There’s something about abandoned places that sparks a bit of imagination, and heartache, in all of us. Below are more eerie, but beautiful, abandoned places, some of which you can still visit.
Kolmanskop Namib desert
Kolmanskop (Afrikaans for Coleman’s hill, German: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia, a few kilometers inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during a sandstorm, abandoned his ox wagon on a small incline opposite the settlement. Once a small but very rich mining village, it is now a popular tourist destination run by the joint firm NamDeb (Namibia-De Beers).
Nara Dreamland
Nara Dreamland (Nara Dorimurando) was a theme park near Nara, Japan which was built in 1961 and inspired by Disneyland in California. On August 31, 2006, Nara Dreamland closed permanently.
Ayrfield shipwreck (floating forrest)
The registration of Ayrfield was cancelled on 6 October 1972 and the old collier sent to Homebush Bay for breaking-up. The hull is located near the mouth of Haslams Creek with the bow pointing towards the shore.
Wonderland, Chenzhuang Village, Nankou Town, Changping District, China
Wonderland is an abandoned amusement park construction project located in Chenzhuang Village, Nankou Town, Changping District, People’s Republic of China, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) outside of Beijing. Originally proposed by the Thailand based property developer Reignwood Group and designed to be the largest amusement park in Asia (to have covered 120 acres), construction stopped in 1998 following financial problems with local officials, while a 2008 attempt to start construction again also failed. The site, which features a number of abandoned buildings, is being reclaimed by local farmers.
Holland Island, Dorchester County, Maryland
Holland Island is a marshy, rapidly eroding island in Chesapeake Bay, in Dorchester County, Maryland, west of Salisbury. The island was once inhabited by watermen and farmers but has since been abandoned. It is located in the Holland Strait, between Bloodsworth Island and Smith Island, six miles west of Wenona, Maryland. The house below was the last remaining structure (it fell in 2010).
15th century monastery in the Black Forest in Germany
All Saints’ Abbey (Kloster Allerheiligen) was a Premonstratensian monastery near Oppenau in the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. According to the tradition, the foundation date was 1192, and the site of the building, at 620 metres above sea level in the upper valley of the Lierbach near Oppenau, was determined by a donkey which threw off a sack of money at this remote and inaccessible spot. In the same year, a wooden chapel was built, which was gradually extended to be a Premonstratensian monastery. Large fires, in 1470 and 1555, had already destroyed parts of the premises. In 1804, a last fire started when a bolt of lightning struck the church tower, which caused irreversible destruction. In 1816 the ruins were sold for demolition and used as a quarry for stone and scrap for churches in the valleys of the Rench and the Acher.
Kalavantin Durg
Kalavantin Durg (Prabalgad Fort) is a fort located in between Matheran and Panvel, visible from the Mumbai Pune expressway. The fort is located at an elevation of 2300 feet in the Sahyadri mountains. It is located on a plateau very close to Matheran, but unlike Prabalgad fort does not have a good source of water supply. It was known as Muranjan until it was taken over and renamed by the Maratha forces under Shivaji’s rule.
Pegasus Field, Antarctica
Pegasus Field (ICAO: NZPG) is an airstrip in Antarctica, the southernmost of three airfields serving McMurdo Station. Pegasus is a blue ice runway capable of handling wheeled aircraft year-round, and the principal Ice Runway on the sea-ice available during the summer Antarctic field season. The other two are the snow runways at Williams Field that are limited to ski-equipped aircraft.
The Maunsell Forts
The Maunsell Forts were small, fortified towers built in the Thames and Mersey estuaries during the Second World War to help defend the United Kingdom. They were named after their designer, Guy Maunsell. The forts were decommissioned in the late 1950s and later used for other activities (like hosting pirate radio stations).
Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area against French invasion during the Hundred Years’ War. Possession of Bodiam Castle passed through several generations of Dalyngrigges, until their line became extinct, when the castle passed by marriage to the Lewknor family.
The Cincinnati Subway
The Cincinnati Subway is a set of unused tunnels and stations for a rapid transit system beneath the streets of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is recognized as the largest abandoned subway tunnel in the United States. Construction took place in the early twentieth century, but the project was not completed so it never hosted a paying customer. The project has been described as “one of the city’s biggest embarrassments,” and “one of Cincinnati’s biggest failures”.
Sunken yacht in Antarctica
Four crew members were rescued from the yacht, which is owned by Brazilian journalist João Lara Mesquita, who was in the region producing a documentary Four crew members were rescued from the yacht, which is owned by Brazilian journalist João Lara Mesquita, who was in the region producing a documentary.
1984 Winter Olympics bobsleigh track in Sarajevo
Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track is a bobsleigh and luge track situated on Trebević mountain overlooking the City of Sarajevo, built for the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Craco, Italy
Craco is an abandoned commune and medieval village located in the Region of Basilicata and the Province of Matera in Italy. About 25 miles inland from the Gulf of Taranto at the instep of the “boot” of Italy. It is typical of the hill towns of the region with mildly undulating shapes and the lands surrounding it sown with wheat. It was abandoned in 1963 due to recurring earthquakes.
Abandoned mill from 1866 in Sorrento, Italy
The House of the Bulgarian Communist Party
Sitting atop a mountain like an abandoned flying saucer, this giant structure looks like it was created on another planet. The House of the Bulgarian Communist Party was built in another era, however, one that long ago crumbled along with the way of life it embodied. After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Bulgaria moved into a new age of parliamentary democracy.
Abandoned city of Keelung, Taiwan
Keelung as a city was developed when the economy of Taiwan started rising. They built many places as every new city, but later on some of the companies went bankrupt, and lots of places were abandoned. This is one of the most famous ones. It was constructed when housing demands were increasing and never even finished. Just as many other companies at the same time, the construction company went bankrupt in late 1990s. And these flats were left abandoned for 15-20 years before demolished.
Lawndale Movie House
The Lawndale, which opened in 1927, was located in the North Lawndale community on Roosevelt Road at Pulaski Road. It was a rather large neighborhood movie house, seating 2,000, which later featured burlesque, and after that, movies once more, before it was closed in 1963. It was known as the Rena Theater in its later years.
Hotel del Salto
The luxurious Hotel del Salto opened in 1928 to welcome wealthy travelers visiting the Tequendama Falls area of Columbia. Situated just opposite to the waterfall and on the edge of the cliff, it provided a breathtaking view to its guests. During the next decades though, Bogotá river was contaminated and tourists gradually lost their interest to the area. The hotel finally closed down in the early 90’s and was left abandoned ever since. The fact that many people in the past chose that spot to commit suicide, made others believe that the hotel is haunted.
Green tunnel, Kleven
Located near the town of Kleven, this luscious green tunnel provided passage for a private train that provided wood to a local factory. Measuring 1.8 miles long, the unusual rail route in Eastern Europe is a popular spot for lovers’ promises.
Christ of the Abyss
Christ of the Abyss (Italian: “Il Cristo degli Abissi”) is a submerged bronze statue of Jesus, of which the original is in the Mediterranean Sea off San Fruttuoso between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Riviera. It was placed in the water on 22 August 1954 at approximately 17 meters depth and stands c. 2.5 meters tall.
Image Credits
In-Article Image Credits
Christ of the Abyss via Wikimedia Commons by 巫迪文 with usage type - Creative Commons License. June 9, 2015English: Abandoned hotel next to Tequendama Falls. 2010. via Wikimedia Commons by ArturoAparicio with usage type - GNU Free. August 8, 2010
Buzludzha Monument Auditorium via Wikimedia Commons by Stanislav Traykov with usage type - Creative Commons License. June 1, 2014
Craco via Wikimedia Commons by Maurizio Moro5153 with usage type - Creative Commons License. July 15, 2020
Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track via Wikimedia Commons by Julian Nyča with usage type - Creative Commons License
Bodiam Castle East Sussex England UK via Wikimedia Commons by Antony McCallum with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 10, 2008
RNZAF Boeing lands at Pegasus Airfield on the Ross Ice Shelf during its maiden flight to Antarctica. WN 10-0063-045 Crown Copyright 2011, NZ Defence Force via Wikimedia Commons by New Zealand Defence Force with usage type - Creative Commons License. December 16, 2009
All Saints' Abbey in the Black Forest, Germany via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - GNU Free
Sunken yacht in Antarctica via Business Insider by Ruslan Elisleev
Cincinnati subway via Wikimedia Commons by Jonathan Warren with usage type - Creative Commons License
Abandoned Maunsell Forts in UK via Wikimedia Commons by Russss with usage type - GNU Free. August 20, 2011
Kalavantin Durg (Prabalgad Fort) in India via Wikimedia Commons by Rohit Gowaikar with usage type - Creative Commons License. September 30, 2008
Abandoned Holland Island, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland via Wikimedia Commons by Baldeaglebluff with usage type - Creative Commons License
The SS Ayerfield shipwreck floating forrest via Wikimedia Commons by Jason Baker with usage type - Creative Commons License. April 2, 2011
Interior of an abandoned building in Kolmannskuppe, Namibia via Wikimedia Commons by James Kerwin with usage type - Creative Commons License. February 7, 2019
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