A local historian from Bergatreute has spent years exploring and documenting more than 30 abandoned buildings and forgotten places throughout the Ravensburg district in southern Germany. Paul Sägmüller has captured these so-called "Lost Places" through photography and research, revealing the surprising stories hidden within structures that appear ordinary from the outside but contain remarkable details and decades of history.
Among the most well-known abandoned locations in Upper Swabia is the Baienfurt Forest Bath in the Altdorf Forest. This old abandoned bathhouse, also known as Rittler's Forest Bath, has been deserted for many years and fallen into disrepair. While an investor has purchased the property with plans to convert it into a hotel, it remains a forsaken place for now.
Sägmüller's new book features the Baienfurt Forest Bath along with dozens of other Lost Places he has visited and photographed over the years. His collection captures what he describes as "often decades of vacancy, surprising details, and morbid charm" found in these forgotten structures. The documentation includes abandoned houses, farmhouses, former taverns, industrial sites, and many other types of buildings that have been left behind by time.
Among the author's favorite subjects are the Unterzeil train station, the Beton-Wolf site in Baienfurt, and a particularly fascinating farmhouse in Bergatreute that contains what's called an elevator. This historical elevator system was designed to transport grain from the ground floor to the attic, and according to Sägmüller's research, it could handle storage of up to 600 kilograms per square meter.
The book contains more than 300 printed photographs, but Sägmüller has gone beyond mere documentation to research and tell the stories behind each building. His investigations have uncovered numerous surprising historical details about these forgotten places. One particularly impressive discovery was finding stables with cross vaults that, upon entering, give visitors the impression of being inside a monastery rather than a farm building.
Sägmüller's research revealed that many of these ornate stables were built after secularization, during a period when the master builders who had previously worked on monasteries and churches found themselves without their traditional projects. This historical context explains the surprisingly sophisticated architectural features found in what might otherwise appear to be simple agricultural buildings.
The book's title, "Verdingst," carries multiple meanings in German: hidden, abandoned, changed, disappeared, and forgotten. This title reflects the various states and stories of the places Sägmüller has documented throughout his exploration of the region's abandoned heritage.
Sägmüller will present his book for the first time at the Bräuhaus in Roßberg on Saturday, December 6, at 7 PM, where visitors can learn more about these hidden stories and forgotten places that dot the landscape of Upper Swabia.
