H(a)unting Houses Series II

The idea of the series was to go and hunt for different types of abandoned houses and them being located in other areas in Switzerland. Well, the sex club “Bolero” is not far from the hotel and thermal bath “Lostorf,” which I’ve written about in “The H(a)unting Houses Series #1”. That is the only reason why I felt somewhat at home upon arriving at the train station in Olten. This time, the only difference was that I took a bus and drove into a more sophisticated area called Löwen in Hauenstein. The club is just a minute’s walk from the bus station, next to a golf park and stud farm. Of course, it started to rain just as I got out of the bus.

Ignoring the dark cloud urinating on me, I strolled into the parking area. Before entering, I first had to look around to see if the military or police were currently occupying the car park. There is a demolished car with a frowny face waiting to greet you at the entrance. A garage next to the vehicle is filled to the brim with analog videotapes with handwritten titles such as “Down by the River, the Swan Princess, and the Enchanted Kingdom.” Even the invitation - pardon, warning - sign indicates that it is being used for a purpose other than that for which it was intended.

Various barrier tapes decorate the rooms when entering the house of joy, and there are occasional cartridges on the floor. Many ceilings were sagging, so I could not go through all the rooms. There was barely any light coming through the windows or the collapsed walls, which didn’t make me feel any safer besides the fact that magazines from pistol handles were lying around. I tried to push myself and go down the stairs, but there was a spray tag on which it said: “TO HELL” with the face of a vampire lady. Otherwise, this must have once been a flourishing and luxuriously equipped club. Everything the (sex) heart desires are still on-site, at least in fragments. Be it a sauna area, various pools, lap dance poles, cages, and other objects satisfying any cravings are still recognizable.

The story of the Bolero sex club began very early. The former Motel Hauenstein would be 66 years old these days: "It opened on 26 January 1956," Rosa Rubitschung-Bitterli, who grew up in the Hauenstein "Löwen”, recalls without the slightest hesitation when asked. Why does this date stick in her memory so much? "It was a turning point for us because the motel was a competition for the 'Löwen,’" she explains. The new motel was only a few hundred meters further up the pass road than the "Löwen,” which Rosa Bitterli's father had still run as a part-time farm and inn. She also remembers why a modern motel was planned and built on the Hauenstein: "At the time, it was planned that the motorway would run over the Hauenstein." The Motel Hauenstein was initially a success as an excursion restaurant, rest stop, and hotel business. "On Sundays, there was often a whole migration of people, and the people of Trimbach came to the Hauenstein on foot and stopped at the motel," Rosa Rubitschung remembers.

The main Basel-Lucerne road was part of the connection between Germany and Italy over the Gotthard. Cars from Germany and other countries often stopped at the motel car park. Overnight accommodation was also in demand.

As it is well known, the A2 was not built through the Homburg Valley and over the Lower Hauenstein, but through the Dieter Valley, with a cut-through between Eptingen and Hägendorf. With the opening of the Belchentunnel in December 1970, pass traffic over the Hauenstein collapsed, and the motel at the top of the pass began to decline.

Although new buildings were erected in 1971 and 1974, the motel now offered dancing as an enticement. The owners changed without resounding success, and the place was repeatedly closed. Several operators were involved in bankruptcy proceedings. One of them was the entertainment entrepreneur Peter Curti, who ran the nightclub "Bolero" in the motel, where sex workers offered their services.

The sex club on the Hauenstein made the headlines several times. In November 2001, for example, a 40-year-old employee was found naked and frozen to death on the pavement in front of the Bolero at 6 am at minus 3 degrees. Since 7 September 2012, the "Bolero" has been closed and left to entertain “urban explorers.”