Plokštinė Soviet Nuclear Missile Base
Soviet nuclear missile base in Plokštinė offers a rare opportunity to enter the shafts where Cold War nuclear missles used to stand ready to be launched any minute.
Once top secret and still reachable only by a gravel road through a forest, this underground military installation was dug by soldiers using only shovels. Multi-storey complex is barely visible from the outside and can be visited only together with a guide (but the tours are frequent in summer). Inside the bunkers you will see command room with some machinery and old posters. The most impressive part of the visit will be a tall nuclear missile shaft, still in a remarkably good condition. Had the World history taken a grimmer path and the Cold War turned "hot", the missiles based here would have wreaked havoc in the United Kingdom.
Fortunately the Soviet Union collapsed and the Plokštinė bunkers remained devoid of weapons of mass destruction and soldiers. In fact, these installations were abandoned much earlier because the Western intelligence learned about their existance.
Less fortunately the post-abandonment neglect meant that thieves broke into the bunkers to steal metal. As a result of their actions the second missile shaft (not visited by tours) no longer has any metal left inside and is flooded by water. However the young Lithuanian state was quick to understand the importance of Plokštinė missile base and much of it was saved for future generations.
Museum of the Cold War also exists at the site.
It is the easiest to reach the site by car.