There are places in Germany that score less with their beautiful landscape or cozy atmosphere. Instead, they look back on a rather sinister and sometimes cruel story. These are some of them.
The Brocken in the Harz Mountains has been regarded as a witch mountain for many centuries. This is where the witches are said to have met the devil on Walpurgis Night. On the way there, the women are said to have enchanted everything that came their way – at least that’s what superstitions say.
To this day, thousands of people celebrate Walpurgis Night around the Brocken at the end of April. Local residents used to put crosses on the door to protect themselves from witches. Today, however, they have largely disappeared. Nevertheless, a strange aura surrounds the place, the Brocken is one of the most foggy areas in Europe.
At the Grunewald-Forst Cemetery in Berlin, goosebumps are part of the daily routine. Because this final resting place is also known as the “Suicide Cemetery” or “Cemetery of the Nameless”. It is not far from the Havel, which bends at this point – which is why drowned bodies were regularly driven onto the shore. In addition to people who had drowned, suicides were also among the dead.
Since they were not allowed to be buried in Christian cemeteries until the 19th century, as it was considered a “mortal sin”, an alternative had to be found. It was decided to bury the suicides in this forest clearing. Grunewald-Forst was used as a suicide cemetery until 1927, after which anyone could be buried there.
The former pulmonary sanatorium in Beelitz could come from a horror film. It is located in the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark in Brandenburg and was built between 1889 and 1930. It is one of the largest medical complexes in the Berlin area – 60 buildings spread over 200 hectares. The area is surrounded by a forest, lung diseases and soldiers were once treated here. The politician Erich Honecker (1912-1994), who was suffering from liver cancer, was also a patient here for a few months from 1990.
Due to the strong decay and the architecture, several films have already been shot there, including “Operation Valkyrie” with Tom Cruise (60) or “The Pianist” by Roman Polanski (89). The dilapidated building was also used for a photo shoot on “Germany’s next top model”. However, the institution has also been the scene of crimes, including a double murder committed just a few meters away in 1991. In 2008, another murder occurred at the site.
