Disaster in Germany worth millions Municipality is broke after building luxury spa
The North Sea community of Wangerland wanted to make it big with a 23 million euro luxury spa - and crashed financially. Now the campsite and other facilities are up for sale and the public prosecutor's office is investigating.
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- The municipality of Wangerland took on a huge financial burden when building a thalassotherapy luxury spa.
- The construction costs exploded from 8.8 to around 23 million euros.
- Following the insolvency of the tourism company, the Schillig campsite and other facilities are now being sold.
The North Sea community of Wangerland in Lower Saxony was aiming high - and landed hard.
Tourism was to be repositioned with a Thalasso Sea Spa: more exclusive, higher quality, more affluent. Instead of mass, the focus was on class. Instead of relying on private investors, the local authority opted for in-house operation.
The problem: the calculation didn't work out.
From 8.8 to 23 million euros
The original estimate for the spa was 8.8 million euros. In the end, it ended up costing around 23 million euros. Almost three times as much.
This cost explosion caused the municipality-owned Wangerland Touristik GmbH (WTG) to falter. It filed for insolvency in the summer of 2025.
While the spa continues to operate, other facilities now have to be sold in order to stabilize the financial situation. The municipality has effectively gambled itself away with its prestige project.
North Sea jewel up for sale
One of the most prominent properties for sale is the Schillig campsite. The 42-hectare site with around 1,500 pitches and direct access to the beach is one of the largest and most popular campsites in Germany.
A bidding process has been launched for the site. The ongoing operation, existing lease agreements and all the equipment are to be sold. Operations will continue for the time being.
The fact that this tourist flagship of all things has to be sold shows how deep the financial crisis runs.
Thermal baths closed - investors sought
The neighboring Friesland thermal spa in Horumersiel is also up for sale. The thermal spa with sauna and bathing area had to close due to insolvency because the running costs could no longer be covered.
Another indoor wave pool in the region is also affected. While the campsite is apparently attracting interest from investors, the search for buyers for the closed pools is proving difficult.
Parallel to the economic liquidation, the Oldenburg public prosecutor's office is investigating a former manager of WTG. There are allegations of delaying insolvency, breach of trust and breaches of accounting obligations.
