Name: Moldova: The Colossal Communist Tower - Red Urbex (8/8)
Uploaded: 2019-10-01T00:00:00.000+02:00
Duration: 290 s
Description: 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.

Moldova: The Colossal Communist Tower

Moldavia: La "mazorca de maíz"

Mołdawia: piekielna wieża komunizmu

Urbex Rouge (8/8)

Urbex im Osten (8/8)

La Torre infernale del Comunismo

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.

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Ghost Buildings of the Eastern Block

Red Urbex

Red Urbex (8/8)

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

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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.

Red Urbex (1/8)

East Germany: The Red Army Vanishes

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. 

Red Urbex (2/8)

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

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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.

Red Urbex (3/8)

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

Croatia: Tito's Last Folly

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. 

Red Urbex (4/8)

Visit the opulent ruins of Stalin's favourite spa

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Red Urbex (5/8)

A monument to a dictator now fallen into ruins

Albania: The Tyrant's Pyramid

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.

Red Urbex (6/8)

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

Moldova: Ghosts of the Soviet Circus

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.

Red Urbex (7/8)

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

Red Urbex - Ghost Buildings of the Eastern Block

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Conductors can gesticulate wildly when they conduct an orchestra. But have you ever wondered what exactly they are doing with their hands? And why do they use a baton?

Why Do Conductors Use Batons?

The humble accordion may not have a reputation as the coolest instrument on the block. But in the hands of Mario Batkovic it takes on another dimension. Since 2017 the Bosnian accordionist has been wowing audiences and recording film and game scores, notably for hit survival game, Red Dead Redemption 2.

The humble accordion may not have a reputation as the coolest instrument on the block. But in the hands of Mario Batkovic it takes on another dimension.

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Carolyn Carlson: The Day They Danced Barefoot at the Paris Opera

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In the 60s, influenced by science fiction, strange, curved homes started popping up in France

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By 1967 The Rolling Stones had gone from being a rhythm and blues cover band to a global rock phenomenon. For the cover of their fifth album young photographer Gered Monkowitz captured the feel of the band.

Total Records (1/11)

For the cover of The Rolling Stones fifth album photographer Gered Monkowitz captured the feel of the band.

Between the Buttons // The Rolling Stones

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284 Russian soldiers are still missing in Afghanistan from the Soviet-Afghan War, a conflict that ended in 1989. ARTE Reportage goes in search of these lost red army soldiers

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Amsterdam’s famous red-light district attracts hordes of noisy tourists making the neighbourhood unliveable for many of its residents. With the city authorities considering measures to push sex workers out of the area, does this spell the end for the historic trade in the city centre?

Amsterdam’s famous red-light district attracts hordes of noisy tourists making the neighbourhood unliveable for many of its residents.

Re: Mass Tourism in Amsterdam's Red Light District

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Daniel Harding - Bonn

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1

In Greece, the coastguard has taken to pushing back potential asylum seekers towards Turkish waters. That's despite the fact that once in Europe, these people have a right to apply for asylum and to have that application processed. But while this tactic is against EU human rights law, the Greek government have a promise to keep to its electorate: reducing the flow of migrants.

In Greece, the coastguard has taken to pushing back asylum seekers into Turkish waters, in violation of EU law

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ABBA

When it was up to Sweden to host the Eurovision, the counterculture mobilised big time in a bid to take down ABBA

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Nobody captured the atmosphere of 1990s Berlin better than than German photographer Daniel Josefsohn.

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Four women comic book artists from the Arab World, Tunisian Nadia Khiari, Lebanese Lena Merhej, Moroccan Zainab Fasiki and Egyptian Deena Mohamed open the doors of their studios and tell us about their experiences and their struggles. Ten years after the beginning of the Arab Spring how can they express themselves in the medium as Arab women?

Four women comic book artists from the Arab World open the doors of their studios and tell us about their experiences and their struggles. 

4 Arab Women Comic Book Artists

The historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC said that Egypt was "a gift from the Nile", and from the pharaohs to Nasser, the Nile has played a vital role in Egypt's fortunes. But Ethiopia now intends to remind leaders in Cairo that the Nile is not just an Egyptian river.

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After eight years of restauration, one of the greatest works of art ever made looks once again as its creators intended. The monumental tableau that is the Ghent Altarpiece, also known as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, captures the viewer with its intense realism and complicated symbolism. A full immersion into this revolutionary work that looked forward to the modern world.

The monumental tableau that is the Ghent Altarpiece captures the viewer with its intense realism and complicated symbolism.

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Continuing from ARTE’s five-year investigation into the Assange affair, this report delves once again into the complicated case.

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Leonardo Vinci created operas with a unique character and real sense of drama. Argentinian countertenor Franco Fagioli is considered a specialist of the Neapolitan composer’s work. Together with the Greek baroque ensemble Armonia Atenea and conductor George Petrou, Fagioli invites you to a Vinci Gala at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival.

Bayreuth Baroque 2021

Gala Vinci: Franco Fagioli, Armonia Atenea and George Petrou

Back pain is a very common ailment with a majority of people suffering from it at one point in their lives. Xenius investigates the myths surrounding back pain and the best ways to avoid and treat it.

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Xenius investigates the myths surrounding back pain and the best ways to avoid and treat it.

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Infamous drug baron Pablo Escobar had four hippos flown over from Africa to populate his very own zoo on his private estate in Columbia. After his death in 1993, the hippos escaped and have been colonising local waterways ever since. Conservationists are now waging a war against this invasive species which is harmful to the local ecosystem and highly dangerous to humans.

Geo Reportage

Infamous drug baron Pablo Escobar had four hippos flown over from Africa to populate his very own zoo on his private estate in Columbia. But then they escaped.