Workers finished building 18 of these underground forts around Bucharest in the early 1900s, just in time for technology to render them totally obsolete.
Romania was pumped about its newly gained independence about 30 years earlier, in 1878 and determined to defend its capital. These forts lined strategic points in a circle around the city and key supply routes.
Darmon Richter shot these photos of the now abandoned structures for his urban exploration site The Bohemian Blog.
Some house stray dogs, some ammunition, some only 100 year-old memories. Others, like the prison, house inmates. (Descriptions written by Darmon Richter.)
The Leordeni Fort is located to the southeast of Bucharest, and is one of a string of 18 fortresses which were built around the city in the late nineteenth century. The entrance to this fort is hidden amongst the ruins of a more recent military installation.
The fort is mostly subterranean, with a large entrance dug out on the north side. The southern, defensive side features narrow windows, and a row of view ports set in a grassy bank.
Entering the main corridor of the Leordeni Fort.
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