All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S09E15.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[und]

[narrator] A Florida ruin
built on a dream
to reach the stars.

The challenge
was astronomical.

We were planning
to visit another body
in our solar system.

[narrator]
An Indonesian community
shattered by an unseen force.

Entire houses,
livestock and vehicles
were swallowed by debris.

[narrator]
And a Bulgarian structure

that concealed
an ulterior motive.

This place was hiding
ambitious plans
from the rest of the world.

[narrator] Decaying relics...

...ruins of lost worlds...

...sites haunted
by the past...

...their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

...their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

Deep in the Florida Everglades
is an industrial ruin

that competed
in the greatest race
humankind has ever witnessed.

[Nehemiah Mabry]
These are normally built
in the middle of nowhere

to keep them a secret,

but here, the land is so flat,
it is hardly under the radar.

but here, the land is so flat,
it is hardly under the radar.

[Jim Meigs] As you get closer,
you can see these buildings

have been abandoned
for a long time.

The roofs are mostly missing.
There's debris everywhere.

[narrator] Where once,
high-tech equipment
filled the cavernous spaces,

today, only
destruction remains.

[Jaega Wise] Inside,
some of the buildings

are little more than
empty warehouses

are little more than
empty warehouses

with walls made
of corrugated metal.

And in one section,
you see an enormous circle,

sealed in concrete
in the floor.

It seems to be hiding
something important.

[Mabry] Beside the buildings
is a long canal.

It's not clear
what this is used for,

but presumably, it's connected
to the buildings in some way.

[narrator] What links
this overgrown waterway
to the industrial remnants?

And what role
did they together play

in one of America's
greatest triumphs?

[Carolina Florez]
I first found this place
just digging

into different types
of historical places in Miami.

And I decided to
do a little bit
of research on it.

[narrator] Carolina Florez
first visited this location
in 2020,

after learning about
the secrets contained within.

[Florez] It's definitely got
an aura of mystery to it,

especially because it's not
really a place where
you're supposed to go.

The rangers of the Everglades
do not ever venture
in this area,

so if you get lost,
if something happens to you,
you're on your own.

so if you get lost,
if something happens to you,
you're on your own.

[narrator] For Carolina,
the risk is worth the reward.

[Florez] This site
is incredibly important
to world history,

and most people
don't even know
that it's here.

[narrator] Its story begins
in the early 60s,

a time when America
was striving to reach
the final frontier.

We choose to go to the Moon
in this decade
and do the other things,

We choose to go to the Moon
in this decade
and do the other things,

not because they are easy,
but because they are hard.

[Meigs] The challenge
was astronomical,
literally astronomical.

We were planning to have
human beings leave our planet

and visit another body
in our solar system.

But at this time in 1962,
the US space program
was in its infancy.

We only launched four people
into space at this point

for relatively
short-duration flights
in the Mercury capsule

for relatively
short-duration flights
in the Mercury capsule

that only held
a single astronaut.

If they were gonna send
three astronauts,

a lunar lander
and a return module
to the Moon,

they were gonna need
a bigger rocket than ever.

[narrator] Kennedy identified
one of the ways

the monumental feat
could be achieved,

the simultaneous
development of liquid
and solid fuel motors

to see which was the best
for the job in hand.

to see which was the best
for the job in hand.

[Meigs] He didn't have
any idea whether
this was really possible.

The people at NASA didn't know
if it was possible.

It involved technologies
that hadn't been built yet.

[narrator] California-based
weapons maker, Aerojet,

took up the challenge,
and in 1963, were awarded

a $3 million contract
to develop solid fuel
rocket motors.

[Meigs] So they started
looking for a location
to build their rocket engine

[Meigs] So they started
looking for a location
to build their rocket engine

that was close
to Cape Canaveral.

At the same time,
the town of Homestead

was looking to bring
some developments to its area.

So Aerojet and Homestead
came to agreement

that Aerojet would build
a massive industrial facility

out in the swamps
of the Everglades,

far enough away from the city
so that no one would be hurt
if something blew up.

[narrator] Within a year,
the Aerojet-Dade Rocket
Development Facility

[narrator] Within a year,
the Aerojet-Dade Rocket
Development Facility

was a hotbed of activity.

The company's greatest minds
focused on creating

the biggest solid-fuel motor
the world had ever seen.

[Florez] The solid
rocket fuel in comparison
to the liquid rocket fuel

was a lot more powerful
and had a lot more thrust.

It was very volatile.

The chemicals
are incredibly hazardous
and dangerous to work with.

The chemicals
are incredibly hazardous
and dangerous to work with.

[Mabry] Solid rockets
are like big fireworks.

You make this cake
of explosive chemicals,

and then you light
an end of it, and boom,

you get tons of thrust
out of it.

This looks to be
one of the labs
for the Aerojet facility.

This could have been
a white board that they used.

But they've got
the very typical

fluorescent lights that
they need for a laboratory.

So this area was obviously
very important.

[Meigs] But Aerojet
had a problem.

The rocket booster
they were planning to build
was gonna be 150 feet long,

packed full of rocket fuel
and extremely heavy.

There was no way
you could put that
on a rail car or a truck.

[narrator] Aerojet needed
to find another way

to get their
giant rocket motor

to the Cape Canaveral
shuttle launch site.

So the plan was
to transport it by barge,

so they dug a canal
over 15 miles long
to the coast.

[Florez] When it was built,
there was a lot
of controversy.

When a canal is dug
in the Everglades,

it completely cuts off
the water flow,

since the Everglades
is essentially
a slow-moving river.

And so it's really bad
for the environment,

but despite that,
they decided to go ahead
and build the canal.

[narrator]
Now, the race was on
for Aerojet to prove

their design should be chosen
to take man to the Moon.

their design should be chosen
to take man to the Moon.

[Wise] The question is
did the biggest solid rocket
fueled engine ever built

have any chance
of actually working?

[narrator]
In the Florida Everglades

are the remains
of a rocket testing facility,

once at the heart of the race
to put man on the Moon.

Aerojet's design
was a 60-foot solid-fuel motor
called the AJ-260.

But experimenting
with a six-story rocket

of unprecedented power
was no easy task.

of unprecedented power
was no easy task.

[Meigs] One of their key needs

is to have a way to test
this giant rocket.

But this rocket's gonna be
so powerful,

you can't just put it
in a stand and light it.

It would probably
break through

any kind of restraint
system you design.

[Wise] So the way they
tested the engine

was by putting it
in a hole in the ground.

[narrator] Measuring 150 feet
from top to bottom,

[narrator] Measuring 150 feet
from top to bottom,

it was one of the deepest
silos ever excavated
in the state of Florida.

They tested the rocket
in this location three times,

and the way that they did it
was that they
turned it upside down,

so that the nozzle
was pointing up.

[Meigs] And then they could
ignite it and test it

without worrying that it was
gonna fly off somewhere.

Each time it must have been
an amazing sight to see.

Each time it must have been
an amazing sight to see.

The tower of flames
shooting up out of
the middle of the Everglades

was something you could see
from miles and miles away.

[narrator] The early tests
were a resounding success,

and the team at Aerojet
were confident

their launch vehicle
was fit for purpose.

[Meigs] Aerojet was making
great strides,

building and testing
the monolithic
solid-fuel rocket NASA wanted,

and the rocket seemed
to perform as predicted.

and the rocket seemed
to perform as predicted.

But then in 1967,
NASA changed course.

[Mabry] NASA decides
to ditch solid rocket engines

and there are a million
and one technical reasons
why that was,

but essentially,
a solid rocket just wasn't
the right choice.

The final rocket,
which became known
as the Saturn V,

used exclusively liquid fuel.

[narrator]
Only six years after work
at the facility began,

Aerojet's funding
was withdrawn,

and the pioneering
project mothballed.

So although it was
a lot more powerful
to use solid fuel,

liquid fuel just became
more controllable,

and they shut
this entire place down.

It was useless.

[Wise] A lot of the things
were removed from the factory
when it closed,

but there is one thing
that remains,
the AJ-260 itself.

but there is one thing
that remains,
the AJ-260 itself.

It's buried under
a concrete slab,
never to be seen again.

[Meigs] One of the ironies
of this story

is that when NASA was looking
for a way to replace
the giant Saturn V

with a more affordable,
reusable system,

they returned to the idea
of using solid-fuel rockets.

they returned to the idea
of using solid-fuel rockets.

[narrator]
And the groundbreaking work

carried out here
wasn't wasted.

Technology developed
during those years was used

in the solid-fuel boosters
of NASA's iconic
space shuttle.

[Mabry] The feats,
the achievements
that took place

in the American
space program at that time

is really a testament
to human ingenuity
and imagination.

I mean, to boldly go
where no man had gone before
was their literal mission.

[narrator]
On the Indonesian island
of Sulawesi,

a gentle sea
laps the coastline
of Palu City.

There's this beautiful mosque
that kind of sits
right on the waterline.

[narrator] But inside,
this beautiful mirage
soon turns ugly.

[narrator] But inside,
this beautiful mirage
soon turns ugly.

The walls are mainly beige
and tarnished by seawater.

[narrator] All along the coast
are signs of destruction.

You can see
either side of the river

that there used to be
a massive bridge here.

[narrator]
And two miles inland

is a scene
of utter devastation.

To this day, scientists
are still trying to uncover
what happened here.

[narrator] The obliteration
of these sites

appears to be linked, but how?

[narrator] In September 2018,

The people of Palu City,
Indonesia were preparing
for an annual music festival.

Like many,
writer and researcher,
Neni Muhidin

understands the importance
of his home town's
most distinctive mosque.

understands the importance
of his home town's
most distinctive mosque.

We're now at
the Floating Mosque

Many families used to like
coming here in the evening
for Maghrib prayers.

[Meigs] The idea of a mosque
that seems to be levitating
above the water

was very poignant
and beautiful
for a lot of people.

[narrator]
September 28th, 2018...

...worshippers gather
in the mosque,

...worshippers gather
in the mosque,

and the surrounding beaches
are full of people.

At the Floating Mosque,
the muezzin was about
to call for prayer.

[Neni Muhidin] It was sunset
and the busiest time
of the day.

There were activities
all along this road too,

especially, of course,
near this mosque.

[narrator] Without warning,
disaster struck.

Suddenly, around 6:00 PM,
about 48 miles north
of Palu City,

Suddenly, around 6:00 PM,
about 48 miles north
of Palu City,

There was an earthquake
of 7.5 magnitude.

Indonesia lies
in one of the most

geologically active
regions on Earth,

the Ring of Fire.

And Palu City sits
between two major faults.

More than 40 miles over there,
that was the epicenter
of the earth quake

and the shockwaves
radiated out from there
and hit Palu City.

and the shockwaves
radiated out from there
and hit Palu City.

[narrator] Many watched
as the powerful quake

destroyed his city's
infrastructure.

[Muhidin] This is the Palu
impact bridge,

and it's directly opposite
Palu bay.

When the earthquake hit,

the curved part
in the middle of the bridge
broke apart and crashed down.

That's what I saw from here.

That's what I saw from here.

[narrator] The earthquake
caused damage
across Palu city.

But the devastation
of the Floating Mosque

was caused by something
way more deadly.

About eight minutes later,
a tsunami came roaring
up the inlet.

[people screaming]

[narrator] It's thought
the earthquakes had caused
a landslide under the sea...

[people screaming]

[narrator]
...sending a tsunami
thundering towards land.

This bay extends
almost 20 miles to the north,

and all of its points
were affected by the tsunami.

When it hit the coast,
the tsunami was travelling
at 250 miles an hour.

[Meigs] There were actually
people praying in the mosque
when it hit.

The mosque was lifted
from its pillar supports
and crashed in upon itself.

The people who were in it
were washed, some of them,
out to sea.

But it wasn't just
one tsunami wave,
it was a series of them,

and you can only
imagine how terrifying
it must've been.

The worst of it
happened over there,

when a tsunami hit
in the east.

[narrator] The beaches
were full of people...

...and hundreds
lost their lives
to the killer waves.

When Neni headed inland,
he discovered the horror
was far from over.

The neighborhood of Balaroa,
way beyond the reach
of the tsunami

The neighborhood of Balaroa,
way beyond the reach
of the tsunami

was suffering
an even worse fate.

I arrived here around 9:00,
and the situation was chaotic.

The power was out.
Everyone was trying
to save themselves,

their families, and the people
closest to them.

I'll never forget it.
People were screaming for help

to pull their families
out of houses
that had been buried.

to pull their families
out of houses
that had been buried.

[narrator]
Throughout the night, a series
of relentless mud flows

had engulfed Balaroa.

In the harsh light of day,
the destruction was clear
for all to see.

[Muhidin] Lots of personal
possessions of residents
can still be found.

Most tragically,
there are lots of children's
belongings, like this.

Most tragically,
there are lots of children's
belongings, like this.

[narrator] So what set
these lethal rivers of mud
powering through Balaroa?

[narrator] In 2018,
the Indonesian suburb
of Balaroa

was obliterated
by fatal mud flows.

Just minutes earlier,
nearby Palu City

had been struck
by a series of earthquakes
and tsunami.

Balaroa lay far from
the deadly floodwaters,

Balaroa lay far from
the deadly floodwaters,

so many struggled
to understand why
it had been engulfed.

Balaroa was built in the 1980s
on top of a swamp.

But was it really safe
to build a residential area
on this swamp?

There were many people
who had their doubts.

[narrator] The concerns
proved chillingly accurate

when the 2018
earthquake struck.

When the waves
of an earthquake
hit that kind of ground,

it forces water
up into the soil.

[Wise] This makes
the particles in the soil
loose contact with each other.

So soil, which is a solid,
loses those characteristics

and gains those of a liquid.
Essentially, it flows.

[narrator] This process,
known as liquefaction,

created the mudflows
that submerged Balaroa.

created the mudflows
that submerged Balaroa.

More than 1,700 homes
and at least 600 lives
were lost that night.

Entire houses,
livestock and vehicles

were swallowed by debris
and churned up
with soil and sediment.

What we see today,
what has been left behind

shows all the characteristics
of the liquefaction process.

[narrator] The surviving
residents of Balaroa

[narrator] The surviving
residents of Balaroa

tried to make sense
of what had happened.

[Muhidin] Many families
could hear the cries

of their loved ones
trapped in their houses,

but they couldn't be found
because of the mud

and eventually
their voices disappeared.

This is like a mass grave
for the residents
of this place

because many
who lost their lives
were never found.

[narrator] Today,
much of the devastation

in Palu City
has not been repaired.

[Wise] You can still see
the scars of this disaster
throughout the city.

The residents have asked
for it to be kept this way.

[Muhidin] It's like
a living laboratory...

...where people can see
just how devastating
liquefaction can be.

...where people can see
just how devastating
liquefaction can be.

[narrator]
On Spain's Balearic Isles,

are the remains
of an Ibizan legend.

Breaking through the tree line
you see a very odd structure
dug into the hillside.

There's this big amphitheater
and other outdoor spaces

There's this big amphitheater
and other outdoor spaces

that look like
they're set up for certain
kinds of performances.

[narrator] This site
has clearly been abandoned
for some time.

[Wise] Pooling water
on the floors,

wires hanging
from the ceiling,

chunks of concrete
littering the rooms.

This place looks broken.

[Rob Bell] And as you peer out
of what used to be a doorway,

there's this pile
of burnt-out cars.

[narrator] But on
the artwork-dobbed walls

lie clues to the significance
of this location.

A lot of people have come here
specifically to make some kind
of creative expression.

A lot of people have come here
specifically to make some kind
of creative expression.

Some of it very
almost trippy and mystical.

The graffiti on the steps
say, "Don't stop the music."

[Bell] These defaced ruins
are part of the story

of how Ibiza
became the party capital
of the world.

[narrator]
In the 1960s, this area,
like much of the island,

was rural and quiet.

Vicente Mari Tur grew up
less than a mile away.

It was incredible
that in such a remote area

in the middle
of the mountains,

there could be a place
like this.

In 1969, when
construction began,

the owners had to bring
everything in,

from the power,
to the water supply.

from the power,
to the water supply.

They even had to build
the road to get there.

[narrator]
This is Festival Club.

This place is one of the first
on the island to put together

the concept of a large,
multi-purpose night club.

[narrator] Its doors
opened in 1972.

Vicente remembers
the first time he came here.

I was 20 years old,
and at that time,

I thought it was
a spectacular place.

There were several bars,

and I remember
that they advertised
one of the drinks

as Champagne a Go-Go.

[narrator] Drinks
were not the only attraction.

Live music was central
to the experience.

We are on the stage
where the orchestra played.

We are on the stage
where the orchestra played.

There were actually
two orchestras.

When one played,
the other rested.

The dancefloor was surrounded
by tables and armchairs

with all the clientele
watching the show.

[Bell] The main stage
would have acts

ranging from magicians,
orchestras playing
Spanish music,

and covers of famous
songs from the time.

Apparently, "Delilah"
by Tom Jones was big hit here.

And of course, there was
the nighttime attraction
of the grand discotheque.

And of course, there was
the nighttime attraction
of the grand discotheque.

[narrator] Guests were also
drawn to a very Spanish
form of entertainment.

[Wise] This strange
circular structure,
it wasn't a stage.

It was actually a ring
where they used to
put on bull fights.

[Meigs] They didn't actually
stage true bull fights,

but they did demonstrations
of what bull fighting was like

with young, not particularly
dangerous bulls.

Today, we're so used to
hotel resorts
and entertainment complexes,

Today, we're so used to
hotel resorts
and entertainment complexes,

but back then,
this would have seemed
quite massive

[narrator] But the good times
wouldn't last.

[Bell] Events thousands
of miles away

would spell the end
of the party
at the festival club.

[narrator] On the Spanish
island of Ibiza

lie the remains of a nightclub

and entertainment venue
built in the early 1970s.

[Wise] The guests
could order food or drink

to their tables stacked
along the hillside,

or they could take
to the dancefloor

and have a little dance
in front of the stage.

[narrator] Its owners
based their business

on a supposedly guaranteed
source of revenue,

on a supposedly guaranteed
source of revenue,

thanks to a revolution
in international travel.

[Bell] The package holiday
was bursting onto the scene

with all your flights,
accommodation

and entertainment
all rolled into one price.

[Meigs] Travelers would
just pay an agency

that would put them on a plane
then put them on a bus,

and large busloads of people
were expected

to be rolling up to the gates
of the Festival Club

to be rolling up to the gates
of the Festival Club

as parts of these
package tours.

[narrator] But an evening here
was a far cry from partying

in one of Ibiza's
modern clubs.

They were dressed up
for the occasion,

that is the ladies
wore long dresses,

and the gentleman came
in suits and ties.

If they didn't come
dressed smartly

they probably wouldn't
have been allowed in.

they probably wouldn't
have been allowed in.

[narrator] And the guests
were expected to behave
themselves accordingly.

[Meigs] This is
the waning days

of the Generalissimo
Franco dictatorship.

It was a very
conservative country,

both politically
and religiously,

a very catholic country.

So much so, a bishop
even opened the club.

I had seen a couple who were
kissing passionately.

I had seen a couple who were
kissing passionately.

So the waiter
and the manager of the room
approached the table.

They politely told them
to restrain their intimacies

for other moments
when they were
out of the party room.

[narrator] Despite
occasionally offending
local sensibilities,

the club continued
to attract visitors
from around the world.

the club continued
to attract visitors
from around the world.

But only one year
after it opened,
tragedy struck.

[Meigs] In 1973, OPEC,

the group
of oil-producing states,
decided to protest

the way various countries
around the world
were dealing with Israel

by embargoing their oil.

[Bell] All those
tour operators

who made huge profits
bringing tourists
to the islands

found themselves
facing higher costs,

and they passed those costs
onto their customers.

and they passed those costs
onto their customers.

[narrator] Because of this,
50,000 fewer tourists
came to Ibiza.

Faced with a lack of visitors,

its owners just couldn't
afford to keep the lights on
until tourism recovered.

Festival Club
closed its doors in 1974.

After the recovery
from the oil crisis,

tourist numbers
in Ibiza skyrocketed,

and they've pretty much
increased year on year
ever since.

and they've pretty much
increased year on year
ever since.

[Vicente Mari Tur]
If this had been built
a few years later

in the times of Ibiza's clubs
from the '80s until now,

it would have been
very, very successful.

[narrator] Although abandoned
by its owners in the 1970s,

[narrator] Although abandoned
by its owners in the 1970s,

that wasn't the end
of the music
at the Festival Club.

[Bell] As the rave scene
came to the fore
in the '80s and '90s,

the ruined club became
the perfect location
for illegal raves.

Hundreds of people would
descend onto the dancefloor

with huge sound systems,
and the DJs would set up
on the old stage

and party deep into the night.

[narrator] When
the authorities put an end
to the illegal raves,

[narrator] When
the authorities put an end
to the illegal raves,

the ruined buildings became
a Mecca for graffiti artists.

For Vicente though,
there is beauty in the ruin
of Festival Club.

As I like poetry,
well maybe, let nature
reclaim this place...

...with a background
of music or a melody

from the time
when there was a party here.

[narrator] In the Bulgarian
seaside resort of Sozopol

is an island of ghostly ruins
impossible to ignore.

From the town, you can't help
but be captivated

by the imposing structures
standing on St. Kirik.

[narrator]
A manmade breakwater

connects the island
to the town,

connects the island
to the town,

but public access
is strictly forbidden.

[Dominic Selwood]
The main building used to be
beautiful and grand,

but now, it's decaying
and full of weeds.

[Sascha Auerbach]
At first glance,
it looks like an embassy

or a government building
of some sort.

You definitely get the sense
that at one time,

something vital
was happening here.

In the depths of this ruin
is a crumbling room

with dusty photos
on the walls.

with dusty photos
on the walls.

[narrator] These images
are the remnants
of a secret operation

destined to alter the course
of Bulgaria's history.

This was part
of an ambitious and covert
plan for revenge.

What will be inside?
Will this exceed
my expectations?

[narrator] Author,
Maria Dimolareva,

[narrator] Author,
Maria Dimolareva,

has been researching
the island of St. Kirik
since 2004,

but this is her
first time here.

The island's
most prominent structure
is shrouded in mystery.

Maria is on a mission
to find out the real reason
behind its construction.

[Maria Dimolareva]
This building
peaked my interest

more than 15 years ago,

and since then,
I've been looking
for information about it.

and since then,
I've been looking
for information about it.

I truly hope
that stepping into it
will answer all my questions.

The building was commissioned
by the Bulgarian government

in 1924 for a staggering
amount of money,

equivalent in today's terms
to $25 million.

The official line
was the Bulgarian government

was establishing
a fishery school.

[Selwood]
Which was notably
unusual at the time,

when fishing was learned
at home, not in the classroom.

when fishing was learned
at home, not in the classroom.

[narrator] According
to Bulgarian officials,

there was good reason
for the new venture.

Since the beginning
of the 20th century,

Bulgarians had really
gravitated towards
the countryside

rather than towards the coast.

Now, the Bulgarian state
needed a new generation of men

that could take advantage
of the coast

and use the sea
to generate revenue.

[Dimolareva] The classrooms
were on the ground floor.

[Dimolareva] The classrooms
were on the ground floor.

The dorms for the students
were on the floor above.

And in the hall
or the middle highest parts
of the building,

were homes
for the teaching staff.

[narrator] The admission
criteria for students

appeared intended
to right past wrongs.

The school was created
with the goal

of bringing in orphans
or refugees from
the First World War.

of bringing in orphans
or refugees from
the First World War.

[Selwood]
It was a four-year course
with full board,

and the novice fisherman
were even given

an interest free loan
to buy all the equipment
they would ever need.

[narrator] The motive
behind the prestigious school
appeared beyond reproach.

Dig deeper, and there was
much more to this site
than meets the eye.

There were rooms
and features that really
didn't add up.

[narrator]
On the small island
of St. Kirik in Bulgaria

are the remains
of a once-pioneering
fishing school.

But not all was as it seemed.

The first sign something
was not right

surfaced when
construction began.

The first stone
was laid in 1924,

The first stone
was laid in 1924,

and unusually,
the ceremony was attended

by top government officials
and even the king of Bulgaria.

[Auerbach]
During the ceremony, the king
gives a rousing speech,

and the words
are very evocative
and emotional.

He turned to them
and said that,

"In the memory
of their fathers,

who fell for the freedom
of the country,

they must learn
to build strong will

and good discipline
in school...

and good discipline
in school...

...and to be true
to their fatherland,
like good sailors."

[narrator] It's a speech
that seemed better suited

to naval cadets
than future humble fisherman.

The attention
the opening of this type
of school attracts

is quite unusual.

But what could the king
really be trying to accomplish
with all this?

But what could the king
really be trying to accomplish
with all this?

[narrator] The king's
inspiring words

threatened to give
the real game away.

[Dimolareva] The way
this building is laid out,
its architecture,

shows that it was not just
a school building
and a place for boarding,

but it had a purpose
as a military facility.

[narrator]
But Bulgaria was not
supposed to have a navy

or be investing
in any kind of military.

or be investing
in any kind of military.

Post-World War One
was a really humiliating
period for Bulgaria.

They had picked
the losing side in the war,

joining the Central
Powers' cause.

[Selwood] Like many
of the defeated countries,

Bulgaria was forced
to sign a treaty ceding land

and committing to drastically
reduce its army and navy.

[Lynette Nusbacher]
The prohibition on more
than one service academy

meant that they would never
be able to have a navy again.

meant that they would never
be able to have a navy again.

[narrator] Bulgaria was not
going to take this lying down.

The Bulgarians
were quietly seething,

and they developed
a plan to see some
of their territory back.

[narrator]
The Sozopol Fisheries School

was central
to the ambitious scheme.

Bulgaria was secretly
preparing for war.

This wasn't just
a fisheries school.

And this was going to be
a way to maintain

And this was going to be
a way to maintain

the capability, the skillset
of navigation
and ship management,

and all of the requirements
for a naval officer,

in spite of
the Allied restrictions.

[narrator] Suddenly,
the king's speech
starts to make sense.

These seemingly innocuous
apprentice fisherman

were actually
secretly training
to be naval warriors.

[narrator] And in 1939,
Bulgaria would get the chance
to put its plan into action.

[narrator] And in 1939,
Bulgaria would get the chance
to put its plan into action.

[Auerbach]
When World War Two started,

Bulgaria sided
with Nazi Germany,

another country
that shared its resentment
at the peace treaty

and a strong desire
to return to its former glory.

During the war, the school
became exclusively
a military zone.

All civilians were forbidden.

[narrator]
After it became clear

Bulgaria had once again
picked the losing side,

it looked like history
was about to repeat itself...

it looked like history
was about to repeat itself...

...until the Soviet Red Army
invaded in September 1944.

The Bulgarian authorities
very wisely seeing which way
the wind is blowing,

switched sides.
They abandoned
their Nazi allies

and joined Stalin instead.

[narrator]
Under the newly installed
communist government,

the military presence
on this island
expanded rapidly.

When Bulgaria
became a satellite
of the Soviet Union,

more buildings were put up,
which you can see today,

more buildings were put up,
which you can see today,

encircling the original one
from the 1920s.

St. Kirik became
an official naval base,

home to two naval divisions
and a repair depot.

The building behind me
was built during
the '40s and '50s.

They were offices
and rooms for the officers.

Highly-classified
military material
was kept in there.

[narrator] After the collapse
of the Soviet Union,

the island remained
in military hands

until it was
shut down in 2007.

[Auerbach] The 38 buildings
that remain on the island
are all completely abandoned,

and there's no access
to the public,

they're very strict
about this.

[narrator] Today,
the Bulgarian government

is deciding what to do next
with the island of St. Kirik.

is deciding what to do next
with the island of St. Kirik.

The hope is
it can be reinvented
as a place for the people

And now that Bulgaria
is no longer interested

in exercising its force
overseas with violence,

this island can go back
to being a regular island.

There are talks
of making the island
a tourist attraction,

There are talks
of making the island
a tourist attraction,

which makes sense
considering its complex past,

but nothing's really
come of it yet.