Kurkrise
The Kurkrise in 1997. 40,000 people employed in the spa industry lost their jobs.More than 120 spas in German towns had to close. The federal government at the time passed the Health Structure Act. Among other things, this cut the costs of rehabilitation by a third.
How does a village shaped by tourism and crisis transform? Can you still find the Black Forest romance and golden spa era depicted in holiday brochures? Houses from a bygone era and spa clinics are falling into disrepair.
This photographic work documents the townscape of Höchenschwand and the architectural aftermath of the Kurkrise.