Abandoned Cities from Around the World: Deserted Towns and Other Derelict Places

[Lisa Wolfe]

14. Once home to 2200 residents, Times Beach, Missouri stood empty and condemned for over a decade. It is the site of one of America’s worst pollution disasters. From 1972 to 1976, city officials had waste oil sprayed on the unpaved roads to alleviate a dust problem. Unfortunately, that waste oil contained dioxin, a toxic carcinogen and component of Agent Orange. The dioxin permeated the soil and flooding further spread it through the town. After a long cleanup effort, the town has been reborn as Route 66 State park.

[Lisa Wolfe]

15. Deception Island is located in the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula. One of the area’ only safe harbors, Deception Island offered a refuge from storms and was also the site of several research stations and whaling operations. Many buildings have been abandoned there due both to a decline in the use of whale oil and a volcanic eruption in 1969. The volcano has made it an unpopular location, but Spain and Argentina still have summer-only research stations there.

[Lisa Wolfe]

16. Tyneham is referred to as ‘the village that Dorset lost’. During World War II, the Ministry of Defence took over this town on the Isle of Purbeck in south England for use as an army base. Citizens were promised their homes back after the war ended, but were never allowed back in. It has stood as ghost village ever since, lying in ruins except for the schoolhouse and church that still stand relatively untouched. Schoolwork still sits on the aging desks, and a sign on the church still reads, ‘Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.’

[Lisa Wolfe]

17. Kayakoy, Turkey was once a thriving Greek village, home to 25,000 people. In 1923, the town was completely deserted when its inhabitants, along with millions of other Greeks in Turkey, were forced out of the country due to the Greek war of independence. Since then, the village - which had been populated since the 13th century - has stood empty and deteriorating. Kayakoy is the largest and most well preserved ghost village in Asia Minor.

[Lisa Wolfe]

18. The medieval village of Craco, Italy was built on a very steep summit for defensive reasons, in a dry and mostly vegetation-free area in the south of the country. Over the centuries, this village lost residents due to a plague, French occupation and civil unrest, and finally lost nearly all of its residents between 1892 and 1922 as they fled for America due to poor agricultural conditions. Earthquakes in the ‘60s forced the remaining occupants out of the city, and it’s now completely uninhabited.

[Lisa Wolfe]

19. Polish officials have been trying to get rid of the village of Klomino for years; it was last on the market for 2 million, but most of its remaining buildings were demolished after lack of interest and locals destroyed what was left. Klomino is the only official ghost town in Poland, built solely as living quarters for the Russian Army. It has lain empty since the Red Army withdrew its forces in 1992.

[Lisa Wolfe]

20. Pyramiden, Norway was a Russian settlement and coal mining community founded by Sweden and sold to Russia in 1927. The settlement once had a population of over 1,000 people but has been empty since its owner, the state-owned Soviet company Arctikugol Trust, abandoned it in 1991. The buildings still stand today exactly as they were when it was still in use. Tourists can access it for now by snowmobile or boat, but Russia plants to redevelop it soon. Want more? Check out strange and fascinating abandoned towns, cities and other places in Europe, Russia and the United States.


http://weburbanist.com/2008/07/06/20-abandoned-cities-and-towns/2/

[Lisa Wolfe]

Centralia, PA:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.....nnsylvania

[Lisa Wolfe]

http://kiokuya-haikyo.versus.jp/index.html

[Lisa Wolfe]

Another one: in Sardinia, Gairo vecchia

http://www.google.com/search?c.....ro+vecchia
some photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/coloru/2083671784/
http://www.paradisola.it/foto-.....sp?iCat=80
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gratius/2361049255/

[Lisa Wolfe]

Sewell, Chile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewell%2C_Chile

[Lisa Wolfe]

"The town of Quaban, which was abandoned and flooded when the Quaban dam was built to create the Quaban reservoir. They literally abandoned the town and let it be flooded."


http://www.westfordcomp.com/quabbin/

[Lisa Wolfe]

"Villa Lago Epecuén, in Argentina. It was abandoned because human activity (rivers detour) caused an flood and permanent level risinf of Lake Epecuén. You can see some photographs at"

http://www.taringa.net/posts/i.....-agua.html

[Lisa Wolfe]

Hashima island aka. Gunkanjima should be included.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashima_Island
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/saiga/y.....bnail.html

[Lisa Wolfe]

Prypiat, next to Chernobyl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prypiat,_Ukraine