Former Nazi defenses now home to thousands of bats

Western Poland’s long forgotten Ostwall fortification serves as both a WWII museum and a refuge for flying mammals

Russian T-34 tank from WWII is pictured at the Festungsfront Oder-Warthe-Bogen (Fortified Front Oder-Warthe-Bogen), also called Ostwall (East Wall) fortification, the former Nazi German defence line near the city of Miedzyrzecz in western Poland, on March 13, 2014 (photo credit: AFP/JANEK SKARZYNSKI)

An awe-inspiring Nazi defense line in western Poland has taken on a new role in peacetime as home to tens of thousands of bats in what is Europe’s largest artificial roost.

The 37,000 winged mammals sleep elbow-to-elbow in the well-sheltered tunnels of the Ostwall Fortification, a largely forgotten war site near the town of Miedzyrzecz, not far from the German border.

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