Craco is located in the Region of Basilicata and the Province of Matera. About 25 miles inland from the Gulf of Taranto at the instep of the “boot” of Italy. This medieval town is typical of those in the area, built up with long undulating hills all around that allow for the … Read more
The Spanish ghost town of Ciudad Valdeluz Ciudad Valdeluz is a suburb 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Madrid, Spain. It was meant to be city of 30,000, but only 1,000 people took up residence there after construction halted in 2008 with 75% of the city unfinished due to the economic downturn. … Read more
The town was founded in 1873 when prospectors built log cabins near their claims. Because three rivers meet nearby it was called Three Forks of the Animas, later simplified to Animas Forks by the U.S. Postal Service. At almost 11’200 feet, the town suffered from the elevation’s severe winters. Most of the … Read more
Gold was discovered here by Jack Mann in 1878.This townsite is located at about 11,800 ft and an aerial tramway was used to move the ore to the mill below. The most interesting feature was the fact that this was the first mine to use AC current. Some famous people, like George … Read more
Humberstone is not anything you would imagine. The reason it was abandoned was something less sinister than a deadly extra terrestrial virus. For awhile it was a prosperous town of 3500 that thrived on nitrate mining for fertilizer. These people had a town complete with a hospital, a public swimming pool, and … Read more
The abandoned towns of Fukushima Four years after the devastating Japan earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and displaced more than 300,000, the surrounding towns of Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant remain abandoned. Even today, tens of thousands of survivors live in temporary housing as the area surrounding … Read more
The medieval Armenian ghost town of Ani In the Turkish province of Kars, near the Turkish – Armenian border, there’s the abandoned medieval Armenian city of Ani. Built in a naturally defensive site, Ani was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia between 961 and 1045. At its height, the city had … Read more
Prypiat, the ghost town of Chernobyl When the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster took place in 1986, a large area of land was heavily contaminated by radioactivity. The Soviet government ordered the evacuation of over 90,000 people living in proximity to the disaster area. Inside the so-called Chernobyl Exclusion Zone lies the now abandoned … Read more
The old houses of Kolmanskop have long ago been abandoned to the desert ands stand as a silent testament to the grand lifestyle that the staff were accustomed to living in this remote, dry and wind-swept place. Life for the diamond diggers in the desert was made as comfortable as possible. One … Read more
Cahawba, AL Cahawba has a pretty illustrious history for a ghost town: from 1820 to 1826, it served as Alabama’s state capital before flooding enough times that most of the residents fled for drier pastures (and took the title of capital with them). After years as a hub of cotton distribution, a … Read more
St. Elmo, CO Established in the late 1870s, St. Elmo was once a highfalutin gold mining town and popular whistle -stop on the Pacific Railroad. It boasted 2,000 residents, 130 mines, and enough hotels, brothels, saloons, and dance halls to keep everybody in town happily cutting a rug. When the Alpine Tunnel … Read more
Viivikonna is probably Estonia’s most famous ghost town. Once a mining town of a few thousand people, its population has since dropped to some ninety permanent residents. It’s not really known how many people lived here at its peak, but it is certain that the current residents include a few families of … Read more
A century ago, King Island was a bustling community of 200 people who passed their days hunting seals and their long winter nights dancing beneath the wide Alaska skies. But now, after a series of tragedies, the island stands deserted, reduced to a collection of crumbling, empty homes – a mere skeleton … Read more
Doel – 400-year-old village north-west of Antwerp that has been at the heart of a political battle for survival for over two decades. A state-funded corporation is seeking to raze it to make way for the land-hungry port of Antwerp. But members of the ever-dwindling local populace are fighting to keep their … Read more
The Rush Historic District is a zinc mining region of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. Now located within Buffalo National River, the district includes ruins dating from 1880 to 1940. The area was an important part of what became known as the North Arkansas Lead and Zinc District, and played a role … Read more
Cherepovetz City (the name loosely translates as “City of Skulls”), the center of the Russian North-West SeveroStal industrial zone: Here’s why it’s a ghost town! – minus 10 degrees Celsius is considered “warm weather” – this city is built on permafrost, so buildings deteriorate quickly and most are in crumbling conditions – … Read more