"Prora - The Nazi Colossus on the island of Ruegen" Prora by MikeAtSea

Prora Travel Guide: 21 reviews and 67 photos

The Colossus of Prora is a 4,5 km long concrete building complex with five floors that was created by the Nazi's as holiday resort for its Nazi wing Kraft durch Freude KdF "Strength through joy". 10000 2 bed rooms with sea view supposed to have brought holiday makers during the 3rd Reich time "joy". 2000 employees were planned to be the host of this massive Nazi monster.
The duty of the architect was to create rooms of the same size that could be equipped equally. All had to view East towards the sea. All were equal in this mammoth Hitler project.
The first stone was laid on May 2, 1936 and in record time the basic buildings were finished within 17 months. At the start of the war the work was stopped since priorities had shifted. By 1940 the roofs were finished and only 8 of the 5 floor houses were completed.
The building was never finished and its original purpose was unused.
When the war ended the Russians tried demolish part of the buildings to build houses back in the Soviet Union. Part of the colossus was blown up, but it proved to expensive and difficult to destroy the entire construction.
Hence from the 8 buildings only 5 remain today.
From the 1950's the buildings were given a military purpose by the NVA - the National Peoples Army of the German Democratic Republic. With the fall of the iron curtain the buildings were transferred to the West German Bundeswehr.
However in 1992 the buildings were passed on and since then have been abandoned. Only in recent years a museum and a discotheque were opened and the future of the remaining buildings is uncertain.

Last visit to Prora: Aug 2007
Intro Updated Aug 7, 2007
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Reviews (14)

The KdF Ships Things to Do (14)

As with the planned resorts the Nazis operated KdF ships. These ships are on display in one of the rooms in the museum.... more travel advice

The GDR Rooms Things to Do (14)

During the time of the German Democratic Republic part of the buildings were used to accommodate officers and those who... more travel advice

The Rooms Things to Do (14)

The plans for the rooms during the Nazi time did not allow for much luxury. Two beds, a sink and not much space to move.... more travel advice

The Hall Things to Do (14)

This part of the plan one can only see in the model, since the building was never started. The plan was to accommodate... more travel advice

Comments (3)

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SLLiew Jul 21, 2009 at 12:38 PM

Interesting reminder of a dark history of humanity.
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calcaf38 Mar 29, 2009 at 12:06 PM

Thank you for sharing. So interesting and strange.
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HORSCHECK Aug 7, 2007 at 9:51 AM

Mike, fantastic page with well written information. Until October 2000 there was a sort of youth hostel located in the southernmost part of the building. I stayed there just a week before its closure, which was quite an experience.