Vogelsang Training Area

In September 1946 the British commandeered 42 square kilometres of land around the fort as a military training area, ejecting the population of the nearby village of Wollseifen in doing so.

From 1950 the Belgian forces used the terrain as a military training area, establishing, extending and equipping the original Nazi fort to create the Van Dooren Barracks.

However the risk of contamination left by the training area usage remains with the Federation, as in comparable cases, as part of the change-of-use agreement.

Part of the land is crossed by hiking trails, but walkers must not leave the paths (mainly due to uncleared munitions and for nature conservation reasons).

As well as the Nazi fort of Vogelsang, that is now the main attraction after being out of bounds to the general public for decades, the National Park and nature tourism also play a role in drawing visitors to the former training area terrain.

One special place of interest is the abandoned village of Wollseifen, once a small hamlet on the Dreiborn Plateau that had to be evacuated when the training area was established in 1946.

For example, at Jägersweiler there are several old farms and cottages (Kotten); the family of European champion aerobatic flyer, Liesel Bach, lived in one of the empty houses before it was cleared.