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Travel

Eerily beautiful lost places in Germany

Abandoned industrial buildings, forgotten villas, disused hospitals: for some they are eyesores, for others worthwhile photo opportunities. Here are ten abandoned places with a distinct ambiance.

  • Dwasieden Castle in Sassnitz, Rügen Island, Germany (Stefan Sauer/picture-alliance)

    Dwasieden Castle, Sassnitz

    Only ruins remain of banker Adolph von Hansemann's magnificent building on Rügen Island just off the Baltic Sea coast. Built from sandstone, granite and marble, the castle was one of the most expensive of its time. After World War Two a refugee and quarantine camp was housed here until it was blown up in 1948 to make bricks. Since then, nature has started to reclaim the complex.

  • Zippendorf Spa Hotel, Schwerin, Germany (Jens Büttner/dpa/picture alliance)

    Zippendorf Spa Hotel, Schwerin

    In order to stimulate tourism, a spa hotel was built in 1910 on Lake Schwerin. Its ownership and usage changed frequently, and there were always difficulties. Empty since 1990, the building is listed on the national register of protected historical places. There have been several failed attempts to revive it, with ideas ranging from day hotel to demolition to the construction of new apartments.

  • Nazi-era asylum for the mentally ill, Neustrelitz, Germany (Jens Büttner/dpa/picture alliance)

    Nazi-era asylum for the mentally ill, Neustrelitz

    This complex was part of the Nazis' mass murder of hundreds of thousands of disabled persons, physically or mentally ill children and adults for racist reasons. The Nazis used the site as a transit station before sending people on to killing centers. The building has fallen into disrepair over the decades. Since 2010, however, there have been tours, concerts and theater performances here.

  • Hohenschönhausen prison, Berlin, Germany (Rolf Kremming/picture alliance)

    Hohenschönhausen prison, Berlin

    The Hohenschönhausen prison was a place of horror. Prisoners of the Stasi, East Germany’s Secret Police, were forced to build 60 windowless cells in the basement, which were only equipped with a wooden cot and a bucket. Over 20,000 political prisoners were mentally and physically tortured here. Today it serves as a memorial center, and some of its tour guides were actually held as prisoners here.

  • Teufelsberg, Berlin, Germany (Monika Skolimowska/dpa/picture alliance)

    Teufelsberg, Berlin

    From the east of Berlin to the west: Atop Teufelsberg hill is the US military’s former listening station with its five radar domes. The hill itself was artificially created — with rubble from World War Two, and is the second-highest spot in Berlin. The area is now used for cultural events and offers plenty of space for graffiti artists.

  • Spreepark, Berlin, Germany (Ole Spata/dpa/picture alliance)

    Spreepark, Berlin

    A ghost ship, a swan boat and overturned dinosaur figures — this is what the former East Berlin amusement park looks like today. In the past up to 1.7 million visitors came to the "Spreepark" every year. Since its closure in 2002, the site has been neglected. The park is only accessible with guided tours, but the city of Berlin is reportedly working on a new concept for the area.

  • Grabow Lake Health Center, Oranienburg, Germany (Paul Zinken/picture alliance)

    Grabow Lake Health Center, Oranienburg

    George Clooney and Matt Damon have already visited this spot — but not for health reasons. The site was the location for their movie "The Monuments Men". Since 2005 an association has been campaigning for the reconstruction of the lung sanatorium, which was founded in 1896 by the German Red Cross. An educational facility for children and young people is to be created.

  • Abandoned lung sanatorium, Beelitz, Germany (August/Eibner-Pressefoto/picture alliance)

    Lung sanatorium, Beelitz

    "Das Alpenhaus" is part of the 60-building ensemble of the former lung sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in Brandenburg. Burned out at the end of the Second World War, green is now growing out of the ruins. Many of the other buildings have been refurbished and converted into apartments. Today you can visit the ruins from a height of up to 40 meters (131 feet) via a treetop path.

  • Wünsdorf military complex, Zossen, Germany (Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance)

    Wünsdorf military complex, Zossen

    An approximately eleven-kilometer (6.8 mi) circular route leads through the former military site, which was created in 1910 as an imperial military training area. During the Nazi era, the Wehrmacht used the area with the huge bunkers, after 1945 the Soviets set up their high command here until they withdrew in 1994. Today around 20,000 visitors take part in the bunker tours in Wünsdorf every year.

  • Hansa coking plant, Dortmund, Germany (S. Ziese/blickwinkel/picture alliance)

    Hansa coking plant, Dortmund

    The coal and steel industry shaped the Ruhr area for over 150 years. After the closure of many mines, the region turned into a local recreation area. Bit by bit, nature is reclaiming industrial sites such as the Hansa coking plant in Dortmund and the Zollverein colliery in Essen. Nevertheless, it is not quiet here: exhibitions and guided tours bring these history-filled lost places to life.


  • Dwasieden Castle in Sassnitz, Rügen Island, Germany (Stefan Sauer/picture-alliance)

    Dwasieden Castle, Sassnitz

    Only ruins remain of banker Adolph von Hansemann's magnificent building on Rügen Island just off the Baltic Sea coast. Built from sandstone, granite and marble, the castle was one of the most expensive of its time. After World War Two a refugee and quarantine camp was housed here until it was blown up in 1948 to make bricks. Since then, nature has started to reclaim the complex.

  • Zippendorf Spa Hotel, Schwerin, Germany (Jens Büttner/dpa/picture alliance)

    Zippendorf Spa Hotel, Schwerin

    In order to stimulate tourism, a spa hotel was built in 1910 on Lake Schwerin. Its ownership and usage changed frequently, and there were always difficulties. Empty since 1990, the building is listed on the national register of protected historical places. There have been several failed attempts to revive it, with ideas ranging from day hotel to demolition to the construction of new apartments.

  • Nazi-era asylum for the mentally ill, Neustrelitz, Germany (Jens Büttner/dpa/picture alliance)

    Nazi-era asylum for the mentally ill, Neustrelitz

    This complex was part of the Nazis' mass murder of hundreds of thousands of disabled persons, physically or mentally ill children and adults for racist reasons. The Nazis used the site as a transit station before sending people on to killing centers. The building has fallen into disrepair over the decades. Since 2010, however, there have been tours, concerts and theater performances here.

  • Hohenschönhausen prison, Berlin, Germany (Rolf Kremming/picture alliance)

    Hohenschönhausen prison, Berlin

    The Hohenschönhausen prison was a place of horror. Prisoners of the Stasi, East Germany’s Secret Police, were forced to build 60 windowless cells in the basement, which were only equipped with a wooden cot and a bucket. Over 20,000 political prisoners were mentally and physically tortured here. Today it serves as a memorial center, and some of its tour guides were actually held as prisoners here.

  • Teufelsberg, Berlin, Germany (Monika Skolimowska/dpa/picture alliance)

    Teufelsberg, Berlin

    From the east of Berlin to the west: Atop Teufelsberg hill is the US military’s former listening station with its five radar domes. The hill itself was artificially created — with rubble from World War Two, and is the second-highest spot in Berlin. The area is now used for cultural events and offers plenty of space for graffiti artists.

  • Spreepark, Berlin, Germany (Ole Spata/dpa/picture alliance)

    Spreepark, Berlin

    A ghost ship, a swan boat and overturned dinosaur figures — this is what the former East Berlin amusement park looks like today. In the past up to 1.7 million visitors came to the "Spreepark" every year. Since its closure in 2002, the site has been neglected. The park is only accessible with guided tours, but the city of Berlin is reportedly working on a new concept for the area.

  • Grabow Lake Health Center, Oranienburg, Germany (Paul Zinken/picture alliance)

    Grabow Lake Health Center, Oranienburg

    George Clooney and Matt Damon have already visited this spot — but not for health reasons. The site was the location for their movie "The Monuments Men". Since 2005 an association has been campaigning for the reconstruction of the lung sanatorium, which was founded in 1896 by the German Red Cross. An educational facility for children and young people is to be created.

  • Abandoned lung sanatorium, Beelitz, Germany (August/Eibner-Pressefoto/picture alliance)

    Lung sanatorium, Beelitz

    "Das Alpenhaus" is part of the 60-building ensemble of the former lung sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in Brandenburg. Burned out at the end of the Second World War, green is now growing out of the ruins. Many of the other buildings have been refurbished and converted into apartments. Today you can visit the ruins from a height of up to 40 meters (131 feet) via a treetop path.

  • Wünsdorf military complex, Zossen, Germany (Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance)

    Wünsdorf military complex, Zossen

    An approximately eleven-kilometer (6.8 mi) circular route leads through the former military site, which was created in 1910 as an imperial military training area. During the Nazi era, the Wehrmacht used the area with the huge bunkers, after 1945 the Soviets set up their high command here until they withdrew in 1994. Today around 20,000 visitors take part in the bunker tours in Wünsdorf every year.

  • Hansa coking plant, Dortmund, Germany (S. Ziese/blickwinkel/picture alliance)

    Hansa coking plant, Dortmund

    The coal and steel industry shaped the Ruhr area for over 150 years. After the closure of many mines, the region turned into a local recreation area. Bit by bit, nature is reclaiming industrial sites such as the Hansa coking plant in Dortmund and the Zollverein colliery in Essen. Nevertheless, it is not quiet here: exhibitions and guided tours bring these history-filled lost places to life.


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