Hotel "Lampshade"
Somewhere on the outskirts of a small village in the Thuringian Forest stands an abandoned relic of socialist tourism in the former GDR.
The vacation home was built in 1984 as an FDGB vacation home and, with its 480 places, offered over 10,000 guests a year a place to rest and relax. After reunification and only 5 more years of operation, the vacation home could no longer be maintained and closed again in the early 1990s despite its wonderful views and exclusive location. An investor could not be found and the Treuhand had not complied with the requirements.
An investment company acquired the hotel - as well as another GDR vacation property just a few kilometers away. The company went bankrupt shortly afterwards and everything that was still usable in any form was torn out of the building.
Copper, metal, everything that had any value and was accessible was stolen. In 2016, local residents hoped that the ruins would be demolished by the company Vattenfall, which wanted to build a 380 kV line across the Thuringian Forest.
Today, no one knows how long the former FDGB home with its numerous rooms, club, bar and bowling alley will continue to decay before it too is razed to the ground.
There is now a car repair shop under the restaurant area of the former vacation hotel, whose operator keeps a watchful eye on the property.
Visited: November 17, 2020
Location: Undisclosed, Germany
Status: Partially active
