We can’t imagine our homes ever being abandoned.
Our cities empty as nature slowly reclaims what we stole, but one day, all that we know
will be abandoned.
Don’t believe us?
Neither did the people who once lived in the places on this list.
Take a trip with us into the past, for a look into our future while we explore 10 abandoned
places you have to see to believe.
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Oradour, France
World War 2 is arguably the darkest moment in human history.
Most of the world was fighting for freedom, but many more individuals were fighting for
their lives.
But on the 10th of June 1944, that fight ended for 642 residents of the town of Oradour-sur-Glane
in France.
On that day, men, women and children were executed by Nazi forces, and to this day no-one
knows why.
The martyr village stands untouched, falling into decay as the world leaves it standing
as a memory to the people who lost their lives that day.
As solemn as any concentration camp, the entire village shows just how unexpected the attack
was, as everything is exactly as the inhabitants left it.
Everything looks almost as though the people will come back at any minute, ready to start
their day again.
Kolmanskop, Namibia
In the early 90’s, thousands of German families moved to Kolmanskop in search of their fortunes
during the diamond craze.
And people found diamonds.
The miners would return home with their pockets bulging, and soon the homes grew grander,
a theatre and casino popped up, and the town became bigger and bigger.
More respectable folk joined the miners, and soon the town boasted a school, ballroom and
hospital were formed and established.
In fact, it was the home of Africa’s first tram.
Everything looked bright for Kolmanskop.
And then war broke out.
The diamonds dried up, and finally, the town breathed its last.
Last one out, close the door.
While some of the beautiful homes are being restored, there won’t be enough time until
this once rich little town will be totally reclaimed by the desert.
Chernobyl, Ukraine
There were once more than 16 000 people living in the 30km that surrounded the Chernobyl
plant in northern Ukraine, but then one day, the plant exploded, and the site was cordoned
off because of radiation.
Now, Chernobyl and the few surrounding towns are eerily abandoned.
Entire villages, with no people, but lives left behind.
You can see the houses and furniture, all abandoned in the rush that followed those
haunting warning sirens.
In the years since, some have found the pull back toward home irresistible, and now a few
of the former inhabitants thrive where they shouldn’t.
It turns out that not even a radioactive explosion could keep these babushkas away.
Wonderland Park, Beijing
This abandoned Chinese amusement park is exponentially more eerie, because it is a sad vision of
what could have been a place of laughter and amusement.
But it never was.
Construction was halted in 1998 because of a dispute over land prices.
Touted as Asia’s biggest amusement park, the park was never finished.
Now, half finished castles stand on land that was supposed to be entertaining thousands
of children.
Finished roller coasters wait, ready to delight the masses, but in actuality will be demolished
before they ever fulfill their purpose.
What makes all of this worse is the fact that it will all be gone soon, with the attractive
sites never experienced by anyone.
There is something sad about something that was once used being abandoned, but there’s
something equally sad about something with so much potential being lost to the world.
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Once one of the seven wonders of the world, Angkor Wat is the world’s largest religious
monument.
It spans an area four times larger than the Vatican and is grander than anything left
behind by ancient Greeks and Romans.
The abandoned city tells the story of immense wealth and infrastructure, while the temple
itself was the creation of some unknown Michelangelo.
Recent discoveries show that one of the temples housed about 60 tonnes of gold!
But despite the vast riches of the city, disaster was about to strike.
The hydraulic water system was failing under immense pressure, and a season of floods was
on its way.
The floods struck, the city’s water system failed, and the kings relocated to a new capital
city, leaving behind hauntingly desolate visions of the past.
Bodiam Castle, England
Bodiam castle in Sussex, England is the real thing.
It is an actual medieval castle with a moat, spiralling staircases and thin windows.
You can almost see the dashing knight storming out of the castle on a quest to find the holy
grail.
The castle was built by an actual knight during The Hundred Years War, and is an architectural
delight.
Thousands of visitors flock to it every year with visions of grandeur and historic beauty
filling their minds.
They are never disappointed.
From the lush gardens to the tall towers, you can live yourself into the history of
the building, and almost imagine the lives that were spent in the comfortable castle.
Unfortunately, not even this gorgeous building is immune to age, and most of the interior
has collapsed, although some inner rooms have been preserved.
Michigan Central Station, Detroit
Michigan Central Station is a monument that perfectly sums up Detroit’s stellar rise
to industrial power, and its sad tumble into economic depression.
It is a testament to how much the automobile industry gave Detroit, but how quickly it
was all taken away.
At one stage, thousands passed through the building every day, but now it stands empty.
Tourists and graffiti artists flock to the building, which at 18 stories tall still cuts
an impressive figure.
There have been rumours about restoring the building, but who knows whether the building
will taste its former grandeur or fade away into obscurity.
Craco, Italy
This was once a bustling town that was built from a mountain.
Today the abandoned homes stare at passerby with dark, empty eyes.
It was once a monastic center, with churches, plazas, university and castle.
With people settling into the town for a full, and engaging lifestyle, Craco called to many
with a spiritual and educational interest.
Monks chanting and university students running amok was an everyday way of life for the population,
and it managed to thrive for centuries.
It couldn’t last though, and soon reality caught up to the happy residents of this little
town.
Earthquakes caused by the unstable clay on which the town is built resulted in regular
earthquakes and landslides.
The citizens fought hard to keep their homes, but finally the last citizens had to leave
in the early 1960’s.
The ghost town still retains its beauty, however, and has housed many movie shoots such as the
car chase scene in James Bond: Quantum of Solace.
Hashima Island, Japan
If you watched the 2012 Bond film, “Skyfall”, you know all about this mysterious island
that serves as a lair to the evil Raoul Silva.
But what you probably don’t know is the tragic story behind this eerie slab of rock.
Hashima island was once the most densely populated place on the planet, and it was estimated
that there were 139,100 people per square meter.
But what could drive all these people from their homes?
What could be so terrible as to drive entire families from their apartments?
Put simply, rapid industrialisation.
The thriving mining community who lived there lost out to the petroleum industry, and within
weeks the entire island was left abandoned.
What was once a bustling hive of activity is now a lifeless piece of rock decorated
with forgotten tombstones.
Passing by it, you might be a little curious about the grave buildings, but even the decrepit
facade couldn’t give you a full history of illegal forced labor, forgotten childhoods
and hundreds of homes abandoned overnight.
El Hotel Del Salto, Colombia
Built to house the wealthy visitors of the Tequendama falls in Colombia, this magnificent
hotel has now been abandoned to the ghosts of the past.
Built right on the edge of the cliff, visitors were promised a breathtaking view along with
luxury service.
The world’s rich and powerful retreated to this travel destination, and over the years
it became a must see.
And then the steady march of progress caused the Bogota river to become disgustingly polluted.
The rich lost interest, and travelled to cleaner pastures, and the hotel was forced to close.
Since then the building was left to the sad process of urban decay, until it was turned
into a museum of biodiversity and culture.