IREFD Unreal Estate #2: The 10,000 Room, 3 Mile Long Hotel Prora

Situated alongside a pristine-white, sandy beach in Pomerania stands the world's biggest hotel – which stretches over a mind boggling three miles and has 10,000 rooms; all facing the sea, earning it a definite spot in the IREFD Unreal Estate Series of blog posts!

But despite being built more than 70 years ago, not a single guest has ever checked into Hotel Prora or 'The Colossus' which the locals call it due to it's sheer size. 

Stretching over 4.5 kilometres, Hotel Prora or 'The Colossus' is truly gigantic. Image Credit

So why was this mega beach resort such a mammoth failure? Read on.

Hotel Prora: Unreal Estate Facts

Pomerania, home to Prora- the world's largest hotel, is now a region of eastern Europe, straddling the border between Germany and Poland from north of Berlin to the Baltic Sea.

The Colossus, which Adolf Hitler intended to be his version of Billy Butlin’s holiday camps, was planned to cater to 20,000 guests, making exotic beach vacations a reality for everyone.

Constructed in a sweeping concrete row, six floors high, at Prora on the pretty island of Rugen, the hotel is still intact and strolling from one end to the other will take you over an hour! 

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Over 5,000 construction workers took three years to build it, starting in 1936, and the Nazis had long-term plans for four such identical resorts, all with massive jetties where cruise ships could dock, as part of their 'Strength Through Joy' project. 

At this mega resort, each room of 5 x 2.5 metres was to have two beds, a wardrobe and a sink. There were communal toilets, showers and ballrooms on each floor. In the centre of this huge campus, a large building was planned that could be converted into a military hospital in case of a war. 

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Decay and Current Status

The Second World War happened before Hotel Prora could be completed and Hitler’s priorities changed. He transferred the construction workers to manufacture weapons at Peenemünde instead. 

During the Allied air raids, many people from Hamburg took refuge in one of its housing blocks, and later, refugees from the east of Germany were housed there. By the end of the war, these buildings housed female auxiliary personnel who worked for the Luftwaffe. 

Post WW II, Hotel Prora was used as a military outpost for the East German army. After German reunification in 1990, part of it was used by the Military Technical School of the Bundeswehr and later to house asylum seekers from the Balkans. 

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As on date, the whole place is still mostly deserted, except for a few blocks that have been refurbished for other uses. 

In the year 2011, one block was converted into a 400-bed youth hostel and the plan now is to turn Prora into a contemporary, 300 keys beach holiday resort with bells, whistles, creature comforts and a small shopping center. 

Hope someday that happens. :)

The IREFD Team