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)

“Serengeti National Park encompasses 5,700 square miles of grassy plains and woodlands near the northern border of Tanzania, and is home to more than 3,500 lions grouped into a couple dozen prides. Photographer Nick Nichols and videographer Nathan Williamson made several extended trips to the Serengeti between July 2011 and January 2013, determined to break new visual ground in their coverage of the Serengeti Lions”. Photo: Cubs of the Simba East pride: too young to kill but old enough to crave meat. Adult females, and sometimes males, do the hunting. Zebras and wildebeests rank high as chosen prey in the rainy season. (Photo by Michael Nichols/National Geographic via The Atlantic)

Austrian artist Erwin Wurm (R) stands next to an extra of his participation sculpture “Hose lueften, Haende hoch” (air out pants, hands high) at the garden of the Staedel Museum, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 06 May 2014. The series “Wurm: One Minute Sculptures” include painted or written instructions tell the person what they have to do and where for 60 seconds. The exhibition runs from 07 May to 13 July. (Photo by Arne Dedert/EPA)

A German Air Force Officer sits astride a dead boar outside a house where he is stationed near the Western Front, in this 1918 handout picture. This picture is part of a previously unpublished set of World War One (WWI) images from a private collection. The pictures offer an unusual view of varied and contrasting aspects of the conflict, from high tech artillery to mobile pigeon lofts, and from officers partying in their headquarters to the grim reality of life and death in the trenches. The year 2014 marks the centenary of the start of the war. (Photo by Reuters/Archive of Modern Conflict London)

“Business-class” cabins are seen at First Cabin hotel, which was converted from an old office building, in Tokyo, July 3, 2015. Record tourists to Japan are stretching the ability of hotels to accommodate them in a sector constrained by high costs, forcing developers to think out of the box for means to quickly increase lodging options without breaking the bank. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

In 1949, LIFE magazine sent famed photographer Nina Leen to document the daily life of a sassy troupe of young women who had run off and joined the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus in Sarasota, Fla. What developed was a portrait of a sisterhood formed over acrobatics that mixed high-flying wire acts with fashionable high-waisted shorts. Sarasota was once considered “the home of the American circus”. Here: an aerialist smoking while rehearsing for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Sarasota, FL in 1949. (Photo By Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Visitors to the Southernmost Point buoy brave the high waves from Hurricane Ian crash for photos, Tuesday, September 27, 2022, in Key West, Fla. Ian was forecast to strengthen even more over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, reaching top winds of 140 mph (225 kmh) as it approaches the Florida’s southwest coast. (Photo by Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP Photo)

Waverly Fire's Tell Hanes, left, and Southeast Fire's Trey Wayne, right, jump over freezing water to high five while participating in a Surface Ice rescue technician course on Friday, January 6, 2023, at Holmes Lake Park in Lincoln, Neb. The International Rescue and Relief department at Union college held rescue training course at Holmes Lake for students and local fire departments. (Photo by Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP Photo)