Abandoned castles, old bridges and dusty attics are real mysteries and the abode of the ghosts of the past, which attract and frighten, fascinate and terrify. Such places are often full of romanticism and make you think about the fragility of human life. Here is a selection of 25 majestic buildings and places, the sad state of which resembles pictures from films about the end of the world and instills fear with a sweet aftertaste of longing.
1. Ross Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
The vegetation of this island has absorbed almost all traces of human presence here, and after all, this place was once considered the "Paris of the East".
Ross Island was originally the seat of the British authorities. Then, after the Indian uprising of 1857, a settlement for prisoners appeared here. Residents from among the British built themselves extravagant houses with large dance halls, equipped bakeries, clubs, gardens and swimming pools on the island. Ross thrived until 1941, when it was first hit by a massive earthquake and then invaded by the Japanese during World War II.
Until 1979, the island was constantly at the center of disputes - both the Japanese and the British claimed the territory of Ross. And then it was handed over to the Indian Navy, and a small military base appeared here.
Today, tourist groups arrive on Ross daily, eager to see the ghost town and the ruins of the former greatness of the colonists.
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2. Sports Arena "Pontiac Silverdome", Michigan, USA (Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan)
Once upon a time, Pontiac Silverdome Stadium hosted some of the state's most important events, including the US National Football League championship and concerts by global stars such as the Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin. However, since the Detroit Lions found a new home arena in 2002, this place has been completely deserted and abandoned. The building is currently in the process of being dismantled.
3. Graun Church Tower, Lake Reschen, Italy
The flooded church of Graun on Lake Resia (South Tyrol) was once an ordinary parish where services were held for the inhabitants of the Italian village of Graun. However, an artificial lake, created in 1950 to supply local settlements with electricity through the operation of a new hydroelectric power station, flooded the historic building, leaving only its tower for everyone to see. Today, the bell tower rises above the general landscape, as if a reminder of the transience of not only waters, but also time.
4. Military hospital in Beelitz, Germany
This grim military clinic was once treated by Adolf Hitler himself, an inglorious Nazi leader who was wounded in late 1916 during World War I.
The hospital building was built in the late 19th century and was originally intended for patients with tuberculosis, but after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was finally abandoned.
By the way, the eerie medical complex was used for the filming of the Oscar-winning film "The Pianist" (The Pianist, 2002).
5. Hotel complex "Haludovo", Krk (Haludovo Palace Hotel, Krk), Croatia
This hotel opened in 1971 and immediately attracted a stream of tourists to the modest Croatian island of Krk.
A year later, Penthouse magazine founder, Bob Guccione, invested about $ 45 million in the property and expanded the hotel to become the luxurious Penthouse Adriatic Club Casino resort.
Unfortunately, with the beginning of the Yugoslav military conflicts in the 1990s, the island of Krk ceased to be a popular tourist destination, and the expensive hotel was abandoned not only by guests, but also by the staff.
6. Buzludzha, Bulgaria
This abandoned monument, high in the mountains of Bulgaria, was once the headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist Party. When this party was in power and was supported by the Soviet authorities, its leadership decided to erect a special memorial high in the mountains - a memorial house in honor of socialist communism. However, in 1989, after the fall of communist rule, this place was abandoned.
7. Coal village in Lynch, Kentucky, USA (Lynch, Kentucky)
Lynch was once the largest factory town built at a coal mine, with an estimated 10,000 workers and their families living here in its best years. In 1919, the town even had its own power plant. However, with the completion of coal mining, the city also became empty. The power plant also stopped working, and Lynch found itself a completely abandoned ghost village.
8. Sea forts of Munsell, estuaries of the Thames and Mersey rivers, Great Britain (Maunsell Sea & Air Forts, Thames and Mersey estuaries)
Munsell's Naval Forts were built during World War II and these amazing structures were designed to defend England's coastline from enemy German forces.
The complex of forts, erected over the water on huge piles, owes its existence to the British engineer Guy Maunsell.
The fortifications were officially decommissioned in the 1950s, but the buildings of the former coastal defense are still there and are perfectly visible from the land. Most often this spectacle is admired by residents of the East Beach Park in Southend-on-Sea area (at East Beach Park in Southend-on-Sea).
9. Abandoned submarine base in Balaklava
This abandoned naval complex was built by the Soviet authorities during the Cold War. The base served as a top-secret facility to maintain a fleet of rapid-response nuclear submarines.
The complex remained untouched for a long time, until Russia donated this facility to the Ukrainian military in 2000. Now it houses a museum.
10. Jonestown, Guyana
The Johnstown community was home to one of the most shocking tragedies in American history. In 1978, 914 people died here, including 200 children from among 909 members of the religious sect People's Temple, whose leader told his followers to take a lethal dose of potassium cyanide.
After the "revolutionary suicide", the village where the cult members lived was completely deserted and drowned in the evergreen jungle, although several of the community's buildings still survive.
11. Pripyat, Ukraine
On April 26, 1986, a radioactive release occurred at the Chernobyl station, 10 times higher than the power of the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima during World War II. About 350,000 people were evacuated from the affected area. Frightened and taken by surprise, people gathered in a hurry, and left their homes in the disorder that still reigns in this time-frozen town.
In abandoned kindergartens, old toys still lie in the middle of the rooms, pillows and sheets still lie on empty beds, and dirty dishes rot in the sinks of abandoned kitchens. The radiation level in the city is still too high for people to return here, so this place has remained untouched for almost 31 years since the tragic accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
12. Closed metro station City Hall, New York, USA
City Hall Underground Station was built in 1904 and was the first south terminal on New York's first subway line. The architects and designers of this station tried to impress the residents of the metropolis and attract them to use a new type of public transport. For this, they used Roman brick walls, copper chandeliers and vaulted arches.
The station was closed in 1945 as it could no longer receive the larger trains, but this abandoned location can still be viewed from the carriage window. This is possible if you take train number 6 and pass the final stop, after which the train returns to the city, passing the legendary City Hall station on its way.
13. Kolmanskop Namibia
In the early 1900s, the African town of Kolmanskop was full of life, because it was then that German miners arrived here and began to mine diamonds in this region. German businessmen also brought typical architecture with them, giving the desert landscape a rich appearance that does not fit into the general landscape. A ballroom, hospital and even a bowling alley appeared in the town, as well as many other entertainment centers, institutions and buildings.
The residents of Kolmanskop began to leave the town shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, but the last nail in the coffin of this town was the discovery in 1928 of a rich diamond deposit near the coastal zone of Namibia. Most of the inhabitants of this small oasis in the middle of a lifeless desert hastened to a new, more promising place for the extraction of a valuable mineral, leaving behind almost all their property and an empty city.
Since then, the abandoned Kolmanskop began to slowly fall asleep with sand, and the desert again became the queen of these places. Ghost town tours can be booked from the nearby coastal town of Lüderitz.
14. Simacem, North Sumatra, Indonesia
After nearly 400 years of sleep, Indonesian Mount Sinabung came to life again, and a series of eruptions began in the area, due to which several villages built on the slopes of the massif were evacuated at once. These villages have been empty for several years now, because they are considered too dangerous for life. Simachem is one such village, which was left in a hurry by families, frightened by an angry mountain.
15. Theater Orpheum, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA (The Orpheum Theater, New Bedford, Massachusetts)
In its prime, with its flat roof and symmetrical design, the Orpheum Theater was recognized as the finest example of American architecture in the Beaux-Arts style. The interior decoration was equally impressive.
The theater first opened its doors on April 15, 1912, that is, on the same day when the famous Titanic sank. There was also a ballroom, gymnasium and shooting range inside the building, which immediately made the complex the site of the most popular events in all of New Bedford.
Before its closure in 1962, the building was in the hands of several owners at once, and most recently the current owners announced plans to reopen it as a public theater. This has not happened yet, and stalkers and fans of urban legends still infiltrate here, claiming that ghosts live in Orpheum.
16. Humberstone, Chile
Humberstone is an abandoned English town once built in the Atacama Desert for mining workers. Unfortunately for the settlement, during the First World War, synthetic nitrate was invented, and industrial mining in this region lost its value. People left this place so hastily that today it looks literally frozen in time - paintings are still hanging on the walls of houses, and the clothes of former inhabitants are gathering dust in the closets.
In 2005, Humberstone was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
17. Michigan Central Station, Detroit, USA
Michigan Central Station was the tallest train station in the world, but this imposing structure has been completely abandoned since 1988. The station was closed to visitors after the national corporation Amtrak stopped sending its trains here. Since then, this building has become a symbol of Detroit's decline.
18. Olympic Village, Athens, Greece
For most people, Athens is associated with ancient Greek ruins, ancient ruins and romantic myths, although today more modern buildings can be found here, which have fallen into disrepair and abandoned by people much earlier than expected.
In 2004, the legendary Olympic Games were held in the vicinity of Athens, and the expensive world-class sports infrastructure that remained after the cult competitions remained simply unclaimed. Softball courts, beach volleyball courts and even swimming pools have been abandoned and forgotten forever …
19. Greek Orthodox Orphanage Prinkipo, Büyükada, Istanbul
This large wooden building on the coast of Turkey should have been a prestigious hotel with a casino long ago. However, due to bureaucratic misunderstandings, the building was sold, and as a result, at the beginning of the 20th century, it turned into an orphanage.
The area of the building is about 20 thousand square meters, and according to the World Monuments Fund, it is recognized as the largest historic wooden building in Europe and the second in the world. The abandoned orphanage had 206 rooms, and from 1903 to 1964 this place provided shelter for 5,744 orphans.
After the closure of the orphanage in 1964, the building was empty for several decades. In 2012, restoration work began here, and now a scientific institution will operate in Prinkipo.
20. Bannerman Castle, New York
The ruins of Bannerman Castle are lost on Pollepel Island in the Hudson River, and was once the site of an ammunition depot for Frank Bannerman, a Scottish arms dealer. Bannerman and his wife subsequently built a luxurious castle-style house on this land and spent their summer days there.
In 1920, a series of explosions of gunpowder and other shells took place here, in subsequent years the building survived a number of fires, and several owners changed, and as a result, the castle was completely abandoned due to the emergency state of the ruins. To this day, at the castle, you can see the name of Bannerman, sculpted on what remains of the facade of the residence.
Tourist groups regularly come here to inspect the historic building from passenger boats or kayaks. Entry to the facility is prohibited for the safety of visitors.
21. Pompeii, Italy
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD became one of the most famous of its kind, and this explosion completely buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii under a thick layer of volcanic ash. The settlement was hidden underground for almost 17 centuries before researchers discovered it completely intact in 1748 under a 6-meter layer of mud and debris.
Most of the abandoned buildings still retain their walls and roofs, and regular groups of tourists arrive in the ghost town today.
22. Prora, Rügen, Germany
Three years before the Germans burst into Poland in 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the construction of the Prora tourist resort on the island of Rügen, whose buildings stretched for 4,800 kilometers. The seaside resort complex was recognized as the largest in the world.
However, when World War II broke out, the construction of the recreation center was frozen and its buildings were abandoned for several decades. Now they decided to restore this place, and still make it a prestigious resort, conceived by the Nazi leader.
23. Houston Astrodrome, Texas, USA
The world's first domed stadium, the Houston Astrodrome has been a ghost sports arena since the local baseball team, the Houston Astros, left in 2003.
The complex towering over the city skyline remains abandoned to this day, although there is no rush to dismantle it.
24. Cape Aniva Lighthouse, Sakhalin, Russia
Aniva is a coastal town on the Russian island of Sakhalin near the border with Japan. The Cape Aniva Lighthouse was built on a rugged rocky shore and is now completely abandoned, looted and in disrepair.
The 31-meter concrete tower was constructed by Japanese engineers in 1939, and the lighthouse has been used by both the Russian military and the Japanese for many years.
Today, this place is popular with stalkers who still find here things that belonged to the former inhabitants of the Aniva lighthouse.
25. Philadelphia East State Prison
Philadelphia's East State Prison was once the most famous penitentiary in the world, but it is now in ruins. It used to hold America's most dangerous criminals, including bank robber "Slick Willie" Sutton, legendary Chicago gangster "Great Al" Capone, and Freda Frost, the prisoner who poisoned her husband.
