Abandoned: The Russians have left – 20 years ago

In 1994, the Russian army left my home town, leaving back the barracks and an apartment house, where the officers‘ families lived. Later on, some previous owner claimed the place of the house as his private property. According to post-unification German law, he was given back the ground as well as financial compensation for the buildings on it.
Twenty years later, on December 30th 2013, I took a stroll on the high plane around Jena, the Ammerbacher Platte. The proud owner has done nothing. Scavengers took out all metal from the building. Only decay is left. Nature is closing in.
One building is saved as a winter housing for bats. About one hundred meters further, some small, seasonal ponds were created as a compensation and renaturation measure. They were frozen over on this December day, preserving some small waves, and white frost survived the noon sun in the shadow of an old trunk. World War II is finally over. But still it’s a sad place.

empty windows

leads nowhere

the bedroom window – the trees are coming closer and have a look inside

This house was used for sports and social events

seasonal pond

tiny frozen waves

This post is an entry for the weekly photo challenge – Abandoned. Impossible to tell this story with only one photo.