Silent Hill, Pripyat and 6 other ghost towns

The medieval Italian town of Kraco has a rich history, valuable monuments and examples of unique architecture. Here, at one time, the descendants of powerful dynasties ruled and famous artists worked. Krako is very beautiful and attracts many brave tourists, and often enters the lens of filmmakers. The city was built on a steep cliff and occupied a strategically important place. However, in the 19th century, the place lost its value and the inhabitants gradually began to move. Finally, Krako was empty in 1980, when, after a natural disaster, it became clear that the rock on which it stands could collapse at any moment. This is why there are no more official visits to Krako: people – including film crews – visit it at their own risk.

The Gold Rush “ignited” at different times in different places and left its mark everywhere. These and other amazing phenomena are explored by Josh Gates in the show “Unknown Expedition” (6+) – on Saturdays, at 22:00 (Moscow time) on the Travel Channel. Most of the gold rush “hot spots” formed in the United States: people found a gold deposit, built mines and small towns nearby for their workers. And then, when mining for the precious metal became unprofitable, people left both the mines and their homes. In the state of California, the town of Bodie is still preserved. It has its own bank branch, a Methodist church, a school, a good bar and about 170 other buildings… only people are missing. More than half a century ago, the last inhabitants of Bodie left it. California’s dry climate carefully preserves the memories of the life of its people, and now you can go there, for example, to a once private home and see the interiors and decor, as if time had not touched them. .

Many towns that were formed by coal mining are eventually abandoned. However, the residents of the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania left him for a very non-trivial reason. In 1962, the city council decided to clean up the city dump, and after the garbage was set on fire, they didn’t notice how its deeper deposits began to smolder, and then the heat passed into the abandoned mines under the city. Since then, an underground fire has broken out there: large cracks have appeared in the asphalt in several places, from which billows of smoke come out, and a large amount of carbon monoxide enters the air. However, most Centralia residents did not leave the city until 1984, when the state arranged for citizen resettlement. The unusual phenomenon of an underground fire just under the city inspired the creators of the famous computer horror game Silent Hill.

In the 1970s, one of the most popular and sought after resorts in the Mediterranean was the Varosha district of Cyprus. High-rise luxury hotels were built here, in which Bridget Bordeaux and Elizabeth Taylor rested. Varosha was deserted overnight – on July 20, 1974, when the townspeople were evacuated under the onslaught of the Turkish army. Ten years later, the UN established that Varosha could be inhabited exclusively by its former inhabitants, and since the neighborhood remained in Turkish territory, it was fenced off and closed to entry. During the “alienation” of the area, the roads cracked and trees grew through the cracks, gradually filling the streets. While no one lives there, nature slowly returns the city to itself, destroying the once luxurious buildings.

Holsands is a once pleasant little fishing town in Devonshire, South West England. Its sparse population existed quietly for several centuries, until in 1896 it was decided to expand the nearby shipyard. As a result of the works, right next to the city, the beach began to collapse and the water began to approach residential buildings. As a result, in a storm on January 26, 1917, most of Holsands was literally swept into the sea. The population moved to a safer location, and now only the ruins of a small chapel and several houses overgrown with greenery are a reminder that people once lived here.

Most ghost towns were formed because their inhabitants, for one reason or another, moved in droves. However, in China there are neighborhoods and even cities – fully built up, with ready-made and well-thought-out infrastructure, but completely empty. They were formed as a result of the construction boom that started in the country about 20 years ago. Thus, in the city of Ordos, designed for half a million inhabitants, only a few still live. Many Chinese have bought apartments here, hoping prices will one day rise, but have never left their old homes.

Pripyat was built on the river of the same name in 1970, not far from one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe. Atomic scientists and their families lived here, and for several years the population grew steadily. The city developed dynamically until the sad date of April 26, 1986. Its inhabitants were evacuated due to an emergency, and since then no one has lived here. Today Pripyat is considered a city-museum: it has preserved residential buildings, schools, an urban park, a palace of culture. All of them alternately enter a state of emergency and are gradually destroyed by nature.

Huge Detroit was first a fort founded by the French colonizer. It became part of the British colonial empire in 1760 and has since expanded. Due to its location, by the 19th century Detroit had become a transportation hub and center for shipbuilding. And after Henry Ford, the Dodge brothers, Packard and Chrysler built their factories here, Detroit became the automotive capital of the world. The city “bloomed” until the second half of the 20th century, when most of its population gradually began to move to the suburbs. The 1973 oil crisis hit Detroit even harder when several auto plants closed. Now there are thousands of empty buildings in the city – both residential and public, but it cannot be called a “ghost” at all. Perhaps one day the city government’s initiatives to attract residents to Detroit will bring it back to life.