Photos from my visit to the abandoned Stadtbad in Berlin
The Stadtbad Lichtenberg, known as the Hubertusbad, is a captivating lost place in Berlin. This former public bathhouse is a hidden gem for urban explorers and photographers. In June 2024, I could visit this beautiful lost place and in this blog post, I'll share a curated selection of 7 photo spots at the Stadtbad Lichtenberg, to give you a glimpse into its unique atmosphere and architecture.
Table of Contents
- Know before you go
- Photo spots at the Stadtbad Lichtenberg
- How I photographed inside the public bathhouse
- The verdict: Is the Stadtbad Lichtenberg worth visiting?
Know before you go
How can I get into the Stadtbad Lichtenberg?
The Stadtbad Lichtenberg is located on a private property. It’s fenced in, has cameras all over the place, and it’s guarded. So don’t even try to get into it without permission unless you want to meet the security officer, who is a former soldier of the German armed forces.
The best way to get into the Hubertusbad is by booking an official ticket, like I did. As always, I booked directly from go2know.de (the page is only available in German). During the tour, you’ll have four hours to explore and photograph the abandoned Stadtbad Lichtenberg at your own pace.
Is the Stadtbad Lichtenberg completely abandoned?
Yes, it’s completely abandoned. However, the women’s pool was covered with a wooden floor and is occasionally used for exhibitions and events.
When was the Stadtbad Lichtenberg abandoned?
It was opened in 1928 and served the public until 1991, when it was closed due to construction defects and lack of funds.
Photo Spots at the Stadtbad Lichtenberg
The bath cabins
Back in 1928, Berlin was a rapidly growing city. The exponential influx led to a housing shortage, which in turn led to numerous people living in single room apartments without proper sanitary facilities. The results were rapidly spreading infectious diseases. So Berlin started to build several Stadtbäder (town pools) that not only contained pools for swimming but also sanitary facilities like bath and shower cabins.
At the Stadtbad Lichtenberg you’ll find a few dozen bathing cabins on the upper floor of the main building
Bath cabins on an upper floor at the abandoned Stadtbad Lichtenberg
For the composition of this photo I used the framing technique I’ve written about earlier on the blog. Specifically, I used the frame of the door as a revealing frame in the sense of “look what I found”.
The hairdresser room
One place I always explore at the beginning is the usually completely dark basement, for which I use my Wuben X1 flashlight to illuminate even the darkest corner. In the basement of the Hubertusbad I discovered several rooms which seem to have been used for beauty treatments like this hairdressers room.
Harddressers room at the Stadtbad Lichtenberg
For this photo, I used a photo composition technique known as the rule of thirds. I placed the wall to the left of the corner of the room in the left third, and filled the right two thirds of the frame with the wall to the right of the corner of the room.
The old TV
At the basement I have to look and check each room and corner for remains of the previous owners and look at what I found in a storage-room. An old GDR-style black and white TV! And no, I couldn’t check if it worked because as the place is abandoned, there’s no electricity.
Old TV in the basement of the abandoned Stadtbad Lichtenberg
The Office Room
I have no idea what this room was used for. First I thought it was some sort of medical treatment room due to the bed I found in there. But on the other hand, I believe it’s a bit too big for a treatment room. So, maybe it was an office room? What do you think?
An abandoned office Room?
The immersion pool
Back on the top floor, I discovered an immersion pool and this time I’m quite sure it’s an immersion pool, because of the sign on the door. What I found interesting is that the immersion poolroom uses a totally different architectural style. I didn’t find the green tiles I saw in this room anywhere else.
Immersion pool
The men’s swimming pool
Before WW2, baths like the Stadbad Lichtenberg had (two have?) two different pools: one for men and one for women. The men’s pool was usually longer and deeper than the one for women. At this location, the women’s pool as covered with a wooden floor and the hall is used for exhibitions and as an event venue - similar to what I saw at the abandoned Stadtbad Leipzig. So I only have a photo of the men’s pool.
Men's pool at the Stadtbad Lichtenberg
The locker room
And finally, here’s a photo of the locker room where the visitors could store their belongings while visiting the venue. Interestingly, if you take a look at the previous photo, there were also lockable changing rooms on two floors around the pool. So I assume this locker room was used by people who couldn’t afford to rent an entire changing room.
Lockers in the locker room
How I photographed inside the building
As the Stadtbad is abandoned, there’s no electricity. But the building has quite many and huge windows. So you have lots of natural light on the ground and upper floors. You’ll only need artificial light in the basement. There I used either my Wuben X1 20.000 lumens flashlight or a newly bought portable LED photo light, which I'll write about soon.
Needless to say, I used the ProCamera App for taking photos and I shot all the photos in Apple ProRAW. You can learn more about this camera app in my ProCamera App review and in my article about how to shoot RAW on iPhone.
The verdict: Is the Stadtbad Lichtenberg worth visiting?
If you’re a photographer and love to photograph abandoned places like I do, then the Stadtbad Lichtenberg is definitely worth visiting. Head over to go2know.de to book your tour. Just be quick: As of June 2024, tours are already sold out until August 2024!
If you just want to get a glimpse inside the building, check for events like exhibitions there.
And if you’re already in the Lichtenberg district, you may want to check for a tour at the Hohenschoenhausen memorial, a former Stasi prison, that I also visited and blogged about.
