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On Location: Photo Opportunities Off The Beaten Track

by Rob Fairhead and Judith Duddle


Rob writes:

Our recent visit to Probstzella came about because a memory of a rail trip was re-triggered by watching a short video about it (details at the bottom).


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I remember calling at Probstzella on the train 40 years ago (1985), en route from Berlin (after visiting a relative who lived there) to Munich. Back then it was the last station in East Germany before entering West Germany, so stringent border checks took place until reunification in 1990. Nowadays the station is a normal call for trains, together with a great little border railway museum that opens at weekends.


The images from left to right show:

  1. Crossing the border sometimes meant being interrogated alone in a room with a border guard.

  2. This photo brought back memories, as it’s exactly how I remember my papers being checked on the train by the border guards (though I daren’t smile).

  3. Bags could be searched manually.



 

The station itself is pictured below.

  1. The station is largely unchanged….

  2. … except these barriers once extended the whole length of the platform, separating the international from the domestic platform.



Knowing that we’d be passing nearby in November, and luckily at a weekend, I suggested to Judith that we combine a museum visit and an overnight stay. She agreed and it turned out to be a highlight of the holiday.


Bauhaus Hotel Des Volkes


Judith writes:


The Bauhaus Hotel Des Volkes, built in the 1920s and designed by Bauhaus architect Alfred Arndt, the Haus des Volkes (“House of the People”). The hotel is a huge imposing building, difficult to photograph from the street because you can’t get far enough away from it to get the perspective right. We managed to find a spot across the railway tracks that gave a better view, it also gives a glimpse of the rural area that the hotel sits in.


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The hotel was built to attract tourists to the region and as a cultural centre for the local population, it includes a bowling alley and a cinema.  During the GDR years, the building fell into neglect because it sat inside the restricted border zone, one of the staff told us that in those days, the two floors with rooms in were used by the Stasi and only the bowling alley, cinema and restaurant were open to the public. After reunification, it was bought in an auction by two local residents and lovingly restored.


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We were lucky enough to spend a night at the hotel, it felt a little like staying in a design museum, but without the attendants keeping an eye on us. Everything was beautifully restored to it’s 1920’s glory.


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The staircases were a favourite feature, the clean lines and the colour combinations made photographing them irresistible.


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The public rooms are simple but stylish, there’s nothing flashy about the place, it feels authentic but quirky. A dream for anyone with an interest in design. Fortunately there didn’t seem to be many guests so it was easy to photography without having to avoid people. The Garage Haus Des Volkes is just opposite the hotel and also designed by Arnold Arndt.


It would be great to go back and spend more time in Probstzella, as well as the museum and border crossing, the surrounding woodland had so much potential (think sun filtering through the trees)  but unfortunately the weather was grey and wet while we were there.


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