Original subtitles

[narrator] A forgotten facility that changed the face of a nation.

[Nehemiah] The factory was the envy of producers all over Europe.

[narrator] Tunnels of terror hidden beneath a city.

[Rob] Many people believe that body snatchers might have used the vaults

to store their victims' bodies.

[narrator] And ruins of a battle that shook America.

[narrator] And ruins of a battle that shook America.

The Japanese were able to put their boots on American soil.

[narrator] Decaying Relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets waiting to be revealed.

In the heart of Scotland's capital city,

cursed caverns hide from view.

[Jim] We're on a bustling main street in Edinburgh.

You have no idea that below the pavement

lies this whole series of vaults, of open spaces.

It's a maze that you wouldn't want to get lost in.

It's a maze that you wouldn't want to get lost in.

They weren't built to be beautiful.

There's dappled stones.

Clearly, these were built

long before modern construction techniques.

[Rob] This place is spookily dark,

untouched by sunlight.

You definitely need a torch to explore down there.

[narrator] What secrets are hiding

in the darkness of Edinburgh's vaults?

[Naomi] I've worked here for many, many years now.

And when you begin to get to know a place very well,

you become more and more aware of what there is still to know about it.

[narrator] As a tour guide for these vaults,

Naomi Wells is fascinated by Edinburgh's hidden past.

It's just a very haunting human story

and how people use and experience space

is something I'm particularly interested in.

is something I'm particularly interested in.

[narrator] This vast network of tunnels and chambers

lies under a very unusual street.

What looks like an ordinary street

is actually a bridge spanning a low valley.

[narrator] This is South Bridge.

It was completed in 1788

with a bizarre ceremony to mark the occasion.

[Rob] When the bridge was complete,

it was agreed that the eldest local resident,

a rich judge's wife,

a rich judge's wife,

would be the first person to cross the bridge.

Unfortunately, the particular old lady in question

passed away a few days before the opening ceremonies.

They decided they would still have the unfortunate old lady cross the bridge,

only it would be her funeral procession

and she would be riding in a casket.

Many people from that day forward

believe the bridge was therefore cursed,

and some people even refused to walk across it.

and some people even refused to walk across it.

[narrator] Yet others recognized its value.

These spaces left under the bridge's arches

opened up a new world of opportunities.

When the bridge was built, it was simply a series of arches

holding up the roadway.

But very quickly, people realized

that this artery of transportation

was a valuable piece of real estate.

They started building buildings on either side of the bridge.

They started building buildings on either side of the bridge.

That meant that the arches were completely surrounded by these dwellings.

[narrator] Floors and ceilings were added within the arches

to create a series of chambers up to four storeys deep.

In total, the space is broken up

into around 120 individual vaults.

The people who own the buildings on either side

now had access to this space under the bridge, these vaults.

now had access to this space under the bridge, these vaults.

[narrator] South Bridge became Edinburgh's first shopping street,

and its merchants made shrewd use of the hidden floors below street level.

Some of the vaults were used as workshops by the vendors,

and those deeper below ground were used as storage.

[Nehemiah] You can still see the numbers

painted on the store shelves

used as inventory for the tradespeople.

[Naomi] It's a way of creating further profit.

They can make more money by converting and renting out

They can make more money by converting and renting out

the space beneath it as well.

[narrator] These chambers may have been convenient and profitable,

but a huge problem was starting to rear its head.

These vaults tended to get very damp when it rained.

So, here is probably the best example

of how damp it is.

Anyone who's familiar with how long it takes

these mineral deposits to form will know that

in about 250 years we shouldn't really have anything this size

in about 250 years we shouldn't really have anything this size

which shows truly just how much water

has been dripping down through the bridge.

[Jim] The construction of the bridge was somewhat rushed

and done a little bit on the cheap,

and the bridge builders neglected a key step.

[Rob] One crucial material was missing,

puddling clay,

which would have made the bridge watertight.

Water percolated through the structure

Water percolated through the structure

and into the vaults.

[narrator] It was a catastrophic blow to the merchants.

Goods are rotting, tools are rusting.

It's creating health conditions

and just the noise.

The continued drip, drip, drip from the ceiling for 12, 14 hours a day.

[narrator] One by one, businesses began to leave.

Only seven years after their creation,

the vaults were completely deserted,

the vaults were completely deserted,

but not for long.

Edinburgh was in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.

During this period, there was enormous migration within Scotland

as people left the countryside

where the poverty was terrible

and they moved by the thousands into the city

looking for any kind of work they could get.

[Naomi] As the population doubles in the early 1800s,

more and more people are not finding anywhere to live.

more and more people are not finding anywhere to live.

Alternative to trying to find shelter

somewhere above ground was to come down

into the now vacated chambers beneath the bridge.

Despite being damp and dark,

the vaults appeared warm and safe

compared to sleeping out on the streets.

[Naomi] Rooms such as this one would have been advantageous

because it had a space that at least gives the opportunity

for parents to get their children up off of the floor,

away from the damp, and, of course, any vermin.

away from the damp, and, of course, any vermin.

[narrator] But dangers were lurking around every corner.

[Nehemiah] It was a hotbed for criminal activity,

illegal whiskey distilleries, black market dealings and worse.

[Rob] These dark, secluded chambers were the perfect place

because the police would never come down here looking.

No one would ever be any the wiser.

[narrator] Up to 3000 people could have been living here.

[narrator] Up to 3000 people could have been living here.

By the 1860s, overcrowding,

disease and poverty was spiraling out of control.

Authorities needed to take drastic action.

[narrator] In the 19th century,

Scotland's capital city had a grim crisis on its hands.

As Edinburgh's population boomed,

along came the eternal urban problem of disease

spread by human filth.

There was no sewage system.

Waste would collect in the low lying areas

Waste would collect in the low lying areas

and cholera was rampant.

The council needed to do something about this to reduce mortality.

[Jim] They began knocking down many of the old tenements

so they could be rebuilt with modern sanitation.

[Nehemiah] The new standards of hygiene

made a big difference in the city,

but destroying vast amounts of housing

is a major job and created a lot of rubble.

is a major job and created a lot of rubble.

[Jim] In the process, some wound up getting

stashed in these old vaults.

[Naomi] The clearances were not intended to do anything

about those that were underneath the bridge,

but filling in these chambers with rubble and stone

effectively evicted them.

[narrator] Abandoned by the people of Edinburgh,

the vaults remained untouched for around a century.

[Rob] Filled with rubble the vaults were forgotten about

[Rob] Filled with rubble the vaults were forgotten about

until the 1980s, when they were rediscovered and excavated.

[Jim] A Scottish former rugby star made it a project to start excavating

and exploring these old vaults.

[narrator] Even after four decades of excavation,

Naomi believes there's still more to be discovered

underneath South Bridge.

A few years ago, more vaults came to light.

So there is always a possibility

that there might still be some left to discover.

that there might still be some left to discover.

[narrator] On the remote Alaskan Aleutian Islands

is a collection of crumbling ruins

that seem eerily out of place.

These islands are so far out

that they're actually closer to Russia

than they are to the contiguous United States.

[narrator] The area is known for its harsh,

[narrator] The area is known for its harsh,

inhospitable climate,

yet there are many structures here.

[Katherine] There are bunkers.

There are gun emplacements.

This is definitely part of some military activity on the island.

This must have been an important place to defend.

[narrator] And there's evidence of a violent attack.

The cratering here makes it clear that

this was caused by bombs dropped in anger.

this was caused by bombs dropped in anger.

[narrator] Why were these rugged, isolated islands so fiercely contested?

Many flat tires in my lifetime. Another injustice.

This is a really scary place to drive.

Very sheer cliffs.

[narrator] Laresa Syverson is a native of the Aleutian Islands

and looks after many military structures left abandoned here.

As a kid it was a giant playground.

So right now, it's... it's a pretty important national historic area.

[narrator] The Aleutians military history began in 1867,

when the United States bought Alaska from Russia.

But army presence wasn't really felt until 1940,

But army presence wasn't really felt until 1940,

when US troops descended onto Amaknak and Unalaska islands.

[Lynette] The Aleutian Islands are militarized

very rapidly and very effectively

at the outset of World War II.

[narrator] With a clear vantage point,

a series of defenses were built on Mount Ballyhoo

to protect a US naval base in Dutch Harbor.

These ruins are part of Fort Schwatka.

These ruins are part of Fort Schwatka.

[Jaega] The buildings are made up of multiple barracks

and recreation centers,

all to serve the 250 soldiers

who were stationed on this mountain.

Well, we're going to go over to the barracks.

This one, obviously, it's... it's been pretty obliterated.

So that's happened a lot to the other structures as well.

[narrator] Yet this isn't evidence of war destruction.

Other factors would come into play.

On Alaska's Aleutian Islands are battered structures

built during the Second World War.

But this isn't battle damage.

The weather here,

I mean, it can be beautiful and calm and serene

and then it could also be blowing 120 miles an hour.

[narrator] It made life particularly tough

[narrator] It made life particularly tough

for the US soldiers stationed here.

Being sent to the Aleutians was not a moment of joy

for many of the men who served there.

[narrator] Despite the harsh terrain,

a military presence here was deemed crucial by the US Army.

[bomb explosions]

[Katherine] After the attack on Pearl Harbor,

December 7th, 1941,

the American people shift their mindset.

They are ready for a war in the Pacific.

They are ready for a war in the Pacific.

[Jaega] As the Japanese achieved victory after victory in the Pacific,

the US was scrambling to get their forces

to new defenses.

[Lynette] The Aleutian Islands could enable the Japanese forces

to attack the West Coast

of the American and Canadian mainland.

And control the North Pacific.

[narrator] Fort Schwatka was one of many defense fortifications

[narrator] Fort Schwatka was one of many defense fortifications

strategically placed along the archipelago's coastline.

They became known as the iron ring.

[Laresa] So we have a lot of cement bunkers.

We have the gun emplacements.

That's one of the gun mounts out towards that way.

On a clear day, you could potentially see aircraft.

[narrator] In June 1942, the defender's worst fears were realized.

[narrator] In June 1942, the defender's worst fears were realized.

A secret Japanese message had been intercepted by the US

warning of an impending attack.

[Katherine] They had rushed planes to nearby airfields

so that they would be ready to launch on a moment's notice.

They were just completely ready for this attack.

[narrator] However, the notoriously bad weather

was about to wreak havoc on the US plan,

when the skies turned.

[Katherine] The Japanese fleet got lost in the fog.

Not lost to themselves, but lost to the Americans.

And that gave the Japanese a new element of surprise.

[narrator] Steaming through the fog,

the Japanese were heading for the US naval base below the fort, Dutch Harbor.

In the early hours of June 3rd,

a barrage of bombs was unleashed.

[Jaega] On the ground, shrill sirens sounded,

[Jaega] On the ground, shrill sirens sounded,

waking sleeping soldiers.

Men ran to their anti-aircraft guns.

[Laresa] This was an eight-inch gun,

largest gun the military had at that time,

and it gave you 22 miles in any direction

that you were shooting.

[narrator] It wasn't just the fog that would cause chaos.

[Dr. Lynette] The gunners are shooting at the Japanese planes.

They're expecting air support.

They're expecting it. They weren't expecting it, and it doesn't come.

They're expecting it. They weren't expecting it, and it doesn't come.

[narrator] The nearest airfield, 70 miles away on Umnak Island,

was hampered by communication problems.

[Katherine] There was interference,

so the men weren't able to get news

to the airplanes to take off.

So the crews sat there completely unaware of what was going on.

[narrator] The Japanese were able to continue their ferocious airstrikes

on Dutch Harbor the next day.

on Dutch Harbor the next day.

[Laresa] They attacked fuel tanks, they attacked the barracks

and they attacked the hospital.

[narrator] And it was about to get worse

in a landmark event that would frighten America to the core.

The Japanese landed ground troops on two of the islands.

[Lynette] Now, these islands are not themselves of great significance.

But the Japanese presence on land

But the Japanese presence on land

had the potential to be psychologically effective.

This is a big deal to the United States, and it's a big deal to Japan.

[narrator] No other foreign power had occupied American soil

since the British in 1812.

[Jaega] The US government knew

that it could not allow the Japanese to hold US soil

so close to the mainland.

[narrator] In June 1942,

a Japanese invasion of Alaska's Aleutian Islands

took America by surprise.

They retaliated by launching an all-out campaign to recapture the islands.

Victory was secured 14 months later at a heavy cost.

Victory was secured 14 months later at a heavy cost.

Nearly 4000 American and Japanese soldiers had lost their lives.

The native Unangan people, who had lived on the islands for 8,000 years,

also suffered the horrors of war,

not only at the hands of the Japanese.

[Laresa] After the bombing, the American government

rounded up all the Unangan people

and interned them in southeast Alaska to abandoned fish camps.

and interned them in southeast Alaska to abandoned fish camps.

[narrator] The evacuation was meant to ensure their safety,

but the operation was a disaster.

[Lynette] They are not well-housed,

they are not well fed.

And it is not a good look for America

that the Aleut islanders

were treated like enemies almost.

[narrator] They were banished for three years.

[narrator] They were banished for three years.

[Laresa] It's a very dark chapter.

It's really hard for people to talk about it, like, even my grandma.

It's really hard to hear what those people went through.

And with each time that, you know, one of our elders passes away,

we learn a little bit more and we lose a little bit more.

[narrator] Alaska would never be the same again

after the battle of the Aleutian Islands.

after the battle of the Aleutian Islands.

In the Second World War, it became very clear

how important Alaska is

for strategic control of the North Pacific.

Only a few years after Alaska becomes a state.

Alaska was not a folly.

Alaska was strategically vital.

[narrator] In 1996, US Congress designated the Aleutian Islands

[narrator] In 1996, US Congress designated the Aleutian Islands

as a national historic area dedicated to the Aleut people.

[Katherine] They lost so much.

And today there's a national World War II park

in the area that works to recognize the sacrifices that they made.

So those stories are starting to be told

and becoming a part of the broader story

of the United States in World War II.

[narrator] In remote northwest Iceland lies a sleepy village

that was once an economic powerhouse.

[Rob] This is a land that's well known for things like Vikings,

witchcraft, sorcery,

as well as the beautiful Northern Lights.

[Nehemiah] The surrounding landscape

gives this isolated village an other worldliness type feeling.

[narrator] Broad daylight reveals clues to the village's past.

[Rob] One building really stands out,

this concrete structure that you really wouldn't expect to find

in an otherwise picturesque place.

The first thing you see when you step inside are these vintage machines.

The first thing you see when you step inside are these vintage machines.

[Jim] We see conveyor belts and pipes

and all kinds of equipment.

In its day this was probably a pretty cutting edge facility.

[narrator] Could the industrial building

explain why this village has been abandoned?

[Hedinn speaking]

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] This is Djupavik,

a quiet hamlet that sits on one of Iceland's many beautiful fjords.

Hedinn Asbjornsson grew up here.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] Empty buildings, no sounds of traffic, nor people.

[narrator] Empty buildings, no sounds of traffic, nor people.

But in the first half of the 20th century,

life here was very different.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] And they were all here because of one thing.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] Iceland's relationship with this humble fish

began in 1867.

[Jim] The herring industry really built the economy of modern Iceland.

[narrator] By the early 1930s,

herring accounted for almost a staggering

half of the nation's total export income.

Djupavik, with its natural harbor,

wanted a slice of this herring pie.

In 1934, ambitious plans were put in place

In 1934, ambitious plans were put in place

to construct a herring processing plant

and the largest concrete building Iceland had ever seen.

[Hedinn speaking]

[Jim] Construction was a huge challenge.

There were no roads to this location.

Everything had to be brought in by ship.

The concrete, the equipment, and ultimately, all the workers.

[Hedinn speaking]

[Rob] Building this factory was an utterly remarkable engineering feat.

It really shows how extraordinarily resilient

and resourceful these Icelanders were.

[narrator] It was one of the largest

[narrator] It was one of the largest

and most modern of its kind in all of Europe.

The production line was set in motion in 1935,

when the first boats sailed into the bay

with their holds full of herring.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] All three storeys of the factory were filled with modern machinery

[narrator] All three storeys of the factory were filled with modern machinery

for processing the fish.

A production line this complex

had never been seen before in Iceland.

[Jim] The key to a factory like this was that it broke the herring down

into constituent parts that could be sold separately.

[narrator] One byproduct was invaluable, herring oil.

And the sleek modern production

was able to produce a staggering amount.

was able to produce a staggering amount.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] A lack of oil before and during the Second World War

meant this product was in great demand.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] Prices went up and the factory experienced rapid success.

[narrator] Prices went up and the factory experienced rapid success.

[Hedinn speaking]

The owners of the factory became incredibly wealthy.

[narrator] Herring transformed the economic landscape.

Entire towns and cities such as Djupavik

were built on the legacy of the trade.

This was Iceland's version of the American gold rush.

This was Iceland's version of the American gold rush.

People came from far and wide to seek their fortune.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] At the height of the fishing season,

hundreds of people would descend on Djupavik.

[Nehemiah] The factory was so crowded

that workers lived in tents

and even on an abandoned steamship.

[Hedinn speaking]

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] Business was good,

but the very thing that created this bustling town

was about to destroy it.

[narrator] In 1930s, Iceland,

people were flocking to villages like Djupavik

to seek their fortunes in the herring industry.

However, the bubble was about to burst.

By the 1940s, the ships were bringing back

just a fraction of what they'd been bringing in a decade earlier.

[narrator] The number of herring in Icelandic waters

[narrator] The number of herring in Icelandic waters

had dramatically declined.

[Nehemiah] You have bigger boats, bigger nets,

and with that, bigger catches.

And so herring stocks began to collapse in parts of the Atlantic.

[narrator] And climate change was a major factor

affecting ocean currents.

As a result, the fishes' migration route shifted

and with no herring in nearby waters,

the tanks dried up.

[Jim] The plant finally shut its doors for good in 1954.

It had had a brief but intense run less than 20 years from boom to bust.

[narrator] After the factory's closure,

the village remained abandoned until the 1980s.

[Hedinn speaking]

The hotel that they run

has been referred to as the loneliest hotel in Europe.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] The upkeep of the former factory isn't an easy task.

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] There's no doubt that without the hearing,

Iceland wouldn't be the country it is today.

[Hedinn speaking]

[Hedinn speaking]

[narrator] In Northwest Croatia

in the calm waters of the Adriatic

is a ruin that charts the rise and fall of a European empire.

[Geoff] It's a beautiful, rugged stretch

and with beautiful aquamarine blue water

and with beautiful aquamarine blue water

washing against a rocky coast.

[Sascha] Then perched high on this hillside is a building

that seems to blend into the surroundings.

[Dominic] The top is carpeted in vegetation,

but as you get closer, there are distinctive features

that indicate that this is a complex built for defense.

It's a fortress.

[narrator] A circular construction

at the building's heart appears older than its surroundings.

[Sascha] The way the rest of the structure

[Sascha] The way the rest of the structure

radiates out from the central point

seems to suggest that it expanded over time.

[narrator] Underground is a maze of claustrophobic passageways.

[Geoff] Once you get inside, it's quite cramped,

quite dark and dingy into these narrow galleries and narrow rooms.

The sheer scale of it suggests that it housed a lot of soldiers

and a lot of supplies.

[Sascha] Who built this?

And what was it that required such immense protection?

And did this fort do the job it was designed for?

And did this fort do the job it was designed for?

[narrator] The story of this structure

dates back to the early 19th century,

a time when Croatia fell under the rule of the Austrian empire,

and then later the combined forces of the Austro-Hungarians.

[Igor speaking]

[narrator] Igor Jovanovic is a local teacher

[narrator] Igor Jovanovic is a local teacher

intrigued by the building's past.

[Igor speaking]

[Sascha] The first structure's built in the 1820s.

And that's when the Austrian empire

really started to fortify this area.

[narrator] Its original construction

owes much to the strategic position of the city and harbor it overlooks.

[Dominic] Pula has a long history

that goes back centuries.

You only have to look at the incredible Roman amphitheater

to get an idea of just how long.

[Sascha] What's interesting is that it was kind of forgotten

about until the early 1800s.

At that point, it wasn't even a town.

It was just a small fishing village of around 800 or 900 people.

But suddenly everything changed.

[narrator] Prior to 1815,

the Austrian Empire was landlocked

the Austrian Empire was landlocked

after it lost its coastal lands in the war with Napoleon.

After Napoleon's fall, they were able to claw back territory

and Pula was top of their list.

They got their access to the ocean back again,

and they didn't waste any time in making it a center

for shipbuilding and a way to project naval power.

[Geoff] And they've got to endow it with a fortifications

that will mean that no foreign navy can come in and tear it all up.

that will mean that no foreign navy can come in and tear it all up.

[narrator] Located just a few miles from the city of Pula

and the harbor it was built to protect,

this is Fort Punta Christo.

[Igor speaking]

[Sascha] From 1880 to 1883,

two additional wings were added,

two additional wings were added,

which transformed it into the polygonal fort that we see today.

[Dominic] There are no cannons or big guns left,

but you can still see the circular metal mounting points at strategic places.

[Igor speaking]

[narrator] As the fortification grew,

so too did the empire's navy.

[Dominic] Soon, the harbor was brimming with heavy destroyers,

cruisers and torpedo boats.

[Sascha] The pride of the fleet

was the new dreadnought class battleships stronger, faster

and more heavily armed than any ships ever built before them.

In a pretty short space of time, they had amassed

a significant and powerful navy.

[narrator] But would Fort Punta Christo

[narrator] But would Fort Punta Christo

be ready to defend the fleet from enemy attack?

This fortress was heavily defended

and most definitely ready for action.

[narrator] In Croatia is the ruin of a mighty fort

built to safeguard the rapidly expanding Austro-Hungarian navy.

[Geoff] And it would have been really a sight to look out

into this Bay of Pula

during the heyday of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,

when their entire battle fleet was assembled there.

[Igor speaking]

[Igor speaking]

It's genuinely easy to see why this was such a vital area to protect.

[narrator] But to defend this mighty naval fleet

Punta Christo was just one of a series of forts

built during this time.

[Dominic] The Austro-Hungarians knew

that it wasn't enough merely to fortify the harbor of Pula.

They had to fortify the entire area and coastline.

[Sascha] Twenty-seven forts and 60 artillery batteries were constructed,

[Sascha] Twenty-seven forts and 60 artillery batteries were constructed,

which Fort Punta Christo was the largest.

[Geoff] It's 100,000 square feet

that accommodates around 500 soldiers,

you know, several companies of infantry and all their stuff.

[Igor speaking]

[narrator] The soldiers slept in cramped underground quarters.

Each day, focused on making certain the men were ready for war.

Each day, focused on making certain the men were ready for war.

[Igor speaking]

[narrator] With the guns at Fort Punto Christo ready,

[narrator] With the guns at Fort Punto Christo ready,

who would possibly dare to invade?

In December 1914,

the French prepared to strike.

[Igor speaking]

[Dominic] The sub was spotted from the fort

and the south battery was the first to open fire.

[Sascha] Very rapidly other ships from the fleet closed in and sunk the sub.

[Sascha] Very rapidly other ships from the fleet closed in and sunk the sub.

They took it down very quickly.

[narrator] The failed attack sent a powerful message

to the enemies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The reality was that there was no way

a conventional seaborne attack could succeed.

[Geoff] They had to come up with something much better

to get any hope of getting into that harbor

and sinking a lot of Austro-Hungarian ships.

[narrator] In the final days of World War I,

[narrator] In the final days of World War I,

the Italians played their hand.

[Dominic] A 37-year-old major named Raffaele Rossetti

had been working on a new technology

designed specifically to take out Pula's defenses.

[Sascha] Under the cover of darkness,

two Italians secretly piloted a torpedo

that had been designed to run at low speed to avoid detection.

And they go right up to Austria-Hungary's first dreadnought,

the Viribus Unitis,

and they attached TNT mines to the hull of the ship.

and they attached TNT mines to the hull of the ship.

[Dominic] The charges were set, around 6:30 a.m. they detonated.

Around 400 crew members were killed

either by the initial blast or by drowning afterwards.

[narrator] This was one of the only times

the defenses of Fort Punta Christo were breached.

But the tragic irony of this story

is that the war was already over

for the Austro-Hungarians.

They had surrendered their fleet only the day before

They had surrendered their fleet only the day before

and had handed it over to the newly created kingdom of the Serbs,

Croats and Slovenes.

[Sascha] It's not sure if the Italians

who made this attack knew that the Austro-Hungarian's

had already surrendered,

or if they just wanted to make sure that this ship didn't fall

into the hands of their rivals.

Either way, the outcome was the same,

and it meant that a lot of people were needlessly killed.

[narrator] At the war's end,

Fort Punta Christo passed peacefully

into the hands of Croatia's new occupying force.

into the hands of Croatia's new occupying force.

[Igor speaking]

[narrator] The fort would soon become redundant.

[Geoff] Basically built on technology from the 1830s through the 1890s,

it's now effectively obsolete.

So it's all abandoned and has no military purpose any longer.

[narrator] Fort Punta Christo

may no longer be used as an instrument of war,

may no longer be used as an instrument of war,

but that hasn't stopped marauding hordes from invading.

[Sascha] Once a place full of young soldiers,

it's now full of young partygoers.

[Dominic] For the last few years, it's been the base

for summer music festivals, exhibitions and other cultural events.

It's a complete world away from its original purpose,

which is probably a good thing.