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{{Infobox settlement
| name = Kłomino
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Ghost Town
| total_type = 
| image_skyline = AFT 0154.jpg
| image_caption = Abandoned tower block in Kłomino
| pushpin_map = Poland
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
| subdivision_name1 = [[West Pomeranian Voivodeship|West Pomeranian]]
| subdivision_type2 = County
| subdivision_name2 = [[Szczecinek County|Szczecinek]]
| subdivision_type3 = Gmina
| subdivision_name3 = [[Gmina Borne Sulinowo|Borne Sulinowo]]
| area_total_km2 = 0.8278
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| coordinates = {{coord|53|29|04|N|16|32|58|E|display=title,inline}}
| registration_plate = ZSZ
| population_est = 12
| pop_est_as_of = 2012
}}
'''Kłomino''' ({{Langx|de|Westfalenhof}}) is a [[ghost town]]<ref>[http://www.perspectivaciudadana.com/contenido.php?itemid=24246 20 Abandoned Cities from Around the World: Deserted Towns and Other Derelict Places]. perspectivaciudadana.com: "Kłomino is the only official ghost town in Poland."</ref> in Poland, in [[Szczecinek County]], [[West Pomeranian Voivodeship]]. In the past it was a large garrison and training ground of the German [[Wehrmacht]] and after [[World War II]] it was a base of the [[Soviet Army]] and for many years it existed only on Soviet military maps.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite web |title=Poles transform Soviet camps into capitalist beacons |date=2000-08-26 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923005438/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/aug/26/poland |archive-date=2016-09-23 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/aug/26/poland}}</ref> Since 1993, when the Red Army withdrew its forces from Poland, it has lain empty. Until 1992, there were 5,000 residents<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090412155326/http://ezoterycznypoznan.pl/news/126/18/ Kłomino - Ghost Town] (Polish)</ref> in Kłomino, today it is a ghost town. As of 2012, Kłomino had 12 residents.<ref>[http://www.bornesulinowo.pl/?page_id=536#Klomino Gmina Borne Sulinowo official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404145954/http://www.bornesulinowo.pl/?page_id=536#Klomino |date=2012-04-04 }} (Polish)</ref> The town is located about 12 kilometres (7 miles) away from [[Borne Sulinowo]].

==History==
The territory became a part of the emerging Polish state under its first historic ruler [[Mieszko I]] in the 10th century. It formed part of the Wałcz County in the [[Poznań Voivodeship (14th century – 1793)|Poznań Voivodeship]] in the [[Greater Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Greater Poland Province]]<ref>{{cite book|author= |title=Atlas historyczny Polski. Wielkopolska w drugiej połowie XVI wieku. Część I. Mapy, plany|year=2017|language=pl|location=Warsaw|publisher=Institute of History, [[Polish Academy of Sciences]]|page=1a}}</ref> until the [[First Partition of Poland]] in 1772, when it was annexed by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and from 1871 it was also part of Germany. Kłomino, located in a sparsely populated and densely wooded area of former German province of [[Pomerania]], in the early 20th century was a little village known as Westfalenhof. In the 1930s, the [[Wehrmacht]] planners built a large military base here, together with a training ground. According to the Polish edition of ''[[Newsweek]]'', in 1939 some 60,000 military personnel resided in Westfalenhof's barracks.<ref name=Kozlenko>[http://www.newsweek.pl/wydruk/artykul-wydruk.asp?Artykul=32027 Newsweek Polska, A Report from an empty city by Dariusz Kozlenko]{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In the autumn of 1939, after the [[Polish September Campaign]], the Germans opened a [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] here, in which in November 1939 there were some 6,000 Polish soldiers, as well as around 2,300 Polish civilians, arrested by the Wehrmacht during the invasion. In June 1940, the camp was named [[Oflag II-D Gross-Born|Oflag II D Gross-Born]], and soon afterwards, [[French Army]] officers were brought to it in such numbers that in early 1941 there were 3731 of them. Later on, the number of French prisoners decreased, and they were replaced with Polish POWs, brought from other camps.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

Westfalenhof was captured by the advancing [[Red Army]] in January 1945, and after [[World War II]] it remained in Soviet hands, as a military base. Even though officially part of the [[People's Republic of Poland]], it was ''de facto'' a [[Soviet Union]] territory, and Poles were not allowed to enter the town. Renamed Grodek, the village was not shown on Polish maps. Around 6,000 Soviet soldiers lived there, and the parts of the former German base which were not needed any more were razed to the ground by the Red Army servicemen. The debris was sent to [[Warsaw]], to help rebuild the [[Destruction of Warsaw|destroyed city]].<ref name=Kozlenko/>

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia pulled out in 1993.<ref name="theguardian.com"/> The derelict village became one of hundreds of former military installations in countries of the former [[Eastern Bloc]] — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Grodek got a new, Polish name — Kłomino. For around a year, the village was guarded by the [[Polish Army]], then it was transferred to the civilian authorities.<ref name=Kozlenko/>

Since Russia withdrew, Polish officials have been trying to figure out what to do with the village. It was on the market, priced at 2 million euros. The www.propertyshowrooms.com webpage advertisement described Kłomino as:

{{cquote|Complete ex-Soviet military village capacity for over 1,000 families, 82.78 ha<ref>{{convert|82.78|ha|acre}}</ref> of land with its own lake and barrack style buildings, 11 buildings in varying condition including a firing range and canteen. Nearest town 4 km.<ref>{{convert|4|km}}</ref> Offers invited around 2 million euros. Only partial information available as costs will vary depending on type of project proposed and subsequent EU subsidy availability.<ref>[http://www.propertyshowrooms.com/poland/property/borne/-442057.html] Village — Kłomino — REF: 442057</ref>}}

However, nobody was willing to purchase the village and too few people decided to settle there. Local authorities, for lack of funds, left Kłomino abandoned. The Nazi- and Soviet-era buildings have been abandoned and now the only sign that remains of the town's "glory" is the last wall of a collapsed movie theatre adorned with colourful Soviet propaganda.<ref>[http://aktualne.centrum.cz/czechnews/clanek.phtml?id=519905 Poles discover forest wonderland with wild past]</ref>

There were several suggestions what to do with Kłomino. It was planned to be a recovery centre for drug addicts, meeting points for Polish enthusiasts of [[Harley-Davidson]] motorcycles, or a prison.<ref name=Kozlenko/> Currently, there are five permanent residents of Kłomino.<ref name=Kozlenko/> There is no bus or rail connection with other places, and the nearest shop is {{convert|4|km}} away. Anything that can be sold has been looted, including bricks, roof tiles, pipes and wooden beams.<ref name=Kozlenko/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Nuclear weapon shelter klomino sign.jpg|Warning sign, danger of death, in former Soviet nuclear weapons store
Nuclear weapon shelter klomino.jpg|Nuclear weapons storage shelter
Kłomino 2011 ( 1 ).JPG|The only inhabited tower block as of July 2011
Gmina Borne Sulinowo, Poland - panoramio (35).jpg|Ruined building
Gmina Borne Sulinowo, Poland - panoramio (37).jpg|Graffiti in abandoned building
Klomino ex city (2).jpg|Renovated building
Klomino ex city (3).jpg|Renovated building
Klomino ex city (4).jpg|Old plate blocks
Kłomino.jpg|Ruined building
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
*[http://www.globosapiens.net/paulb/picture-grodek---polish-ghost-town-42657.html A July 2006 photo of Kłomino]
*[http://amzpbig.com/maps/2565_Zippnow_1928.jpg German 1:25,000 topographic map showing Westfalenhof (in the middle, one quarter of the map down)]

{{Gmina Borne Sulinowo}}

[[Category:Ghost towns in Poland]]
[[Category:Villages in Szczecinek County]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Poland]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Eastern Europe]]
[[Category:Abandoned places in Poland]]

Kłomino - Revision history

imported>Kiwipete: /* top */ Format administrative division links, remove DEFAULTSORTKEY as per WP:SORTKEY, remove One Source for stubs, minor formatting changes (AWB)