Inside a Soviet Nuclear Missile Silo in Plunge, Lithuania

Oginski Palace, Plunge

After finishing at the Hill of Crosses, we drove straight on to our next destination, Plunge. Our hotel was next to a petrol station on a junction of the main road, so we were quite relieved to find that our room had excellent soundproofing.

Oginski Palace, Plunge

As we were a little out of town, we just ate in the hotel, which was good enough that we ate there again another time.

In the morning we drove into Plunge, and to the Oginski Palace and estate. The 19th century palace, designed by German architect Carl Lorenz, and nicknamed the Versailles of Samogitia, looks fabulous from the outside, especially with the beautiful waterlily pond in front of it.


Very different, but equally lovely, is the stable block opposite. These were some lucky horses to have such a fabulous home.

Oginski Palace, Plunge

Unfortunately the inside isn't quite so impressive. It has been turned into an art museum, which in itself was fine, but it means that the interior is very simple, as a background for the art itself.


We had a quick peek in a room that seems to be kitted out as a conference room, and the decoration in there looked more in keeping with the original style of the building.

Oginski Palace, Plunge

The gardens were quite pleasant to take a stroll around, and there were a few other outhouses dotted around. Of course we spent more time watching the duck with her ducklings, than we did admiring the setting!

Aside from the first views, this isn't anything special, but it is nice for a wander around and so worth dipping in to if, like us, you were already here for something else.

 

Oginski Palace, Plunge

 

Stables at Oginski Palace, Plunge

Oginski Palace, Plunge

Oginski Palace, Plunge

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

 The 'something else' that we were here for, was a visit to an old soviet nuclear missile silo. Once we had driven our way through the sand clouds kicked up on the track there, we were pretty impressed with the very reasonable €5 entry price.

There are no missiles here now, and the equipment that is left is just a token amount for the purposes of illustrating the story of the place, but still, it was a fascinating visit, especially as you can go right in to one of the four silos.

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

In the main, the level of information provided was good, without being too long or technical. It covered some of the story of the Cold War, although stopped at about 1990 and said nothing of the continuing threats from nuclear weapons, which would have provided more context even if it didn't relate directly to this base.

It wasn't always entirely clear from the signage where to go next, especially as one door that you have to go through is heavy enough that it feels like it may be locked, so you're not quite sure whether or not to keep trying. We managed to avoid the one tour group going around for most of our visit, so we could take our time, and had the rooms mostly to ourselves.

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

The Plokstine Missile Base, to give it its proper name, was completed in 1962, and missiles remained here until 18th June 1978.

There were some interesting snippets of information, like the fact that it took 48 minutes from the order being given to the missile being launched, or that they made coins from missile alloy, and these were popular gifts for former cold war enemies.

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

More worrying, was the information that it wasn't until as late as 1969 that an 8 digit code was required to authorise a launch, and that before then, it wouldn't have been that difficult for a discontented maverick to just do it.

And in these days of having everything work out precisely by computers, it seemed very non-technical and potentially disastrous that the missile targeting was done by hand, by mathematicians using written tables to work it out.

At least there were two of them, making the calculations independently, but when you consider the consequences of getting it wrong, it must have been quite a responsibility.

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

There was quite a lot of information about the training and protective equipment given to the public, to keep them safe in the event of an attack on Lithuania. Of course, most of this would have been entirely ineffectual in reality, a fact which they seem to have been well aware of, as a popular response to the question of what to do if an attack occurred was to 'wrap yourself in a white cloth, and quietly creep to the cemetery.'

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Whilst the rest of the museum here was interesting - and I think definitely worth a visit - the best bit was definitely going into the silo itself. The 30 metre deep silo is a 5 metres across, lined by a 16mm thick steel cylinder.

Outside that, there is a 1m gap, to take the blast from the launch, before reaching another layer, this time concrete. The 23m high missiles were lowered in from the hatch above, and were there permanently, in readiness for a launch.

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

It is easy to dismiss the idea of a nuclear war, and to say that no one would ever be stupid enough to 'push the button', but being here, standing in the place where such an attack could have been launched, really made us think about what could have happened, and of course, still could.

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Empty as it now was, it was strange to imagine that this relatively small and innocuous space, could potentially have been the starting point of a nuclear missile, and all of the destructive power it would have unleashed. But the reality of that was as stark as the silo itself.

Though we only knew that the other was doing the exact same thing when we spoke about it afterwards, we both stood there for quite a while, just contemplating what could have taken place here. Having been to Hiroshima the previous year, and having seen what a devastating impact even that small bomb had, it was a sobering thought indeed.

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

 

Soviet propaganda, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Soviet propaganda, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Soviet propaganda, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Soviet propaganda, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Soviet propaganda, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Civil instructions for nuclear attack, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Civil instructions for nuclear attack, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Civil instructions for nuclear attack, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Civil instructions for nuclear attack, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Hiroshima after the nuclear bomb, Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge

Plokstine Missile Base, Plunge