there are lots of places that should be abandoned
the entire state of west virginia should be abandoned
the entire country of Lithuania should be abandoned
but for some reason they aren't still countless places in the world genuinely
are abandoned many of which eerily beautiful
and with fascinating backstories today we look at some of the most incredible
of such from mysterious islands to entire villages
deep within Russia can be found a strange 19th century castle
built in the fashion of a French chateau it is unlike any nearby building
the exact reason behind this outer place castle is not known for certain
but local legend tells it was built solely to settle a bet
according to it a 19th century Russian noble was once visiting France
where he met an equally ridiculous French lord
within minutes of meeting they were arguing over which country was better
the French lord claimed architecture proved his country to be the best
as only in France could such castles be built
taking issue with this one offhand comment by this one French lord he went
back to Russia bought land and hired an extremely
expensive architect then after all that the Russian
revolution forced him to abandon it
built in 1900 this lighthouse lit the north Danish coast for
68 years but eventually coastal erosion made the sand it was built on
unsafe and the lighthouse was abandoned for years it was left to be reclaimed by
the sand and erosion meant by the year 2023 it would
collapse into the sea but for lighthouse had become something of a landmark
and the local town was desperate not to lose it
so in 2019 they literally put it on skates and moved it to safety
they put a 700 ton building on skates
on the eastern coast of Romania stands a relic of a forgotten era
this grand casino was built in 1910 when Romania was still a kingdom
and represented everything the king wanted his country to be
somehow it survived being bombed in world war one and taken over by German
soldiers in world war ii under the communist regime it was
repurposed as a restaurant because obviously a casino is not the most
communist thing then after the fall of communism the new
government chose to simply let it fall apart
thirty years later it remains abandoned this is all that remains of a once great
city in medieval times it was known as the city of a thousand and one churches
it was gigantic and famous for its beauty and wealth
lying on a trade route connecting Europe and Asia
now in eastern turkey it was an Armenian city
perhaps the greatest in Armenian history but in 1319 an earthquake severely
damaged the city causing a gradual exodus by 1800 it was
completely abandoned and has since been left to crumble
in northern Italy stands one of our world's most beautiful palaces
which somehow has been abandoned for 30 years
dating to the 17th century the palace has 365 rooms
each with a uniquely decorated interior it was owned by a wealthy noble who even
hosted the king of Italy here at the palace
in the 20th century it was converted to a hotel but apparently one that failed
to attract guests because even a literal palace isn't good
enough for some people inevitably it was only a matter of time
until it was abandoned and for three decades it's been
neglected
just outside a small Russian town is a partially submerged tower
once among the tallest towers on earth it was part of a large 16th century
monastery but in soviet times a nearby river was
damned flooding a 95 square mile area the
monastery and much of its tower found itself under a reservoir
but the tower still rises 240 feet above water
after 80 years of flooding a tiny island has formed around the tower
which in winter can be reached on foot
in the 1970s the united states embarked on a program of anti-missile defenses
the plan was for a network of anti-missile sites to be built across
America but thanks to various international
agreements they were only able to build one
this one in North Dakota. Long since abandoned
it once housed 100 short-range missiles but is now just a relic of the cold war
the strange pyramid is a gigantic radar built to detect any oncoming missile
just beside it was an underground power plant to keep the site running
but today it's been largely forgotten about
which is dumb
this Victorian mansion was once among the most well kept in America
owned by a wealthy lawyer it was painted bright pink
and surrounded with exotic plants imported from around the world
but when all three of his children caught a disease called typhoid
people began to associate the house with misfortune
it was just worn in a long string of tragic events
today the house is said to be haunted and its current appearance doesn't help
that hidden away in a forest for years nature
has slowly been reclaiming it plants growing up its walls and across
its roof
near the Canadian border with New York is a very tiny island
and on that very tiny island is a very big house
it was built in the 19th century by a rich idiot called William Wyckoff
he spent millions on reconstruction wanting it to be the grandest mansion in
New York but during the great depression the
Wyckoff family fell on hard times and for some reason the home was bought
by general electric GE wanted to use it for a corporate retreat
but instead just ignored it so for 70 years it's just been a weird forgotten
mansion
I've long said the North Koreans have done nothing wrong
but they're not great builders in 1987 they began to build the world's tallest
hotel but after the collapse of communism in
Europe North Korea fell into an economic crisis and the hotel was abandoned
mid-construction at 105 stories it's the tallest
uninhabited building on earth it's unknown if there are plans to
complete the building perhaps they literally can't afford to finish it
but either way it looks fantastic