The complex was built between 1913 and 1914 as the König Friedrich August Kaserne for Field Artillery Regiment No. 68 of the Saxon Army. However, the outbreak of the First World War immediately changed its intended use, and until 1919 the site served as one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps in Saxony, at times housing more than 19,000 prisoners.
After the war, the Reichswehr took over the complex. During the Nazi era, it was subsequently used by the Wehrmacht for signal and reconnaissance units. Following the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Soviet Red Army occupied the entire complex. For almost five decades, the site remained a strictly restricted military area until the Russian armed forces withdrew in 1992 and handed the property over to the city.
Many of the buildings were extensively renovated after sitting abandoned since the 90s. However, the photographed buildings were not so lucky and stay abandoned ever since.
