Prora - Abandoned Nazi resort

On the island of Rügen, among beautiful cliff landscapes, modern resorts and kilometers of beaches, we found a place that is a little scary.

Abandoned Resort Prora

In the town of Prora, right on the shore of the Baltic Sea, you can see a huge abandoned resort complex that dates back to Hitler's time. It was built in the 1930s as a resort for German propaganda purposes. This was to be a holiday destination for about 20,000 citizens of the Third Reich. The facility was run by an organization called 'Kraft durch Freude' (Strength through Joy). It was meant to be a place where even ordinary, not wealthy citizens could spend holidays by the sea.

The resort consisted of a 4.5-kilometer-long building and several smaller ones. Construction began in 1936. The main building consisted of eight functional blocks separated by staircases and toilets. This resort was designed to be luxurious. You could get here in two ways: by ship or by train.

The main building extends for miles along the coastline, giving tourists access to a wide, sandy beach. In addition to open-air sports, there were also attractions such as a cinema and a theater.

And then WWII began

They failed to finish construction due to the start of World War II. Construction was never completed. At the start of WWII, the building was almost finished. All accommodation blocks were ready along with the cinema. Construction of an auditorium for 20,000 people and swimming pools had not begun.

The hostilities forced a change of use for the complex. It changed from a tourist facility into a shelter for people bombed out of Hamburg and, later, for refugees. After the war, it first housed a Red Army military base, and then, from 1955, East German troops. Then, for many years this building stood empty, dilapidated, with broken windows. It was gradually looted.

The whole area was called the 'Colossus of Prora'. Without a doubt it was the largest architectural design project of the Nazis.

Fun fact: the design by Clemens Klotz won a Grand Prix at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. All rooms were to face the sea, with corridors and bathrooms on the land side.

After the reunification of Germany the state took over the site and listed Prora as a historic monument. Since then, new ideas for bringing the building back to life have appeared. Unfortunately, the estimated renovation costs were so high that the government decided to sell the property to private investors.

Private investors time

Now, a few years later, thanks to investors working hard to create a holiday resort here again, this place is undergoing big changes. Maybe after so many years people will use this place for its intended purpose again?

The investment, however, is divided into several stages. Building no. 5 was the first to be renovated, in 2011. With the support of the European Union, there is currently a youth hostel inside with a capacity of over 400 people. Some people joke that this is now the longest hostel in the world.

Investors who wanted to convert another block into modern apartments bought block number 2. In order to protect the monument, investors could not make big changes, thus the attractiveness of the apartments is relatively low. The only modification permitted by the conservator is the possibility of building balconies and terraces on the sea side. The rest of the building needs to remain as in the Nazi design.

It’s cool that new apartments and hotels are being built, but there is still the history of this place. The current renovation process has met with strange reactions from people. Some people felt that it was fulfilling the vision of Hitler, who wanted a tourist destination here. This raises a lot of controversy among the community.

We read about the history of this place online, on various websites. If you have more time to visit this area you can visit the “Prora Documentation Centre”. It is a small exhibition next to the theater building.

Some businessmen bought parts of these buildings. They want to restore this place to life. Is this possible? Will tourists come here for holidays? Time will tell. Today the buildings are under renovation.

Good to know: Prora has changed a lot since our visit. In 2016 the first new apartments opened in Block 1 and a hotel opened in Block 2. If you remember the empty buildings from our photos, today you will find many of them renovated. We checked this in November 2026.

So far, we caught the last moment to see Prora’s abandoned buildings. We were only able to walk around. All entrances to the buildings were sealed. We saw pictures of the old corridors on the internet. For us, walking around was enough. We saw this huge building and wild beach, which will probably look totally different in a few years.

The future of Prora

According to the project it should look like this:

Who knows how this place will change in the next few years. Maybe we will visit it again someday to see.