A child looks at window cleaners work while dressed in sheep (C) and monkey costumes, denoting animal signs of the Chinese zodiac calendar, during an event marking the upcoming end of the year at a hotel in Tokyo, Japan, December 21, 2015. According to the zodiac calendar, 2015 is the year of the sheep and 2016 is the year of the monkey. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Makeup artist He Yuhong, also known as “Yuya”, checks herself in the mirror during a photo shoot following her transformation into the “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, the 17th century oil painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, at her house in Chongqing, China on August 14, 2018. (Photo by Thomas Suen/Reuters)

A woman poses for a photo in the tourist area surrounding Houhai Lake during Chinese National Day holidays in Beijing, China, October 2, 2020. China is celebrating its national day marking the 71st anniversary of the People's Republic of China and the Mid-autumn Festival for a week beginning on October 1st. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A Sotheby's employee poses with a “Return of the Jedi” promotional C-3PO Helmet 1983, estimated at £15,000-£25,000 created by George Lucas' visual effects company during a photocall at Sotheby's in London, Britain on December 6, 2019. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Women wearing prosthetic legs participate in a public photo session at the Hasselblad and Profoto booth, during the CP+ camera and imaging equipment trade fair in Yokohama south of Tokyo, February 14, 2015. Japanese prosthetist Fumio Usui inspired the event after collaborating with photographer Takao Ochi in the book project “Amputee Venus” that portrays 11 Japanese women with artificial legs, local media reported. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Tsukimi Ayano steps out of her house in the village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A woman eats candy in the shape of a phallus during the Kanamara Matsuri, or Iron Phallus Festival through a street near the Kanamara shrine in Kawasaki outside of Tokyo April 5, 2015. The festival celebrates fertility and is used to raise awareness and money for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Grand banqueting halls, opulent lobbies and vast ballrooms; you could easily be forgiven for thinking this was a collection of photographs was documenting some of Europe’s grandest hotels. However, a closer look will reveal the majestic rooms to be engulfed in swathes of dust and moss; hotels that once hosted royals and high society abandoned to the elements. This is the latest result of urban exploration photography, going beyond “no entry” signs to capture images of dilapidated buildings across Europe. IT worker Thomas Windisch, from Graz in Austria, indulged his passion for photography by traveling across the continent, visiting over 100 abandoned hotels along the way. Here: inside a hotel in Austria. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)