Kurstadtflow
Lower Franconia 2015
It was like a scene from a fairy tale, but the reasons were neither magical nor romantic. Deep socio-economic shifts in Germany have brought the once-glorious spa town culture to an end. While some proprietors cling to hope, meticulously maintaining and cleaning empty hotels, bathhouses and theaters as though awaiting a miracle, many others have already succumbed to decay.
I visited several spa towns in the region of Lower Franconia, and documented their conditions.
Special thanks to my legend naked.photography for introducing me to this strange world.
-
Kurstädte (German for "spa towns") once drew hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Families, both young and old, flocked to these retreats to alleviate stress, recover from trauma, or treat illnesses — and, of course, to breath the salubrious air enriched by the salines. A three-week stays were often prescribed by general practitioners, and the costs covered by public health insurance.
However, all this changed with the implementation of additional austerity measures as part of a nationwide health reform in 1996. For spa towns, this marked the beginning of an economic decline that persists to this day. Coupled with the broader challenges of rural depopulation, economic desertification, and dwindling financial resources, many rural regions in Germany have faced an irreversible trend.
