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 man protesting the Ferguson grand jury decision to not indict officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown case is arrested while marching through the streets on December 1, 2014 in New York City. Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was killed by Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson, MO police officer, on August 9. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

This is the incredible moment a fierce lightning bolt crashed against the Grand Canyon illuminating the steep canyon walls. Shrouded in darkness, the breath-taking landscape was shocked into life as mother nature sent the bolt storming down to Earth. As it cracked against the rocks the bright blue bolt illuminated the South Rim of the canyon, considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. With just the Desert View Watchtower in the foreground, the lightning was perfectly framed by the canyon which is located in Arizona, USA. (Photo by Travis Roe/U.S. Dept. of the Interior/Caters News)

Models kiss the back of another model, with a message on her back, during the grand finale of Lotus Make-up India Fashion Week based on “Rainbow” theme, an emblem for the LGBTQ community, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, October 14, 2018. According to Fashion Design Council of India, the “Rainbow” show, wherein 40 designers showcased their creations, was a tribute to mark the historic judgement by the Supreme Court of India which struck down a colonial-era law that made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)

Paris Photo is the largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium and is held each November at the historic Grand Palais in Paris, France on November 7, 2018. Since 1997, the Fair’s mission is to promote and nurture photographic creation and the galleries, publishers and artists at its source. The 22nd edition of Paris Photo will takes place Thursday, November 8 through Sunday, November 11. (Photo by IBO/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A member of the samba school of the Grupo Especial Academicos do Grande Rio parade during the Carnival celebration at the Marques de Sapucai sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early 04 March 2019. The samba schools of the Rio de Janeiro Special Groups began their parades on 03 March at the sambadrome, considered the main attraction of the carnival in Brazil. (Photo by Marcelo Chello/EPA/EFE)

Brenda, a Honduran girl who is seeking asylum in the U.S., is carried from the Rio Grande in distress, where she had been bathing across the river from a Brownsville, Texas U.S. Customs and Border Protection tent facility as immigration hearings were being held by video teleconference, in Matamoros, Mexico September 12, 2019. Most of the people living in an encampment near the Gateway International Bridge have been sent back under the “Remain in Mexico” program, officially named Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). (Photo by Veronica G. Cardenas/Reuters)

A young girl walks with a Ukrainian flag during an event for Ukrainian Independence Day in the historical Grand Place of Brussels, Wednesday, August 24, 2022. European leaders are pledging unwavering support for Ukraine as the war-torn country marks its Independence Day. The commemorations Wednesday coincide with the six-month milestone of Russia's invasion. (Photo by Virginia Mayo/AP Photo)