Majestic castles, even those that have fallen into disrepair and turned into dilapidated abode of dust and insects, continue to amaze with their scale and charm. We bring to your attention seven of the most impressive abandoned palaces and castles located in different parts of the world:

Bannerman Castle
Bannerman Island, New York, USA

The island on the Hudson was purchased in 1900 by Scottish immigrant Francis Bannerman, who built a castle on it to store a huge collection of weapons (he made money by selling them). In 1918, 2 years after the death of the Scot, the ammunition available on the castle territory exploded and destroyed part of the structure. Almost half a century later, in 1969, there was a fire, as a result of which the roof and part of the floors burned down. The island itself has been considered uninhabited since 1950, when the ferry that served it sank during a storm. In 2009, the remaining part of Bannerman's castle collapsed.

Halcyon Hall
Millbrook, New York, USA


Built in 1890 as a luxury hotel, it was already closed in 1901. A few years later, the mansion was turned into Bennett College for Women, but in 1978, the educational institution for students from wealthy families went bankrupt due to the popularization of coeducational education. The building has been empty since then.

Palace of Said Halim Pasha
Cairo, Egypt






The palace was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Latsias in 1899. During the First World War, the British confiscated the palace of Said Halim, who sided with the Turks. Later, the majestic structure was converted into Al-Nassiriyah Boys' High School, considered one of the best in Cairo. The palace has been empty since 2004.

Podgoretsky Castle
Podgortsy village, Lviv region, Ukraine




Construction of the castle lasted from 1635 to 1640. The castle's once luxurious interior was destroyed by soldiers during the First World War. In 1936, Roman Sangushko, into whose ownership the Podgoretsky Castle passed, took several valuable pieces of furniture to Brazil, and after World War II the Renaissance palace was used as a tuberculosis sanatorium. In 1956, the castle caught fire and burned for 3 weeks. As a result of the fire, all the interior decoration was destroyed. Attempts to restore the building are currently being carried out by the Lviv Art Gallery.

Lillesden Mansion
Hawkhurst, Kent, England




The building was built in 1853-85 by order of banker Edward Lloyd on his own estate. After the First World War the estate was sold and the mansion was turned into Bedgebury Public Girls School. The institution closed in 1999 due to a significant reduction in students, as well as due to the popularization of co-education, so the mansion fell into disrepair and has not been used since then.

Miranda Castle
Sel, province of Namur, Belgium




Built in 1866 by the English architect Milner on behalf of the noble Lidkerk-Boufort family, during the Second World War the mansion was seized by the Belgian national railway company and converted into an orphanage, which operated until 1980. The local municipality offered to take over the management, but the owners refused, so the castle has been empty since 1991.

Khrapovitsky estate in Muromtsevo
Muromtsevo village, Vladimir region, Russia




The noble estate in the French style was built by the architect P.S. Boytsov, commissioned by the large Russian timber merchant V.S. Khrapovitsky. Construction of the estate lasted from 1884 to 1906.

Over many centuries of history, Europeans managed to build millions and millions of buildings - small and huge, elegant and ugly, typical and unique. The fate of some of them turned out to be not entirely ordinary: their existence lost all meaning, and they turned into “haunted houses”, “ghost castles”, and became ruins that attract attention and inspire a variety of feelings...

Beelitz: a giant hospital in Germany

The medical complex in Belitz-Heilstätten near Berlin was built in the 19th century. At first, tuberculosis patients were treated there, the number of which was growing rapidly in the German capital, writes The Daily Mail. During World War II, the hospital was turned into a military hospital, and Adolf Hitler, wounded in the Battle of the Somme, was treated there.

In fact, the huge hospital (60 buildings in total) was a city-forming enterprise - it had its own post office, restaurant, bakery and power plant. During World War II, the hospital was also used by the German army, and when Germany was divided into zones of influence, the largest Soviet military hospital outside the USSR was located in Belitsa.

After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany, the hospital fell into disrepair. They unsuccessfully tried to privatize it several times; for some time a neurological clinic operated in Belitsa, but by 2000 the entire complex was closed.

Today the hospital is in disrepair. The walls are covered with graffiti, and here and there you can still find rusty beds. Tourists can easily enter its territory - there is no security here. By the way, some episodes of the Oscar-winning film “The Pianist” and “Valkyrie” with Tom Cruise were filmed in Belitsa.

Medieval ghost town in Italy

Craco is an abandoned medieval town in southern Italy, 55 km from the city of Matera (Basilicata region). People have lived here for several millennia. In the 13th century, Craco was an important, well-fortified city, whose mountaintop towers still inspire respect.

However, between 1892 and 1922 the city experienced a powerful wave of emigration - 1,300 people left for the United States. The reason was the deterioration of farming conditions.

Since then, the city has remained empty - but not for tourists. This is a popular place, especially among those interested in ghosts. However, there are no official excursions in Krako, so you can explore the city only at your own risk.

Craco is popular in the film world, with films including She Wolf (1953), The Passion of the Christ (2004) and Quantum of Solace (2008) filmed here.

Spreepark: the legendary Disneyland in the GDR

The Spreepark amusement park opened in Berlin in 1969. At that time it was the only amusement park in East Germany, and in better years it received 1.5 million visitors.

The fate of the park was also determined by the reunification of Germany. There were plenty of entertainment opportunities in Germany, but the flow of visitors dropped sharply, and by 2001 the Spreepark was closed.

Six of the most popular attractions were transported to Lima, but not the happiest fate awaited them there. The fact is that, as The Telegraph writes, the owner of the park, Norbert White, hid cocaine in the cargo and was detained by the Peruvian authorities.

Until 2014, Spreepark was open to the public; now the Berlin authorities have surrounded the area with a fence.

Abandoned Romance: Miranda Castle in Belgium

Miranda Castle (Chateau Miranda) near the current French border was built in the mid-19th century by a family of French aristocrats who fled the revolution. The luxurious neo-Gothic building, surrounded by a park, was designed by British architect Edward Milner.

The castle was used as a summer residence until World War II, and the castle was caught in the middle of brutal fighting between the German army and the Allies. The building was taken over by the Belgian government; until 1980, summer camps for children were held here. The owners of the castle tried to find investors and set up a hotel in the chateau, but this idea was not successful. As a result, in 1990 the castle was left at the mercy of vandals and hooligans.

It is quite possible that Miranda Castle will soon disappear from the face of the earth. Today it attracts not only vandals, but also thrill-seekers, including Satanists. The owners have already signed a demolition permit, but activists are collecting signatures in an attempt to save this strange and gloomy structure.

Lake Resia and the flooded city

Not far from the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland there is Lake Resia, which would not stand out in any way from its surroundings if not for the lonely bell tower sticking out in the middle of the reservoir.

This bell tower is the only visible evidence that a city once existed on this site - Graun - which went under water more than 60 years ago. Residents of the city actively protested, but the desire of the electric power company to connect two natural reservoirs into one artificial one and build a hydroelectric power station on this site was so great that they did not listen to the voices of the residents. The city was blown up and flooded.

Only the Graun bell tower survived this destruction, which was specially left as a monument to the city. These days, in the summer you can take a boat ride around the building, and in the winter you can walk across the ice when the lake is frozen.

Legend has it that if you listen carefully, you can hear the ringing of church bells in winter. However, this is just a legend that has no basis - the bells were removed from the tower a week before the flooding.

Abandoned Maunsell Forts

In the shallow waters of the North Sea off the coast of Great Britain, near the county of Essex, the abandoned sea forts of the British air defense system, The Maunsell Forts, rise above the water. They are reminiscent of the famous Martian tripods from H. G. Wells's War of the Worlds.

It was originally planned to build 38 towers at the mouth of the Mersey and 49 towers at the mouth of the Thames. However, in the end, only 21 towers were built as part of three forts. During World War II, the forts' anti-aircraft batteries shot down 22 German aircraft and 30 cruise missiles.

The military stopped being interested in the fate of the fortifications 10 years after the end of the war. No use was found for the forts. Some of them belong to private owners, and rumors periodically arise that hotels may be built in the forts. But for now, all that can be done with them is to go around them by boat as part of an excursion.

Symbol of the power of socialist Bulgaria

Mount Buzludzha (height - 1441 m) played a big role in the fate of Bulgaria. In 1868, a detachment of the Bulgarian military leader Hadji Dimitar was killed here in a battle with the Turks, and in 1891, the founding congress of the party, which later turned into the Bulgarian Communist Party, was held on Buzludzha.

It is not surprising that it was here in 1981 that a huge monument house was opened in honor of the Bulgarian Communist Party, which became the center for holding ceremonial public events.

It is also not surprising that after the collapse of the socialist camp, the complex in Buzludzha turned out to be of no use to anyone. Now the monument house has been completely looted, and the infrastructure surrounding it - dachas, tourist centers, etc. - privatized.

Thanks to its strange architecture and proportions, the house-monument in Buzludzha regularly appears on lists of the strangest buildings in Europe. Today its frequent guests are photographers, tourists and vandals.

Huge abandoned train station in Spain

Canfranc is a small Spanish town near the French border. The only attraction it can boast of is the fantastic, luxurious, huge train station. Which has been closed for 45 years and has fallen into complete disrepair.

The station, opened in 1928, has become a jewel on the Pau-Canfranc railway route. The length of the Art Nouveau building was 240 meters, it had 300 windows and 156 doors. A luxury hotel was also built here, which was very popular in the 30s.

The Second World War spared the station, but the new Europe did not need it too much. In 1970, a railway bridge on the French side was destroyed in an accident, and France decided not to rebuild it. The station was closed, and today it is of interest only to vandals and tourists who like non-trivial attractions.

There is a small subculture of researchers who are dedicated to finding, studying and documenting old abandoned structures. In the countryside, in one of the abandoned corners of Canada, there were rumors that the inhabitants of this house had disappeared a long time ago... And one photographer decided to visit that very house.

Often such houses are in deplorable condition. But there are exceptions - in this house everything was preserved as if the owners had simply disappeared.

As soon as the photographer opened the door, he was instantly shocked: the interior looked almost perfect. Everything was in its place!

Obviously, the hall was intended for a large number of people who sat comfortably in these chairs, played the guitar, and listened to the stereo system.

At the other end of the house, the researcher discovered an old piano. It seemed as if it had been played only a few minutes ago.

In the dining room everything was ready for breakfast: a table covered with a tablecloth, chairs all in their place...

The kitchen was in a similar state.

The clock showed the time: 2:15. Even stopping the arrows was somehow mystical!

The cupboards were full of dishes. True, quite old.

The work area was equipped in such a way that the owners certainly did not imagine that they would never return.

The bathroom was the most mystical place in the house. Clothes were drying there, and when the photographer decided to turn on the light, it turned on! There was still electricity in the house.

Probably, only here there was some kind of disorder.

The personal belongings that were in the boxes had definitely not been touched for several decades.

In the top cabinet were some medicines and personal hygiene products.

the photographs were also in their places

The bedroom had all the necessary furniture, there were books on the shelves, and flowers under the mirror!

The bedroom was more or less tidy, but it was obvious that some domestic or wild animals might have been here.

The office was simply littered with books.

The photographer even discovered an old typewriter.

The researcher looked in surprise at the shelf with books that stood almost perfectly.

There was even a gramophone from the early 20th century. Simply amazing! The residents of the house were true music connoisseurs.

In the same corner there was a huge collection of old records. But the photographer did not touch them, realizing what value they could represent.

After exploring this house for several hours, the photographer didn’t even want to leave!

Once again making sure that he did not violate the integrity of the picture of the magnificent interior, the researcher, amazed, but very sad, left this amazing house!

One can only guess what could have happened to the residents of this house that they decided to leave their home in incredible haste, leaving all their belongings inside!

Today we'll highlight ten abandoned mansions that serve as eerie reminders of their former elegance and sometimes tell the story of the fate of their former occupants.

1. An abandoned mansion in Los Angeles reveals the mystery of a murder that happened decades ago.

The Los Feliz Murder mansion in Los Angeles has been abandoned for fifty years. On December 6, 1959, Dr. Harold Perelson beat his wife to death with a ball hammer and then brutally beat their 18-year-old daughter. He then committed suicide by drinking a glass of acid. After Perelson's two youngest children were taken from there, the authorities simply sealed the doors of the mansion with an area of ​​464.5 square meters.

A year later, the house and its original contents were sold at probate auction to Emily and Julian Enriquez. The couple never lived in the house; they used it to store things. When they died, their son inherited the property, but also never lived there. Over the decades, the mansion, which boasts servants' quarters, a banquet hall, a winter garden, and four oversized master bedrooms, has fallen into disrepair. Potential buyers have offered millions for the mansion, but it remains closed and not for sale, almost frozen in time since that tragic night more than fifty years ago.

2. New York's summer mansion, abandoned since the 1940s, is a property in desperate need of renovation.

Carleton Villa was built in 1894 for typewriter magnate William Wyckoff as a summer residence and spacious entertaining space. Wyckoff's wife died of a heart attack a month before he moved into the villa and on his first night in the mansion he suffered a heart attack in his sleep and died. Wyckoff's youngest son inherited the villa after his father's death, but within a few years the family lost most of their fortune during the Great Depression and the house fell into disrepair.

The villa was sold to General Electric, which planned to demolish it. Materials from the house were offered to anyone who would take them, so stained glass windows and entire sections of flooring were removed. Soon after, World War II came and General Electric abandoned ownership completely. The villa, which sits on 28,328 square meters of land with stunning river views, is currently on the market for $495,000 but will require many millions more to be invested in restoring it to its former glory.

3. A reclusive heiress died and left behind three properties.

When reclusive heiress Huguette Clark died in 2011, at age 104, she found herself living the last few decades of her life in a hospital room, leaving behind luxurious mansions abandoned in three states.

Clark was the owner of a 42-room building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan worth $24 million, a castle in Connecticut and the luxurious Bellosguardo estate in Santa Barbara, estimated at $100 million. All properties were kept in a state of readiness by caretakers in case Clarke decided to come, but she never did. Clarke has not visited Bellosguardo since 1960 and has never been to the castle in Connecticut.

While the Connecticut home remains on the market, the city of Santa Barbara is preparing to open Bellosguardo's doors to the general public.

4. An abandoned mansion in Wales, damaged by arson, got a chance for a new life.

Hafodunos Hall in North Wales was built between 1861 and 1866 for Henry Robertson Sandbach, whose family acquired the estate in 1830. The house was built to replace an older building that dates back to 1674.

The Sandbach family sold the estate in the early 1930s.

Over the years the building has been used for a variety of purposes, serving as a girls' school, an accounting college, and finally a nursing home. By 1993 the house was closed and Hall soon fell victim to dry rot. Ten years later, the main part of the house was destroyed by arsonists and the site remained derelict until recently, when the Hall was purchased for £390,000. The new owners plan to redevelop Hafodunos for use as a residential building.

5. An abandoned mansion in Belgium is filled with dirty clothes, toys and expensive furniture.

The Round Mansion in Belgium was discovered and photographed by urban explorer Andre Govia. The nine-bedroom mansion was abandoned sometime in the early 1990s. It seems that the residents left in a hurry, because the rooms are still filled with expensive furniture and personal belongings.

Nothing is known about the whereabouts of the residents and, oddly enough, urban explorers and looters did not touch the house, leaving it practically unchanged.

6. A German doctor's abandoned mansion is filled with creepy medical equipment.

Little is known about the occupants of this abandoned mansion in Germany, which has been abandoned for at least twenty years. The mansion has become very dilapidated, but it still boasts magnificent lamps and furniture. The owners' personal belongings, including clothing and photographs, were left in the house, indicating a sudden departure from the residence. The creepiest part of the house is the doctor's examination room, which features instruments and a section with a pair of kidneys encased in glass. Photographer and urban explorer Daniel Marbaix said that, according to the tombstones he saw in the house, most of the family died in a car accident, and the lady remaining on the estate also died soon after.

7. Apple founder Steve Jobs left behind property in Northern California

The 1,579.4 square meter home known as Jackling House was abandoned by Apple founder Steve Jobs in 2000. The mansion, built in 1925 for copper magnate Daniel Cowan Jackling, was purchased by Jobs in the 1980s and served as a private residence for about ten years before it was rented out and before he finally moved in. into decline.

In 2004, Jobs planned to demolish the mansion and build a more modern family home in its place, but faced opposition from local preservationists. The fight over the house raged in the courts until 2011, when Jobs was finally granted a demolition permit and the house was demolished that year. However, Jobs was unable to realize his dream of building a new building, as he died of pancreatic cancer that same year.

8. The once stately mansion and former residence of the university presidents is now considered uninhabitable and abandoned.

Blake House, the former residence of several UC Berkeley presidents, was abandoned in 2008. The future of the 1,207.7 square meter building, along with 4 hectares of surrounding gardens, remains under scrutiny amid cuts to the university's funding and criticism from staff and students over benefits received by the administration.

The property is described by previous residents as uninhabitable, with a leaking roof, mold and broken light fixtures. Rat traps were also placed throughout the mansion. It is estimated it will cost $2 million to make the home safe and livable again, while more ambitious upgrades will cost upwards of $10 million.

9. A Chinese mansion has remained abandoned for several years because locals believe it is haunted.

The abandoned Chinese mansion known as "Chaonei No. 81" was built in 1910 and is believed by locals in Beijing to be haunted. It has remained empty and abandoned for several years now.

According to legend, the house was built about 100 years ago as a gift for British colonists. By late 1949, the mansion was the home of a high-ranking Nationalist official who fled Beijing for Taiwan when the Communists launched an offensive. In despair at being abandoned, his wife hanged herself from the rafters of the house.

Since then, "Chaonei No. 81" has been the subject of a great deal of myth and gossip about paranormal activity, despite the fact that no such incident has been documented in it. Government officials tried to raze the house, but it was listed on the historical register. The only signs of life in Chaonei No. 81 are graffiti and beer bottles left by those brave enough to enter its walls.

10. A derelict 40-bedroom, 12-bathroom mansion in Yorkshire remains frozen in time.

Pineheath House, once the luxurious estate of Indian aristocrats, has stood untouched for more than a quarter of a century. The 40-bedroom, 12-bathroom mansion was once the home of postal magnate Sir Dhunjibhoy and his wife, Lady Bomanji. After Lady Bomanji passed away in 1986, the house and its contents were abandoned. Scattered throughout the house are relics dating back to the 1920s, including hand-painted wallpaper, decorative dinnerware sets and antique furniture. The house was recently purchased by a local businessman who intends to restore it and turn it into a single family residence.

The word “cottage” is associated with home, coziness and comfort, but only if it is not an abandoned cottage, as in horror films... For safety reasons, it is not recommended to even get close to collapsing and unsafe non-residential buildings, but for urban researchers and photographers it is not there are prohibitions. We express our respect and admiration for the brave souls who made their way inside these fragile buildings forgotten by God and people and disturbed the silence and peace reigning there with the click of a camera. And as a result, incredible photographs of desolation, despondency and ominous beauty...

1. Abandoned cottage near North Hudson (New York, USA)

With rickety steps and a shabby façade, this little house in the woods looks pretty creepy from the outside and even worse from the inside. What could be scarier than those old dolls? And the third photo doesn’t look at all like the average teenager’s room, but that’s not the strangest thing: the closet is filled to the brim with pine needles, and the bed is covered with mold and vegetation. I wonder what made the previous inhabitants leave the house in such a hurry?

2. Elgin Springs House, Panton (Vermont)

This charming, classic-style cottage is gradually being absorbed by nature. The house has a very interesting history: it was built with the aim of profiting from a business related to the supposed healing properties of water from a local spring, which, it was claimed, could purify the blood. It was originally a small cottage built in 1845. After 5 years, with the development of the business, it turned into a huge mansion. In 1870, the "water business" ceased to exist, and the house became a private residence, passing from hand to hand. Ultimately, after several years of disrepair, it was declared uninhabitable. Now vines, leaves and trees sneak through the floorboards and slats. The only reminder that people once lived in it are a mutilated doll and a dirty, tattered teddy bear.

3. Abandoned House, Florida

Hidden inside the dense bush, this deserted cottage looks like an eerie horror movie set. Rays of sunlight barely penetrate into the house, the walls of which are shrouded in green vegetation. The floor is strewn with wood chips, dust and dry leaves. But perhaps the most horrifying thing of all the items found in the abandoned building is a dead rat hanging from a wire and shrouded in cobwebs.

4. Leaning House (Crapaud, Prince Edward Island, Canada)

Situated in a village called Crapaud, this rickety little house stands alone in the middle of a field and is deteriorating. Broken doors and window panes indicate that no one has lived here for a long time. The building is completely empty, except for piles of rubbish and broken furniture on the floor, and even sunlight cannot soften the dull atmosphere of this eerie place.

5. Secluded Cottage, Dava Moor (Moorishire)

The county of Morishire, located in the north of Scotland, is famous for its amazingly picturesque places - a paradise for lovers of outdoor recreation. Perhaps once this house with small colored windows looked very nice. Unfortunately, it is now in disrepair. Inscriptions scratched into the old fireplace indicate that a family with two children, judging by the names (Alison and Janet), girls, used to live here.

6. Abandoned cottage near Aberystwyth, Wales

This coastal cottage in North Wales would have been a lovely getaway if it hadn't been abandoned. The outer walls of the house are covered with ivy and vegetation. The daredevil photographer apparently had difficulty getting inside the room, on the walls of which peeling and cracked paint forms bizarre shades. On the floor, covered with rust and dust, there is an old iron box and a radio.

7. Cottage in the middle of wild nature, Finland

Photographer Kai Fagerstrom took these images in a run-down cottage located in a wooded area next to his summer home. These shacks have a very sad history: they were abandoned by tenants after their owner died in a fire. Gradually, forest animals began to settle in them. Imagine the eerie sounds these creatures make as they prowl around dark rooms, yet Fagerstrom was not afraid to go inside these homes and capture incredible images of wildlife.

8. Abandoned cottage, Fittleworth, near Pulborough (West Sussex)

After his death, Fred Cygman bequeathed his dilapidated cottage to a local charity, but only on one condition: that they look after the 82 semi-feral cats with whom he shared his shelter, and protect the abode from demolition and reconstruction. When charity workers entered the house to feed the animals, they did not expect to see such terrible conditions in which the former teacher had lived all this time. Surrounded by a sea of ​​gardens and forests, this quaint dwelling was covered in cobwebs and crumbling plaster lay all around. Beautiful plates lined up on a rusty stand covered in gray dust. Once upon a time, the cottage was a popular holiday home run by Fred's parents. It was closed in 1959, but the yellowed pages of the visitors' book still contain reviews from satisfied guests. One World War II entry reads: “There is no better place for a honeymoon than a little thatched cottage. A wonderful week in the company of a sweet, charming couple: a comfortable bed, after sleeping in it all the fatigue disappears somewhere... Thank you for your inexhaustible kindness and help during the years of evacuation. Hillside [the cottage's former name] was heaven. A wonderful, truly fabulous place.”

9. Dilapidated farms, Western Europe

Daring Dutch photographer Nicky Feijen created an entire photographic project called "Follower of Destruction" from these abandoned farms scattered throughout Western Europe. Surprisingly, the village houses have been preserved in very good condition, with beds made, books on the shelves and things hung. Crooked lampshades, majestic candelabra and moldy dolls, still motionless and untouched by anyone, in the midst of crumbling plaster and dampness create irresistible and at the same time slightly disturbing images...

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