Hotel Henry

It was the best hotel in town.

Built in 1898, situated right at the side of a mountain in a beautiful forest region and originally named after the man who was the German Vice Chancellor under Otto von Bismarck, the hotel soon shot to worldwide fame.
In 1904, the existing facilities weren't enough anymore to acommodate the growing number of guests from all over the world, and another wing was added to the building.
At the time, the hotel met the highest standards concerning luxury and enineering.
It had its own confectionery, a restaurant in viennese style with pool tables, a central heating system and its own gas station. All this for up to 600 guests. The architect built the hotel in half-timbered style.

In 1942, the owner of the hotel died, and the bank sold the hotel to a new joint operating company. In 1944, when the allies were advancing on Germany and the bomb attacks were increasing, the hotel was used as a military hospital, maternity home and first-aid place for wounded soldiers. About 460 soldiers were sheltered here.
As far as I know, the attempt to turn the hotel into a sanatorium after the war has failed. The last renovations were conducted around 1970. 20 apartments were added and almost 70 rooms got their own bathroom.
After the German reunification, the hotel was used as a conference hotel and was pretty much run down until it was finally closed in 1995.

We made our way inside and found ourselves in darkness, because all the doors and windows at ground level have been boarded shut. So we had to find our way using the flashlights. Found some nice details and even an old menu with venison specials in what appeared to be back-office rooms.

The best bit of the first part of this exploration was the bar we found. The name of it was "Dachsbau", which means "Badger's Burrow".
Part of the last furnishing is still there, mosaics on the columns, chairs and tables.
It almost seems like it's been left after a particularly messy party some 20 years ago and is still waiting for the cleanup.

Real Name: Hotel Heinrich Heine

Location: Schierke, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Status: R.I.P.

Demolition: June 2016