Orange Morgue, Germany

Orange Morgue is an abandoned mortuary in Germany. Bodies were stored in the basement, being transported by a mechanical gurney system which runs along the stairway. Upstairs there is a chapel of rest, where body viewings would take place and an attached chapel where services were conducted before burial.

The mortuary is in the basement, below the chapel of rest. Bodies were stored in fridges in a side room, and then prepared for final viewings in a room with orange and yellow tiled walls. There are small wheeled tables which would have held tools for embalming and preserving the body. Bowls and trays now lay on the tables, covered with dust after years of disuse. Undertakers wax and cosmetics would be used to make the deceased presentable for open coffin display, if required. White cotton funeral robes lay in a pile on one stretcher, still neatly folded. The body would then be taken up to the chapel of rest for the final service, or body viewing.

The chapel of rest is a simple room, with brown tiled walls. The body would be viewed here by family and friends. A silver-coloured cross lies on the stretcher, broken in two. Next door is a small and simple chapel where services were held prior to burial. The chapel is quite bare, only a few tables and large crosses remain in the empty hall.