Tour Report: "Walter's House"

On a tour of  the German state of Thuringia during our summer vacation 2019, we decided to take a look at the "Secret of Oberhof" - the former guest house of the GDR Council of Ministers and probably one of the buildings most closely monitored by the Stasi in the GDR.

It was a gloomy, rainy day, but we don't let bad weather dampen our spirits, so we drove from Erfurt through the Thuringian Forest to the famous winter sports town of Oberhof. The way to the former luxury resort of the GDR ministers was easy, and a parking lot was also quickly found. We only had to walk a few meters along the road until we came to the road junction that led us to the hotel.

There was no fence or other barriers, only a triangular concrete barrier to prevent driving on the property.

The buildings themselves were wide open; there weren't really any doors or windows anymore, and the vandals and metal thieves have done a great job over the years. Presumably, after the final closure of the hotel in 1990, citizens of the former GDR also helped themselves to parts of the luxurious EInrichtung.
Thus, during our visit, there was not much left to see of the splendor in which the GDR leaders as well as the Chairman of the Council of State himself had spent their vacations.

Nevertheless, we took a complete look at the building, because in the end it is a relic of the German separation, which will probably not exist in this form for much longer.

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

Tour Report: Sanatorium "Crooked"

The collapsed roof with the three gable windows was a scene that I had wanted to photograph for a really long time, and after we had explored the knight's manor, the relative proximity gave us the opportunity to look for an entrance to the old sanatorium.

The site, picturesquely situated on the edge of a small forest, is bordered on the north and south by new residential development, which makes access from these sides almost impossible - or at least reckless.

So we looked for an appropriately secluded parking spot so as not to attract the suspicion of local residents. From there, we sneaked a little off the forest paths through the woods and finally found an area of the fence that had been trampled down and was even completely missing in parts.

From there, we entered the site nicely concealed, without being seen from the residential buildings.

One can still guess how beautiful this sanatorium with its park-like grounds must once have been; today, decay and a whole lot of graffiti dominate the scene in the old walls.

The green of summer and the yellow of the afternoon sun helped somewhat to overlook the graffiti, even though it was omnipresent.

The main subject, however, was just as spectacular as I had imagined. To me, it's a perfect picture of natural decay as it should look. The collapsed roof and the three gable windows that seem to be leaning against each other, working together to delay the impending collapse. The whole thing framed by a cloudy blue sky and green nature - it's still one of my favorite urbex scenes.

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

Tour Report: Knight's Manor "Blue Sky"

In August 2019, we visited an object that we had long had on our list, but never had the opportunity to visit until this point. It is an old manor whose history goes back a long way. The villa, to which the title "manor" has passed, was built in the late 19th century.

Initially used as an industrialist's villa, over time the building underwent many new uses - as a planned mothers' recreation home, as a Reich Labor Service camp, as a Red Army military hospital, as a school for judges, as a school for the FDJ travel agency, and as a pioneer leadership school.

After a fire devastated the attic in the summer of 2018 and the firefighting efforts caused further damage, we knew that the days of this beautiful building were numbered and included it in our plan for the next summer vacation.

It was a warm day and the journey was uneventful. However, finding a decent parking spot not too far from the property was significantly more difficult. We ended up parking somewhat awkwardly on the edge of an allotment. There were already a few other cars parked there, so we could hope not to attract further attention.

From there we walked along the road until we reached the wooded area that was once part of the magnificent park that surrounded the manor. Through this now very dense forest we crept up to the building from the back. We could hear that the farmed part of the estate was busy, so we kept extremely quiet as we searched for an entrance into the building. Fortunately, there was an open door that was out of sight and hidden by trees.

When we entered the building, we were on the one hand impressed by the princely looking rooms, but on the other hand a little disappointed, because due to the fire many rooms did not look like we had seen in older photos.

The main subject, however - the staircase - was still in quite good condition despite the fire and the extinguishing work. For this, the trip had been more than worth it! Even the ceiling painting, a blue sky with a stylized sun in the center, was still there apart from some damage.

In other rooms, the extinguishing water had caused quite nice decay, so that we could make our way to the next locaton with a good yield of pictures in our luggage.

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