July Challenge of the Month: Something old ...
To be more explicit, this is the challenge as formulated by Bill over on the Cycle365 website: Take a photo of something old, abandoned, rusted, broken, and/or collapsing. Could be a building or an automobile or machinery, etc. Include your bicycle in the photo. No selfies unless your picture includes other old things as well!
July 5, 2018
Old and Abandoned - The Olympic Train Station and Overground Bunkers
Old and Abandoned - The Olympic Train Station and Overground Bunkers
We went out today looking for something for the challenge. Our first stop was the old Olympic Train Station.
It’s not so easy to find derelict buildings in Munich – real estate is far too valuable to be left to decay in peace. But there are exceptions. Not exactly an insider tip for people looking for “lost places”, so-called urban explorers, is the deserted Olympic Train Station, built in 1972 for the 1974 Olympic Games and last used in 1988. The last time I visited it, it wasn’t fenced in. Today I could only take pictures from the outside. There was a hole in the fence, but I didn’t fancy dragging my bike in for a picture.
I was surprised to read that the train station along with the train tracks are now protected as hisorical monuments. Probably, because doing anything constructive with the grounds would cost the city a lot of money.
Our second stop was a hochbunker on Wiesenfeldstrasse, a bit north of where we live. Hochbunkers are overground bunkers, and I was surprised to learn that there about 30 in Munich - I never noticed them - witnesses to a dark chapter in Germany's history. They were built under Hitler between 1940 and 1942. Some have been converted into aparment buildings, some are used as community centers, some are still intended for civil protection and others have no purpose at all. The hochbunker we visited originally offered shelter for 448 people. In 2001, a 35 meter high chimney vent for the exhaust from the Petuel Tunnel which runs underneath the bunker was installed through the bunker. I couldn't see it from where I stood but it is visible on pictures in the Internet.
Janos had enough of photographing bikes and bunkers, but I continued and passed another hochbunker on the way home, on Schleissheimer Strasse, more or less identical with the first one I looked at. I read it is still subject to civil protection regulations and is available to the population in case of disaster and defense as a shelter. It can accommodate 514 people. What? Munich has a population of approx. 1,500,000. Who will be the lucky ones?
Today in search of old and abandoned buildings I cycled 18 km. I might add to the collection of hochbunkers on future outings.
It’s not so easy to find derelict buildings in Munich – real estate is far too valuable to be left to decay in peace. But there are exceptions. Not exactly an insider tip for people looking for “lost places”, so-called urban explorers, is the deserted Olympic Train Station, built in 1972 for the 1974 Olympic Games and last used in 1988. The last time I visited it, it wasn’t fenced in. Today I could only take pictures from the outside. There was a hole in the fence, but I didn’t fancy dragging my bike in for a picture.
I was surprised to read that the train station along with the train tracks are now protected as hisorical monuments. Probably, because doing anything constructive with the grounds would cost the city a lot of money.
Our second stop was a hochbunker on Wiesenfeldstrasse, a bit north of where we live. Hochbunkers are overground bunkers, and I was surprised to learn that there about 30 in Munich - I never noticed them - witnesses to a dark chapter in Germany's history. They were built under Hitler between 1940 and 1942. Some have been converted into aparment buildings, some are used as community centers, some are still intended for civil protection and others have no purpose at all. The hochbunker we visited originally offered shelter for 448 people. In 2001, a 35 meter high chimney vent for the exhaust from the Petuel Tunnel which runs underneath the bunker was installed through the bunker. I couldn't see it from where I stood but it is visible on pictures in the Internet.
Janos had enough of photographing bikes and bunkers, but I continued and passed another hochbunker on the way home, on Schleissheimer Strasse, more or less identical with the first one I looked at. I read it is still subject to civil protection regulations and is available to the population in case of disaster and defense as a shelter. It can accommodate 514 people. What? Munich has a population of approx. 1,500,000. Who will be the lucky ones?
Today in search of old and abandoned buildings I cycled 18 km. I might add to the collection of hochbunkers on future outings.
Abandoned and Broken - Oh, O-Bike No More
About a year ago in Munich there was an invasion of about 7,000 yellow rental bikes from Singapore, the o-bikes, stationless bikes with a bluetooth lock system. They appeared overnight and for some reason, not justified I’d say, they aroused an enormous amount of hostility. Soon you could see them hanging from trees, in the Isar, turned upsidedown, or with cut brake cables. Vandalism was rampant. I couldn’t quite understand why. Even “liberal” friends were indignant that the “Chinese” bikes stood on every street corner. The situation has cooled down by now. Apparently, approximately 6,000 of the 7,000 bikes have been collected.
When I was photographing the abandoned Olympic Train Station, I found an o-bike leaning against the fence, saddle and seatpost missing.
When I was photographing the abandoned Olympic Train Station, I found an o-bike leaning against the fence, saddle and seatpost missing.
July 7, 2018
Urbexing for Old and Abandoned
A little research in the Internet, and I discovered there are a few lost places in and around Munich. I also discovered that they are technically no longer lost places. They are abandoned, but not neglected. They are fenced in, and if you do find a hole in the fence, you still can't penetrate the buildings. The doors are barricaded with cement and brick, the windows are boarded up. These buildings aren't waiting to be torn down, they are waiting to be renovated. Nevertheless, they are at present old and defunct and should qualify for the challenge.
We cycled a 36 km loop to the west of Munich and visited two lost places. The first was the Aubinger Heizkraftwerk, a former power plant.
Urbexing for Old and Abandoned
A little research in the Internet, and I discovered there are a few lost places in and around Munich. I also discovered that they are technically no longer lost places. They are abandoned, but not neglected. They are fenced in, and if you do find a hole in the fence, you still can't penetrate the buildings. The doors are barricaded with cement and brick, the windows are boarded up. These buildings aren't waiting to be torn down, they are waiting to be renovated. Nevertheless, they are at present old and defunct and should qualify for the challenge.
We cycled a 36 km loop to the west of Munich and visited two lost places. The first was the Aubinger Heizkraftwerk, a former power plant.
The power plant was planned in 1937 as part of an unfinished industrial plant of the Reichsbahn and construction was started in 1940. During the Second World War, the Reichsbahn facilities were bombed in Aubing, after the war, the plant was initially unused. In 1952 the German Federal Railroad converted the building into a cogeneration/power plant. Since its closure, twelve years later, the building has been vacant. In the 1990s, techno parties were held in the building. In 2005, the former railway company Vivico sold the hall with the 20000 square meter site with protected trees to the mineral oil company and gas station operator Allguth, who wanted to set up a company headquarters here. in 2006 a building application was submitted. In spite of approval, however, construction did not begin, instead Allguth sold again at the end of 2010.
In other words, the building has been vacant for 56 years.
Our second stop was at the Diamaltwerke in Allach, a factory which produced baking malt (backmalz), a malt which is usually made from barley, wheat or rye. It is added to dough to accelerate fermentation and create a better texture. However, Diamalt's most well-known product was Ovomaltine. It was on the market as early as 1904 and at that time used only for medicinal purposes.
The former Diamalt factory premises in Munich's Allach-Untermenzing district covers an area of over eight hectares and was used until around 1994. Some of the still existing factory buildings, such as the Diamalt Tower or the Boiler House are protected as historical monuments.
Since 2012, the Boiler House has been extensively renovated by a private investor and since 2014 serves as a residential and commercial building. As of 2017 it is planned to build 680 new apartments by the ISARIA Wohnbau and Münchenbau whereby the Boiler House in the center will be preserved.
The Diamalt Tower is behind the Boiler House. We didn't see it at first and again access was blocked by fences from where we stood. We then saw that it was probaly accessible from a different side and cycled over. The Diamalt Tower is still a lost place without fences. You could get as close as you wanted, but you couldn't enter.
Finding "old and abandoned" has taken us through parts of Munich that we never otherwise visit and opened our eyes for things that we never noticed before. A great challenge.
July 11, 2018
Pathos - A Venue for the Arts
Pathos - A Venue for the Arts
I can only guess what used to be here. On this building it says Fleischwaren, meat products. Did they make sausage here? When? Here are more pictures I found of the graffiti there. This building is part of what used to be a commercial zone, probably in the days before it was called a commercial zone. Anyway, it must have been a group of small factories and warehouses, still on the edge of Munich, before the city expanded to the west and north.
Today the buildings on the premises are used by the initiative PATHOS, it is a place for the arts, performances and exhibitions.
Today the buildings on the premises are used by the initiative PATHOS, it is a place for the arts, performances and exhibitions.
July 16, 2018
Off the Beaten Path
Off the Beaten Path
I circled around on my bike, trying to avoid the crowds visiting the annual Tollwood Festival in the Olymic Park. Not far from the stands selling Thai curries, vegan drinks and tie-dyed harem pants, I found what I was looking for on a small path that circumvents the park. Behind a fence I spied a few neglected buildings, perhaps warehouses, workshops, vacant garages, who knows. There was no one about and the gate was open. I felt free to enter - despite the sign.