Lost places, i.e. places that are deserted and cause a certain fear among visitors, are in demand like never before. But why is dark tourism so popular?
Atrocities and tragedies have taken place in these places - and many tourists are currently being drawn to them. One speaks then of dark tourism, as "dark tourism". What is this phenomenon all about?
Dark Tourism: What is it exactly?
Every year, millions of so-called " dark tourists " flock to war memorials , dilapidated mansions or abandoned prisons or nuclear power plants around the world to see with their own eyes what is left of their tragic past. The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin alone attracts around half a million visitors every year.
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There are numerous dark destinations that are popular with travelers all over the world , including Germany. It is not uncommon for these abandoned places to be entered. Others, on the other hand, even offer guided tours to commemorate the building's past and to honor the people who once lived in it.
Read here : Lost Places: Travel to the spookiest and most beautiful places in Germany.
Dark tourism: why does it attract so many people?
Professor Lennon, a dark tourism lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University London, told the Telegraph portal what the phenomenon was all about. He believes that such visits are " motivated by the desire for real or symbolic encounters with death ". The "dark side" of tourism is not new, according to Lennon. Even our ancestors would have been interested in such dark events, such as gladiator games or the like.
Why places of mass killing were so well attended, as was Lennon, difficult to interpret. Those who would be associated with the Jewish Holocaust were particularly challenging. "There is always the question of motivating visitors," explains the professor.
Read here : Journey into the Forgotten: Fascinating Lost Places all over the world.
The range of dark tourism
Dr. Philip Stone, Executive Director of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research (iDTR), deals with the subject of why the concept of the. In his book "The Darker Side of Travel: The Theory and Practice of Dark Tourism" "gloomy tourism" is experiencing increasing interest. Stone sees travel to places of death, disaster and the apparently macabre as a means of considering mortality in predominantly western societies .
In a paper published in 2006, Dr. Stone on the offer of " bleak tourism ". In it, he classified the travel destinations for dark tourism into seven different types , from light to dark:
In 2008, Stone, along with Richard Sharpley, hypothesized that coming together in places associated with grief and death means immorality, so that morals can be taught.
Read here : Hashima: horror of a lost world - and tourist magnet.
The most famous destinations of dark tourism worldwide
Dark places with an even darker past give their visitors the feeling of reviving an almost invisible story that is usually associated with great suffering for many people. The main places of dark tourism include the following places:
- Auschwitz
- Tuol Sleng in Phenom Phen
- Ground Zero
- Alcatraz
- Robben Island
- The island of the dead dolls
- Capuchin Crypt in Palermo
- Pantyfynnon, Wales
- and many more
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Also interesting : This creepy castle was once a boarding school for underage pregnant women.
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These lost places in Germany are a spectacle - and forbidden
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