Some villages, towns and cities that once flourished are now abandoned, and over the years empty buildings, streets, and even cars have been left to nature to rebuild. Some have become the most fascinating ruins in the world!
Oladur-Sur-Graine, France
During the Second World War, the village of Oladu-Sur-Glen was the site of a terrible massacre. The ruins of this former fishing village are a clear reminder of the horrors of World War II.
Most of the population was slaughtered by the Waffen-SS, the military wing of the SS, during which men were shot and killed in barns, while women and children were locked in churches, where they were blown up together, and survivors of the eight warts were shot one by one as they fled. De Gaulle, the supreme leader of France at the time, decided to leave Oladou-Sur-Glenn behind as proof of nazi cruelty.
Wharram Percy, UK
Warram Percy has been abandoned for more than 500 years. Arguably, England's most famous abandoned medieval village, Warram Percy and Yorkshire Waltz, were once home to two American manor houses and churches.
The latter is a building that still stands, but the foundations of houses built by the noble Percy family can still be seen, and the population of the village has been decreasing for several years as the inhabitants turned to breeding sheep at that time. It was abandoned shortly after 1500, and some of the last remaining inhabitants were expelled.
Belchite, Spain
It has not been repaired since Belchit was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. During the Spanish Civil War, on the front lines between republican and fascist forces, Belchi was besieged for weeks between August and September 1937, before finally falling into the hands of General Francisco Franco's army in 1939. This small village south of Zaragoza in northeastern Spain has left many remains as a memorial to the victims, and the ruins of that stunning church are particularly touching.
Craco, Italy
Craco has been a famous "ghost town" since the end of the 20th century. Located at the southernmost tip of Italy, Craco's vertiginous location and spectacular architecture make it one of the most visually appealing abandoned towns in the world.
In the 1960s, after a series of landslides triggered by sewage and water plants, residents began to leave, and Clarko was completely abandoned after the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
Since then, the ghost town has not only attracted thousands of visitors, it has also become a popular filming location, with "Quantum of Solace" appearing in films such as James Bond in 2008.
Ivory Coast Grand Bassam
Grand Bassam is full of abandoned buildings, like this colonial-era old house. While Grand Bassam's population is still growing, many of the most striking buildings have been empty for years. Once the french colonial capital of Côte d'Ivoire, this resort is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and features famous buildings such as the Old Post Office, the Bank of Central Africa and the French Hotel. Grand Bassa has a much older history than France, and the Nzema people of Ivory Coast, also known as the Endenye or Apollo, have lived here since the 15th century and developed the town into a vibrant port and fishing village before the arrival of the colonists.
Namibia (Kolmanskop)
Kolmanskop, namibia, one of the wealthiest towns in Africa, was abandoned a few years later, with many buildings half-buried in the sand.
In 1908, local worker Zacharias Levala discovered diamonds here, which witnessed an influx of German miners and became a busy commercial center before it was finally abandoned in 1956. Now, a large number of tourists come here to witness the desert slowly disappearing the entire town under the sand.
Bodi, California
In the California "ghost town" of Bodi, abandoned cars have rusted. Perhaps the most famous wild new town in the West at the end of the 19th century, Bodi's population increased from a handful of prospectors to 10,000 in the late 1870s. As large amounts of gold were discovered, people flocked to the california town near the Nevada border, home to an incredible 65 salons, a Wells Fargo Bank, and even a Chinatown full of Taoist temples.
But by the beginning of the 20th century, Bodi's appeal had waned as other emerging cities rose, and in 1920 The population of Bodi shrank to just 120 people. The well-preserved architecture of this deserted town makes it a memorable stop on today's Wild West tour.
Hashima Island, Japan
Hashema Island was abandoned in 1974, it is also known as Battleship Island, Bridge Island. Located off the coast of Nagasaki, it operated as an undersea coal mining facility from 1887 to 1974. But as the demand for coal dissipated, it was set aside, and since then, nature has taken over the island's architecture.
Although Hashema has been an important tourist destination for years, it has a dark past, having been used as a forced labor camp during World War II, where thousands of laborers and prisoners of war were killed.
Norwegian Pyramiden
Located above the Arctic Circle in Svalbard, Pyramiden was once a successful coal mining settlement. Sold to the Soviet Union by Sweden in 1927, this remote town is dotted with classical communist architecture, from residential areas to Heliport. There has been no coal mining here since 1998, but visitors can now stay in a dedicated hotel and book a formal tour of its neglected buildings. Those visiting Pyramiden first need to reach the remote town of Longiglibirn before embarking on the final leg of the journey by boat or snowmobile.
Pripyat, Ukraine
The Ukrainian city of Pripyat was evacuated the day after the famous explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Pripyat was granted city status in 1979, and about nine years after its founding, it provided housing for workers at the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The Ukrainian city was evacuated with about 50,000 people when it was evacuated on April 27, 1986, when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster had become a notorious disaster.
Despite the increasing number of tourists in recent years despite the dangers posed by nuclear radiation, this remains a worrying place where time has frozen.
Tyneham, England
The village of Dorset was evacuated in November 1943 and the area is now used for military training. In November 1943, when the British War Office ordered the villagers of Teneham County to leave, they thought they would return after the end of the Second World War, however, on the first day of the Normandy landings, the British government used the village to train troops until D-Day, and the British government issued a mandatory procurement order in 1948. Tyneham is now part of the military firing range that makes up this part of England.
Ruby, Arizona
Ruby, a privately owned ghost town in southern Arizona. Abandoned since 1941, a year after the once-productive mine was closed, Ruby remains one of the best-preserved ghost towns in the United States.
Located near the Mexican border, the town flourished in the 1930s with a population of 1,200 and mined mainly gold, silver, lead and zinc. It's now privately owned, and visitors can spend a day exploring its abandoned buildings and miles of desert trails for $15.
Arltunga, Australia
Located in northern Australia, this town was once a deserted gold-rushing town. Known as the first official town in a remote part of central Australia, Altonga has a long Aboriginal history dating back 20,000 years. However, the remaining ghost town was built by European colonists in 1887 in search of gold and once had a population of 300 people.
While it is possible to visit Arltunga, located east of Alice Springs in the northern region, to see minefields and other buildings that have been well preserved throughout the year, it is best to go between April and September, when the weather is cool.
Resort, Cyprus
The Valossa Resort in Cyprus was abandoned in 1974. Once a popular tourist destination in the Cypriot city of Famagusta, Varosha was abandoned after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and has remained vacant ever since. Its apartment buildings were dilapidated and its decaying streets were fenced off.
Vorkuta, Russia
The Russian coal mining city of Vokuta was frozen in time after locals left it behind. Located in Russia's bitter arctic north, empty towns and villages surrounded Wokuta, a legacy left by the booming coal mines of the time. Between the 1930s and 1960s, miners were lured to work in this brutal place with high salaries. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, mining stopped and the locals left, leaving behind a series of villages covered in ice and snow and frozen in time.
Kayakoy, Turkey
Rows of empty houses in Turkey's "ghost town" Kayakoy.
As a museum and designated by UNESCO as the "World Village of Friendship and Peace", Kayakoy has become a mainstay of tourism for tourists in the southwest corner of Turkey.
Hutou Bay, China
The abandoned village of Hutou Bay on Shengshan Island is part of the Shengshi Archipelago. The once-2,000-strong village on Shengshan Island, near Shanghai, was gradually abandoned in the early 1990s.
Bankhead, Canada
Bankhead was once a coal mining town of about 1,000 people, and many of the town's works and buildings were demolished after it was closed in 1922 due to a strike by workers.
Hampi, India
Velupaksha Temple is one of the oldest buildings in the Indian village of Hampigu. Strolling through the incredible Hampi ruins, it's hard to imagine how this place flourished in the 14th and 15th centuries and became one of the largest and most important cities in the world.
Once the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, Hampi was destroyed by the Sultan's army in the 16th century. Its well-preserved fortresses, temples and markets made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
Epecuen, Argentina
Eppukoun was flooded in 1985 and Epsien, built in the 1920s on the banks of the Laguna Epegion River, is a resort designed to provide a resting place for residents of Buenos Aires, the argentine capital.
When disaster struck in 1985, the rare "seiche", a type of wave that occurred on an enclosed body of water, caused the dam to burst and the town to be flooded.