Tour Report: Farmhouse "Oblivion"

Our very first stop on our summer trip in 2020 turned into an unforgettable Lost Place adventure. Long before we set out, we were warned: reaching this abandoned farmhouse hidden deep in the countryside would not be easy. But for us, that made the challenge even more exciting.

We had already seen photos online – a nearly untouched farmhouse, still fully furnished, marked by time and decay, yet full of charm and forgotten stories. The building lies quietly off a small road, almost invisible to passersby. But the driveway is right next to that of an inhabited farm, and the neighbors are known to keep a sharp eye on strangers. That meant only one option: approaching the farmhouse unseen, from the back.

So we parked at a safe distance and grabbed our gear. No sooner had we left the car than the summer sky opened and a heavy rain poured down. “It will pass quickly,” we told ourselves, and pressed on toward the woods. The forest promised cover from curious eyes – but it also held its own danger: a moor.

And soon enough we realized why we had been warned. The ground was soft and deceptive, and one wrong step could mean soaked clothes and muddy shoes. Luckily, a friend had shown us a rough path across the boggy terrain. Even so, every step felt tense, and the thrill of urban exploration began long before we reached the building.

When the farmhouse finally appeared before us, our hearts raced with anticipation. The entrance was quickly found: an open window leading into the laundry room. One last glance behind us – then we climbed inside, stepping into another time.

The sight that met us was breathtaking. Hardly any vandalism, no graffiti – instead, authentic decay. Antique furniture, some dating back to the 18th century, stood quietly in place. The kitchen felt as if someone had just left, while the living and dining room, with its old piano, exuded an eerie beauty. Next door, the study told a different story – thick layers of mold covered books and furniture, creating an unsettling but fascinating atmosphere.

The upper floor held little of interest, and sadly, time did not allow us to explore the barn. Our next stop and a warm dinner were still waiting. But this first abandoned farmhouse of our summer trip captured our imagination completely. It was more than just a stop – it was a reminder of why we love exploring abandoned places: the thrill of discovery, the beauty of decay, and the stories hidden in forgotten walls.

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

Tour Report: Eye Clinic N. [Revisit]

We visited a total of three places on our short tour three weeks before our summer vacation in 2020. After visiting the disused railway line and the hotel ruins, we paid a visit to a former eye clinic. We had already visited it once in 2016, and since the building was on the way, we wanted to get an impression of the location, because two years after our first visit, the building and the surrounding park were sold to a new owner.

The parking lot was the same as it had been a few years earlier, so the walk to the location was correspondingly short.

To make a long story short, nothing had changed since our visit four years earlier. There was no evidence of any work—or at least safety measures—being carried out on the building. Only the vegetation in the front area of the park seemed to have been cleared some time ago, with the exception of the trees.

The house itself was overgrown with a thick layer of ivy, and small trees and bushes grew on the balconies and window sills.

As we crept around the house, we could see that some of the ceilings and floors inside had collapsed—the danger of the building collapsing, which was already evident in 2016, had worsened in recent years. Therefore, we decided not to look inside the house again—apart from the decay, there were hardly any worthwhile motifs even at that time.

So we settled for a quick tour around the house and a few photos from the outside—which turned out really atmospheric thanks to the vegetation.

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Tour Report: Hotel "House L."

The second place we visited on our “interim tour” to bridge the time until our summer vacation in 2020 was the remains of a small hotel. Right next door was another hotel that I had visited a few years earlier, but it was in such a desolate condition that it was hardly worth taking photos. So we concentrated on the small hotel next door.

The site was open and not fenced off; we just had to fight our way through some undergrowth to get to the buildings.

The buildings were in terrible condition.  There was hardly any furniture left, there was a lot of graffiti and trash in the outdoor areas, and most of the windows and doors were destroyed.

However, there were also a few bright spots: the vegetation was really beautiful to look at, and the “real,” natural decay also provided some beautiful motifs.

The place wasn't very big; there were only two small buildings, so we finished our exploration relatively quickly. Then we went back to the car and headed to the next location.

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Tour Report: The Halls of Carpets [Revisit]

In June 2020, we met up with two very good friends for a little exploring. We thought that it would be nice to pay a revisit to the abandoned carpet factory that we had first explored about a year before. At the time, we hadn't seen everything, because at some point, someone started driving around the premises with a black van, and we didn't know if it was the owner or copper thieves or a security service, so we decided to cut our visit a bit short.

Little did we know that we were going to come across that black van again during our second visit...but one thing at a time.

We met up with our friends Katto and Marco late in the morning. The parking place that we had used the first time was occupied, so we had to look for another one, and we did find one a little farther away, which was okay, because we didn't want to arise an suspicion.

We had first planned to use the access that we had found the first time, but unfortunately that ladder that allowed uns to climb over the wall was gone. So we had to find another way in. Around the side of the premises we found a construction fence through which we could easily enter the site.

From there, we made our way through the huge halls of the once flourishing carpet factory. The architecture had lost none of its appeal for me the second time around, so I really enjoyed this exploration. What's more, we found some areas that had eluded us on our first visit, but which we were able to see at our leisure this time, such as the administration building and the water treatment plant.

As we were examining the latter, the black van suddenly drove up, a door opened and a dog jumped out and ran into the building barking.

Regardless of the situation, it was a funny sight: We had hidden to the side of the hallway to avoid being spotted immediately, and the dog didn't manage to stop due to extremely slippery tiles on the floor. So he then slid on all fours down the corridor into the next room, struggling to stop as he saw us standing right there. It wasn't an aggressive dog, he was just sent in by his owner to scare us.

Of course, we went out, because obviously we had been seen, and we have made it our policy to never run away, but to approach people and be friendly.

The driver of the van was friendly as well. He asked us if we were just taking photos, which we confirmed. He was fine with that and allowed us to go on. He also asked us how we got on the premises and asked us to please close the access when we left.

This situation shows once again that if you are friendly and don't make extra work for people by running away, you usually don't have a negative experience, but on the contrary often even get permission to continue with your exploration.

So we continued our exploration for another hour or so, before we left the place on the same way he had entered it - and of course, we closed the conctruction fence after we left.

To find out a bit more about the history of the place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

Tour Report: Goodbye, Lenin!

Lenin's head stands in an overgrown meadow in a small town in Brandenburg - alone, half-hidden behind a bush, as if history itself had become entangled here. The stone bust rises silently from the ground, almost absorbed by nature, and yet it is impossible to miss. The sight of it is irritating and captivating at the same time: in the middle of this hidden area, far from any official place of remembrance, it seems to be a fragment from another time - resistant, forgotten and yet unbrokenly present.

It is as if the head has found shelter in this place - a kind of silent exile after the end of the ideological age that once elevated it. The bushes and growing trees seem like a natural veil, like they are protecting something that does not want to be found. The fact that this memorial has survived hardly seems coincidental: since the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the region has been systematically cleared up - memorial plaques removed, statues toppled, traces erased. But here, in a no man's land between consciousness and oblivion, the head remains. Neither officially preserved nor destroyed, it seems to have stolen itself from the field of vision of time - like a silent witness waiting for something that will never happen again.

Not far away are a few residential buildings that were expropriated by the Soviet army after the Second World War. After reunification, they underwent extensive renovation and were converted into modern living spaces. Behind the largest building is a small green area with playground equipment - a place of everyday life. But behind it begins an undesigned wilderness left to its own devices. The bust lies right on the threshold between a cultivated habitat and a natural mess - without a pedestal, marked by decay. Its nose is damaged and a gaping hole in the back of its head reveals a hollow interior with only dried leaves and scattered pebbles. The view inside is sobering - and yet there is something mysterious about it, as if this place holds a secret that eludes quick access.

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Tour Report: Brick Factory T.

The story of how we stumbled across this abandoned brickworks almost exactly five years ago is quite funny. A few years earlier, we had bought a small tree for our garden at a farmers' market - a "Speierling" (Cormus domestica, or sorb tree).

You have to know that our “garden” is a garage yard with lots of individual pots, and we planted the tree, which was not even half a meter high at the time, in one of these pots.

The little tree thrived magnificently and grew bigger and bigger over time. At first we planted it in a larger pot, but this eventually became too small for the tree.

We didn't have a larger pot - and as the sorb tree is one of the rarest trees in Germany (in Austria and Switzerland it is even on the list of endangered species), we wanted to place it where it would have a good and long life.

At a barbecue evening, a good friend said that there was plenty of space in her parents' garden and that they would be happy to take the tree.

So a few weeks later, we loaded the tree into our car (which was an adventure in itself) and drove towards the North Sea coast. Our friend's parents were waiting for us with a lavishly laid coffee table and even tried to fill us up with schnapps, which we gratefully declined. In any case, it was a great afternoon with lots of good conversation, and when we got talking about our hobby, our friend's father casually mentioned that there was a dilapidated brickworks just across the road.

Shortly afterwards, we set off with him (he accompanied us because he knew all the neighbors and could therefore make sure that no one called the police on us).

The brickworks was only about 5 minutes away and was really dilapidated. The chimney had either been demolished in the past or had collapsed; in any case, only a small stump was left. The ring kiln was still in good condition and had not collapsed; only some garbage had been dumped there in the past.

All that was left of the other buildings of the brickworks were a few ruined remains. Apparently the site had also been used by people at some point, who stored scrap metal and a few old agricultural machines there. In order not to try our hosts' patience too much, we only took a few photos and then headed back.

In any case, this was a nice surprice location and exploration - and our tree has since found a great new home - we still get a photo of it from time to time!

To find out a bit more about the history of the place and to check out more photos, click the button below.

Tour Report: Hunting Chateau "Top of the Hill"

On the way back from our tour in May 2020, we took a short trip to a low mountain range before heading to a dear friend's house to end our vacation there. An abandoned hunting lodge, which was built at the end of the 17th century and has had a very varied history over the centuries, stands on a ridge in said mountain range. This hunting lodge was the destination of our short excursion that day.

After taking a road with (I think) 36 hairpin bends to get up the mountain, we reached the small side road to the old castle. As we were coming from the north, we didn't drive past the buildings in use opposite and remained unseen.

To avoid being seen from the main road, we parked directly behind the castle.

An entrance was quickly found - as was the realization that many parts of the building were in serious danger of collapse, while other parts already had collapsed.

The condition didn't make it easy for us to move through the building, because the collapsed areas meant that we always had to take detours, for example because a piece of the floor was missing in corridors and we had to find our way across another floor.

That's also why we were denied a view of the highlight of this location during this visit - the musicians' gallery in the church pavilion. We just didn't find the right way through the building.

We postponed this pleasure until our next visit, as we had an appointment for dinner and had to leave after a while.

To find out a bit more about the history of the place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.