Tou Report: Brick Factory "Dusty Stuff"

After exploring only one location on New Year’s Day, we decided to slowly raise the bar and visit two spots the following day.

We had picked out an abandoned brick factory and a former Soviet communications bunker. The brickworks would be our first destination.

After a drive of a little over half an hour, we arrived at the site and started looking for a place to park. There were no nearby residential areas, no public parking spaces, and the village itself was some distance away, so we decided to simply leave the car on an unused field opposite the property.

The brickworks was not fenced off, and judging by the overgrown vegetation, nobody had been there in quite some time. The first building we came across was the former owner’s house. At the time of our visit, it was completely boarded up and securely locked, with no obvious way inside. We didn’t bother trying any further and moved on.

Next, we started exploring the factory buildings themselves - and what we found left us genuinely surprised. There was no vandalism, no graffiti, and hardly any signs of previous explorers. Instead, the site was still filled with countless small remnants of both business and private life. We found tools, booklets containing industrial production guidelines from the former GDR, medicine packaging, furniture, and even a few old machines. Many of the documents dated back to the 1950s.

Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, which is why I later gave this place the nickname “Dusty Stuff.”

From a photography perspective, the location had a few nice highlights, though nothing particularly spectacular unless you were interested in digging through the many documents and details scattered throughout the buildings.

Still, we spent quite a while inside the old brickworks. Before leaving, we walked once more through the ring kiln, then made our way back to the car.

To our surprise, the shepherd had arrived in the meantime. He kept his sheep on a nearby field right next to where we had parked. As expected, he didn’t look particularly pleased to see us coming from the abandoned factory, though he didn’t say anything. We greeted him politely as always, and he simply grumbled a brief “Good day” in return. At least he didn’t start asking uncomfortable questions, so we quickly loaded our gear into the car and headed off toward the next location.

And there, another encounter was already waiting for us — but more on that later...

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Tour Report: Bath House "Percussion"

For our New Year’s Day trip in 2021, we had something special in mind. We wanted to visit a place that had been on our list for a long time, yet somehow we had never made it there. It was a former municipal bathhouse that had been converted into a percussion instrument factory in the 1920s.

The location is well known within the urbex community, and we were hoping to explore it in peace. That’s why we set out on the morning of January 1st.

And we weren’t wrong. The public parking lot right next to the site was almost completely empty, and only a few scattered walkers were strolling slowly along the river.

We could have taken a direct and easy route, but despite the low number of people around, we decided to play it safe and approach the building from the back. That worked out perfectly, and we quickly found a way inside.

Of course, after so many years of abandonment, the once luxurious and magnificent building was in a rather poor condition. Still, its former grandeur was unmistakable - whether in the ornately decorated ceilings, the arched windows, or the classical-style columns. It was truly an impressive sight.

Throughout our visit, we were completely undisturbed. The grey, windy winter weather provided a fitting contrast to the lighter tones inside, and we took our time capturing the large central hall from every possible angle.

In some areas, it was clear that renovation work had been started at some point, but never carried through.

At the end of our exploration, we took a different route back to the car to get a few exterior shots of the building—again, without encountering anyone.

All in all, our first trip of 2021 was a complete success—and the following day would lead us to two more fascinating locations...

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Tour Report: Estate House "Field of Reeds"

I stumbled upon this old manor house from the late 18th century quite by accident during some research, and it immediately struck me as a perfect destination for our traditional post-Christmas outing with my mother and mother-in-law - not too far away, easy parking, and (hopefully) a straightforward way in.

Earlier that day, we had already visited a former school camp and an abandoned inn. Both explorations were successful in their own way, but from a photographic standpoint, neither location had much left to offer. So our hopes were now firmly set on the old manor.

From the nearby mill, it was just over a 30-minute drive. As we approached the village, we could already spot the tall wrought-iron fence and the overgrown park behind it. Then the manor itself came into view - imposing and elegant - and instantly sparked our curiosity.

As expected, parking was no issue. We could have stopped directly across from the property, but chose a slightly more discreet spot a bit further away and continued on foot.

Getting onto the grounds turned out to be no challenge at all, as there were several large gaps in the fence. Finding a way into the building was just as easy - there was an entrance at the back.

Once inside, I immediately regretted leaving my camera in the car and having to rely on my phone.

Parts of the manor were still in surprisingly good condition, with decorative elements from various periods clearly visible - remnants of the many renovations and alterations carried out by different owners over the centuries. Other rooms, however, had been almost completely stripped. The last owner had intended to restore the house to its original style, removing everything that didn’t fit the historical aesthetic - woodchip wallpaper and 1950s bathroom tiles among them.

Fortunately, aside from a bit of graffiti, there was relatively little vandalism, allowing us to truly appreciate much of the building’s historic character.

After about an hour, we had explored everything, and with the light already starting to fade, we began making our way back home.

I was a little disappointed that I had only taken photos with my phone—but we quickly agreed that we would return, properly equipped next time. So stay tuned for what we discovered just three weeks later!

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Tour Report: Baroque Graveyard O.

We don’t always seek out the most spectacular, abandoned places. We find it just as exciting and interesting to explore the area where we happen to be. Sometimes we just drive around and see what we end up stumbling upon, and sometimes we check Google Maps to see if we can find an interesting marker where something exciting might be hiding.

It was similar with this cemetery.

The day before, we’d been on a long tour and wanted to treat ourselves to a quiet, relaxing day. By late afternoon, though, we felt like taking advantage of the nice weather and going on a short tour of the area. I checked Google Maps and found a reference to a small churchyard. Upon closer inspection, we could make out several stone graves that caught our attention.

So we set off. The drive was short; the cemetery was only a little over 10 kilometers away. Directly across the street is the small village square, where we were able to park without any trouble.

The church and the cemetery are still in use, but the last burials had already taken place several years prior to our visit in November 2020.

As we entered the small graveyard, we could already see the four old stone graves. On the way there, I had of course looked up some information about the place and discovered that these were graves from the Baroque era.

What particularly fascinated me were the depictions of skulls on the graves. This was quite common during the Baroque period. The large, richly decorated tombs suggest that the people buried here were once quite wealthy.

A few old gravestones still lean against a wall of the cemetery - this, too, is not uncommon: When relatives are no longer willing or able to pay the grave rental fee, or when there are simply no relatives left to rent a grave site for their ancestors, the grave is reused after some time. The gravestones often remain in the cemetery and are leaned against either the walls of the church or the cemetery wall.

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Tour Report: Hotel "Lampshade"

On a bleak, cold day in November 2020, we set out to explore an abandoned hotel. It stands on the edge of a small village in the Thuringian Forest and was closed in the early 1990s after barely a decade of operation.

The drive from our accommodation was not exactly short—just over two hours. Along the way, we took in the late autumn scenery: the cold and damp had wrapped the Thuringian Forest in a dense veil of fog that would linger with us throughout the entire day.

The hotel sits atop a hill. To the south and west lie residential areas; on the eastern slope, a few cattle grazed quietly on a wide pasture, while to the north the complex borders an expansive stretch of forest.

We parked some distance away in a spot that seemed inconspicuous and made our way toward the building. The fog swallowed every sound. There was no wind, and the cold felt sharp and still—I couldn’t help but feel like we had stepped into the opening scene of a horror film.

Even from afar, the structures were visible: a large, prefabricated six-story accommodation block, flanked by two lower annexes that once housed kitchens, dining halls, and various other facilities.

Finding a way inside didn’t take long. Within minutes, we discovered an open door and slipped into the building. We began by exploring the guest room block. As was typical in socialist times, the rooms were all identical: beds, a wardrobe, a lamp, and a small shelf.

The higher we climbed, the more evident the decay became. Water had clearly been leaking in from the roof, and the damage intensified with each floor. The mold was so pervasive that, despite the cold, we could almost taste the decay in the air. We didn’t even want to imagine what it must be like here in summer.

I found the small shelves particularly charming. Much like the rooms themselves, they existed in various stages of decay—from nearly pristine to damp and green with mold, all the way to completely gone. Tracing this “path of decay” in detail would go too far here, but I’ve included a small photo at the end of this post that captures it quite well.

After finishing the hotel section, we moved on to the areas that once housed the restaurant and other facilities. This was where vandals and cable thieves had done the most damage. The rooms bore clear signs that parties had taken place here over the years—none of which had done the building any favors.

Even so, we were still able to capture some truly striking images. At one point, however, our progress was abruptly halted: access to further parts of the complex was completely blocked and secured, which took us by surprise. With that, our exploration came to an end—aside from the sealed-off section, we had seen nearly everything.

On our way back to the car, we suddenly heard noises coming from behind the barricaded area—metallic, rhythmic, unmistakably the sound of tools. Apparently, someone was using that section as a workshop at the time—or perhaps metal thieves had sealed it off themselves to go about their “work” undisturbed.

Either way, we were glad we hadn’t tried to push further. We weren’t particularly eager for human contact out here.

And so, after a truly successful exploration, we made our way back to the Husky farm, where a well-earned, hearty dinner awaited us.

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Tour Report: Farmyard for Sale

The final spot we explored on our tour in November 2020 with our dear friend Biggi from Der Schlittenhundehof was an old, abandoned farmhouse located right in the middle of the village. It was easy to get onto the property - the construction fence was basically just leaning loosely against a wall, so we could just slip right through. We hurried into the buildings so that no one would see us wandering around the yard. The doors to the buildings were all open, and there wasn’t much to see. Some of the ceilings had already collapsed or were on the verge of doing so; the same was true of some of the walls. On top of that, it was slowly getting dark, so despite our flashlights, we couldn’t properly assess the condition of the floors. So we stayed in the rooms that seemed reasonably safe - even though the old wood creaked and cracked in every nook and cranny.

The rooms were completely empty - but we did find a few relics left behind by former residents.

In the end, they were just a few small items, but even these were fragments of a life and tell stories about it - such as the correspondence between Edeltraud and Erna, two young girls, friends who had apparently been separated by the division of Germany.

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Tour Report: Tunnels into the Mountain

After visiting the former children’s sanatorium together with our friend Biggi from Der Schlittenhundehof, we decided to check out a few sights around the town. This time, it wasn’t about abandoned places - just a relaxed walk to wind down after our exploration.

Later, we drove to a small parking area just outside town, located near a hiking trail. We had chosen this spot for a cozy coffee break. Just before turning into the parking lot, we noticed an opening in the hillside on the right side of the road. We couldn’t make out much, but it looked intriguing enough to spark our curiosity immediately.

Right next to the parking area, there was another tunnel entrance - this one sealed off with a heavy metal door and a padlock. Still, it added to the sense that there was more to this place than met the eye.

But first - coffee.

We set up our small camping chairs and table. When I make coffee on the road, I always use my Petromax percolator on a compact gas burner. It takes a bit longer, but that’s part of the charm - we weren’t in a hurry. As we sat there, sipping hot coffee on a gloomy November day, just above freezing and with a light drizzle in the air, a few passersby gave us puzzled looks. Three people casually having coffee on a parking lot in that kind of weather isn’t exactly an everyday sight.

While waiting for the coffee to brew, I took a closer look at the sealed tunnel entrance. There was no obvious way to open the door, but peeking through, I could catch a glimpse of the tunnel behind it. It looked promising - but inaccessible.

So our attention returned to the entrance we had spotted from the road.

After finishing our break, we set off on the short walk. As it turned out, this tunnel was open. At some point in the past, a brick wall had been constructed just behind the entrance to prevent unauthorized access - but it had long since been breached, allowing us to enter.

Inside, we found two somewhat larger chambers, clearly carved into the mountain by human hands. At the time of our visit, we had no idea what these tunnels had originally been used for. Mining? Air-raid shelter? Something else entirely?

Unfortunately, the items we found offered little clarity. Scattered boots, wooden posts, tools, and fragments of porcelain raised more questions than answers. There was no way of knowing who had brought them here, when, or for what purpose. Some objects suggested possible military or civil defense use, but we couldn’t confirm any of it.

From a photographic perspective, the site wasn’t particularly rewarding either. Dark, mostly featureless walls don’t offer much visual appeal. On top of that, we had only brought our “small” flashlights - after all, a cave exploration hadn’t been part of the plan.

In the end, it was an exciting little exploration, even if it didn’t reveal much about the tunnels’ history. That would only come more than two years later, when we returned to the area and discovered additional tunnels…

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