Krampnitz
Kaserne
''Kaserne'' is a loanword taken from the German word ' (plural: '), which means "barracks". It is the typical term used when naming the garrison location for American and Canadian forces stationed in Germany. American forces were also sometimes ho ...
was a military complex, in
Fahrland,
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
, created by the Germans during
the rearmament period. It was used by the Germans until the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. After the war it was used by
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
troops until its abandonment in 1992.
History
The site was used by the German army since 1937 when the cavalry school moved from Hannover, under the name ''Heeres Reit- und Fahrschule und Kavallerieschule Krampnitz'' ( en, Army Riding and Driving School and Cavalry School). It was under German control until the Red Army took control of the area the day after the Germans abandoned it on April 26, 1945. The
35th Guards Motor Rifle Division of
GSFG
The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...
was then stationed there until its abandonment in 1992, after the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
In July 2013, the city of Potsdam officially decided to make it an urban development area,
construction has however been delayed, due a large number of bats taking up residence. The development project is headed by
Deutsche Wohnen
Deutsche Wohnen SE is a German Real estate company, property company, and one of the 30 companies that compose the DAX index. The position in the DAX was reached in June 2020 from previous MDAX position after Lufthansa was downgraded to the MDAX b ...
.
Layout

The whole complex consists of more than 50 buildings, most of which are apartment buildings and storage, though it also includes an officers' club, a tennis court, theatre and more. Movies such as ''
Enemy at the Gates
''Enemy at the Gates'' (''Stalingrad'' in France and ''L'Ennemi aux portes'' in Canada) is a 2001 war film directed, co-written, and produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book '' Enemy at the Gates: The Batt ...
'', ''
Inglourious Basterds
''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an al ...
'', ''
The Monuments Men
''The Monuments Men'' is a 2014 war film directed by George Clooney and written and produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov. The film stars an ensemble cast including Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, ...
'', and ''
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36 ...
'' shot some scenes here.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Barracks in Germany
Training establishments of the Wehrmacht