- These places show that there’s a bizarre beauty in decay.
One of humanity’s greatest strengths has always been that we will settle absolutely anywhere. But we don’t always stay where we go.
For one reason or another, many places around the world have been abandoned. The desolate buildings often fall to ruin, but sometimes they stand the test of time.
Some of those places are very strange due to their architecture or creepy history. Here are six weird abandoned places all over the globe that will creep you out — but also charm you with their slow decay.
1) Chicken Church (Indonesia)
Gereja Ayam — meaning “chicken church” in English — was supposed to be an interfaith house of worship in Indonesia. Construction began in 1990, but by 2000, the project got dropped due to the lack of funds.
Now, the Chicken Church stands abandoned and unused. But why is it called “Chicken Church?”
Well, the building was supposed to be shaped like a dove. On that note, the architect completely missed the mark because come on — it looks like a chicken.
As a silver lining, though, the deteriorating has become a very popular tourist attraction. It has also at various points been used to house drug addicts, disabled people, and people with mental illnesses, despite its dilapidated status.
2) Kalyazin (Russia)
In the middle of the River Volga, some 100 miles north of Moscow, a lone white bell tower rises proudly out of the water. The roughly 250-foot-tall structure was once part of a church belonging to the town of Kalyazin.
But in 1940, the Soviet government decided to build the Uglich Reservoir and hydroelectric dam. Due to the flooding the project would cause, Kalyazin residents were given a generous choice — get lost or learn to hold your breath for a long, long time.
The town was relocated to a nearby higher spot and the old buildings were submerged underwater. All except the church’s bell tower which still stands as a memento of Old Kalyazin.
Today, the bell tower draws tourists to the region. You can even get a boat tour to go check it out.
3) Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital, Germany
The Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital near Berlin is technically not abandoned. Small parts of it still operate, but most of the facility has been allowed to fall to ruin.
That’s just as well, because you probably wouldn’t feel very comfortable staying at this place. Beelitz-Heilstätten has a decidedly chilling history.
It was built in 1898 as a tuberculosis sanatorium but turned into a military hospital during WWI. Many wounded German soldiers found themselves recovering in Beelitz-Heilstätten — including one Adolf Hitler.
During WWII, it’s rumored that the Nazis may have performed some questionable experiments in the hospital. After the fall of Berlin, the hospital changed hands with the Soviets.
These days, the abandoned hospital rooms are a popular urban exploration destination.
4) Casa Grande Domes, Arizona
Several graffiti-covered concrete domes rise from the desert near Casa Grande, Arizona. Many urban legends circulate about the bizarre, out-of-place structures.
Some fans of the occult claim that the domes’ shapes act as conduits for malevolent energies during Satanic rituals. As they’re built on an actual Anasazi Native American burial ground, many people have reported ghostly activity in the area.
The truth about the domes is a bit more boring. They were supposed to be the new HQ for circuit board manufacturer InnerConn, but lack of funding and groundwater contamination ended the construction in the mid-80s.
But who’s to say Satan and/or restless Anasazi spirits haven’t taken over since?
5) SS Ayrfield, Australia
Launched in 1911, SS Ayrfield wasn’t originally a place — it’s a ship. But it has transformed into a floating forest outside Sydney.
Having served as a troop transport during WWII, SS Ayrfield shipped coal until 1972, when it was decommissioned. The ship was supposed to be scrapped, but it never was.
The wreck was left floating in Homebush Bay until it partially sunk. Over the decades, mangrove trees have reclaimed the rusting hulk, turning it into a strangely beautiful landmark in the picturesque waterway.
6) Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea
In 1987, North Korea began the construction of what was supposed to become the world’s tallest hotel. But the post-Soviet economic crisis in 1992 halted the already delayed construction.
For years, the hotel stood as an empty windowless shell, seemingly completed but with nothing inside it. Once touted as a proud achievement of the North Korean regime, the hotel became such an embarrassment it’s now Photoshopped out of official photographs.
In 2008 construction began again and the exterior was completed three years later. Since then, an LED display spewing propaganda movies has been added to the hotel’s wall, but as far as we know, the inside is still empty.
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