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 "creepy" tourism. People go there for thrills and unusual photographs.
Even if you do not belong to the category of adventurers, you will certainly 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 XIX 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. It was not possible to extinguish the fire; it spread to other abandoned mines. Unpleasant things began to happen in the city. People were feeling worse, they lacked clean air, vegetables were burning in vegetable gardens, even in winter it was very hot. The last straw was the story of 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 inhabitants of the city. Most of them agreed to relocation, only a few families remained here.
Many buildings were demolished, but Centralia is very popular among tourists. They often come here. Authorities say that after 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 of Silent Hill in a Japanese computer game.
9. Hashima, Japan
This is not even a city, it is a whole island. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was used as a temporary refuge for fishermen from neighboring islands. It is a fragment of rock. In 1810, coal was discovered here. After 120 years, it became an industrial center. In the 60s, the population of the island exceeded 5 thousand. After 15 years, the coal ended, the mines were closed, the island was empty.
Japanese authorities have banned tourists from visiting it. There were many antiquities that interested “black diggers”.
Now everyone can see Hashima, but only from the boat. It is allowed to enter a small area, the island itself is considered a danger zone. The buildings that are located there are in disrepair. In 2015, this mystical place was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
8. Riolite, USA
A small town is located in southern Nevada. Gold was discovered here in 1904, and soon hundreds of men infected with the Gold Rush arrived here. They all dreamed of getting rich. They wrote about Riolite in the newspaper, the first entrepreneurs appeared. They built a hotel, restaurant, casino, school, opera house. People worked in coal mines. Over three years, the population has grown to 10 thousand people.
The financial crisis of 1907 led investors to rush to withdraw their money. They began to close the enterprise. People had no choice but to leave Riolit. In 1915, the population was no more than 20 people, the last of them died in 1924. The ghost town is of great interest to tourists. In addition, it has a good location, it is located near the most mysterious Death Valley US National Park.
7. Kraco, Italy
Unique place, very old city. It was founded in the VIII century. Located at the top of the mountain, it is difficult to notice from a distance, as if it merges with nature. Kracko suffered many trials: 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, victims ... Staying here was dangerous, 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 native places. More than 50 years have passed, but the ghost town is still very much in demand. Of course, tourists visit him, but he is much more interested in filmmakers. Many films were shot in Krako: “Passion of Christ”, “Quantum of Solace”, “Nymph”, the series “Fatal Inheritance”, etc.
6. Chaiten, Chile
Until 2008, few people heard about the port town of Chaitene. Severe weather, icy water, inaccessible mountains. It was of strategic importance, it did not attract tourists. The number of inhabitants at the time of the tragedy was 10 thousand people. The town got its name in honor of the volcano, which was located nearby. He became the cause of terrible events. They learned about the eruption of the volcano in advance, organized an urgent evacuation. Residents hoped that they could return home, and everything will be as before.
Lava flowed into a mountain river, a stream of hot gray mass poured into the city. Severe destruction, houses and cars half hidden by a frozen mixture. Chaiten was seriously injured. There was nowhere to return, but the authorities promised residents to rebuild the city anew, 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 into Chaiten and there’s nothing to look at - the city is sealed with a thick layer of lava. The Rio Blanca River has changed its course and now flows right 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 casualties, but their number is small - 50 people suffered from causes directly related to the accident, 4 thousand had long-term effects of exposure.
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (3 km) was created. All settlements located here have deprived 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 greatly increased. The cinema, the series “Chernobyl. Exclusion Zone ”had high ratings. After watching, many decided to go on an excursion to those places. The Chernobyl exclusion zone is even one of the ten most popular places for radioactive tourism.
Ukrainian tour operators provide such a service, but some consider a sightseeing tour boring and turn to illegal guides. In this case, the thrill is guaranteed. Stalker trails, overnight stays in abandoned houses - this is not all, you will have to hide from the workers of the zone and the patrol. Such a trip is only suitable for daredevils who are ready for trouble.
Ghost towns of Russia
4. Mologa
The city is located in the Yaroslavl region. It is not known when it was founded, tentatively in the 12th century. For some time, Mologa was a large trading center of Russia, then a county town, in 1929 it became the 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 fall into the flood zone.
Soon, the authorities came to the conclusion that the capacity of the Rybinsk hydroelectric station would not be enough, and the flooding area was increased. Not all local residents refused to leave their homeland, 294 people died. Also, forest animals became victims of 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, the church towered above the former Mologa, but even it turned out to be powerless before the pressure of water. In 1997, it collapsed.
3. Neftegorsk
This is an urban village in the Sakhalin Region, built in 1964. He was considered one of the most comfortable in Sakhalin. 17 five-story buildings, comfortable apartments - a dream. Only after 30 years, it was these houses that caused the death of a large number of people. In 1995, 3,197 people lived here, of which 2,000 died.
On May 28, a strong earthquake occurred at night. The club and school were destroyed, where the children celebrated graduation. Five-story buildings fell apart like house of cards. Later it turned out that during their construction they saved on materials. This became the reason for their rapid destruction to its very foundations. Nothing remained on the site of the village, a memorial plate with the names of the dead was installed. Instead of houses - a plate with an address.
2. Course-2
A working village with a tragic history. Location - the north of the Ryazan region. People from all over the country came here. The region is rich in forests and it was assumed that life here would be comfortable. The main thing is work. All this happened in the 30s of the twentieth century. In 1936, a fire broke out in the neighboring village, the wind blew towards Courchet 2. Out of 1000 people, several dozens were saved. Everyone else burned out.
In 2011, a memorial complex was created here. Sometimes tourists drop by, despite the fact that the fire destroyed everything. It is not possible to find this place on your own, therefore it is better to use the services of experienced guides and go to the former village as part of the expedition.
1. Halmer-Yu
A mining village located in the Komi Republic in 1957. They say that a beautiful name came to him in trouble. Halmer-Yu translates as "River in the Valley of Death." Nothing terrible happened here, people lived, worked, made plans. In 1993, they were informed that the village should be liquidated. Local residents were not even told who and why made this decision. They were forcibly put on trains and taken away, they were attracted by riot police. Now on the site of Halmer-U is the Pemboy military training ground.
