Muchołapka

Near the village of Ludwikowice Kłodzkie in Silesia, Poland, there is a massive concrete dodecagon frame atop 12 concrete pillars dozens of feet high. This is part of a World War II bunker site that was abandoned by the fleeing Nazis when Soviet forces captured it in 1945. Its function and original contents have not been publicly revealed. The structure is situated atop Project Riese, a secret series of tunnels dug by concentration camp prisoners under the Polish countryside.

The structure’s official name from World War II is not publicly known, but it is commonly called Muchołapka, a nickname bestowed upon it by a Polish journalist. A muchołapka is a traditional Western European flytrap, a kind of glass decanter that lures insects to a watery death through a hole in its base. This name sums up the intrigue surrounding the unexplained structure.

A theory suggests it may be the the base of an unfinished water cooling tower, one of many wartime weapon projects abandoned around Europe by the Nazis. However, some people have suggested an alternative theory (without supporting evidence) that it was the launch pad for flying saucers assembled by the Nazis using alien blueprints. This casts an eerie shadow on the Muchołapka’s name. According to this (improbable) theory, perhaps the structure was meant to beam unsuspecting victims into the belly of a UFO, much like a fly into a trap.

Its other equally spooky nickname given to the structure is “Hitler’s Stonehenge”, due to its blocky pillars arranged like an ancient henge. This association with prehistoric monumental henges adds another layer of mystery to this enigmatic ruin.