also the biggest place in Europe which is a reserve for bats. They gather in one area of the tunnels over winter and hibernate.
Gun turrets can be seen on artificial hills made by the Germans, and all the arms are connected by a central tunnel, which is more than 30 m below ground level. There is a stretch of “Dragon’s Teeth”, serving as anti-tank defenses. The system doesn’t stretch all the way along the old Polish-German border (pre 1939 that is) because it is aided in place by natural obstacles like lakes.
Furthermore there are many other bunkers which can be visited between Katawa and Skwierzyna. They are on hills, practically hidden by trees which were not part of the countryside when the defenses were built, but they can be spotted by white and yellow markings on the trees. Many were blown up by the Red Army on their discovery of them after the war and they are abandoned, but fascinating. A Polish counter-culture/sub-culture exists/visits these tunnels from time to time and I have been told that there is a huge techno party which takes place in the main tunnel system in the summer.
