Tour Report: "Hotel Gutsmann"

Two weeks after our visit to the abandoned children's home at the end of January 2021, winter still had a firm grip on northern Germany. Temperatures remained well below freezing, and the landscape was still covered by a blanket of snow.

Just like two weeks earlier, the sky was a brilliant blue, and we spontaneously decided to head out for another exploration. We weren't in the mood for a long drive, so we looked for places that were relatively close to home.

We eventually settled on two destinations: an abandoned hotel - and an old brickworks that we had already explored back in the summer of 2013. We wanted to see how different it would look in the middle of winter.

The hotel was our first stop. It had once been one of the best-known hotels in the region and had welcomed several famous guests over the years, including King Juan Carlos of Spain. Following a fire in 2013, the hotel closed its doors for good.

After breakfast, we set off and reached the hotel after driving about 60 kilometres, a journey of roughly 45 minutes. A short distance away, we found a small public parking area where we could leave the car and begin our exploration without attracting any attention.

It was obvious that the property had once been secured. However, by the time we visited, all the construction fencing had been pulled down and was lying on the ground. Only a few boarded-up windows and doors remained. Around the back of the building, we found a door standing wide open, which gave us easy access to the hotel.

As always, I had done some research beforehand. Based on numerous reports of vandalism and the photos we had already seen, we didn't expect very much from this location.

Our low expectations proved to be well founded. The vandals had certainly left their mark. Broken windows, smashed furniture, ripped-out doors, destroyed interiors, and the remains of parties held inside the building shaped almost every room we entered.

The hotel itself was enormous, and we spent most of our time searching for areas that were still worth photographing. Fortunately, there were still a few.

Unfortunately, places like this often change very quickly. Vandalism tends to spread so rapidly that natural decay hardly has the chance to take over. That was exactly the case here, and it is clearly reflected in the photographs. There was very little genuine decay to be found.

We did manage to capture a handful of worthwhile scenes, but many of the rooms were simply empty or heavily damaged.

Towards the end of our visit, we explored the basement. Even before we reached it, we noticed a strong smell of solvents in the air. Downstairs, we came across two people busy decorating the walls with fresh graffiti. We decided not to get involved, turned around, and headed back to the car.

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

Tour Report: Children's Home "Lumberjack"

Looking back, this was without a doubt one of the best winter explorations we've ever done during all our years of urban exploration.

Everything came together perfectly: beautiful weather, great company, and a huge, almost unknown abandoned site filled with natural decay and countless photographic opportunities.

On the morning of January 31st, 2021, we set off before sunrise to explore an abandoned children's home. We had only recently heard about the place by chance and had never seen any photos of it before. Our research suggested that the complex had been abandoned for many years, so it seemed well worth the trip.

A few days earlier, winter had arrived in full force. Temperatures had dropped well below freezing, and the region had received a generous amount of fresh snow.

Early that Sunday morning we drove out to meet our friend Andreas from Pixelcracker. The sky was perfectly clear, and the drive through a frozen landscape covered in sparkling white snow only increased our anticipation of what we hoped to find.

During our planning we had identified what appeared to be a public parking area near the site. When we arrived, we were pleased to see that it was indeed a more or less official car park, probably used by locals heading out for walks in the surrounding forest. On this cold winter morning, however, it was completely quiet - except for Andreas, who was already waiting for us.

After a warm greeting, we spent a few minutes discussing our route onto the property. Then we unpacked our equipment and put on every warm layer we had brought. The temperature was around -10°C (14°F), the forecast offered little hope of warming up, and with several hours of exploring ahead of us, staying warm was essential.

We still had a few hundred metres to cover, so we started making our way through fresh, knee-deep snow. Before long we came across a narrow farm track that didn't appear on any map but headed directly towards the children's home. Fresh footprints and dog tracks showed that the path was regularly used, so we continued.

After a few minutes we passed a small group of people walking with a dog. We assumed they were simply returning from a morning walk and greeted them politely. They answered, but rather reluctantly, sounding noticeably unfriendly. We didn't think much of it and carried on.

Eventually the open fields gave way to a small woodland. Just a few minutes later, the first building appeared between the trees - a beautiful red-brick structure dating back to the early 20th century. Standing there in the middle of the snow-covered landscape, it made quite an impression.

Now all we needed was a way inside.

Our excitement grew even more when we discovered that the entrance door was standing open.

Inside, however, we found... almost nothing.

The buildings had been completely cleared out. There was no furniture, no personal belongings, and hardly any relics from the past. What we did find was something that often makes abandoned places especially interesting: no graffiti, almost no vandalism, and an abundance of natural decay.

The same pattern continued throughout the rest of the site. Nearly every building was accessible, with no fencing or serious attempts to secure the property. Yet there were remarkably few signs of deliberate damage. It appeared that the entire complex had simply been emptied after its closure and then left untouched for many years while nature slowly took over.

Only a handful of windows had been broken. Instead, most of the deterioration seemed to result from leaking roofs that had allowed water to slowly work its way through the buildings over time. It was decay at its own pace, shaped by weather rather than people.

We deliberately skipped one small section of the property. Although officially abandoned, we noticed several people there using chainsaws to cut up trees. They certainly didn't look like forestry workers. Our guess was that they might have been living illegally in one of the buildings and using the wood for heating. That would also explain the rather unfriendly walkers we had met earlier on the path - perhaps they belonged to the same group.

In any case, nobody disturbed us, and we were able to explore the rest of the complex without any problems.

Since every building had been constructed differently, the effects of time and weather varied from one structure to the next. Every corner offered something new to discover, and together with the bright winter sunlight, the decaying interiors produced beautiful colours and atmospheric scenes.

The outdoor areas added another layer to the experience. We found lonely swings, seesaws, and climbing frames standing half-buried in the snow. Scenes like these inevitably reminded me of photographs from Pripyat and certain post-apocalyptic films. Whenever I look at those images, my imagination still seems to add the faint sound of children laughing in the background.

In the end, we spent almost five hours exploring the site. We enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere, the winter sunshine, and the quiet beauty of the place so much that we almost forgot about the freezing temperatures.

It wasn't until we returned to the car park that we realised our boots and trouser legs were encased in thick layers of frozen snow and ice. Fortunately, several pairs of warm socks had done their job, and despite the bitter cold, everyone made it back with warm feet and a smile.

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

Tour Report: Estate House "Field of Reeds" [Revisit]

Just three weeks after our first visit, we found ourselves returning to the old manor house once again.
Our initial exploration on Boxing Day, accompanied by my mother and mother-in-law, had been a wonderful experience.

Unfortunately, I hadn't brought my camera with me and had to rely on my aging phone for photographs. Since we still had a few weeks between our trips in early January and our planned holiday in mid-February, we decided to squeeze in one more small adventure.

A second visit - especially so soon after the first - is usually a rather relaxed affair. The surroundings are already familiar, and there are fewer surprises waiting around the next corner. Instead of focusing on navigation and orientation, you can fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the location.

This return to the abandoned manor was no exception. From the moment we arrived, everything felt comfortably familiar. And because we already knew the layout of the building - and this time weren't accompanying any first-time visitors - we could take our time and focus entirely on photography.

The weather was noticeably better than during our first visit. The sun occasionally broke through the clouds, casting beautiful shadows across the rooms and hallways and creating some wonderful opportunities for photographs.

For more than an hour and a half, we wandered through the manor once again, exploring every floor and revisiting our favourite rooms. Eventually, with memory cards full and another memorable exploration behind us, we headed home.

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