Almost every country has abandoned settlements. Small villages, towns and even entire cities. They are very popular with travelers. Interest in them has grown recently and is called "eerie" tourism. People go there for thrills and extraordinary photos.
Even if you are not an adventurer, you will surely be interested in our selection of ghost towns.
Abandoned ghost towns of the world
10. Centralia, USA
Located in Pennsylvania. The city was founded in the middle of the 19th century between two mines with anthracite coal. The population did not exceed 2 thousand people, but there was everything for a comfortable life. People had the opportunity to work in mines, opened banks, shops, built a church.
In 1962, an underground fire began in Centralia. The fire could not be extinguished, it spread to other abandoned mines. Unpleasant things began to happen in the city. People felt worse, they did not have enough clean air, vegetables were burning in their gardens, even in winter it was very hot. The last straw was the story with Todd Domboski. A 12-year-old boy fell into a well that opened right under his feet. Todd was rescued, but the authorities decided to evacuate the residents of the city. Most of them agreed to resettlement, only a few families stayed here.
Many buildings have been demolished, but Centreilia is very popular with tourists. They come here often. The authorities say that in 50 years, there will be nothing to look at. All reminders that people once lived in the city will disappear.
Interesting fact. Centralia became the prototype for the city of Silent Hill in the Japanese computer game.
9. Hasima, Japan
It's not even a city, it's a whole island. In the early 19th century, it was used as a temporary refuge for fishermen from the neighboring islands. It is a piece of rock. Coal was discovered here in 1810. After 120 years, it became an industrial center. In the 60s, the island's population exceeded 5 thousand. After 15 years, coal ran out, the mines were closed, and the island was empty.
The Japanese authorities have banned tourists from visiting it. There were many antiquities that interested "black diggers".
Now everyone can see Hasima, but only from a boat. It is allowed to enter a small area, the island itself is considered a dangerous zone. The buildings located there are in disrepair. In 2015, this mystical place was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
8. Rhyolite, USA
A small town located in the south of Nevada. In 1904, gold was discovered here, and soon hundreds of men infected with the "gold rush" arrived here. They all dreamed of getting rich. They wrote about Riolit in the newspaper, and the first entrepreneurs appeared. They built a hotel, restaurant, casino, schools, an opera house. People worked in coal mines. In three years the population has grown to 10 thousand people.
The 1907 financial crisis prompted investors to rush to withdraw their money. Enterprises began to close. People had no choice but to leave Rhyolite.In 1915, the population was no more than 20 people, the last of whom died in 1924. The ghost town is of great interest to tourists. In addition, it has a good location, it is not far from the most mysterious US National Park, Death Valley.
7. Kraco, Italy
A unique place, a very old town. It was founded in the 8th century. It is located on the top of the mountain, it is difficult to see it from a distance, it seems to merge with nature. Many trials fell to Kracko's lot: crop failures, landslides, war, earthquakes. The latter happened in 1963. At that time, 1800 people lived in the city. The earthquake was quite strong. Destruction, casualties ... It was dangerous to stay here, and almost the entire local population moved to a neighboring village.
In Krako, there were only old people who did not want to part with their homes. More than 50 years have passed, but the ghost town is still in great demand. Of course, it is visited by tourists, but it is of much greater interest to filmmakers. Many films have been filmed in Kracko: The Passion of Christ, Quantum of Solace, Nymph, the series Fatal Inheritance, etc.
6. Chaiten, Chile
Until 2008, few people had heard of the port town of Chaitene. Severe weather conditions, icy water, inaccessible mountains. It was of strategic importance and did not attract tourists. The number of residents at the time of the tragedy was 10 thousand people. The town got its name from a volcano that was located nearby. He caused terrible events. They learned about the eruption of the volcano in advance, and organized an urgent evacuation. Residents hoped that they could return home and everything would be the same.
Lava flowed into the mountain river, a stream of hot gray mass gushed over the city. Violent destruction, houses and cars, half hidden by the frozen mixture. Chaiten was seriously injured. There was nowhere to return, but the authorities promised the residents to rebuild the city again, away from the volcano. The earthquake lasted 5 months. Now the city is abandoned, you won't even see tourists here. You can't get to Chaiten, and there is nothing to look at - the city is sealed with a thick layer of lava. The Rio Blanca has changed its course and now flows directly through the city.
5. Pripyat, Ukraine
One of the most famous dead cities. In 1986, a tragedy occurred here - an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Before the accident, 49.4 thousand people lived in Pripyat. All of them were evacuated due to unfavorable radiation conditions. There were also victims, but their number was not large - 50 people suffered from causes directly related to the accident, 4 thousand had long-term consequences of exposure.
The Chernobyl exclusion zone (3o km) was created. All settlements located here were deprived of the status of settlements, but not Pripyat. According to the documents, it still has the status of a city of regional significance.
Recently, interest in Pripyat has increased greatly. Domestic cinema, the series “Chernobyl. The Exclusion Zone ”had high ratings. After watching, many decided to go on an excursion to those places. The Chernobyl exclusion zone is even included in the top ten the most popular places for radioactive tourism.
Ukrainian tour operators provide such a service, but some consider the sightseeing tour boring and turn to illegal guides. In this case, the thrill is guaranteed. Stalker trails, spending the night in abandoned houses - that's not all, you will have to hide from the zone workers and the patrol. Such a journey is only suitable for the daredevils who are ready for trouble.
Russian ghost towns
4. Mologa
The city is located in the Yaroslavl region. It is not known when it was founded, approximately in the XII century. For some time Mologa was a large trade center of Russia, then a county town, in 1929 it became an administrative center. Life here went on as usual. In 1930, 7 thousand people lived in the city. In 1935, the authorities decided to build the Rybinsk reservoir. Mologa did not get into the flood zone.
Soon the authorities came to the conclusion that the capacity of the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station would not be enough, and the flooded area was increased. Not all local residents refused to leave their homeland, 294 people died. Forest animals also fell victim to the Rybinsk reservoir. The city was completely flooded with water, but when its level decreases, you can see the roofs of buildings. For more than half a century, a church towered over the former Mologa, but it was also powerless against the pressure of water. In 1997, it collapsed.
3. Neftegorsk
This is an urban-type settlement in the Sakhalin Region, built in 1964. He was considered one of the most comfortable on Sakhalin. 17 five-story buildings, comfortable apartments - a dream. But only 30 years later, it was these houses that caused the death of a large number of people. In 1995, 3197 people lived here, of which 2000 died.
On May 28 at night there was a strong earthquake. The club, the school, where the guys celebrated their graduation, collapsed. Five-story buildings collapsed like houses of cards. Later it turned out that during their construction they saved on materials. This was the reason for their rapid destruction to the very foundation. Nothing remained at the site of the village, a memorial plate with the names of the victims was installed. Instead of houses - slabs with an address.
2. Curonian-2
A working village with a tragic history. Location - the north of the Ryazan region. People came here from all over the country. The area is rich in forests and it was assumed that life here would be comfortable. The main thing is there is work. All this took place in the 30s of the twentieth century. In 1936, a fire broke out in a neighboring village, the wind was blowing towards Kurshe-2. Several dozen out of 1000 people were saved. All the rest were burned down.
In 2011, a memorial complex was created here. Sometimes tourists drop in here, despite the fact that the fire destroyed everything. It is not possible to find this place on your own, so it is better to use the services of experienced guides and go to the former village as part of an expedition.
1. Halmer-Yu
Miners' settlement located in the Komi Republic in 1957. They say that a beautiful name came to him. Halmer-Yu is translated as “The river in the valley of death”. Nothing terrible happened here, people lived, worked, made plans. In 1993, they were told that the village should be liquidated. The local residents were not even told who and why made this decision. They were forcibly put on trains and taken away, riot police were involved. Now on the site of Khalmer-Yu there is a military training ground "Pemboy".