In today’s episode we’re exploring this massive abandoned compound somewhere in Germany.
Everything you can see here is part of a defunct factory.
For nearly 150 years glass has been produced at this location.
And still today you can find huge machines that were simply left behind.
During our exploration we discovered glass in all imaginable forms and colors.
We couldn’t believe that nobody is interested in this anymore.
In the former industrialist's villa right next to the spacious halls we even found fully furnished offices
and it looked like employees of this traditional business would just do one of their breaks and come back any second.
Stay tuned if you want to know the story that’s hidden behind these forgotten walls.
Around the first day of spring we wanted to explore the old crystal glass factory.
But before we sneaked inside, we wanted to get an overview of the situation first.
The tower at the edge of the property seemed to be just perfect for that.
In a group of four we were looking for a way inside.
But right at the beginning of the stairs, there was a nasty surprise.
What the hell happened here?!
Okay, we tried to forget that image and continue with our mission.
We wanted to see two things from the top of this tower.
First of all: Is there an inconspicuous way inside?
And secondly: Is there anybody on the compound?
We heard of several police arrests in the past few months.
And obviously we wanted to avoid getting into trouble.
So let’s take a closer look now.
Okay, the coast seems to be clear.
But now we had to find a way down there.
And that wasn’t as easy as we thought.
That’s definitely not the urbex highway.
Usually we walk the trails of other urban explorers but as it seems this is also working for us somehow.
Already next to the factory buildings we were finding the first products made of glass.
A whole pile of small, colorful stones.
This made us curious of what was expecting us inside.
But at first we had to get in somehow.
And that isn’t always super easy – especially not as a taller person.
But in the past we were climbing through much more smaller holes.
So we could make this as well.
Oops! It’s probably not a good sign when the windows are already splitting at a minimum load.
Actually, the city has been warning not to enter the site for some months now
since most of the houses here are really ramshackle.
However, as urbexers we are basically venturing into rotten structures all the time.
And we finally made it into this one too.
So let’s stop wasting any more sunlight and start exploring this great factory floor!
In the main hall of this enterprise there are still all the machines left behind which were used to produce glass back then.
We didn’t expect to find this.
The place is just overwhelming!
This factory nearly seems to be totally untouched.
There are only a few spots with graffiti.
But luckily most parts of the hall were spared vandals.
But if you take a closer look at the workstations, you will notice that a lot of the items have already been stolen.
However, the place has been abandoned for only a few years now.
How long exactly is revealed by a calendar we found in a small office.
October 2013 was the last date.
Next to the calendar we were spotting this on the table.
Okay, let’s better not touch those…
In general you shouldn’t explore this factory without suitable protection.
In the past they were working here with toxic substances like lead for example.
Today most parts of the area are contaminated.
To be on the safe side, we were cleaning our whole equipment thoroughly after the exploration.
Shoes, bags, cameras – we didn’t want to take any risks.
The glass craftsmanship has a long tradition in the region.
Usually companies were founded where required raw materials were cheap and available in great numbers.
That’s why a glassworks was built here around 150 years ago.
At this point this was probably the largest facility of its type in the area.
But in the next century it was already shut down.
Until it was taken on and reconstructed by an entrepreneur in the 1930s.
Now the glass foundry could continue operation.
But during the time of World War Two
especially the focus on production essential for the war effort kept the employees busy.
The glass production didn’t continue until the post-war period.
Crystal glass and leaded crystal were manufactured in a laborious process.
At first the raw materials like sand needed to be fused at extremely hot temperatures and then brought into shape.
After that the pieces were polished and decorated lavishly.
Several hundred employees were working here at peak times.
After an unsuccessful integration into another company in 1990,
this glass factory had to declare bankruptcy in the following years.
It was tried to sell the property at several auctions but there were simply no interested parties.
Due to the massive contamination a comprehensive rehabilitation of the site would be simply too expensive.
But that’s not the end of the story.
Around the turn of the millennium multiple smaller companies were settling here.
One of them was responsible for all those bags with the colorful stones in it we found everywhere in the main hall.
This is glass granulate.
We discovered superfine materials and also bigger, colored stones.
They all were sold as decoration in the past.
In the neighboring halls there was much less to discover.
Here barely anything was left behind.
We were mainly discovering empty workshops and empty warehouses.
Until we found a dark corner in which we were discovering something odd.
Dozens of bicycles and several other objects were stashed here.
Are these stolen goods?
Or is this just a part of the old company inventory?
However, those bikes are still working at least!
Instead of showing you more of those empty halls we now want to point out one of the adjoining buildings.
Because a real highlight is awaiting us here:
The former fabricant's villa.
While the owner of the factory was living here in the past, later several offices were located in the house.
And the time stamp clock as well.
As it seems all the employees were coming through this mansion every day.
At first we thought that all the valuables had already been stolen.
But then we discovered this exhibition piece.
It’s a hand press from the turn of the penultimate century which was used to make glass.
Usually you only find something like this in museums.
But here such a historical piece is rotting away in an abandoned factory.
On our way upstairs we discovered another special sight.
While the archives were emptied out, the offices looked like the staff could come back at any moment.
If you see the meeting room, you could hardly imagine that this place is really abandoned.
Everything seems to be broom-clean.
Also here we found a lot of those glass nuggets.
There is even an exhibition room where all of those different glass granulates were presented.
Let’s see what else we can find.
As it seems these rooms were still used in 2014.
In the documents we discovered dunning letters due to outstanding rents.
The small companies which were settling here before weren’t able to come up with the immense leasing costs.
That’s why the glass factory eventually became deserted only a few years ago.
Today the glass craftsmanship is in a dying condition.
Junior staff and buyers are both lacking.
And so nothing more than cracked shards are left of this former traditional manufacturer.
This place is why we love industrial abandonments so much!
Next time we will have a very special episode for you guys
which is totally different to all the other videos on our channel.
If you want to help us making documentaries of even more impressive sites,
take a look on our page on Patreon.
Thanks and keep exploring!