Operation "Easter Basket" - Drop Forge G.

After leaving the university much earlier than we had originally planned, we still had some time before dropping off Lichtbeschatter at the train station, and we decided to go and check out another spot that was more or less located on the way.
After all, this was the Ruhr area, and we hadn't seen as much industrial lost places as we had expected, so this was our chance to add one more inudstrial spot to this tour.
We had the address, and we quickly found a nice place to park right across the street. It was Easter Sunday, so there really wasn't much traffic or people walking who might spot us.
We crossed the street and we didn't even have to look for a long time - there was a large hole in the main gate. We hopped through, went around the corner of the building and there was an open door. We were in.
There was some nice decay, but also a lot of trash that was lying around, and there was the expected amount of graffiti.
Still, this was a nice place to end our tour together with Lichtbeschatter. We got out again, drove to the train station, dropped him off and the three of us went on to the next spot.


To find out more about the history of this industrial ruin and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.

Operation "Easter Basket" - University E.

On the way back from the Trauma Clinic, we made a short stop at an abandoned British military base in the area, because Freddy and Elmar hadn't been there yet.
We quickly checked out the two churches and the movie theater and then left, because it was getting dark. I didn't taken any photos there, because I had previously been there.
The next day was the day to go home. Elmar had a train ticket, and we were going to take the car. But not before a couple of explores in the morning.
Our first stop was an abandoned university building that we had seen some really nice pictures of, and it was pretty close to our hotel, so why not check it out.
We drove there, found a parking spot and started looking for a way on the premises. It was harder than we had thought; the fence was pretty tight, and there was no way to get over it. After some looking around, we found a way over the old railway tracks behind the building.
That was it, though. There was no way to get into the building. it looked like every new crack in a window, every open door is sealed right away to prevent vandalism.
So we didn't get lucky there, but we still had the option of taking a look at the university's greenhouses which were right next to the main building.
So we went over there, the door was open. We took a couple of shots and then left for our next spot.


To find out more about the history of this place and to check out all the photos from this location, click the button below.

Operation "Easter Basket" - Trauma Clinic O.

From the abandoned foundry, we drove further East. We had gotten a tip regarding an abandoned hospital which supposedly still had some nice interior in it.
The photos I had seen looked promising, so why not check it out.
It was a Saturday, so the roads were pretty crowded, and it took us about 90 minutes to get there. Finding the spot was easy - it's right in the middle of a small town.
We found a parking spot right next to the hospital - I think it was the former hospital parking lot, so that was pretty convenient.
The fact that it was Saturday didn't make things easy, though. There were people walking by literally all the time.
So we first took a little walk around the premises checking if we saw a way in. There was nothing to see, so we had to get closer. Displaying our refreshuingly casual attitude, we just walked up to the hospital and started checking for open doors and windows. We tried to stay out of sight, and I think we managed pretty well. We didn't find a way in, though...
But then I remembered another tip from the guy who had given me the tip for this spot in the first place. He had said something about curtains and a window...and there it was - an open window!
Remaining unseen, the four of us jumped in.
We hadn't been promised too much - it was a nice place!! A lot looked like the usual hospital: patient's rooms, bathrooms, recreation rooms etc., but the ground flor really had some nice scenes to shoot. It was really dark because most of the windows were boarded shut, but we had brought enough lights with us.
After about two hours, we climbed back out, closed the access window the best we could and went back to the car. It was afternoon already, and we still had the way back ahead of us - and we wanted todrop by another location...


To find out more about the 130-year history of this hospital and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.

Operation "Easter Basket" - Foundry A.

On the third day of our Easter explore this year, we drove East from our night quarters. There were some promising spots in the Sauerland region that we had planned to check out that day.
Our first spot was in a part of the area that is famous for its metalworking industry, especially its wire-drawing mills and its foundries.
It was an old foundry in a small town. The location was easy enough to find, but it was a normal workday and the ruin lies right next to an administration building.
So we parked the car on a more or less official spot and started looking for a way in that wasn't too close to the active building next door. We found an opening that led us into one part of the foundry, but there was no chance to get in any further, so we got back out and tried to get in by the river. Another failure.
After a short consultation, we decided to be upfront about our intentions and take the easy way in. The easy way was a door that was open only a small crack that allowed only one person at a time to slip through - and it was very easy to spot us from the neighboring buildings...
We slipped in anyway, and after climbing over a car wreck that was jamming the door from the inside, we were in.
It was a nice and sunny morning that did not at all emphasize the dark history that has riddled this place for the past couple of years...


To find out more about the history of this industrial ruin and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.

Operation "Easter Basket" - Coal Mine W.

This was one we should have prepared better. We got caught before finding the motherload in this abandoned mine.
We were in the Ruhr area, and one of the things this area is famous for is mining. There are so many abandoned mines in the area, but a lot of them have been turned into museums or places for events, and only a few remain that are "lost".
We had spent quite a few hours in the abandoned prison, but we really wanted to find a mine, so we just drove to some spots that I had on my list but didn't really know if they were still interesting in the urbex-sense.  Most of them weren't.
We were about to give up. It was getting darker, it was still raining and we were supposed to pick up one more friend later who was going to be on tour with us for the next two days.
his mine was actually the last on my list, and we had almost lost hope when we got there and did in fact find a small hole in the front fence near the main administration building.
We slipped through and ran towards the building.
There was no access in sight, so we kept looking until I found an open window that allowed us to get into the lower level of the administration building.
First we found a modern - but mine-like - changing room. It looked like a normal coop in a mine, only much smaller.
We went on to explore the rest of the adminsitration building and did find the access to the descent in the mine, which unfortunately was sealed.
We left the building and started heading for the more industrial parts in the back of the area, when we were spotted by a security guard.
He had us.
He was really friendly though and just told us to go to the front gate to tell his colleague to let us out. So we went there and the colleague was furious when he saw us. He really wanted to call the police until the small guy came back again and asked him to leave us alone - after all, it was Good Friday.
We got off the hook, he only wrote our names and ID numbers on a small paper (which probably found its way into the trash later) and then let us out the front gate.
Later I heard that there is a much better access somewhere else where it's a lot easier not to get caught...so I suppose that there will be a next time.


To find out more about the history of this mine and to check out all the photos from this industrial monument, click the button below.

Gallery: Rocket Fuel Factory S.

New gallery up!
Head over to my website and check out the gallery about a place my wife and I found purely by accident while driving to another location.

Click on the photo to get there!

Arcanum Urbex - Rocket Fuel Factory S.

Operation "Easter Basket" - Prison 93

Due to traffic jams all over the Ruhr area, we arrived at our hotel rather late - but at least the tour had started with the exploration of an abandoned psychiatric hospital.
We went out for dinner and planned our tour for the next day, and we finished the first day of Operation "Easter Basket" with a couple of beers and shots in our hotel room.
The next morning, we got up relatively early and drove for about 70 kilometers to our first spot. We had decided for a more than a hundred-year-old prison that has been left unused for about 5 years now.
Freddy and I had only been to one other prison before, and I had found that experience pretty cool, and this particular prison is huge compared to the one I'd visited in Denmark, so it seemed like a good idea to check this one out.
When we got to the location, we first drove around the block to check for a good place to park and maybe spot a way in. All you could see from the streets were high walls and the central building of the prison.
So we consulted the map one more time and decided to park in the residential area richt next to the prison. We found a parking place near a little path that looked like it led in the direction of the prison, and I hoped that this was the case.
It had started to rain, so there were no people outside that could keep us from exploring, but I could feel the neighbor's eyes on us through their windows...
Anyway, we walked along the path and it deed in fact lead us right to the prison wall. It was like a deja vu - just like in the Danish prison, someone had broken a hole in the wall, and we could climb through easily. Once we were inside the walls, we started looking for the way into the buildings. It took us some time to find an open door that led us into the newer building and through the basement, we were able to get into the large older part.
In spite of all the graffiti that have been sprayed on the walls over the years, exploring this prison was a unique experience. Seeing the facility from the inside and imagining how the inmates must have lived there set a really strange mood. In a way, the prison was still active, because there was still electricity, and the neon lights were humming their typical 50 Hertz song...

After about three hours, more people came for a photo shoot, and they started being loud and making noises, which kind of ruined the mood, so we finished up our exploration and left the same way we came.

There have been recent developments regarding this prison. About one month after our visit, a fire broke out in the prison chapel, and after that, a security service was tasked with protection of the place 24/7.
Preparations for the demolition of the prison have begun over this month, and the demolition is scheduled to take place from February until November of next year.


To find out more about the history of this old prison and to check out all the photos from this amazing spot, click the button below.