East Germany has a large number of abandoned places. Some are saved and converted into some kind of institution, while others are simply demolished. But in the German city of Schwerin, there is an abandoned school still standing that is slowly being destroyed by the pressure of time and vandalism.
While it was in power, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (the SED or the East German Communist Party) founded schools in each of the districts, which included one on the northern slope of the residential area of New Zippendorf. This large school was opened in 1979, and the basic concept was based on a similar party school in Frankfurt.
The new school in Schwerin had an area of 10,000 square meters (107,639 square feet). The main building was six stories high and was a dormitory with around 174 rooms.
There was also a two-story dining room and a cafeteria with 320 seats. The lecture hall was four stories high and could accommodate 500 people.
Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, Treuhand acquired the school and sold the building in December 1992 for 26 million marks. The buyer was the city-owned company Schweriner Grund GmbH.
The company leased the building to the Federal Employment Administration College from 1993 to 2000. Unfortunately, Schweriner Grund GmbH’s financial problems meant that another city-owned company, WGS, had to buy more than 98 percent of the shares as well as all the debts in 1996.
The school continued for a while longer, but finally the facility was closed and abandoned in 2000. In 2003, an investor from Hamburg bought the former school and applied for permission to turn it into apartments, but the project never got off the ground.
In 2007, it was bought again and another application was received to transform the building into a residential complex for the elderly, but no headway was made on this project either.
The site has become popular among graffiti artists and lovers of abandoned places. Sadly, many of the buildings have been vandalized and subjected to several arson attacks. After one fire, part of the ceiling in the lecture hall fell down, making that structure extremely dangerous.
Despite its hazardous condition and the number of complaints registered against the property, there are currently no plans to demolish all or even part of the structure.
Instead, the present owner has reinforced the fence panels to deter trespassers and has hired a caretaker who visits the site regularly. One of the main jobs of the caretaker is to secure the fences as they have frequently been vandalized, pushed over, and even stolen.
The school actually stands near a spa hotel by the lake called the Resort Hotel Schwerin-Zippendorf. You can learn more about this equally fascinating place in our article about it here.
A big thank you to Alexandr and his LiveJournal account for sharing such amazing photographs of this ruined building with us.
Alex lives in Germany and has got an account where he writes about different locations. He has written his own article about this location where you can find more of his photos and information. You should definitely check out his LiveJournal account and Facebook page. Enjoy!
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