Kurhaus ‘Dr. A’

This old sanatorium stands in a German spa town and dates back to the early 1900s. It was built on the initiative of the successful ‘Dr. A’ as a sanatorium for internal diseases and diet treatments. The beautiful Jugendstil style building has been standing abandoned for almost fourty years now, but it’s in a remarkably good state.

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Due to great demand, after six years of being in business an even bigger building was built next to the first one. During the First World War the sanatorium was used as a military emergency hospital. Eleven years after the ending of the First World War ‘Dr. A’ died and his son took over the estate. In 1933 the national socialists were winning ground in Germany and Jews became a target for violence. The son, having a Jewish background, took a chance to emigrate to the United States. The sanatorium was kept in operation until the beginning of World War Two, then it was taken over by the national socialists and turned into a refugee home. In the 1950s it was put into use as a sanatorium again, and the two buildings were connected by a new central building. Three years later a small part in the same modern style was added to the north side of the building. After being actively used for over twenty years, the sanatorium was abandoned due to a company reorganisation. The building has changed hands between developers often during the years of abandonment but none have succeeded in giving a new purpose to the building; the plans didn’t even make it past the planning phase due to not being economically feasible.