Thanks to its rich royal history, Germany has some of the world's most beautiful castles, mansions and palaces. But two world wars, Soviet occupation and modern economic pressures have led to many of these incredible buildings being damaged, destroyed or abandoned completely.

Click or scroll on as we explore Germany's most extraordinary derelict residences, from the villas of Goebbels and Himmler to royal retreats and Soviet strongholds...

Once the holiday home of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi party's notorious propaganda chief, this sprawling villa is being given away for free after standing empty for decades. 

The 42-acre estate is currently owned by the Berlin government, which pays the maintenance and security costs. It has long tried to offload the property but has failed due to an ongoing debate about whether to raze the site or repurpose it. Meanwhile, the historic plot has fallen into disrepair.

One of Adolf Hitler's closest allies, Joseph Goebbels, built the villa in 1939. His official residence was in Berlin, where he lived with his wife and their six children. However, the propagandist retreated to this countryside bolthole, which lies just 25 miles north of Berlin, to entertain prominent Nazi Party members.

This original statue of an embracing couple stands in the home's courtyard, belying the home's sinister roots.

Inside, the décor is remarkably well-preserved considering the building has stood empty for several decades including this wood-panelled library.

With such a chequered history, it's easy to understand why the estate has languished on the market. As reported by the Associated Press, Berlin’s finance minister Stefan Evers told the state parliament in May 2024 that he would offer the property to anyone who would like to take it on "as a gift from the state of Berlin". However, it's not clear whether proposals from individuals would be accepted.

With its coffered ceiling and full-height windows, this room was likely one of many reception rooms. Elsewhere in the neglected property lies a movie theatre and a ballroom with windows that can mechanically retract into the ground. 

Goebbels last visited the home in 1945, just before relocating to Hitler's Führerbunker in Berlin, where he and his family ultimately died. 

After the war, Bogensee Villa was briefly used as an allied hospital. In the 1950s, an additional – rather grand – columned building was added to the site when the estate became a communist political training school during the Soviet occupation of East Germany.

However, hints at the home's dark past still linger, including this entrance to an old bunker, no doubt installed by Goebbels to escape potential allied bombing raids.

Tannenfeld Castle stands on a wooded hill an hour south of Leipzig. The dignified Baroque manor house was built at the turn of the 19th century for Duchess Anna Dorothea of Courland, who was from an area of modern-day Latvia. 

Anna Dorothea was an influential woman of her time, a well-known diplomat and socialite. She hosted festivals, theatre performances, concerts and political gatherings at Tannenfeld, attracting high-profile artists, scientists and politicians.

Anna Dorothea reportedly moved in the same circles as Napoleon and Prussian King Frederick William III. She even hosted the likes of Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of Germany's most influential writers and thinkers, at Tannenfeld. 

German writer Jean Paul reportedly wrote about Tannenfeld, describing it as a "friendly, Italian-style summer palace" located in front of a "wide bowling green, around which the simple park with its tree-lined walks stretches".

After Anna Dorothea's death, the manor house became a private sanitorium for people with mental health problems where German writer Hans Fallada was treated. It continued as a hospital into the 1990s until it was turned into a care home for the elderly.

Tannenfeld was eventually abandoned and has fallen slowly into disrepair. However, as we can see from this image taken in 2015, all is far from lost – the parquet floors, chandelier and wall and ceiling mouldings in this reception room are all still in salvageable condition.

This somewhat austere room is a krankenbett or 'sick room', which dates back to the mansion's time as a hospital. 

In 2017, Tannenfeld was sold to a group of private investors who promised to pour around €10 million (£8.5m/$10.8m) into renovating the historic building. In line with the estate's history, the property will be transformed into a care facility for people suffering from dementia and mental illnesses. The castle will also house a café and events centre.

However, according to Google Maps photos from May 2024, there doesn't seem to have been much work undertaken on the mansion yet.

Back in the 19th century, Anna Dorothea transformed the grounds around the palace into a landscaped park, made fashionable by the English aristocracy of the time. Today, the gardens still attract visitors who can enjoy carpets of daffodils and towering rhododendrons.

The grounds are also home to a number of outbuildings in various states of disrepair – including the beautiful water tower and villa. Pictured here, this 1920s 'sunbathing hall' is one of the more derelict structures on the acreage, but we can imagine it would make a perfect summer house from which to enjoy the beautiful parkland.

Here's hoping this incredible estate will be brought back to life for future generations to enjoy.

Standing on the site of a former abbey, Reinhardsbrunn Castle in the state of Thuringia has a checquered past – as well as links to the British royal family. 

The original monastery was built in 1085, however, it was ransacked and left to ruin following Germany's Peasants' War in the 16th century and later used to hold religious prisoners.

Its origins might make Reinhardsbrunn seem an unlikely backdrop for one of the greatest royal romances of the 19th century, but that's exactly what it became...

In 1828, Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha turned the monastery into a neo-Gothic-style pleasure palace surrounded by a landscaped park and hunting ground. 

This watercolour, painted around 1847, shows an upstairs drawing room. Queen Victoria is said to have admired the floor "of inlaid wood, dark and light" during a visit to Reinhardsbrunn.

The young British monarch met Ernst's son, Duke Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, several times at the castle before the pair married in 1840. They were famously happy together and their son King Edward VII began the British Saxe-Coburg-Gotha line. His son, George V, changed the family name to Windsor during the First World War and so it remains today. 

With such strong links to royalty, it seems incredible that Reinhardsbrunn was eventually abandoned and left to decay. Sadly, that's exactly what happened.

The once-grand home was used as a Soviet hospital after the Second World War and then operated as a hotel from 1961 onwards until it closed in October 2001.

This photo of the castle's extravagant Green Hall shows the extent of the decay just 15 years later.

Neglected and seemingly used as a dumping ground for building materials, the castle's chapel has suffered badly. Its ceiling was once adorned with panels of blue glass inlaid with transparent stars, which must have been a mesmerising sight for worshippers below.

In 2006, the castle was bought by a construction company for just €25,000 – that's about £31,200 ($39.6k) today. Two years later, the company was acquired by Russian investors who planned to turn the castle into a luxury hotel. In 2009, ownership of the estate transferred again when the company changed hands once more, this time snapped up by another Russian businessman.

Sadly, Reinhardsbrunn remained neglected and fell further and further into disrepair. Seeking to protect the house, officials from the state of Thuringia reportedly used a heritage preservation law to take possession of the castle in 2018.

Today, preservation work is underway and while a full restoration may cost up to €40 million (£34.2m/$43.4m), there is new hope for the grand residence, which has become known affectionately as 'Schloss Rapunzel' thanks to its ivy-covered tower.

As many as 75,000 Soviet men, women and children once lived in this palatial officers' house and the surrounding 60,000-acre estate, known as Wünsdorf.

Originally built in 1871, Wünsdorf became one of Europe's largest military bases during the First World War when it was used to house allied prisoners of war. Later, it was repurposed as a training camp for athletes preparing for the 1936 Olympics. 

Shortly before the invasion of Poland in September 1939, Germany's Supreme Command moved in and guided the Second World War campaign from the nearby Zeppelin underground communications bunker on the Wünsdorf base, according to The Guardian.

After the war, the Soviets took the estate over. Conveniently placed just 25 miles from Berlin, it was the ideal place to house Russian troops should citizens revolt under the new communist rule. 

Although suffering neglect, it's easy to imagine the Soviet High Command strolling up this grand staircase. 

As the largest Soviet military camp outside the USSR, Wünsdorf became known as 'Little Moscow' and had shops, a casino, schools and recreational facilities – including this impressive theatre. Despite the patches of black mould creeping across the ornate ceiling, it hardly detracts from the grandeur of the vast room.

Ordinary Germans weren't allowed to enter the complex unless they had official permission, which led to the site's other nickname: the Forbidden City.

This eerie swimming pool symbolises the neglect the whole site has suffered since it was abandoned in August 1994. The Russians left in such a hurry that they left behind 98,300 rounds of ammunition, almost 30 tonnes of rubbish, shops full of electronics and even their pets.

While robustly built, the site was looked after for years by just one caretaker, leaving the estate to languish. This may have deterred potential buyers when the complex went on the market for £3 million ($3.8m) in 2015.

A far cry from its heyday when it was teeming with life and hosting everything from Bolshoi Ballet performances to volleyball competitions, the officers' house is now a forlorn remnant of the Soviet age. 

This sinister-looking entrance lies almost hidden in the overgrown grounds. It leads to a mysterious corrugated metal shelter below.

Across the wider estate, the extraordinary 'bunker town of Wünsdorf' contains the impressive ruins of many large Second World War shelters. Today, the public can tour the bunker area and visit museums and a bookshop.

This hauntingly beautiful building and its wider estate once housed up to 3,000 people. However, they were patients and not members of the German aristocracy as you might expect – because despite its elegant appearance, Beelitz-Heilstatten was not a country house but a sanitorium. 

Built between 1898 and 1930, 60 buildings dotted the almost 500-acre site, which was founded to treat workers from the area who were suffering from lung conditions, including tuberculosis. This building, known as the Alpine House, was finished in 1907 and housed 273 patients.

Inside the Alpine House, the surprisingly grand interior architecture must have been an inspiring sight for recovering patients to behold. The frescoes, ornate columns and large Art Nouveau windows would all be at home in a grand country mansion. 

During the First World War, injured German soldiers were treated at the hospital. In 1916, a 27-year-old Adolf Hitler reportedly spent seven weeks recuperating here after he had been injured by shrapnel.

The future Fuhrer reportedly despised his fellow patients, even noting the fact in his political manifesto Mein Kampf. However, he was impressed by the facilities.

"What a change!" he wrote. "From the mud of the Battle of the Somme to the white beds of this wonderful building! In the beginning, people hardly dared to lie down properly."

The sanitorium was once again used as a military hospital during the Second World War – hardly surprising considering how much Hitler admired the facility.

Lying just 34 miles from Berlin, the hospital's patients and staff were evacuated during the battle for the German capital in 1945. Like many such sites, Beelitz-Heilstatten was taken over by the Soviet military following the war. They remained on the site until 1995.

After the Soviets abandoned the area, the majority of the site fell into ruin – the beautiful Alpine House was never repaired after sustaining damage back in 1945.

Nevertheless, the estate's ruins have still garnered attention, featuring in Roman Polanski's acclaimed holocaust drama The Pianist, while Tom Cruise shot scenes for Operation Valkyrie here.

Today, treetop walkways crisscross the forest and arch over the Alpine House so tourists can see inside without entering the dangerously decrepit building – official tours are also available.

New life is slowly creeping back into the forlorn estate. New apartment blocks and homes have been built on the wider grounds, with more construction planned in the near future.

The romantic ruins of Dwasieden Castle stand on the island of Rügen, nestled in a forest on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Building began on the castle in 1873 after it was dreamt up by banker Adolph von Hansemann, one of the country's richest men at that time.

The castle was designed by Friedrich Hitzig and took four years to build, mainly from French sandstone, Swedish granite and marble.

Pictured here in around 1900, the stately home consisted of a square central building, flanked by towers and twin colonnades that ended in Grecian-style pavilions. 

A grand 'marstall' – or stable building – was built in the 1880s. As we shall see, it's one of the few parts of the castle that remains standing today.z

Anyone who stumbles upon these enchanting ruins lost among the trees would be forgiven for thinking they were the remnants of Dwasieden Castle itself. However, they are simply the stable block and carriage house, which gives us an idea of just how grand the main house would have been.

Today, ruins of the pavilions are all that survive of the house itself.

Inside, the forest is slowly reclaiming the building; just the walls and ceiling joists remain. However, the architectural skill that went into these outbuildings is evident.

It's no surprise that during Hansemann's tenure, he hosted Germany's imperial family at the castle, as well as famed German playwright, poet and novelist Gerhart Hauptmann.

After Hansemann's death, the castle stayed in the family until the dynasty ran into money trouble and reportedly sold the property to the state in 1935. The navy took it over and built an enormous barracks on the site, the burned shell of which still partially stands today.

After the war, Dwasieden became a refugee camp and the castle itself was occupied by a Soviet administration office. Sadly, its past as a German naval base sealed its fate and the castle was blown up in 1948 as part of Soviet land reforms, with building materials extracted for reuse elsewhere.

The site was bought and sold multiple times since the fall of the USSR and plans for its regeneration never came to fruition. It changed hands again in 2022, snapped up by a mysterious buyer "from the real estate industry", according to local newspaper Berliner Morgenpost.

We can't wait to see whether the once-glorious estate is given a new lease of life or if Mother Nature will reclaim it for herself.

This imposing residence stands on the outskirts of Lindenau, 27 miles north of Dresden. Once the home of the noble von Minckwitz family, the Renaissance bones of the castle were built in 1584 on the site of an earlier moated medieval fortification.

Due to unrest among the local peasant class, the family subsequently added a tower and a gatehouse to give it a fortress-style appearance. 

Several different prominent figures owned the castle throughout the 18th century until it was snapped up by the Princes of Lynar in 1833. They transformed the gardens from a Baroque layout into a large landscaped park, which was fashionable across Europe at the time. They also made additional changes to the castle itself, giving it a neo-Baroque facelift that we still see today.

This photo was taken of a hallway on the first floor sometime between 1897 and 1927 after it was transformed by German architect Alfred Breslauer.

During the war, the castle was used as a military hospital. Ownership of the estate was held by the family until 1945 when it was seized by the Soviets.

This photo was taken in 1985 and shows the ornate interior in surprisingly good condition, especially considering its use as a children's home between 1951 and 1997.

Fast forward almost forty years to this image taken of the same room in 2022.

In 2018, the state attempted to take ownership of the castle after it had stood empty for over 20 years. The case rumbled on for years, but in 2021, the castle was awarded to the municipality.

Luckily, as we can see, the interior had not suffered as much as it could have over the decades it was abandoned. The parquet floors, carved fireplace and stucco ceiling in this room remain in relatively good condition.

While the residence was put up for sale for just €800,000 (£682k/$869k) in 2021, the castle doesn't appear to have a buyer just yet.

According to the most recent images posted by the public to Google Maps, little has changed at the historic schloss. Images dated April 2024 show exterior plasterwork peeling from the walls, hints of water damage and a green, algae-filled moat. Unless a new owner is found soon, the historic property risks ending up in ruin.

Built in 1768 by a wealthy leather manufacturer, Dammsmühle Castle has a storied past. After falling into disrepair, it was sold at auction in 1894 and rebuilt in a neo-Baroque style.

In 1915, Harry Goodwin Hart, the British head of what would later be known as Unilever, snapped up the elegant residence, where he hosted entrepreneurs, artists and actors. 

However, after Hart fled Germany with his Jewish wife in 1938, Dammsmühle was appropriated by none other than Heinrich Himmler, the notorious chief of the SS, Hitler's special police force.

After the fall of the Nazis, Dammsmühle was taken over by the Soviet Army and used as a military hospital, before being repurposed in 1953 as a Stasi training ground. As a result, the elegant home became known as the 'Stasi Castle'. The Soviets abandoned the estate in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

This photo was taken in February 1990 and gives us a glimpse of how the interior looked in its heyday, from grand chandeliers to ornate wood panelling.

The castle became a popular filming location in the 1990s, drawing visitors from across Germany as a result. However, interest gradually waned and businesses were reportedly put off from operating in the castle by its Nazi past.

As we can see from this photo taken in July 2018, the intervening years haven't been kind to the mansion.

In 1997, Dammsmühle was finally returned to the heirs of Harry Goodwin Hart as part of a Holocaust restitution movement. The property then passed between the municipality and private owners, whose grand plans inevitably fell through as the castle descended further and further into disrepair.

As we can see from the smashed windows, crumbling plaster, fallen ceilings and graffiti, the formerly grand building presents a massive challenge to anyone wanting to return it to its former glory.

Thankfully, there is a glimmer of hope for Dammsmühle. In 2018, the old manor house and its 69-acre park were reportedly bought by a private consortium, which includes celebrity restauranteur Roland Mary. The group plans to transform the estate into a luxury hotel with a spa and restaurants.

While work has progressed slowly, recent images show that the peeling exterior is now covered in gleaming white plaster. Let's hope this is the start of the castle's fairytale ending after decades of neglect and failed pipe dreams. 

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