There are many abandoned places around the world which have a serenic beauty to them. These places have been abandoned or destroyed for a wide variety of reasons and all of them used to be bustling with life at one point of time. While there are some places that are ideal for a vacation, there are also those with wreckages that will leave you intrigued in mystery. Each of them has a story behind it and we are here to explore them in a short detail.
Plane In The Backyard
Unless you are the president of a country, there is no good explanation as to why you have a supersonic Tu-44 jet in your backyard. The jet was first spotted by some people passing by and when the word got out, people started to come in and started taking pictures and videos of the plane. Some people even took pictures and videos of the plane by drones.
19th Century Bridge In Germany
This is a very amazing view and it is especially breathtaking in autumn when the trees are shedding leaves all around. The bridge reflects in the light and makes a complete circle in the water. Imagine heading out here with your partner in a boat and going under the bridge as if going through a circle.
Abandoned Store In Fukushima
When the earthquake of March 2011 hit Japan, it brought along a tsunami with it. A nuclear plant near the city of Fukushima received a major hit and there was radiation all around. The residents of Fukushima were evacuated for what was thought to be a temporary relocation but they had to start their lives in a new place all over again.
Abandoned Castle In Ireland
A castle was built on the Roscommon Island in Ireland in the 12th century. However, a fire in 1184 started as a result of a lightning bolt and everyone was either burnt or drowned. Only a small group of people following Conchobar mac Diarmata remained alive. Another castle was built on the island by the McDermotts in 1586 but after they lost the island, the castle was left abandoned again.
Christ Of The Abyss, San Fruttuoso, Italy
The water bodies hold quite a number of mysteries and sometimes the things that you will find in the depths of the seas and oceans can be quite amazing. This bronze statue of Christ offering a benediction of peace looking upwards towards heaven was placed in the sea in 1954 near the point where Dario Gonzatti, the first Italian to use Scuba gear, died in 1947. However, the statue was removed in 2003 to restore it from all the corrosion and then placed at its spot again in 2004.
Cottage In Stradbally, Ireland
This would be the perfect spot to spend a romantic vacation with your partner. The cottage is perfectly set in a quiet place of the forest and the natural beauty around it is just the cherry on the top. If you are looking to get away from the noise of the city, this cottage in the middle of nowhere would be an ideal spot for you.
Ferris Wheel, Kejonuma Leisure Land, Japan
This Ferris Wheel is just one of the many rides that is present in the Kejonuma Leisure Land. In its prime day, the amusement park used to see nearly 200,000 visitors every year and it opened up in 1979. It had all types of accomodations like little huts in it too but the park closed down in 2000. However, the owner did not abandon the park and just drilled the park for hot water.
The Chatillon Car Graveyard In Belgium
Chatillon is just a small village in Belgium and the cars that are abandoned in the area once belonged to the US soldiers. When the soldiers were in the country for World War II, they bought cars and it would have been too costly to transport them back to the US. This was the reason why they just left the cars in Belgium. All the cars were left at the top of a hill far away from the view of public.
Volcanic Eruption Over An Abandoned Church In Karo, Indonesia
Mount Sinabung has erupted a lot of times over the years and the people in the area had to abandon their homes and this church was also abandoned as a result of it. However, people moved back in the area but they were forced to evacuate again in June 2015. The slopes around Mount Sinabung are quite hazardous but even so after many evacuations, people still return to the village and begin their lives all over again.
Selma Plantation Estate, Virginia
Once upon a time, the Selma Plantation Estate was quite the social hubspot. However, after the original owners met with their untimely deaths, the estate passed into the hands of many new owners. A fire destroyed the estate but a new owner rebuilt it from the ground up. However, the estate was abandoned eventually and it was bought recently and the new owner began restoration in 2016.
Fishing Hut On A Lake In Germany
Inside the Berchtesgaden National Park, there is the Obersee Lake on the edge of which lies an abandoned fishing hut. When the hut was discovered, it showed no signs of life and there was no way of determining the original owners. Today, the fishing hut can serve as a beautiful place to enjoy the view of mountains and a lake while enjoying the peace of solitude.
Abandoned Yellow House, Nova Scotia
This looks like a picture taken from an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Although the house needs a paint job, the presence of the yellow dandelions really makes the picture whole. The economy of the area means that the area is abandoned. This trend in the area is that the children move for greener pastures when they grow up and the community in Nova Scotia gets abandoned once their parents pass away.
VW Bug In Cancun, Mexico
This VW Bug lying underwater is a part of an underwater museum in Cancun, Mexico. You can either dive or snorkel to see all the 500 sculptures lying underwater. If you are scared of going underwater, you can also go on one of the boats with a glass bottom and view the marvellous collection.
Space Shuttle, Baikonur Cosmodrome
This was a secret site built by the Soviet Union in the area that is now known as Kazakhstan. This was the same site from where the Soviet Union launched Yuri Gagarin in April, 1961. This abandoned space shuttle is named “Buron” and it flew only once in November 1988. The goal of the mission was to take 30 tons into space and return with only 20 tons. However, the mission was abandoned after the fall of the Communist Government in 1991.
Farm House In Ontario
There is a lot of mystery surrounding this farmhouse. It looks more like a painting than a reality. The most questioned thing is why would someone take such a good care of the lawn and then neglect the house completely? The other question is how can grass grow in an area that has dead trees?
Shipwreck, Red Sea
This is one of the many ships that are wrecked in a small group. This is known as the “Russian Shipwreck” and it was discovered back in 1988. At first it was thought to be a fishing trawler by the name of Khanka. It is believed that the Russians used these fishing vessels to communicate since a lot of communication devices and batteries were found aboard the wreckage.
Holland Island, USA
In 1910, the island was bustling with life with over 360 residents. It was considered to be the most populated island in the Chesapeake Bay but it has the problem of erosion on it. This Victorian home is one of the few structures which is standing on the island. In 1914, they had tried to save the island by bringing in stones to build a wall around the island. However, it did not help when a tropical storm hit the island. This was the last house left standing on the island.
Abandoned House Of Bulgarian Industrialist, Pencho Semov
The first billionaire in the country of Bulgaria was known as the “Bulgarian Rockefeller”. He made all his fortunes through trading, banking and more. He had willed his home and two other buildings to be a retirement home and boarding schools for girls but after his death in 1945, his wishes were not carried out. The mansion was later used by the government as an infectious tuberculosis ward.
British Warship In Great Lakes Of Ontario
The H.M.S. Ontario was a British warship that sank during a storm in 1780. Nearly 130 men lost their lives when the ship sank down to the bottom of the Great Lakes of Ontario. This was the oldest British warship to be found in the area. It took three years for Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville to locate the remains of this ship.
Abandoned Railroad Bridge, Pittsburg
After automobiles became the mainstream form of transportation, many railroads were abandoned in Pennsylvania. The reason was that people did not need a reason to travel via train other than in exceptional cases. Thereby, funding depleted and the railroads were not maintained and ultimately left to rot.
Abandoned Home In Nebraska, USA
This was a picture captured by a photographer back in 2015 and he had no idea how intensive the lightning was when he captured the picture from his car. The interesting thing to note here is that even though there are no trees in sight, the lightning seems to be striking down. Everything about the picture is quite intimidating and for a moment, you can even forget the abandoned house that lies in the middle of the picture.
Harley-Davidson Police Motorcycle Graveyard, Lima, Peru
Previously owned by the National Police of Puente Piedra, these Harleys were brought out of circulation because they were becoming too expensive to maintain. Many Harley lovers bought some of these bikes in bulk since it took more than one bike to create a working motorcycle. This was because there were no dealers in the areas who could provide them with spare parts.
Abandoned Hotel In Colombia
This was once a majestic hotel that was located on the edge of a cliff. It was the perfect place to spend a vacation since it had the spectacular view of a waterfall. However, the hotel was abandoned when the Bogota river became contaminated with industrial waste. The authorities did not control the situation and eventually visitors stopped coming in.
Old Helensburgh Railway Tunnel, Australia
This was one of the seven tunnels built in the 1880s and it provided a passage between Waterfall and Otford. However, it was abandoned in 1920 when there was a requirement of a double lane and the single lanes were not doing it anymore. The double lane was built in a different location and these tunnels were abandoned.
Michigan Central Station in Detroit, U.S.A
Construction began in 1913 and it was put to use before it was completed. Nearly 200 trains left each day to transport troops for World War I and then during the Second World War, it was only used by the military troops. By then, people had started to use automobiles and trains were a part of history. Recently, the building was bought by Ford Motors and they say that they have big plans for the building.
VW Bug In Lagoon Beach, Milnerton, South Africa
The story behind the abandonment of this Bug is quite serious. As you can see, there is a fire and a volcano in the background. It is believed that in order to escape an eruption, the owner of the Bug just left it where it was and ran for his life.
Victorian Home In San Francisco
This quaint little Victorian home is situated smack in the middle of two modern houses. If it were not abandoned, it would have made the perfect house for someone trying to get some creative work done like writing a book or painting a portrait. The house requires a lot of tending to and most of the free time of the person would have been spent tending to the chores.
Wreck Of SS America
The SS America was built in 1940 and mostly used as a passenger ship. It was also used by the Navy in 1941 and two Nazi spies had managed to get onboard as a part of the crew. They were caught in one of the biggest espionage operations by the FBI. In 1994, the ship was on a 100-day journey when it ran into a storm and wrecked on the Canary Islands, breaking into two pieces.
Partially Sunken Ship In Roatan, Honduras
The Dixon Cove Wreck has many abandonment stories revolving around it. One of them says that the ship was struck by a storm. They say that it was carrying wood and the passengers tried unloading the wood before it sank. Another theory says that it was carrying marble. There is yet another theory which says that the ship caught on fire along with another ship which is also wrecked in the same place and both were a part of the Nicaraguan Revolution.
Mining Town On Silver Islet, Lake Superior, Ontario
This little town saw the discovery of a large deposit of silver in 1845. However, mining it was proving to be difficult because of the weather conditions and the rough waters of Lake Superior. The miners were able to retrieve nearly $3 million worth of silver after they built a breakwater of rock and concrete to hold the water back. However, the town was abandoned in 1883 after the funding ran out and there was not enough fuel to light up the furnaces.
Lucy The Elephant Hotel, New Jersey
This structure was built in 1881 and it had six stories. It was originally known as the Elephant Bazaar. There was a set of stairs that led to the top. When the howdah was used as a tavern, there was a fire. In another disaster that Lucy faced, the howdah was completely blown off. A developer purchased the site and wanted to restore Lucy to her full glory. After the committee approved the restoration, Lucy was restored fully and is in full operation now.
I.M Cooling Tower – Old Power Station In Belgium
This was one of the largest coal burning plants in Belgium and it was built in 1921. By 1977, it was the largest source of energy for Charleroi and was able to cool down 480,000 gallons of water every minute. However, it was found out later that the plant was responsible for nearly 10 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions of the country and the plant finally closed down in 2007.
Abandoned Gentzrode In Neuruppin, Brandenburg, Germany
Gentzrode is believed to be cursed since many perfect plans seem to have failed here. The first plan to fail was when Ludwig, the son of Carl von Diebitsch, wanted to build a castle-like home with beautiful gardens around it. The estate completed construction in 1877 but it was far more expensive than what he had anticipated. This led to his family going bankrupt. After that, many people bought the estate but no one was able to hold on to it for more than an year. It fell into Nazi hands and eventually fell into ruins after the Russian army left the area.
Halcyon Hall, Bennett College, Millbrook, New York
The Halcyon Hall started out as a luxury hotel when it was built in 1890. It had five stories and over 200 rooms but it did not do as the owner had planned. The hotel closed down in 1901. In 1907, a school teacher decided to move her school for girls into the building. Eventually, more buildings were added to the estate and it became a fully-functional college known as Bennet college. However, with more coed colleges coming up in the country, the college fell into debt and was finally abandoned in 1970s. The building was demolished in 2014.
Swallow’s Nest Castle, Ukraine
The ‘ice’ castle overlooked the Cape Ai-Todor of the Black Sea in Southern Ukraine and was built by a wealthy oil merchant back in 1911. However, it was soon abandoned and left to rot. Today, the ruins look like something out of a thriller novel and not something that you would think was actually built to live in at a time.
Boat Graveyard, Queensland, Australia
Many boats were sunk on purpose on Moreton Island so that a safe passageway could be created for smaller boats. It is a beautiful sight to look at when you see the old boats rusting away. They were lined up on purpose and then sunk. The boats date back to 1963 and they were no longer in use which is why it was easy to decide on their sacrifice.
Abandoned Castle In Italy
You will find many castles all over Italy which are abandoned today. Some of them have been restored and are available for sale while there are some which you will have to restore yourself after purchasing them. Each castle is unique and has its own artwork and layout. Some of the castles even have dungeons in their basements.
Dome Houses In South Florida
This is an interesting way to live and these dome houses were built in 1980 by Bob Lee, a retired oil producer in Cape Romano. Until the houses were wrecked by hurricanes, they provided a beautiful home for the people who wanted to live there. The houses were self-sustaining since they ran on solar power. The coastline was reduced by Hurricane Wilma and the only way to reach these houses now is by boat.
Abandoned Home In Byod, Oregon
This is just one of the few homes left in Byod after it was disincorporated in 1955. Today, Byod is a ghost town and one of the biggest reasons for the downfall of the town was the Great Depression. However, even though it is abandoned, the wooden house surrounded by white wheat fields provides quite a picturesque scene.
Búðakirkja Church, Iceland
There are not many black and white churches left in the world and Búðakirkja is one of the few churches left where couples can get married. This church is located near a beach and you can see the lava volcano in the background. The church was built in 1703 but it was deconstructed soon after. However, after someone lobbied for the church to come back, the church was reconstructed in 1987.
