CHASING STORIES IN FORGOTTEN PLACES
photos & videos by Askra
Where others see decay,
I chase stories.
Hold on to what you truly love -
giving up is not an option!
Places Once Thrived With Life.
Places once thrived with life, now stand in silence, carrying the weight of forgotten stories. Once sterile tiles and long white corridors, now softened by moss and decay — nature slowly reclaiming what was always hers.
Camera. Silence. Freedom.
With my camera I wander through forgotten halls, where silence tells louder stories than words. Every broken window, every faded wall holds a piece of history waiting to be seen. In these abandoned places, I find freedom — and a beauty hidden in decay.
Natural Beauty in Its Rawest Form
EXPLORE
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URBEX
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DECAY
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DISCOVERY
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EXPLORE • URBEX • DECAY • DISCOVERY •
This Is More Than Just a Showcase
it’s a glimpse into my passion and what I truly love. From here, you step into part of my world, a collection of moments captured in forgotten places. These lost spaces hold a quiet beauty, one that often remains unseen. Through my work, I aim to embody that beauty and share the stories hidden in decay, turning silence into color and absence into expression.Hosptials And Sanatoriums
Sanatorio del Gottardo
The Sanatorio del Gottardo in Switzerland, was founded in the early 20th century as a tuberculosis sanatorium, treating patients from across the country. Later renamed Sanatorio Popolare Cantonale, it was eventually abandoned. Today, the impressive building stands empty and is considered a classic lost place.
Sanatorium Medoscio
The Sanatorio Medoscio was built in the 1950s at about 1,000 meters abovethe city, designed specifically for children suffering from lung diseases such as tuberculosis. As medical treatments improved and cases declined, the clinic gradually lost its purpose. It was closed in the 1990s and has since remained abandoned, now known as a well-known lost place.
Sanatorio Guido Salvini di Garbagnate Milanese
It opened in 1926 as one of the largest tuberculosis sanatoria in northern Italy. Built in a vast park on the edge of the Groane forest, it was designed to host several hundred patients at a time and quickly became a reference point for the treatment of TB. In the 1930s and 1940s, thousands of patients passed through its wards, benefitting from therapies based on rest, fresh air, and controlled diet. After antibiotics reduced the threat of tuberculosis, the facility was gradually converted into a general hospital. For decades it served the wider Milanese population before being definitively closed, leaving behind an immense abandoned complex that still carries the memory of its role in public health.
Krankenanstalt Dr. Heinz May
The clinic was founded in 1907 by Dr. Wilhelm May and later run by his son, Dr. Heinz May. Over the decades it developed into a well-known private hospital in the Tegernsee region, offering general medicine, internal medicine, and later also specialized treatments such as dialysis. By the early 2000s it provided around 110 beds and cared for patients with chronic lung, kidney, and heart conditions. After more than a century of operation, the clinic was closed in 2008, with the dialysis department following in 2012. Since then, the large building has stood mostly abandoned, a silent reminder of its long medical history.
Schwarzwaldklinik
The clinic opened in 1977 as a large rehabilitation and post-acute care facility, specializing in orthopedics and internal medicine. With over 24,000 square meters of space, it offered numerous single rooms, wheelchair-accessible areas, and staff facilities. Its location in the Black Forest, known for clean mountain air and mineral baths, made it an ideal environment for recovery. Over the years, however, patient numbers declined, and the clinic was finally closed in 2011. Since then, the sprawling complex has stood abandoned and is now regarded as a notable lost place in the region.
Frozen Moments
This page is constantly evolving – what you see here is only a small glimpse of my gallery. Step by step, it will grow into a concept that captures the true essence of Lost Places.
Many have heard of Lost Places, but only a few truly understand the passion behind exploring them. They are not merely abandoned spaces. Each location carries traces of past lives, frozen moments, stories suspended between dust and silence.
A Lost Place is like a time capsule: a leap back in time, an immersion into forgotten worlds, a silent dialogue with history itself. You can feel the atmosphere of the very moment when everything changed – and it is exactly this feeling that makes the fascination so unique.
Factories / Industrial Facilities
Power Plant
I couldn’t really find any solid information about this site, and we didn’t even manage to get inside since the place is under surveillance. Still, the sheer size of the cooling towers and the remains of the plant make it an imposing and unforgettable sight from the outside.
Cement Facility
This cement factory is not entirely abandoned – parts of it are still in use – yet it was a fascinating place to explore. The mixture of active operations and disused sections created a unique atmosphere that offered plenty to discover. For obvious reasons, I won’t share the name or exact location, nor provide detailed information, in order to protect the site and the people working there.
Through the Lens of Time
Photography is more than capturing an image – it is preserving what time tries to erase. Each picture becomes a witness, holding on to fragments of fading history.When the lens meets a Lost Place, it frames more than walls and windows. It captures silence, decay, and the beauty of imperfection. Peeling paint turns into poetry, shattered glass into memory, shadows into stories.To photograph these places is to reveal the invisible: atmosphere, presence, the silent dialogue between past and present.Hotels/Residentals
Malas Orphanage
It was built in the post-war years and first came into use in the 1960s as a children’s convalescent home. Designed to host around seventy-five children between the ages of six and fourteen, it provided rest, health treatments, and supervised care in the fresh mountain air. Over time the need for such institutions declined, the building was eventually closed, and today it remains abandoned as a silent reminder of that chapter in social history.
The Forgotten Luxury Hotel
This site was once a luxury hotel, though detailed records about its history have proven difficult to trace. The grand scale of the architecture and the remains of its interior still suggest a place that once catered to wealthy guests seeking comfort and exclusivity. Time and neglect have since left their mark, but even without clear documentation, the building speaks for itself — a silent monument to an era of elegance that has long since faded.
Hotel Schneeweiss
Once a four-star hotel, this building has stood abandoned for roughly two decades. Once welcoming guests in the alpine resort town, it is now a decaying structure owned by foreign investors and left without care. Efforts by the municipality to address its future have so far led nowhere, leaving the former hotel as a ghostly reminder of tourism’s changing fortunes and the impact of neglect.
Bernauer Hof
The former Bernauer Hof was once a renowned hotel with space for around 100 guests, known for hosting cultural figures and musicians. After closing, it stood empty for years and suffered heavy vandalism in 2013. Eventually, the site was cleared to make way for a new modern resort, marking the end of an era for the historic house.
Echoes Behind Every Place
Every place carries an atmosphere of its own, a quiet presence shaped by time and memory. Behind walls, streets, and corners lie stories that are not always told, yet they linger like echoes waiting to be heard. To step into these spaces is to feel fragments of lives once lived, emotions once felt, moments that still resonate. The beauty lies in the openness of it all – each visitor can read these stories differently, tracing their own path through the silence and the light that every location leaves behind.Complexes
Sigmundsburg Ruins
Built in the 15th century as a residence for Duke Sigmund’s wife, the castle was never fully completed. After short periods of noble use, it was abandoned and slowly decayed. Today, only weathered wall fragments remain, quietly merging with nature.
Congress
The Congress Center Bad Gastein was opened in 1974 as a modern venue for conferences, concerts, and cultural events, reflecting the spa town’s ambition to remain an international meeting place. With its striking 1970s architecture and prime location in the valley, it hosted numerous gatherings over the years. As tourism patterns shifted and maintenance costs rose, the building gradually fell out of use and was eventually abandoned, leaving behind an iconic but decaying landmark of its era.
Train Workshop
I couldn’t really find any solid information about what exactly this place once was, or why it’s no longer in use. What’s clear though is that it’s not your everyday abandoned spot. There’s something different about it – the scale, the atmosphere, the way it stands apart from the usual kind of “lost places” people stumble across. It leaves more questions than answers, and maybe that’s exactly what makes it so striking.
Hunting Lodge
Originally built in the 19th century by a noble family as a hunting lodge and retreat, the building later fell into long neglect. At the time of the exploration, renovation work was already underway, leaving only one accessible room — but even this fragment conveyed how imposing the residence must once have been.
Magic Movie Park
Built in the early 2000s as a 21,000 m² multiplex with cinemas, shops, and restaurants, the Magic Movie Park was abandoned around 2006 due to financial and legal issues. Since then, it stood as a decaying ruin, attracting vandals and urban explorers. In 2021 the municipality took over, and by 2023 demolition began to reclaim the site.
Church Ruin
Once a small place of worship, the church was gradually worn down by time, weather, and neglect. By the 18th century it had lost its role in daily life and was abandoned. What remains today are silent stone walls, a reminder of centuries of faith and change.
Silent Monuments Beneath the Earth
Bunkers are places where time feels suspended. Hidden beneath layers of earth and concrete, they carry the weight of fear, hope, and survival. Their walls whisper of nights spent waiting, of silence heavy enough to shape memory. Though built for protection, they now stand as quiet witnesses of history, reminders of both human fragility and resilience. To wander through them is to step into a space where the past still breathes, where every echo tells a story that resists being forgotten.Bunkers and Underground Complexes
Alleged Hospital Air-Raid Bunker
This bunker is believed to have been intended as protection for a nearby hospital, though no verified records exist to confirm its role. No accessible entrance has been found, and further details about its history remain unknown. What survives is mainly speculation, leaving the structure a quiet remnant of an uncertain past.
Voices Written on the Walls
Graffiti is a contradiction etched into concrete. On one side, it carries the shadow of vandalism – an act that leaves scars where they don’t belong, something I cannot admire or support. Yet on the other side, when born from passion and vision, graffiti transforms into something powerful. The walls, once filled with life, now stand as silent canvases for artists, inviting color back into forgotten spaces. Some works breathe raw beauty, carrying the weight of emotion and creativity, turning emptiness into expression. In this tension between destruction and creation lies the strange, fragile magic of graffiti.Graffiti: New Stories on Forgotten Walls
Graffiti in lost places turns decay into dialogue. Abandoned buildings become open-air galleries, where fading walls carry vibrant voices of creativity and rebellion. Each piece is temporary, fragile, and yet powerful—giving forgotten spaces a new, fleeting life.
I’m Proud to Announce My Very First Partnership
– and honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better one. UnorganizedBrand has agreed to collaborate with me, bringing my logo onto their top-quality products. This step means a lot to me, and I’m beyond excited to see what we’ll create together. The first previews will be released soon – stay tuned for more updates on Instagram.Giveaway Announcement!
I am pleased to announce a special giveaway taking place exclusively on Instagram: one hoodie, plus a patch and a set of stickers. This giveaway is my way of showing appreciation for the continued support.
Participation will only be possible via Instagram. Full details on how to enter will be shared soon, so make sure to stay tuned and follow along.IF YOU REACHED THIS POINT
You may have reached the end of this page, but not the end of my journey. This path will continue, and I’m certain it will grow into something beautiful. I find immense joy in building this website, and even greater joy in exploring forgotten places, capturing them, and sharing their stories.For the first time in my life, I feel what freedom truly means – the sensation of diving into something so profound that everything else fades away. My hope is that I can pass on at least a glimpse of that feeling to you.Stay tuned for more impressions, and thank you for finding your way here.Hold on, and never let go – you don’t want to wander through life carrying the weight of what-ifs.THANK YOU!
