Perhaps what lies beneath this fenced-off area is more interesting than what meets the eye. This is the ehemalige Muna Feucht. It was once a bustling ammunition plant during the dark days of National Socialism.
In the 1930s the German army needed to stock up on ammunition. So they created a large army ammunition facility south of Nuremberg near Feucht. This ehemalige Muna Feucht became a critical site for the Wehrmacht.
Imagine this area in 1934. It was once 223 hectares of state forest northwest of Feucht. The Wehrmacht administration transformed it into a vast complex. There were workshops and 62 bunkers here. The ehemalige Muna Feucht was a hive of activity.
Here they made grenades for the massive 42 cm mortar “Dicke Bertha”. They produced warheads for the V2 rockets. From 1944, parts for the V3 cannon were also made here. Even more sinister, this ehemalige Muna Feucht also produced poison gas grenades.
These weren’t just storage facilities. This ehemalige Muna Feucht had three flak towers. It possessed fire ponds, a canteen and its own power supply. A two-track rail connected it to the Feucht-Wendelstein line. This enabled goods and personnel transport.
The ehemalige Muna Feucht also housed a prisoner-of-war camp from 1944. It held 32 Soviet and two Polish prisoners. These poor souls died during forced labor at the ammunition plant. They were buried at the Feucht cemetery.
As war’s end neared, the ehemalige Muna Feucht stored about 18 tons of mustard gas. This deadly substance was kept in spray canisters.
On April 17, 1945, the US Army seized the ehemalige Muna Feucht. The Americans renamed it Ammo Collecting Point Feucht. They gathered Wehrmacht supplies from various locations here.
Disaster struck on May 4, 1946. A fire broke out and spread to a freight train. A chain reaction of explosions occurred. It involved 20000 to 30000 tons of ammunition. The train carried 300 warheads for V2 rockets, each with 738 kg of Amatol. About half of the buildings and all the tracks were destroyed. Luckily, the local population had been evacuated beforehand.
In 1948, the occupation forces ordered all intact bunkers blown up except for five. The area was left unguarded.
Later, in the 1960s, the site was transformed into a fuel depot. This served the nearby Feucht Army Airfield. In the early 1970s, there were plans to turn it into a military training area. Local protests stopped this.
Since 2006, the contaminated soil has been sealed with concrete. Complete removal was deemed too risky. The groundwater is protected by a layer of clay.
Today, the ehemalige Muna Feucht occasionally serves as a base for the ordnance disposal service. You can’t visit it. However, the Museum für historische Wehrtechnik has a permanent exhibit about the Muna.
Since 2019, there have been calls to demilitarize and reforest the area. A forest fire could trigger explosions. The Deutsche Bahn considered the site for an ICE maintenance plant. In April 2023, they announced that they would not build there.
So next time you pass by this seemingly ordinary area remember its dark past. The ehemalige Muna Feucht is a stark reminder of war and destruction. It also speaks of resilience.