The Development of Tourism at Military-Historical Structures and Sites – A Case Study of the Building Complexes of Project Riese in the Owl Mountains

Abstract

Introduction. During WWII, the Owl Mountains were the site of a large-scale military investment codenamed Riese. This project called for the construction of underground passages using concentration camp prisoners as laborers. Material and methods. On the basis of terrain inventory, analysis was conducted of the tourism management of six military-historical complexes of Project Riese and their environs. Tourists were polled to determine how attractive they found one of these - the Rzeczka complex - as a tourist destination. Results. The results obtained in the study led to the conclusion that the complexes' infrastructure and tourist attractions meet the needs of tourist activity in the area. In the case of the municipalities where complexes are located, it was determined that they are not being adequately developed. Conclusions. At present, the Project Riese complexes are seeing the development of various forms of tourism. An important problem with the development of tourism there is the conflict between the need to protect the environment and cultural heritage and the development of commercial and recreational tourism services.

Forgotten Nazi Forced Labour Camps: Arbeitslager Riese (Lower Silesia, SE Poland) and the Use of Archival Aerial Photography and Contemporary LiDAR and Ground Truth Data to Identify and Delineate Camp Areas

“…That is why some of the Wolfsberg and Kaltwasser camp areas were partially built over between 2015 and 2020. Some areas and facilities that saw the slave work of hundreds of inmates-the mine shafts, the underground tunnels, and other concrete buildings-were not destroyed; they are now a tourist attraction for people coming from all over the world [23]. They have been attracted in part by the rumours of treasure hidden in underground trains [52] and stories about weapons development programs.…”

“…Many different factories engaged in the war effort were relocated to the complex, most of them producing equipment for the Luftwaffe (German Air Force). It is also likely that V1 and V2 rocket production took place there [23]. Moreover, there are rumours that Germans brought to the Riese many of the items that they looted.…”

Perceived Tourism Impacts of Tourists on the Environment of the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City, Philippines

“…Submitted: 2019-05-03 ISSN: 2624-8220, Vol. 3, pp [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Revised: 2019-09-26 doi:10.18052/www.scipress.com/SGG. 3.1 Accepted: 2019-12-03 CC BY 4.0.…”

“…This military institution boasts a long and illustrious history of preparing the best military officers of the country [7]. It is located at a verdurous pine forest in Fort General Gregorio del Pilar on Loakan road with manicured grounds composed of installed vintage tanks, other historical military weapons [8] and museum, aside from the cadets marching off and performing drills, that entices tourists to see. However, as tourism grows, the…”