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)

A policeman looks at a car crushed underneath a collapsed bridge in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Thursday, July 3, 2014. The overpass under construction collapsed Thursday in the Brazilian World Cup host city. The incident took place on a main avenue, the expansion of which was part of the World Cup infrastructure plan but, like most urban mobility projects related to the Cup, was not finished on time for the event. (Photo by Victor R. Caivano/AP Photo)

A model presents a creation from Dior's Cruise 2021 collection during a live-streamed runway show without an audience due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Piazza del Duomo, in Lecce, Italy on July 22, 2020. Christian Dior hosted a live but audience-free fashion show in the Italian city of Lecce, in a dazzling celebration of local crafts and traditions that included a dance spectacle in the middle of the baroque main square. (Photo by Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)

Burlesque performer Tallulah Talons dances in the “Pandemic Burlesque” show presented by Tallulah Talons at Club Cumming on March 18, 2021 in New York City. Like many other New York City nightlife venues, the club was shuttered in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it continued to host cabaret and comedy shows via live stream for most of the year. The venue reintroduced on-site outdoor events in late December 2020. (Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP Photo)

Two women react to the camera as Nightclub Circus hosts the first dance event, which will welcome 6,000 clubbers to the city's Bramley-Moore Dock warehouse on April 30, 2021 in Liverpool, England. The event is part of the national Events Research Programme which will provide data on how events could be permitted to safely reopen. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

People celebrate the victory of the final of EURO 2020 Italy vs England on July 11, 2021 in Rome, Italy. Italy's men's team claimed victory over England in the UEFA EURO 2020 final at Wembley Stadium this evening, winning the tournament for the first time since they hosted the competition in 1968. (Photo by Yara Nardi/Reuters)

Adrian Reyes, representing Canada, prepares backstage before competing in the Miss International Queen pageant on June 24, 2023 in Pattaya, Thailand. Thailand hosts Miss International Queen, the largest and most prestigious international transgender beauty pageant. The pageant, held annually in Pattaya, Thailand is held takes place during Pride month. Throughout Thailand, Thai LGBTQ activists have held Pride events calling for equality and pressuring the incoming government to move forward with legislation that would allow marriage for all. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is greeted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a welcome ceremony on day one of the 50th G7 summit at Borgo Egnazia on June 13, 2024 in Fasano, Italy. The G7 summit in Puglia, hosted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the seventh held in Italy, gathers leaders from the seven member states, the EU Council, and the EU Commission. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)