20 Strangely Beautiful Places That Are Completely Abandoned

It’s rare to find buildings or locations that are completely abandoned. If a building is no longer in use or wanted by the community, it will usually be demolished and replaced with something more useful. Sometimes though, the cost of destroying a construction or moving it to a new location can far outweigh the benefits of taking it down in the first place. In other cases it can be difficult to reach a particular building with the tools necessary to tear it down, making it prohibitive to even try. But when buildings are left to be reclaimed by nature, they can take on bizarre qualities that make them disquieting yet oddly beautiful, just like the ones here.

Homebush Bay

Although Homebush bay itself is not abandoned, it does contain a number of hulls from large ships, such as the SS Ayrfield, SS Mortlake Bank and SS Heroic, that have been left in the water from the days that the Australian navy operated a ship-breaking operation there.

Nara Dreamland

Inspired by Disneyland, Nara Dreamland opened in 1961 but closed down in 2006 following falling visitor numbers. The immensely popular Tokyo Disney Resort is likely the reason for the lack of interest in the now abandoned park.

Buzludzha Monument

Located on the site of a historic battle site on top of the Buzludzha mountain, the monument was built by the Bulgarian Communist Party. It was abandoned after the party fell and has since become a ruin.

Pripyat

Pripyat was a rapidly growing city in Ukraine for several years until it was quickly evacuated and left for nature to reclaim following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

Pegasus

Pegasus is a wrecked C-121 Lockheed Constellation aircraft that crashed during bad weather in 1970. No one was injured in the crash but Pegasus has never been recovered and is now engulfed in snow.

Christ of the Abyss

This bronze statue of Jesus Christ is similar to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. Located at San Fruttuoso, Italy, it was purposely submerged in the water in 1954.

Holland Island

Once the home of watermen and farmers, Holland Island is now a tiny stretch of land that has been heavily eroded by the sea.

Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track

Overlooking the city of Sarajevo, the bobsleigh and luge track was used for the 1984 Winter Olympics. Since the great sporting event, it has fallen into disrepair, seen fighting during the Yugoslav wars and been used as a place to practice graffiti.

Tunnel of Love

A once active railway line, the Tunnel of Love has since become overgrown thanks to its disuse. Its almost fairy-tale like qualities make it popular with couples.

Tequendama Falls Hotel

Now known as the Tequendama Falls Museum of Biodiversity and Culture, this building was once a ruined hotel that was left to fall into disrepair following the contamination of the local river. It now operates as a fully functioning museum.

Maunsell Forts

First built during the Second World War as a way to help protect important river estuaries from German attack, these fortified towers were decommissioned in the 1950’s and have been used for pirate radio amongst other things since then.

Angkor Wat

This Cambodian temple is almost 900 years old and has become one of the most important religious sites in the world, with Buddhists still treating the temple with respect.

Michigan Central Station

Built to replace the older Michigan railway station, this iconic building was the tallest train station in the world when it opened in 1914. Although it has not been in use since 1988, there are plans to refurbish the building and put it to use once again.

North and South Brother Islands

At one point, these two small islands were the home of a large hospital on the outskirts of New York City. It is now uninhabited and officially recognized as a bird sanctuary.

Hashima Island

Built to house the miners who were excavating coal under the sea, it has been abandoned since the mine closed and all the residents left the island.

Kolmanskop

Kolmanskop is a ghost town in the Namib desert in the south of Namibia. German miners built up the city in the early 1900’s to dig up the diamonds in the area but once the supply of precious jewels was exhausted, the small town was completely abandoned.

Wonderland Amusement Park

Original plans for the Chinese Wonderland Amusement Park proposed for it to be the largest theme park in Asia. Construction stopped in 1998 due to financial problems and has never been restarted, leaving the buildings standing in various states of completion.

Prabalgad Fort

Also known as Kalavantin Durg, Prabalgad Fort is a now abandoned fortress that was once used to watch over the area. Its lack of water supply and precarious location made it a dangerous place to inhabit, even when it was in constant use.

Częstochowa Train Station

The town of Częstochowa was once a thriving industrial hub in Poland but is now known mainly for its tourism. This has left some industrial train stations no longer in use, such as this one.

Craco

Craco has long been abandoned due to a number of natural disasters that made living there almost impossible. Because of the fact it has remained fairly intact, it is a popular tourist attraction and has been shown in many films and television programs.