Abandoned Borders as Memorial Landscape

Old military installations and structures built in times of war are missing their purpose after it. Some turn into ruins, becoming part of the natural landscape and looking like land art pieces. The British Mansell platforms, the Italian Alpine wall, the French Maginot Line, the German Atlantic wall or the Siegfried line, popular known as Dragon’s teeth because of its geometry, exemplified this conceptual idea. Dragon's teeth were extensively used in Europe as defensive borders. The structures were partially destroyed after the war or vanished due to general disrepair, even though some points were strengthened for potential nuclear hazards. The Defensive dragon's teeth lines are visible in many areas due to the vast numbers laid and their durable construction; the tank traps can be seen especially in the remains of the Siegfried and Maginot Lines and the rest of the Zealand part of the Atlantic Wall.
From the landscape point of view, the line acts as a border, framing two different sides. If we forget their primary purpose, the borderline appears as a symbol to remind the value of the unpleasant as a memorial. It becomes a heritage structure from a forgotten place, establishing a physical and psychological border that reminds us of the unpleasant power of setting geographical defensive boundaries.
On the other hand, Landscape artists and photographers conceptually worked with the idea of limit and border, creating walls interfering with the natural landscape that usually acts as a peaceful symbol.
The paper attempts to study the border as a memorial and a valuable landscape element.