India has its share of abandoned and ruined forts and historical places. We can observe the history by just standing on the ruined walls that ignites curiosity to know more about what went down there. Do you know that there are towns that were abandoned, some literally overnight? Can you imagine cities that were once prosperous with elegant homes, markets, people and today not even a single soul to dwells there?
It is not just on TV or silver screens, but such places exist all around the world in reality. Some towns were victims of nuclear attacks, wars or the empire's downfall. Such places are called Ghost towns, abandoned settlements where you still can find visible remains.
Scroll down to check out few of the ghost towns from all around the world that are intriguing and terrifying at the same time.
1. Craco, Italy
Constructed at an elevation of 1,312 feet, the city of Craco in Italy was abandoned after many natural disasters. After getting discovered in the 8th Century, the city witnessed a landslide in 1963 and in 1972 the town was flooded to make the conditions even worse.
The last straw was an earthquake in1980 which made the citizens abandon the city entirely. Though the area is a ticking time bomb, this city is still visited by tourists. A few scenes of the movie 'The Passion of the Christ' were also shot in this deserted land.
2. Hashima Island, Japan
Once a prospering town, Hashima Island was a colony of mine workers and their families working at the undersea coal mines. Located 15 km from the city of Nagasaki, the city was established in 1887, 80 years after coal was discovered on the island. With a high population in 1959, the place encountered an abrupt change when people started vacating due to dwindling coal reserve. The government restored some of the buildings, and the island was open for tourists in 2009. Hashima was granted 'UNESCO World Heritage Historical Site' status in 2015.
3. Pripyat, Ukraine
Pripyat is located in Ukraine and is the most famous ghost town in the world. Once home to around 50,000 people, the entire town was evacuated in April 1986 when a part of the Chernobyl Nuclear Station exploded. The extremely high levels of radiation forced the citizens to leave immediately.
What stayed were just a few remains that today make the town brim with spookiness. Today, the area is safe to visit as the radiation levels have dropped, attracting photographers and thrill-seekers to this creepy town.
4. Kolmanskop, Namibia
When Germans came to Kolmanskop for diamonds; there were many schools, hospitals and the best of Deutsche architecture in Namibia. Up until the 1990s, the town was full of people. But the population started to decline when World War 1 unleashed its horror, and a nearby diamond-rich area got discovered that made people fled the place. The land today is barren, and the infrastructure is slowly sinking under the desert.
5. Virginia City in Montana, US
Another mining town is Virginia city in Montana, US. This gold mining town was home to over 10,000 residents after been established in the year of 1863. Tourists love visiting this place to experience how life was back then. You can relive the era through the performances of these untouched buildings, stores and houses throughout the city. YOu can even attend vaudeville theatre in an Opera house.
6. North Brother Island, New York
Did you know that there is an abandoned island near one of the most famous cities in the world? You heard it right! The Riverside Hospital near the east river was constructed on 20-acres island and was used as a quarantine to treat patients with smallpox in the late 1800s.
The hospital also treated people suffering from typhus, tuberculosis and yellow fever. In 1905, over a thousand people lost their lives when the steamship caught fire near the island. The hospital was again opened after World War 2 and treated war veterans and drug addicts. But in 1963, the hospital was shut for good. Since then the island is abandoned and is home to a lot of mysteries.
7. Oradour-Sur-Glane, France
A village near Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France was ravaged on 10th June 1944. German Nazi soldiers razed all 642 residents of the village including women and children. Around 30 people survived with 20 escaped before the SS unit arrived.
The place was then sealed, and everyone forced to come out of their houses. Men were killed in sheds while women and children were locked in a church where an incendiary device was set. After the war ended, Charles de Gaulle, then French President, turned the village into a memorial.
8. Wittenoom, Western Australia
Wittenoom was liveliest during the 1950s and 1960s. This former mining town in West Australia was once abundant in blue asbestos which is believed to be the most hazardous of the six types of asbestos. But after mining was stopped in 1966 due to losses and growing health concerns, the town was abandoned. In 2007, the town was erased from the Australian maps as the connecting roads were blocked. Yet, many travellers visit this place every year!
9. Kayaköy, Turkey
Kayaköy’s settlement was built on a hillside, 8 meters south of Fethiye in southwestern Turkey. The city is full of ruins of the Greek-style buildings that were constructed in the 18th century to accommodate the Greeks. Kayaköy once housed around 6500 Greeks but along with Christian minorities were killed during World War 1. Later, when Greece lost the Greco-Turkish War and the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923, the Greek orthodox were forced to move out of the Turkish territory, leaving Kayaköy as a ghostly town. Today, the inhabited town serves as a museum village.
10. Ross Island, India
Ross Island in the Indian Ocean has housed settlements in the late 18th century but had to be abandoned due to extreme climatic conditions. Around 60 years later, the island was used as an administrative headquarters and penal settlement by the Britishers until an earthquake rocked it in 1941. Today, the deserted town is filled with ruins.
Let us know in the comments below which of these ghost towns you would love to visit! Did we miss out on any of your other favourites? Do share your experiences in the comments below!
