Nazi megahotel to be converted into a youth hostel

by Scott Carmichael on

During the Second World War, the Nazi’s had many grand plans. One of their more ambitious was to build the world’s largest beach resort on the island of Rügen.

The Prora complex was not just big – it was absolutely absurdly big. So big in fact, that you can see the complex taking up the entire coastal region on this Google map link.

The main buildings are 2.7 miles long, and every single one of the almost 10,000 rooms faces the sea. The Nazi’s, and Hitler in particular wanted the resort to be where Germans would go for their well deserved beach holiday, and like many of his other plans, the place had to be “the most mighty one to ever have existed”.

The plans also included a festival hall large enough for 20,000 people, two wave pools, a theater and docks for arriving ships.

Portions of the complex were never completed, as Hitler moved troops away from the construction site to work on his V2 rocket program. After the war, the East German army used parts of the complex as a military outpost.

After the German reunification, the buildings were left completely vacant and started to rot away. For years, the complex stood empty, with only a small portion being used as an exhibit center.
Things are about to change, as the village council in Binz has voted to approve a plan to return portions of the complex into its original purpose – a tourist resort. Part of the plan also includes a youth hostel. Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of 2009. Of course, this still leaves large portions of the building vacant, but I’m sure someone will find a good use for it.

This isn’t even the only time a crazed dictator has attempted to build an insane hotel, just ask the poor people of North Korea who have to look at this unfinished monstrosity every day.

(Photo from Wikipedia)

More weird hotels:

75 years after Dachau opened

by Jamie Rhein on

One of the most somber places I’ve been in my travels is Dachau. The first time I visited this place of atrocities against humanity was in the middle of winter. Although the day was sunny, the temperature was bitter cold. While reading Jaunted, I found out that March 22 marked the 75th anniversary of when Dachau opened.

This concentration camp was the first in Germany and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jews and others during the Holocaust. It doesn’t look like it did back in 1938. The barracks are gone, although, there are cement slabs to show where they were. Many other buildings are intact, including the gas chambers and crematorium.

I went back a few summers later when I was traveling with another friend of mine who wanted to go there. I don’t think I sat through the movie a second time. Like the first time, the day was sunny. Even though the temperature was several degrees higher, I remember the cold of the first time, and how strange it was to go looking for a place to eat in Munich after wards.

Swastika Navy Building via Google Earth

by Neil Woodburn on

Google Earth has changed the way we go about observing our world.

Occasionally the satellite photos reveal some very cool new areas to explore. Other times they reveal oddities not visible from the ground.

This was the recent case with the Naval Base Coronado near San Diego, California. The building, constructed in 1967, happens to be in the exact shape of a swastika. Navy officials admitted to having discovered this many years ago but since there is a no-fly zone above the navel base, they figured no one would see it.

Well, the eagle eyes of Google Earth miss nothing. The naval base has become a favorite virtual destination for Google Earth fanatics, who are always seeking out bizarre sights buried in the reams of footage.

And now that the secret is out, the Navy has announced that they will be spending $600,000 to alter the shape of the building into something less offensive, like a square, for example.