Red Urbex (8/8)

Urbex Roja (8/8)

Czerwony Urbex (8/8)

Urbex Rouge (8/8)

Urbex im Osten (8/8)

Urbex Rossa (8/8)

Nicknamed the "corn cob" for its circular shape, this brutalist Moldovan tower was built in 1986 to provide temporary accommodation. It was supposed to last a hundred years but it's already decaying. People still live in this concrete rotunda which at times can feel oppressive.

program_content

Ghost Buildings of the Eastern Block

Red Urbex

Moldova: The Colossal Communist Tower

This tower was supposed to last a hundred years but it's already decaying

program_playNext

The Russian military base at Wünsdorf near Berlin was abandoned after the Berlin Wall fell. When the Soviet soldiers returned to Russia, they left behind a ghost town of the Cold War era.

East Germany: The Red Army Vanishes

Red Urbex (1/8)

This masterpiece of brutalist architecture was built in 1981 in the middle of the Bulgarian mountains under the leadership of Todor Jivkov. It was a near-sacred place during the era of Bulgarian communism, but now it's fallen into near-ruin. 

Bulgaria: Communism's UFO

This abandoned flying saucer tells the story of the rise and fall of Bulgarian communism

Red Urbex (2/8)

It now stands forgotten on a Croatian mountain, but this steel monument that took 7 years to build was to remember the uprising of the people against fascism in the former Yugoslavia.

Croatia: Tito's Last Folly

This steel monument surges from the mists, forgotten on a Croatian mountain

Red Urbex (3/8)

Tskaltubo, Georgia, is now a shadow of what it once was; one of the most popular Soviet spas. Stalin enjoyed coming here. But now, it's fallen into disuse and disrepair. These ruins blend classic Stalinist architecture with Georgian ethnic motifs. A haunting, melancoly trip through a piece of history that's fast disappearing. 

Georgia: Stalin's Secret Sanatorium

Visit the opulent ruins of Stalin's favourite spa

Red Urbex (4/8)

In Tirana, the monument was erected in 1988 in honour of the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha. Now, it's an empty mausoleum. After the fall of the regime, the statues were broken, and the building looted. 

Albania: The Tyrant's Pyramid

A monument to a dictator now fallen into ruins

Red Urbex (5/8)

Inaugurated in 1981 by the Soviet authorities, the circus of Chisinau was designed as a braided basket of concrete. It's become an iconic building in the heart of the Moldavian capital.

Moldova: Ghosts of the Soviet Circus

Inaugurated in 1981 by the Soviet authorities, the circus of Chisinau was designed as a braided basket of concrete

Red Urbex (6/8)

This brutalist skyscraper was built in 1977 for a large Yugoslavian company, Genex. Described as "the ugliest building in the world", this incredible brutalist skyscraper is loved and hated in Belgrade in equal measure.

Belgrade: A Brutalist Jewel

Described as "the ugliest building in the world", this incredible brutalist skyscraper is loved and hated in Belgrade in equal measure

Red Urbex (7/8)

Red Urbex - Ghost Buildings of the Eastern Block

program_recommendations

Everything is red here. In Provence an alumina refinery has been dumping tonnes of toxic red mud in the countryside and into the sea since the 1960, all with the blessing of the authorities.

France: Radioactive Mud

In Provence an alumina refinery has been dumping tonnes of toxic red mud onto land and sea since the 1960, all with the blessing of the authorities.

Toxic Tour

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers... On the face of it, they have little in common. And yet they are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fighting back on different fronts.

Resistance

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers...They are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine on different fronts.

Tracks East

Yetundey is originally from Leipzig and mixes styles and influences. Layla Boe wants to make the German language smoother in her music.

Germany

Girlhood - Women in Rap (1/4)

Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, the unofficial capital of vintage racing bikes. London, where cycle-cafés also hold speed dating evenings and Amsterdam where cyclists stand out from the crowd with style.

Cycling as Lifestyle

Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, London and Amsterdam.

Biking Boom

Have you ever wondered why pop songs sometimes sound a little too familiar? Welcome to the world of pop-recycling where borrowing, sampling and interpolation are the order of the day. Featuring interviews with Placebo, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX and Lauv.

Pop Music: The Great Recycling Business

Have you ever wondered why pop songs sometimes sound a little too familiar? Welcome to the world of pop-recycling. Featuring interviews with Placebo, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX and Lauv.

Tracks: Songwriting Special

Why do the works of the Italian painter Caravaggio exude such violence? The answer is to be found in the eventful life of the artist, who just couldn't stay out of trouble and met a sticky end.

Caravaggio, Genius - and Killer?

Caravaggio just couldn't stay out of trouble and met a sticky end

Gymnastics

Since its invention in the 19th century, the bicycle has allowed Western women to move around independently. Today, it is the turn of women in Arab countries to discover its power. Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist.

The Freedom to Cycle

Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist

If the truth is the first victim of war, many voices are trying to defend it in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere. Alternative culture programme Tracks goes east to meet journalists and artists from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia who have a different perspective on the war in Ukraine. On the programme: propaganda and counter-propaganda in times of conflict.

Propaganda and Truth

lternative culture programme "Tracks" goes east to meet journalists and artists from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia who have a different perspective on the war in Ukraine

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile. There's been a mass creative exodus in recent weeks, including Russian rap stars like Face and Oxxxymiron. Art rockers IC3PEAK post protest videos that would get them arrested in Russia. TikTok star Nikita Sass bravely continues to post his opinion and stays. Few dare to do that.

Russian Artists Against the War

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile

Tracks

program_bonus

Bonuses and Extracts

program_external

Discover more

program_categoryMostViewed

Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish perform at Hellfest 2022.

Hellfest 2022

Nightwish

Just a few weeks before the release of their new album, The Sick and the Dying… and the Dead! Thrash metal stars Megadeth perform at Hellfest 2022.

Megadeth

Dutch band Epica returns to Hellfest to present Omega, a new album showing off their inimitable symphonic heavy metal sound.

Epica

Drockick Murphys are perhaps the most Irish of American bands. The Bostonians baptize their new album Turn Up That Dial at Hellfest 2022.

Dropkick Murphys

Punk rock fans note: The Offspring have released a new album: The Californians perform tracks from their latest work at Hellfest, Let the Bad Times Roll.

The Offspring

In Europe, the last primary forests are found almost exclusively in the mountains in the east or south-east of the continent. These virgin forests have never been exploited or cut down, and have remained as they have always been. Few studies have been done on this forests, which are presumably havens of biodiversity. We go on a research trip to the Dinaric Alps in Albania.

The Green Lungs of Europe

We go on a research trip to the Dinaric Alps in Albania

Geo Reportage

Brazilian cult band Sepultura is back at Hellfest! They unleash their intense thrash metal in front of a white-hot audience.

Sepultura

According to the latest calculations by the OECD, South Korean women could live to be over 92 years old on average in 2070, and men over 89. That would be a world record. What's the secret?

South Korea: An Obsession With Health

South Koreans are on track to be the longest-lived people in the world

ARTE Reportage

JInjer are Ukraine’s official ambassadors of metal. Led by the voice and charisma of singer Tatiana Shmayluk, they are bringing their special blend of progressive groove metal to the world.

Jinjer

Known for their incandescent, fiery performances, Swedish black metal band Watain perform their pyrotechnics at Hellfest 2022.

Watain

Hellfest invites a heavyweight of crossover and thrash metal: Los Angeles natives Suicidal Tendencies make the main stage tremble!

Suicidal Tendencies

With their latest album Soul on Fire, The Last Internationale brings a rebellious spirit to the main stage of Hellfest 2022.

The Last Internationale

As soon as weightlessness sets in in Earth orbit, everything floats, including bodily fluids. Most astronauts suffer from space sickness – similar to seasickness. You get sick, your eyes go crazy, your face swells up, your legs get longer and after a few sleepless nights (there is no day or night in space) many astronauts get severe back pain. Space researchers are trying to understand how the human body reacts without gravity. Could we need it to live?

Are We Ready for Mars?

What would happen to our bodies if we were all suddenly exposed to weightlessness in space?

42: The Answer to Almost Everything

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland. Once German East Prussia, it is now home to 1 million Russian citizens. What is life like in this small territory now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began?

Kaliningrad: Putin's Enclave

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland and is now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began.

The trio led by Matthew Bellamy is one of the most explosive and creative forces in rock music over the past two decades. There is no one else quite like Muse. Be impressed by their committed performance at Berlin’s Tempelhof Sounds Festival.

Tempelhof Sounds 2022

 There is no one else quite like Muse. Be impressed by their committed performance at Berlin’s Tempelhof Sounds Festival.

Muse

What does it mean to be a man in the modern world? Jan goes in search of answers on the streets of Berlin where he meets barbecue grillers, American football players and queer foresters.

Be a Man! - But How?

Streetphilosophy

Yazidi women box in a gym in the heart of a refugee camp in northern Iraq. To recover their sense of dignity and self-confidence, they train in self-defense. They are survivors of horrific abuse, having been kidnapped and used as sex slaves under IS rule.

Iraq: Return to Sinjar

Yazidi women box in a gym in the heart of a refugee camp to recover their sense of dignity and self-confidence.

Pittsburgh punk band Anti-Flag have been going strong since the late 1980s. They bring their anthemic sound at Hellfest 2022.

Anti-Flag

According to the myth, the Greeks managed to enter the city of Troy by building a wooden horse in which was hidden Greek soldiers. How much of this story is based on actual historical events? And if the story is true, was it even a horse?

The Mystery of the Trojan Horse

On the French Caribbean island of Martinique , large-scale use of insecticides caused serious damage. But the earth is being revitalised by several initiatives inspired by age-old agricultural practices. 

Moldova: The Colossal Communist Tower

Red Urbex - Ghost Buildings of the Eastern Block

Red Urbex (1/8)

East Germany: The Red Army Vanishes

Red Urbex (2/8)

Bulgaria: Communism's UFO

Red Urbex (3/8)

Croatia: Tito's Last Folly

Red Urbex (4/8)

Georgia: Stalin's Secret Sanatorium

Red Urbex (5/8)

Albania: The Tyrant's Pyramid

Red Urbex (6/8)

Moldova: Ghosts of the Soviet Circus

Red Urbex (7/8)

Belgrade: A Brutalist Jewel

Red Urbex (8/8)

Moldova: The Colossal Communist Tower

Red Urbex (8/8)Moldova: The Colossal Communist Tower

You may also like

Toxic Tour

Toxic Tour

France: Radioactive Mud

Tracks East

Tracks East

Resistance

Girlhood - Women in Rap (1/4)

Girlhood - Women in Rap (1/4)

Germany

Biking Boom

Biking Boom

Cycling as Lifestyle

Tracks: Songwriting Special

Tracks: Songwriting Special

Pop Music: The Great Recycling Business

Gymnastics

Gymnastics

Caravaggio, Genius - and Killer?

Gymnastics

Gymnastics

The Freedom to Cycle

Tracks East

Tracks East

Propaganda and Truth

The most viewed videos on ARTE

Nightwish

Nightwish

Hellfest 2022

Megadeth

Megadeth

Hellfest 2022

Epica

Epica

Hellfest 2022

Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys

Hellfest 2022

The Offspring

The Offspring

Hellfest 2022

Geo Reportage

Geo Reportage

The Green Lungs of Europe

Sepultura

Sepultura

Hellfest 2022

ARTE Reportage

ARTE Reportage

South Korea: An Obsession With Health