Home Of The Dark Corridors - Austria - August 2017

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B W T

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In August we spent a week in Vienna – and together with two local urban explorers we traveled to the raddest abandoned sites around Austria.



“Shoot!” This was literally our immediate thought when we arrived at the first destination of our road trip in Austria. It seemed like some construction workers were in attendance at that day. To abort the mission was not an option. Our way to get to this place was far too long to simply relinquish now. So instead of entering from the front we approached from behind through the woods. This former home for blind people is a huge building complex and as it seems the workers were only active in the front area. But this presented us with a problem: Local urban explorers told us that there is an easy access point – it just was in the area where the people were working, so we couldn’t get in there. We had to look for an alternative entrance point. And just as we wanted to give up looking we found a way in – but we had to rope down a skylight.

36325981514_dd5ac2f003_b.jpgHome Of The Dark Corridors #01 by Broken Window Theory, on Flickr

At first we surveyed the basement. This building is a former old-age residence for visually handicapped and blind people that was abandoned around two and a half years ago. Because of this rather short period of time there’s only little vandalism on the site.

36990924772_df50175db0_b.jpgHome Of The Dark Corridors #08 by Broken Window Theory, on Flickr

An interesting design which is repeated throughout the whole building in different variations attracted our attention. Handrails, lamps and more are in an unusual pipe-like look.

36764716150_edf62e7d1c_b.jpgTubes by Broken Window Theory, on Flickr

At an outdoor temperature of around 40 degrees Celsius, the exploration was tough inside these massive glass boxes which are the connecting pieces of the different building parts. In here the temperature was heating a lot.

36972830716_324b043935_b.jpgHome Of The Dark Corridors #21 by Broken Window Theory, on Flickr

In the back parts of the building, there were the living quarters of this retirement home. The rooms were specifically designed for the needs of visually handicapped and blind people. In the whole structure you can find ramps instead of stairs for example. There is a continuous handrail both in the building and in the garden as well. The furnishings are rounded off and without any sharp edges; the rooms are designed rich in contrast. The old-age residence is in the middle of a very small village and is surrounded only by nature. Next to permanent users and long-stay residents people could also rent rooms for vacations or short-term stays – with tendance and support when necessary. The occupants could even bring their own pets.

36990922332_25e9583ba9_b.jpgHome Of The Dark Corridors #10 by Broken Window Theory, on Flickr

In the area we have explored the power was already switched off. Yet, there still was running water.

36990919802_94085028a4_b.jpgHome Of The Dark Corridors #11 by Broken Window Theory, on Flickr

Around the year 2015, the building which is over 60 years old was abandoned due to cost concerns. The costly refurbishment measures were simply too expensive. Despite protests, the retirement home was shut down. But the fact that there are workers here right now shows that the site might have a future.

36990918512_1061da47b1_b.jpgHome Of The Dark Corridors #20 by Broken Window Theory, on Flickr

After all, it already found a new use some time ago. In this year the property served as the training ground of the State police K9 units. From time to time, drills and exercises for the police dogs take place here. Due to some recent cases of vandalism the canine handlers are supposed to conduct regular inspection patrols. Well, luckily for us there was no such police dog training that day.

36764719580_0f91f98125_b.jpgBowling Alley by Broken Window Theory, on Flickr
 
Nice photos and interesting write-up but, did you say you had to slide down a rope from a skylight? Was it a Mission Impossible?
 

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