Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Side profile of the bomb prototype.
Petwood Hotel Bouncing Bomb
RAF Harrington
RAF Harrington
The Beaux-arts interior with Pool layout still visible.
Écomusée du fier monde
Village du Livre de Fontenoy-la-Joûte
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Tripe is fried to a crisp.
L’Osteria della Trippa
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
One of the PATH’s many entrances.
A Supposedly Boring Mall I Might Actually Visit Again
about 6 hours ago
People paddling in their wooden canoes on one of the lakes near the Allagash Waterway in the north woods in Maine
The Allagash Abductions: This State Park’s Most Famous Visitors ... Are Aliens?
1 day ago
The rocky Revere Beach coast in Revere, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.
Which Places With Bad Raps Are Actually Worth Visiting?
2 days ago
A dugong displays the telltale “smile.”
Saving the Sea Cows of Vanuatu
2 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Germany Schipkau Bagger 258: The "Blue Wonder"

Bagger 258: The "Blue Wonder"

The industrial monstrosity known as Bagger 258 is a colossal mining machine built in the DDR - but now left for dead in a German field.

Schipkau, Germany

Added By
Darmon Richter
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The mighty Bagger 258   Robert Cannon
The mighty Bagger 258   Robert Cannon
View from the cab   Robert Cannon
On top of the excavator arm   Robert Cannon
Schaufelradbagger by night at the Garzweiler mining area   ImCh via Wikimedia Commons
Bagger 258: The “Blue Wonder”   Sebastian Wortys / Atlas Obscura User
Bagger 258 seen from Aussichtsturm Hörlitz   honzahol / Atlas Obscura User
Bagger 258, false color infrared   hzoi / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the cab   Robert Cannon
Lauchhammer stamp   Robert Cannon
Inside the machine   Robert Cannon
Bagger 258: The “Blue Wonder”   Sebastian Wortys / Atlas Obscura User
Bagger 258: The “Blue Wonder”   Sebastian Wortys / Atlas Obscura User
Signs neer the Bagger 258, I don’t understand German language   Sebastian Wortys / Atlas Obscura User
Bagger 258: The “Blue Wonder”   Sebastian Wortys / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Bagger 258 is a bucket wheel excavator, or "schaufelradbagger," built by the heavy machinery company Lauchhammer. First put to use in East Germany in 1964, Bagger 258 was one of a series of such machines whose task was to assist in intensive mining operations.

This motorised excavator featured a total of 10 blades, cutting to a depth of 15m into the earth as it removed spoil from the layers of coal beneath. The buckets, each designed with a capacity of roughly 1.5m³, would also collect a thin layer of coal during the process. This was sifted mechanically and diverted to feed power stations

With a length of 171.5m and reaching a height of 50m, the 3850-tonne Bagger 258 rather resembles a factory; although this factory was mounted onto tank-like tracks and able to move at a speed of six metres per minute. It was powered by electricity, supplied through a cable.

Bagger 258 was abandoned in 2002, for no better reason than that it had simply run out of things to dig. By this point the behemoth was showing its age, and the cost of dismantling it wasn't justified by the tired mechanisms on offer. Instead the area around Bagger 258 was replanted, and redeveloped as a solar park.

These days, Bagger 258 stands desolate in a field in Germany. Its blue paint job - now chipped and fading - had once earned it the nickname, "Blue Wonder."

Check out the glossy report at for more images of this decayed industrial giant.

Related Tags

Instruments Of Science Retro Tech Ruins

Know Before You Go

The machine is behind a fence bearing "no trespassing" signs in German.

 

Community Contributors

Added By

Darmon Richter

Edited By

ahvenas, 1lorr1e1, maartensworld, sylderon...

  • ahvenas
  • 1lorr1e1
  • maartensworld
  • sylderon
  • Sebastian Wortys
  • hzoi
  • honzahol

Published

September 29, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.ratsnruins.com/bagger-258.html#axzz2fFvrkZc1
  • http://www.panoramio.com/photo/35988502
  • http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schaufelradbagger
Bagger 258: The "Blue Wonder"
71 Lange Straße
Schipkau, 01968
Germany
51.53564, 13.94923
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Overburden Conveyer Bridge F60

Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf, Germany

miles away

Fuhrlander Wind Turbine Laasow

Vetschau, Germany

miles away

ZCOM Hoyerswerda

Hoyerswerda, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Germany

Germany

Europe

Places 755
Stories 68

Nearby Places

Overburden Conveyer Bridge F60

Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf, Germany

miles away

Fuhrlander Wind Turbine Laasow

Vetschau, Germany

miles away

ZCOM Hoyerswerda

Hoyerswerda, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Germany

Germany

Europe

Places 755
Stories 68

Related Places

  • A model of the Marconi’s original Table Head station at Glace Bay.

    Glace Bay, Nova Scotia

    Marconi National Historic Site

    Site of the first official transatlantic wireless communications.

  • The observatory stands in ruin today.

    Chichen Itza, Mexico

    El Caracol

    No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

  • Wardenclyffe Laboratory

    Shoreham, New York

    Tesla's Wardenclyffe Laboratory

    An unrealized dream to wirelessly electrify the entire Earth.

  • Medicine Wheel, a Native American sacred site in Wyoming.

    Lovell, Wyoming

    Bighorn Medicine Wheel

    Native Americans built this circle of stones, which was used to predict astronomical events.

  • Ulugh Beg Observatory.

    Samarkand, Uzbekistan

    Ulugh Beg Observatory

    Light still pours into the ruins of this ancient Islamic observatory.

  • Mnajdra during Autumn Equinox.

    Qrendi, Malta

    Mnajdra

    This Stone Age solar temple aligns with the sun on each equinox and solstice.

  • Landskrona, Sweden

    Hven

    This Scandinavian island is the site of the first modern observatory.

  • The azimuth theodolite.

    Beijing, China

    Beijing Ancient Observatory

    This ancient Chinese observatory still contains early astronomy technology.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.