Döllersheim: The remains of an abandoned village in Austria
During my search for ghost towns and abandoned places in Austria, I discovered a village named “Döllersheim”, roughly two hours by car northwest of Vienna.
After the annexation of Austria by the Germans, the Wehrmacht ordered to build a military training area here. So the people of several smaller villages, among them Döllersheim, were relocated and the village was abandoned.
Today, the military training area still exists and structures of the former villages where used as targets for military training. Only the church and the ruins of the former hospital are outside the military training area and can be visited.
A word of warning: The military training area is still in use and live ammunition may be used. Do not enter the area behind the hospital. There’s barb wire and barriers for a reason!
There may be a guard on duty right near the hospital during military training. Tell him that you’re here, want to photograph the hospital and maybe the church and do yourself a favor and follow his instructions.
During my first visit here in 2014, I heard the sound of machine guns and occasional detonations. That was a kind of weird feeling given the history of that place. Check out the article on Wikipedia about Döllersheim if you’re curious.
So, the two places here to take photos are the ruins of the hospital and the old church that’s like a 15 minutes walk from the hospital.
If you look carefully into the woods, you may see and discover some remains of former residential houses.
The remains of the hospital in Döllersheim
The abandoned cemetery and church in Döllersheim
More abandoned structured in the woods at Döllersheim
