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Initially planned as the world's largest tourist resort, Prora on the German island of Rügen has wistfully sat unused for decades. Beginning construction in 1936 under the order of Adolf Hitler, the eight-building resort was designed to provide an affordable beachfront getaway to the average Germany worker. The resort would have had space for approximately 20,000 people, with each guestroom overlooking the Baltic Sea. The start of the Second World War in 1939 halted construction, and the ambitious plans never fully materialized — the eight housing blocks and theatre were left unfinished, and the proposed festival hall and swimming pools never saw the light of day.
The massive building complex has remained an incomplete relic of the Third Reich, a monument to the grandeur the Nazis had hoped to evoke in their architectural endeavors. As nature began to reclaim the space, German real estate company Metropole Marketing saw opportunity in the historic brick and stone structure, which has been granted formal heritage recognition for its quintessential Third Reich architecture. They purchased the property and announced their intention to refurbish and transform the facility into a luxury summer home and apartment complex.
The entire restoration, which will produce two distinct building programs in Prora Solitaire Home and Prora Solitaire Hotel Apartments and Spa, should be completed by 2022. The apartment blocks were already finished and opened earlier this summer, with units selling between $400,000 and $725,000 USD.
Each building comes with glass elevators and heated floors. Residents will be able to enjoy the facility's relaxing outdoor garden, spa, and swimming pools, finally establishing a set of exemplary amenities similar to those originally envisioned. Time will tell whether the site's intriguing yet stigmatizing past will serve to attract or repel potential beachgoers, but whatever the outcome, the project has gifted Prora with a fresh and more optimistic image.
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