Monday, December 29, 2014

10 Deserted Places we discovered in 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, it's time for our annual end of the year tradition. This time, I went through this year's 39 posts and selected the 10 best ones. Some of them are among the most read by you, while other are my personal favorites. 

I would like to take this opportunity and thank everyone who visited this blog during 2014. It is very encouraging to see how many of you were expecting our weekly updates. 

2015 will be somewhat different for Deserted Places as we won't be able to update the blog regularly for most of the year. However, there will still be new posts every now and then and of course there's an archive of more than 100 deserted places from all over the world you can (re)discover! And I promise that once I'm back home from my own adventures, regular updates will resume.

Meanwhile, you can always follow us on twitter or like us on facebook to stay in touch.

Wishing a happy and healthy 2015 to each one of you! 

Alex.  





For more than 60 years, Elliniko International Airport was the main airport of Athens. After it shut down in 2001, an Olympic Complex was construction inside the airport ground which itself was mostly left abandoned. Today, the old airport of Athens is still awaiting its fate. (More photos)




Maunsell Forts were erected during World War II to protect London and other Thames settlements. Decomissioned in the 50s, they were later used as offshore pirate radio stations and one of them even tried to become an independent nation. (More photos)




Part of this abandoned Russian military base on Kotlin island used to be coastline anti-ship complex during the Cold War. Today many military vehicles in good condition can be found inside. (More photos)



4.  Sathorn Unique: Bangkok's ghost skyscraper

Sathorn Unique tower's construction in the center of Bangkok began in the early 90s. The 49-store skyskraper was abandoned in 1997 though when the construction was 80% completed. (More photos)



5.  An abandoned NSA spying station in Berlin

In the early 60's, the American NSA built one of its largest 'listening stations' on top of an artificial hill in west Berlin. Until the fall of the Berlin Wall the station was spying on East Germany but it has remained abandoned ever since. (More photos)



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Monday, December 22, 2014

The abandoned Castle of Mesen in Belgium


The Castle of Mesen or Kasteel van Mesen was built near the village of Lede in Belgium and it's surrounded by seven hectares of parkland. Destroyed and rebuilt several times, the current building dates to around 1628. After 1796 the castle ceased to be in the hands of Bette family and saw a number of reuses, from gin distillery to sugar and potash refinery, tobacco factory and finally a boarding school for girls of high society.

After the school closed, the Castle of Mesen passed into the hands of the Ministry of Defence. Due to the high cost of restorations though it was left abandoned. When a few years ago it failed to be listed as a historic monument, hope faded. The castle was finally demolished in 2010.


SEE ALSO: More abandoned castles around the world // More abandoned places in Belgium // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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Monday, December 15, 2014

Inside the UN buffer zone in Cyprus

Following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force established a buffer zone between the Greek Republic of Cyprus and the newly created Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Green Line, as the demilitarized zone is also called, runs for more than 180 km (112 miles) cutting the island of Cyprus in two. The zone's width ranges from 3.3 meters (11 feet) to 7.4 kilometers (4.6 miles). 

Today there are still thousands of people who live in several villages or work in farm land which happens to be inside the zone. In the part of the zone that crosses to city of Nicosia though, the situation is different. The zone contains many houses and businesses left abandoned in 1974 as well as the Nicosia International Airport which has seen no flights since 1977.


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Monday, December 8, 2014

An abandoned college campus in Australia

This abandoned college is in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. The entire TAFE (Technical And Further Education) campus, which included restaurant, library, lecture theatre, scores of classrooms and other buildings has been left abandoned for years together with much of its equipment and furnishing.




SEE ALSO: More abandoned schools and universities around the world // More abandoned places in Australia // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 

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Monday, December 1, 2014

Expoland, an abandoned amusement park in Japan

Expoland amusement park in Osaka, Japan, opened as the amusement zone of Expo '70, the International Exposition hosted in the city in 1970. It was supposed to be a temporary part and closed down after the end of the exposition but reopened in 1972 due to its popularity. The park covered an area of 20 hectares and included more than 40 rides and attractions, 19 restaurants and shops.

In May 5, 2007, a tragic accident took place at Expoland. Fujin Raijin II rollercoaster derailed resulting to the death of a 19-year-old university student while forty people were injured and thirty-one were taken to the hospital. The investigation revealed that the ride derailed due to a broken axle. None of the ride vehicle's axles had been replaced for fifteen years.

The park reopened after a series of safety inspections but closed again on December 9, 2007 due to lack of customers. In 2008 there were reports that Paramount Pictures is looking to turn the Expoland site into a theme park. In 2009, 20% of the park's area was renovated and reopened as a new theme park called 'Farm Expo'.




SEE ALSO: More abandoned amusement parks and abandoned theme parks around the world // More abandoned places in Japan // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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