Shipwrecks of the world

Haven't posted shipwrecks until now, for the main reason that people are pretty aware of their existence. They always fascinated me though, what's better than a huge steel machinery, left to rust and disintegrate at the hands of nature? 
Also fascinating is the fact that many shipwrecks even redefined history, cultures and media (the Titanic for example).
Being that I live in a port city, which once based it's industry on the Danube, growing up I've seen a lot of shipwrecks, some of which were in a state of decay, similar to some of the photos in this post. They were not left there due to an accident, like a rock or iceberg collision, but simply because they became "useless" once the industry went downhill, and they were just left there to rust. Most of them were sold at some point, as scrap metal, and there aren't many left these days.

Abandoned stadiums

Being that I'm not into football and other such sports that involve balls and stadiums, these places were never significant to me. For me, a stadium, mainly a soccer or football stadium, is that place where people dressed in shorts and T-shirts, run around in circles with the purpose of touching a ball. That is not my kind of fun. But recently, I found some pictures on SkyscraperCity that really caught my attention. I'm of course talking about a collection of abandonments, abandoned stadium to be more exact, just like the title suggests.

The following stadiums have nobody to run around in circles for the purpose of touching a ball anymore. They are ghostly and dusty. Weird how some things need to be abandoned in order for me to like them.

Old abandoned cars in Switzerland

I haven't posted on this matter for quite a while, and abandoned cars are one of my favorite subject when it comes to urbex. This is a very old car junkyard, untouched for over 30 years, which can be found in the region of Kaufdorf, Switzerland. The junkyard holds around 500 cars, most of them ranging from 1930s and 1960s models. Indeed these are the classics. This is worse than a graveyard, to classic car lovers such as myself.

The owner was a car dealer who didn't want these cars to be torn by pieces, so he parked them side by side on his lot. When he passed the business to his son, the cars were left there, abandoned, forever.

Abandoned airplane in Russia

Russia seems to host the largest amount of abandoned things, from factories, mines or apartment blocks, to cars or planes. Same is the case with this beauty, an Antonov An-8 plane, which was lost in Russia, few kilometers north of Saint Petersburg.

It's a beautiful model and it's decaying. I'm sure that being in a forest is not helping it decay less.

The unfinished nuclear plant

The "Crimean Atomic Energy Station" (Ukrainian КримськаАЕС, Russian КрымскаяАЭС) is a nuclear power plant that was never completed, situated in the Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. It was intended to create energy for the whole area, but construction was terminated earlier than planned.

Construction works on the nuclear plant were started back in 1976, when Crimea was part of the Soviet Union. The construction progress was very slow, lasting for more than 10 years. Shortly after the Chernobyl disaster, there was an inspection at the plant, which resulted in it being closed down, even before it got a chance to server it's purpose.

This is how a new nuclear power plant was left behind, with equipment and everything. Some parts of the equipment and nuclear reactors were reused, however, at other nuclear plants in Ukraine.
The nuclear power station building is also featured in the Guiness  book of records as the most expensive reactor construction in history. The city of Shchelkino, that was created to host the workers, lost half of it's inhabitants when construction on the plant stopped.

Abandoned universities and colleges

I just finished my university studies and got my bachelor degree last month, so I figured I'd show you guys some educational abandonments. Universities are an option, for young students that just got out of high school, and want to learn more about a particular field. 

For different reasons, some of these universities and colleges got abandoned, and students cannot learn useful information there anymore. Some of these abandoned educational facilities, were the best option for students in the area, who now have to either go to another university or college that is probably far away, even in another city, or just opt for those new born online universities (which I wouldn't recommend, but how am I to decide what's good for you). Going to another city to continue your studies can be a tiring process, it surely was for me. Taking that into consideration, I'm not even sure why I am planning to continue with my maters's degree in another country, but I am.

Now, let's just enjoy the decay and hope that the students in these areas will have the chance to study in these buildings, if they ever get reopened.

By Jeroen van Vliet [bsidez]

The textures of decay

These textures are some of my favorites, gathered from Michael Chase's work. His posts are one of the reasons that make me visit Tumblr almost daily.

Michael Chase is a photographer that tries to expose the beauty behind decay, especially decayed surfaces. He says on his blog that:

The idea of impermanence is a central theme in my work. I use color, texture, and composition to highlight the subject of decay. The main objective of my work is to draw attention to the passing of time and immediacy of separation. I also want to show the viewer that beauty can be found in unlikely places.

Indeed, his work is awesome and I think he is doing exactly what he's trying to do, showing that beauty exists in unlikely places.

So here are some of my favorites. He has a lot of metal textures and wall textures, which I approve of. Visit his blog for more, way more.

Assan's Mill in 2012

In the previous post, I presented Assan's Mill to you. The photos from that post, taken by Reptilianul were taken in 2009. The photos in this post are made in june 2012, right after the latest fire. As I mentioned in the previous post, Assan's Mill is a frequent destination for urban explorers, graffiti artists, hobos ... and arsonists. 
The mill was set on fire (by nature or people?) several times before, and the latest fire lasted for 28 hours before firemen could put it out, on june 7th, 2012. The last fire before that was on the night of may 13th 2008 and required the work of 80 firemen. The good thing is that there were never any victims due to these fires.

Assan's Mill

This mill is pretty popular and a frequent destination for local explorers, graffiti artists, hobos, and arsonists. It was the first steam mill in Romania, built in 1853 by two merchants, Gheorghe Assan and Ioan Martinovici. Even though it's considered a historical monument and it has a heritage value for the industrial heritage, the mill is going through an advanced state of decay, which is made even worse by the homeless scavengers that sell every piece of metal they can find here. The property is 5 hectares (12.3 acres) wide.

Kharkov Armoured Repair Factory

This is the somewhat abandoned Krarkov tank repair plant, that used to repair around 60 units and 55 engines monthly, before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Krarkov (or Khrarkiv) in Ukraine, hosted one of the best tank units factories in the 1930's. This plant was designed for repairs, and now it's not very active anymore, but still going, although it looks like it's perfectly abandoned. Now it just looks like a very neat scrap yard, full of abandoned tanks and military equipment. The fact that the plant doesn't have any more work to do, means the tanks are not being used, therefore no wars are active, which is a good thing. That doesn't make it less sad that these tanks are left there abandoned. Wasted money.

Abandoned plant in Russia

This abandoned factory in Russia, makes a perfect scenery for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. based movies or games. The location is very eerie, and if you played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or if you watched the movie Stalker 1979 you will see why this place fits like a shoe.

Also, the explorer that took these photos had quite an adventure. He had to run away from guard dogs and climb the buildings to get away, but he successfully managed to capture the best out of this place. I recommend visiting his blog, at the end of this post.

The Nikulinskaya Mine

The Nikulinskaya mine is the largest mine in the Moscow mine field. It was abandoned in the early 2000's and today it's just another abandoned mine. The entrance to the mine is flooded so nobody can get in. Any other parts of the site, like the office buildings for example, have been scavenged, and even things that had a minor value were stolen. Also, grass has now started to grow indoor.

The abandoned depot

This depot, in Bucharest, was used for hosting trams and buses, until 1965, when the main tram route was canceled.

Author: Reptilianul

Site: reptilianul.blogspot.ro

Huge machine abandoned in Russia

According to the author of the photographs, this is the Morozov coal mine, but I wasn't able to find more about it, maybe the translation is not good. Mining here dates from 1962 but recently stopped due to power outages and power companies failing to pay debts. All the excavated earth was carried through pipelines, and gradually created this huge quarry.
The excavator in the first picture is one of the hugest things you ever seen. Sadly, now, it's just another pile of rusted metal, but a glorious pile of rusted metal because of it's impressive size. It looks like a monster crane, compared to the other machines abandoned in the same area. It could make someone rich just by selling it as scrap metal (don't get any ideas government people).

Creepy graffiti in Prypiat

Prypiat, the fascinating abandoned city we all know by now, is not only being visited by tourists and urban explorers. Graffiti artists roamed it's streets numerous times, trying to convey the impact that the disaster had on this city, once inhabited by families with happy children with no worries, which had their lives turned upside-down when the disaster occurred. The artists show us the fear and sadness they, and the kids that had to leave home forever, felt.

Abandoned monuments in Yugoslavia

These monuments were built by several sculptors and architects in the 60s and 70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place or where concentration camps stood. In the 80s they were a major tourist attraction, but after the Republic dissolved they became just a pile of forgotten monuments. The structures once represented strength, but now they are slowly decaying and fading. Despite the fact that they were neglected lately, you can still feel what the artists tried to expose.

Podgarić

Demolished industry

These are some factories on Progresului St. in Bucharest. They are almost entirely demolished, but still attract several explorers. This particular explore didn't involve me sadly, but I need to expose this location further, to my readers.

I'll try and convince the author to take me to this place one day. Maybe I can capture even more of this place.

Source: Explorer reporting in!

The rusty Maunsell Forts

I heard of these forts about 2 years ago, but until recently, I couldn't remember how they were called.

I consider them fascinating mostly because they are abandoned, but almost unreachable. The kind of explore I will probably never have the opportunity to do. The internet has plenty of pics and info on the forts, and almost every urbex addict knows of their existence by now, but that didn't stop me from showing them to you once more.

The Maunsell Forts were small fortified towers built in the Thames and Mersey estuaries during the Second World War to help defend the United Kingdom. They were named after their designer, Guy Maunsell. The forts were decommissioned in the late 1950s and later used for other activities. One became the Principality of Sealand; boats visit the remaining forts occasionally, and a consortium called Project Redsands is planning to conserve the fort situated at Redsand.

Sanzhi UFO houses

The Sanzhi UFO houses, or the Sanzhi pod houses, or the Sanzhi Pod city were a set of abandoned buildings that were shaped like pods, situated in the Sanzhi District, Taiwan.

Shime coal mine

Along with Prypiat, this location, meaning this tower in particular, is one of the most famous abandoned places on the internet. 

While Prypiat is fascinating the internet through the fact that it's a medium sized city, it's soviet and it's abandoned, Shime coal mine got it's fame through it's unique structure. It's one of those famous internet memes everyone know about. The internet made it a meme because they say it's the perfect zombie fortress, and I don't challenge that idea. It looks pretty zombie safe.

An arctic ghost town, Pyramiden

Pyramiden is an abandoned Russian settlement and coal mining community on the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. Sweden founded if in 1919 and sold it to the Soviet Union in 1927. It's name comes from the pyramid-shaped mountains near the town. The town once had 1.000 residents, but in 1998 it was abandoned by Arktikugol Trust, the Russian state company who owned it, meaning that another ghost town was born. The town was abandoned in a hurry and things remain largely as they were in 1998. The residents were given just hours to pack their bags and leave.

The modern ghost town of Kangbashi

Usually, a ghost town is considered to be that human settlement, which after years of being inhabited, is eventually abandoned by people due to different causes, such as disasters or economic downturns. But how can an ultra modern city be turned into a ghost town right after it was built? Well, the answers finds itself in China, in the city of Ordos, where Kangbashi, one of the newest and most modern neighborhoods is absolutely empty.

Prypiat, the famous ghost town

On April 26th, 1986 an explosion in the reactor number four at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant would permanently change the face of Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Chernobyl remains in the collective memory of mankind as the worst nuclear disaster in the history of nuclear energy production. Maybe the man made disaster with the most impact on mankind. Radiation resulting from the explosion caused thousands of deaths in Ukraine, Russia and neighboring countries, but long-term effects of this catastrophe are more serious: the spread of cancer diseases, children born with birth defects, irradiation of agricultural land and more. All these form a sum of effects caused by a single event, which in turn generates more negative effects.

Post-industrial relics

This post has been sitting in the drafts section since June 2011. I wonder why I forgot about it. Well, that's not important now, the photos are nice and you will surely enjoy them.

The story of Hashima Island

Hashima is a small rocky island, situated near the coast of Nagasaki in Japan. Although tiny in size, the island is not unimportant, being Japan's main coal supplier for almost a century. Located above a huge coal deposit, which extends to the ocean, Hashima itself was an excellent opportunity to make a fortune, this opportunity couldn't be missed.

Centralia, Pennsylvania

In the past, Centralia could be described as a friendly town with 3,000 residents, who could enjoy common facilities: shops, churches, hotels and bars. As with other U.S. cities, Centralia was what could be called a "boomtown". The first inhabitants settled here in 1866, and the settlement rapidly flourished, after profits were incoming from mining going on in the hill area. In the particular case of this city, what helped it rise, also made it collapse.

Motorless city of Detroit

Some abandoned areas are part of some highly populated cities. How can a metropolis have an empty "heart"? Probably one of the most striking examples is the city of Detroit, which houses a totally abandoned neighborhood and fallen industry.

Humberstone and Santa Laura, Chile

All over the world you can find a lot of modern places, with a sad story, which resulted in their abandonment. We know them as ghost towns. Invariably, each one of them hides an interesting story. Some, like the chinese city of Beichuan, have been the victims of natural disasters. Others, such as San Zhi in Taiwan have been abandoned by some rather esoteric reasons. The stillness that surrounds these former human settlements seems almost tangible. In contrast with the deafening silence that dominates these lands, the omnipresent and chaotic noise that characterizes the big metropolises becomes even harder to imagine.

Now, let's talk about Humberstone and Santa Laura, in Northern part of Chile.

Changes are upon us!

We finally have a domain! Happy happy joy joy!

Seeing the number of visits that keep growing and growing, I decided to finally take the next step and get a domain. 

Unfortunately "hiat" seems to be a widely used term and all relevant domains are already used so I didn't have many name options to choose from, and still keep the reference to Hiat.

So, we are now a .org site, that will continuously inform people about the places that have been forgotten. A sort of derelict Wikipedia, hehe.

Please rate the posts again with +1's and Reactions, as they were deleted when the blog switched to the domain.

Also, many other changes are being planned.

Changes would include:

- Host changing

- Site redesign

- More informative articles

- Maybe a forum

- Photo submission

- Photo contests with prizes!

(Please suggest more or comment on these below.)

Don't forget to add the new link to your bookmarks!

Last cinema in town

This town had 2 cinemas that I am aware of. One was closed many years back, I remember playing there after it was closed. They eventually turned it into an athenaeum, which is nice.

The other is this one, closed in 2009 if I'm not mistaking. It's a filmless town now, like many other cities in Romania.

Forgotten trains in Russia

In this article I will feature photos made in Abkhazia, a small state on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Although Abkhazia is no longer a part of the Soviet Union, and is considered a part of the Georgian territory, you can not ignore the fact that it was build by the Soviet Union. That fact makes the title. The Abkhazia station and everything in it, is in this position of decay since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, more than 20 years ago, because the new formed independent state cannot maintain and repair everything, by having a struggling economy.
Besides the trains, you need to also see the station, which will be in this article.

 

Forgotten trains in Romania

Romania, the wonder land, holds a pretty good amount of abandoned and forgotten trains, mainly cargo and passenger cars. It's not even a surprise, considering the amount of abandoned factories and buildings. 
Although the number of abandoned trains is considerable, I wasn't able to find many photo sources, so, for now, I'm gonna present to you the ones that I did find, mainly on train enthusiast forums. It's a collection I gathered, holding 39 photos of decaying metal. In the future I hope to visit some of these carriages myself, the ones that were not transformed into scrap metal. Yes, the majority of trains in this article are now scrap metal.

Siberian abandoned

The atmosphere in the last 3 days made me think of Siberia. Last night, in my city, the temperature dropped to an astounding -19 degrees Celsius. I can't recall the last time it was so cold here. It's that kind of weather when even waves freeze. And I live in the South. In some Northern parts it dropped to -35 degrees.

So, I thought I should post some buildings from Siberia, so you can all feel the cold weather.

 Deep into Siberia.