Everyone should drive through Eastern Europe at least once in his or her lifetime. And it’s one trip we recommend to do while the remains of communism are still visible. In Romania, the ruins of Ceauşescu’s factories and silo’s are widely spread across the country, often interconnected by meandering rusty pipelines. It is nothing short of puzzling to see outlaws living in what is left of the Romanian air force or to stumble upon an abandoned state farm guarded by troupes of wild dogs. One can even still read the ‘Angajament’ – the annual production obligations – painted on the factory walls. Even the smallest mountain village has its own concrete housing blocks and the austerity of the interiors still breathes communism.
Photography Sarah Eechaut
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- The interior of an aviation club in Budapest, Hungary
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- The former Black Sea communist resort of Constanta, Romania
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- Ostra, Romania. A deserted factory and housing estate on site
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- An abandoned manufacturing plant in Frasin, Romania
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- Production engagement with the annual production objectives marked on a factory wall of Fundu Moldovei, Romania/the ruins of a school building in Constanţa, Romania
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- Silos near Naracea, Romania
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- A sulphate factory in Fundu Moldovei, Romania/pipe lines in the suburbs of Brăila, Romania
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- A playground painted in the national colours of Romania
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- An Antonov An-2 airplane converted into a gypsy home along the side of a road between Balş and Pieleşti, Romania
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- Endless concrete blocks near Giurgiu on the border between Bulgaria and Romania
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- Ostra, Romania
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- An industrial building in Vama, Romania
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- An ‘Uzina de preparare’ from Fundu Moldovei, Romania
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- The ruins of a school in Constanţa, Romania/a factory infrastructure ‘De Vânzare’ (For Sale) in Câmpulung Moldovenesc