Lost Places in the Black Forest

Dear guest,

Would you like even more thrills apart from wellness in the Black Forest and the “Wildlife” suspension rope bridge? Then we have an idea!

Lost places have always attracted people. These places tell of a past that often involves romances that have gone awry, mysterious deaths, and stories that everyone knows something about without ever really being able to get to the bottom of the actual story. Often these places are the ruins of manor houses that were inhabited by nobles, others are small settlements hidden in the forest that attract photographers, lovers, and ghost hunters. It is probably the uncertainty, the assumed danger to body and soul that attracts heart-pounding visitors. In this article, we want to introduce you to some of these lost places in the Black Forest.

As always with information about such places and objects, we cannot guarantee that the information is complete, nor can we guarantee whether these lost places in the Black Forest and the surrounding area still exist, are accessible, or have not been subject to changes due to construction work in the meantime.

Let’s start with the ruins of All Saints Abbey.

Ruins of All Saints Abbey, Oppenau

This ruin is an early Gothic monastery, school, and place of pilgrimage. Legend has it that a duchess set out with her donkey and a sack of gold to find a suitable place to build a monastery. When they reached the top of the hill, the donkey dropped its precious load, which rolled down into the valley. This was the place where the monastery was built in 1191. The popular monastery was destroyed in a fire in 1470. The abbey was rebuilt, but in 1555 fate struck again and the monastery was destroyed again. When the monastery was destroyed again by lightning in 1804, the monks gave up. Today you can admire the ruins, with the sacristy, the cloister, and parts of the terraced garden still well preserved.

The Hotel Waldlust, Freudenstadt

The Hotel Waldlust is one of the most famous lost places in the Black Forest. The former grand hotel already has 120 years of history behind it. The luxury hotel was originally built to attract rich guests to the small town. Among them were Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and King Gustav V of Sweden. The mysterious history of the hotel began in 1949, when Adele B., the owner of the hotel at the time, was murdered in her room. Although the hotel was converted into a military hospital, hot rumors began to circulate about the hotel. A white figure could also be seen floating through the 140 rooms, accompanied by a musty smell. The murder of the owner of the hotel was never solved.

Charlottenhöhe Sanatorium, Bad Wildbad

If you are looking for an old building that has been left to decay, you don’t have to look far: the old Charlottenhöhe sanatorium in the immediate vicinity is just the place for you. But that wasn’t always the case. Medical history was once written in the Charlottenhöhe sanatorium. Between 1907 and 1973, the sanatorium was used to treat people with lung diseases, including tuberculosis. When the pulmonary sanatorium was closed, attempts were made to convert the clinic into a daycare home and then into an Ayurveda clinic with 400 beds, but this was not possible. In 2007, the building was auctioned off and has since been transformed into one of those mysterious lost places that are increasingly being torn apart by the ravages of time.
If you want to move between barricaded doors and windows, broken windows, and destroyed interiors, you should visit the Charlottenhöhe sanatorium.

Weissenstein paper mill near Pforzheim

In the middle of a small wooded valley near Dillweißenstein, close to Pforzheim, there is an old paper factory. The industrial building was abandoned in the 1970s and from then on became more and more one with the surrounding nature. No longer structurally safe, the factory’s interior is considered a particularly morbid example of decay and is highly valued by enthusiasts of the lost place scene.

Despite the spectacular photo opportunities, caution is advised in any case, as water is dripping down from collapsed ceiling elements or sunlight is making its way through the brittle rock. Many of the ancient machine parts, transformers, and displays present themselves as silent witnesses to time in an unreal setting. According to recent
decisions, the city of Pforzheim, as the current owner, will
sell the building complex to an investor.

Menzingen Water Castle

The history of the current ruins began in the 14th century, as the successor to the former Tiefburg. Peter von Mentzingen acquired the castle and had it built in the 16th century in the classic Renaissance style. The castle was given three floors and a new name.
Like many other castles, the moated castle was almost destroyed at the end of the Second World War and was not renovated. Today, the moated castle is just a ruin, leaving its splendor and nobility in the past.

The Waldhorn and the Hotel Alexanderschanze

You can already learn a lot about the impressive luxury hotel Hotel Waldlust in the first part of our Lost Places in the Black Forest information. But there are still a few abandoned inns and hotels on the Black Forest High Road that seem to symbolize the decline of tourism in the region. In the area of ​​the entrance to Kniebes, for example, you can find the former Waldhorn Inn. The days when visitors would come here to eat are long gone. The empty dining room is almost a little spooky. On the once well-kept sun terrace, a weathered table with a few chairs now presents a rather sad picture.

Dilapidated support pillars indicate that there used to be a drag lift here, which pulled younger guests up to the adjacent slope for beginners. The former Hotel Alexanderschanze is located on a hill just about a kilometer away. Since the business was closed and taken over by the state of Baden-Württemberg in 2015, the building has led a sad existence. The once popular hostel on Federal Highway 28 is a listed building and, according to current plans, is to be renovated before it falls into disrepair and converted into a ranger station.

Kurhotel Hundseck in Ottersweier and Kurhaus Sand

Another former hotel building is located in Ottersweier. The former Hundseck Spa hotel has been left to decay since 1982 and is now surrounded by a construction fence. An eyesore for many residents for decades, the Hundseck was once one of the most renowned hotels in the region. At the beginning of the 20th century, the complex had 160 rooms with a swimming pool, tennis court, and billiards room. Just a few minutes drive further east, opposite the old ski lift at the beginning of the forest area, is the former Sand Spa Hotel.

The formerly magnificent inn still looks in many areas as if the building was only recently abandoned. Benches and chairs outside suggest that the seasonal guests were still here recently. The morbid charm of the past is also present inside. A little spooky, because everything seems intact in some way, with made, untouched beds or set tables in the dining room. No coincidence, because the Kurhaus Sand is one of the official lost places in the Black Forest. With no apparent interest in renovation or sale, visitors can take a photo tour of the bizarre building for a fee.

Neuf-Brisach barracks in Alsace

In the immediate border area on the other side of the Rhine from Breisach, near Vogelsheim, is the former barracks of Neuf-Brisach. Built around 1909, German and French troops took turns doing military service here. In 1992, the barracks were abandoned and abandoned. The huge site with the classic old block buildings in Wilhelminian architecture was for a long time a lost place for interesting photo documentation. Some buildings have now been renovated and commercial developments have been established in part of the site. However, several of the barracks buildings are still empty.

Conclusion

Like most large, mountainous, and forested areas in Germany, the Black Forest had acquired a rather spooky reputation during its history. Moreover, the forest has always been the traditional place where German folklore settled monstrous beasts, vengeful fairies, ghosts, or other supernatural horrors. Not to mention that there have been many brutal outlaws and strange backwoodsmen in the past centuries. However, the Black Forest can in no way be compared to Yellowstone Park or the Canadian wilderness. Because in most German valleys there are always houses somewhere. This means that if you follow a random path, in a few hours you will come across some kind of civilization again or maybe even some still unknown lost places in the Black Forest…