During the Second World War, the Nazi’s had many grand plans. One of their more ambitious was to build the world’s largest beach resort on the island of Rügen.
The Prora complex was not just big – it was absolutely absurdly big. So big in fact, that you can see the complex taking up the entire coastal region on this Google map link.
The main buildings are 2.7 miles long, and every single one of the almost 10,000 rooms faces the sea. The Nazi’s, and Hitler in particular wanted the resort to be where Germans would go for their well deserved beach holiday, and like many of his other plans, the place had to be “the most mighty one to ever have existed”.
The plans also included a festival hall large enough for 20,000 people, two wave pools, a theater and docks for arriving ships.
Portions of the complex were never completed, as Hitler moved troops away from the construction site to work on his V2 rocket program. After the war, the East German army used parts of the complex as a military outpost.
After the German reunification, the buildings were left completely vacant and started to rot away. For years, the complex stood empty, with only a small portion being used as an exhibit center.
Things are about to change, as the village council in Binz has voted to approve a plan to return portions of the complex into its original purpose – a tourist resort. Part of the plan also includes a youth hostel. Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of 2009. Of course, this still leaves large portions of the building vacant, but I’m sure someone will find a good use for it.
This isn’t even the only time a crazed dictator has attempted to build an insane hotel, just ask the poor people of North Korea who have to look at this unfinished monstrosity every day.
(Photo from Wikipedia)
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