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Abandoned Checkpoints: Photographer documents Europe's forgotten borders

With everything that's been happening in Europe lately and the EU struggling to cope with the biggest wave of migrants and refugees its ever known, it's interesting to discover Polish photographer Josef Schulz's Übergang series – meaning Crossing – which explores abandoned military checkpoints across the continent.

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Weathered white checkpoint building with rusted metal door and windows beside a snowy mountain pass, its surroundings digitally faded

Uncovering every corner of Europe, Schultz digitally fades the background surrounding each redundant station as though they are shrouded in fog, allowing these forgotten borders to stand out and make an impact.

Interestingly, each former checkpoint no longer belongs to anywhere. They just sit, going to waste with broken or shuttered windows, rusty doors and peeling paint – merging the past with the present. And although the border police are long gone, and the buildings themselves are quite harmless, they still provoke an unsettling feeling – potentially conjuring up bad memories of the past when Europe was divided by borders.

This particularly holds true for Schulz, as he hopes his series will highlight how these physical traces of borders are impossible to forget. He explains: "Borders were lines, drawn not only across territories but also through our heads."

Make sure you visit www.josefschulz.de to discover more of his photography.

Via Creative Boom submission | All images courtesy of Josef Schulz

Abandoned border checkpoint with steel beam bridge structure spanning across an empty road, with faded surroundings and traffic signal on the left
Blue-tiled abandoned checkpoint building with glass entrance booth and tall lamp post, surrounded by faded landscape
White concrete checkpoint building with dark rectangular windows set on a raised platform in a mountainous landscape, surrounded by faded scenery
Two black domed checkpoint booths under a geometric metal canopy with faded surrounding landscape in fog, from Josef Schulz's Übergang series
Abandoned checkpoint building with white walls and orange-brown roof surrounded by bare trees, photographed by Josef Schulz for his Übergang series documenting Europe's forgotten borders
An abandoned military checkpoint booth with dark red panels and frosted glass windows sits beneath a metal canopy, its surroundings digitally faded against coniferous trees and distant buildings
Abandoned hexagonal military checkpoint with concrete walls, shuttered windows and weathered copper roof, surrounded by misty evergreen forest
Abandoned cylindrical customs checkpoint building marked "DOUANE" with boarded windows and faded "CHANGE" signs beside a highway cutting through a hillside landscape
Yellow cylindrical checkpoint booth with gridded windows beneath a concrete canopy and steel support columns at an abandoned European border crossing
Abandoned military checkpoint with angular concrete canopy and central support pillar, surrounded by faded forest backdrop and empty road with directional sign
Abandoned military checkpoint tower with metal staircase in forested landscape, background digitally faded to white fog by Josef Schulz
An abandoned border checkpoint with a brick booth structure beneath a tiled roof canopy, situated beside an empty road with hills visible in the hazy background
White concrete checkpoint booth with faded surroundings standing alone in an open landscape with bare trees
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