Rocket Fuel Factory S.

Yes, it's only the administration building, but that's about all that's left with the exception of a lot of remains in the forest behind the building, and we neither had the time nor the equipment to go for a thorough exploration of that.
But let's start from the top.
After we were finished at the grinding shop, we were on the way to our next stop which was going to be a little less urbex, but still interesting.
Shortly before we got there, there was an obviously abandoned building right by the side of the road. Since there was a parking spot right across, we decided to make a quick stop and check it out.
Getting in was easy enough. There was a gaping hole in the fence, and the building itself was wide open as well.
There were no clues to the former use of this building. Since we found it by accident, of course we hadn't been doing any research, so we were completely clueless.
The only hint that I found was a small sign that said "Sortie" - "Exit" in French, and there is only one probable reason for a building in the middle of Germany to have French writing on the walls - it must have been a French garrison!
With that in mind, we went back out and wanted to go back to our car, when another car pulled up. We naturally thought that we were caught. But no. Two guys got out and asked us what we were doing, and we told them. The bigger of the two guys immediately started talking about the entire area having been a top secret weapons factory. The he started talking about bunkers and tunnels in the mountains and started disappearing through high-grown stinging nettle and into the forest.
My wife and I were curious, and we followed him at a distance. After we had made our way through some massive thicket, and he had indeed found something that looked like the remains of a large bunker.
He then disappeared just as quickly because his friend wasn't as interested and was waiting in the burning sun for him to come back.
My wife and I decided that we weren't equipped for climbing through the entire area looking for tunnels, so we might come back for a more thorough investigation of the place - preferably a day that's not 35°C...
Anyway, after doing some research, I did indeed find out that the building we visited was the administration building of a factory that produced explosives and rocket fuel for the Nazi weapons program. After the war, it was in fact used by the French army, but information about the use are more than scarce.
It was a short, but adventurous explore.


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

French Shopping Center B.

I had heard about this location on a lot of occasions. It was clear that it wasn't going to be especially spectacula, but since we were relatively close, my wife and I thought, "Why not add this as the third spot for the day.".
So we started walking.
And we walked.
And walked.

You know the situation when you think you should have taken the bus or a cab or something? And at that point you check your maps and you say "It's not that far anymore, I think we're almost there.".
But you're not almost there.
Not even close.

That happened to us a couple of times on the way from the Doctor's Villa to the next spot.
But we eventually got there, and from what I'd heard, getting in should be a piece of cake!
Well....no. Against all odds, we appeared to have chosen the day after all possible entries had been sealed. So we walked around the huge building and checked out ecvery window, every door and every possibility to climb up somewhere to find a way in, but there was nothing.
Just as we were both getting really frustrated from the heat, I found a small window that had obviously been boarded shut, but the boards had been removed. So I slipped in and checked out if there was a possibility to gain furhter access.
Finally a success! I called my wife and she climbed in. We had to climb across a lot of trash to get into the next room, but we were in.
As expected, the location itself has been completely trashed. Even the escalators havebeen removed, there are graffiti everywhere, and at least at the time we were there, not all parts were accessible.


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