Discover abandoned places in North Rhine-Westphalia with your camera
Take your camera on an urbex (urban exploration) photography tour of the abandoned site of Kent School. Simply powerful. Our thoughts take us back to the past. Our impressions span the present and the future.
It should be said from the outset that this is a non-commercial use. I came across this abandoned place through my hobby of photography. I would like to share my experiences here. This historically significant site provides the perfect setting for a lost-place photography tour
. You have to pay an ‘entry fee’ to access the site. However, this is not to enrich the owners, but to ensure safety and preserve the site.
An abandoned place with a history
Kent School was inaugurated in 1912 by the Franciscan Brothers as St Josefheim. During the war years, the site was ‘re-purposed’ as the Waldniel children’s specialist ward. Children with intellectual disabilities were murdered here, and the former St Josefheim became a place of murder. After the war, this lost place became a British school. On the photography tour, I was able to see the church, the administration wing, the classrooms and the former hospital rooms.
A photography tour as a voyage of discovery
I have to say, I didn’t always feel entirely comfortable. Empty rooms, the history of this place always at the back of my mind, and the occasional creak and groan. That certainly makes your adrenaline levels rise from time to time. However, there is something to discover in every corner. During the photography tour, I sometimes spent 30-40 minutes in a single room, because the moss and weathering, combined with the sunlight, created a perfect visual harmony. Everywhere you look, there is something you want to capture with your camera. Just as joy and sorrow were closely intertwined in the history of Kent School, so too are they present today. In one wing, you can still find the children’s old wall paintings, while the next room still contains old medical cabinets. But it is precisely this combination that creates the excitement and the photographic subjects on a tour of Kent School.
Long exposures, plays of shadow and darkness
Some parts of the buildings are as dark as the history of the site. Photographing the abandoned cellars was not for the faint-hearted. With long exposures and plenty of patience, we eventually managed to get some wonderful shots. For me, the old chapel was the absolute highlight of the photography tour of this lost place. Some of the windows are still original and create an impressive play of shadows on the floor of the empty chapel.
A rather different outing
This was one of the most exciting and best outings I have ever been on. If you are not yet very confident with a camera, you can either get help from a photographer or simply let your imagination take you back to another time as you explore the rooms.
This photography tour was something completely different. I was, and still am, absolutely captivated. The story behind Kent School and the unique character of every corner of this lost place simply made a huge impression on me. It is a shame that places like this are not looked after more and can only be kept ‘alive’ with great effort. But Kent School really is an impressive location for photography tours, and they help to preserve it. I can wholeheartedly recommend this tour to everyone. Whether on your own, as a pair or in a slightly larger group. Take the opportunity to explore a lost place in North Rhine-Westphalia such as Kent School on a photography tour.
