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This article presents an overview of the history of the Kaunas Fortress, the construction of particular fortress objects, its intended use from the end of the ninth century up to the present, as well as information about the current condition of the Kaunas Fortress complex. Focus is placed on the reasons and consequences of the uniqueness of the Kaunas Fortress, and the problems and challenges related to the preservation of the unique object of fortification and its adaptation to the needs of the public. The article also contains information on the research related to the Kaunas Fortress and the conversion projects currently pending.

Significant political and social changes in the Czech Republic have caused not only economic transformation in the country but also big changes in city and landscape structure. New social and spatial tendencies have emerged in Czech towns and cities, such as suburbanisation, urban sprawl and urban revival.

The legacy of war–cold and hot–has left scars on the landscapes of many countries in Eastern Europe in the form of damaged ecosystems and hazardous residues. Clean-up of these areas is necessary, but is an expensive and time consuming process. This paper examines approaches developed in similar efforts in the United States that may help to reduce costs and expedite safe solutions to these issues.

In close co-operation with the company SENSYS, a database with approximately 1000 entries with MuniMan software was created. These include German, American, British or Russian ammunition often found on the former theatres of war. Mainly, this ammunition is from World War II. Furthermore, the database has approximately 250 datasets describing modern ammunition (Warsaw Pact and NATO). The spatial coverage of the database extends over Europe, North Africa and South-east Asia to include all crisis regions after the World War II.

Traditional methods of decontamination have not ensured the required completeness of treatment. The new composition of coatings for decontamination on buildings and structures was developed at the Institute of Environmental Geochemistry (IEG). The objective of this investigation was to examine the effect of decontamination of the building materials by simultaneous application of various species of micromycets and decontamination coverings. The destructive effect of micromycetes, especially of their dark coloured varieties containing melanin, is conditioned by:

The radioactive conditions in the Tien-Shan Mountains are caused by natural factors and the commercial extraction and processing of raw uranium within the Kyrgyz Republic. After the closing of uranium mines and processing facilities, there remained large quantities of radioactive tailings and rock dumps within the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. They are exposed to decay and weathering under the influence of anthropogenic and natural factors. There is a distribution of radioactive substances in the environment, representing a danger to the health of the population and to the biosphere as a whole.

Many years have passed since Moldova proclaimed independence, but because of a lack of financial resources and staff preparedness during the period of transition, some important problems regarding the conversion of military sites have arisen in Moldova. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet Army, both abandoned and operative military objects could be characterised as having various degrees of degradation and the need for different approaches for rehabilitation, environment protection and remediation. Immediately following this withdrawal and like the other states of Western Europe such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, the Baltic States appeared to have had an urgent need for an assessment of contaminated sites. Negative effects on the environment and human health were evident, including the pollution of geologic media and degradation of natural resources and landscapes. Major sources of pollution included transport and rocket fuels, lubricants, solvents, galvanic wastes, the remnants of chemical weapons and decontamination substances. Unfortunately, the actions of the Moldavian government and the ruling party were neither consequent nor prompt, thereby being inappropriate to solve these problems. The consequences were revealed to be dramatic. Since the existence of the Soviet Union, policies to create economic military potential was directed only to that zone where the majority of defence enterprises were established. For example, a metallurgical (electro-steel smelting) plant with productivity of approximately around one million tons per year was built to have an annual turnover equal to the total annual budget of the country. As a result of this concentrated industrial capacity and the subsequent demise of many industries, Moldavian society has faced economic difficulties with regards to democratic reforms. After the end of the Cold War, an attempt was made to inventory the impact of brownfields and prepare for field restoration, but the initiative was stopped because lack of access to the militarised zone. It has been the result that many inhabitants are suffering from restricted travel rights and limited access to the active national economy.