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The European Union may appear on the surface to be a unified body but underneath each member country retains a unique and complex history. The rich stories of individual European nations can be read in part through the amazing abandoned buildings found across the continent. It is truly remarkable how intact some of these structures are even after centuries. From Finland to France, Belgium to Denmark and Poland to England here are seven amazing abandonments from all over Europe.
Berlin, Germany has been at the center of European history in many regards, most recently as the divided core of Germany before East and West reunification. This abandoned complex located in Beelitz (just outside of Berlin) dates back to the 19th century and was used by the Germans as a military hospital through the second World War. From the 1940s on it was continuously occupied and used as a military hospital by the Russians complete with a surgery, psychiatric ward and rifle range before being abandoned in the 1990s. During its years of operation, famous (or infamous) patients included Adolf Hitler and former East German leader Erich Honecker.
Mesen, Belgium is the smallest town in Belgium with fewer than 1,000 residents. However, it is the home of one of the most beautiful abandoned castles one could imagine, built, rebuilt, modified and expanded from the 1500s onward. This gorgeous structure evolved from a defensive fortress to a boarding school over time before being abandoned in the middle of the 20th century. It has has decayed by natural means with very little outside interference or vandalism and conjures picturesque images of beautiful deserted buildings. Nonetheless, it is under threat of destruction. It seems that only in Europe, where such buildings are more abundant, could such a lovely structure be considered common enough to not necessarily warrant rehabilitation.
Copenhagen, Denmark has developed a rich tradition of industrial production in part due to its geography. Flanked on virtually all sides by water, it is no wonder this country has spawned many facilities like the refrigeration factory featured above. These pictures show the internal story of desertion, fire and other internal tales as well as the future plans for redevelopment on the site. Adjacent condos (shown in the last image) represent the likely direction of this abandoned property as waterfront real estate continues to replace old industrial uses.
Ryhope, England is home to an abandoned water pumping station that almost seems like a retrofuturistic structure straight out of a cyberpunk novel. This deserted structure is a monument to the Victorian era of industrialization, dating back to the middle of the 19th Century. It was an important step in the modernization of clean water distribution in an era where urban densification and disease went hand in hand. Though the station is no longer in active use all of the machinery still works, a true testament to the capabilities of Victorian English engineers.
Tempere, Finland is one of many places that saw considerable growth and prosperity during the industrial revolution. With a thriving Finnish timber industry came the matchstick factory featured above. Built between world wars, the factory was in continuous use until the mid-1970s at which point it switched industries with the times, become (among other things) an automobile plant for a period of time. Since being entirely abandoned the main building and surrounding structures have become hangouts for local teens as evidenced in the images above.
Warsaw, Poland has had a long and trying history of war and strife. It is perhaps no wonder that even in the heart of a relatively prosperous Polish city one can still find a vast abandoned factory complex. This series of deserted structures began as an electric lamp production facility in the 1920s before being converted to construct radios for submarines by the Germans during World War II. It reverted to its old function after the war but was poorly managed and eventually abandoned altogether, with remnant containers of chemicals and other assorted scientific equipment left behind as a testament to its earlier uses.
Paris, France is notorious of late-running Metro trains due to frequent worker strikes - but perhaps less well known for its numerous abandoned Metro stations. Urban explorers manage to find their ways into some of these abandoned subway tunnels while others have been converted to new uses including (appropriately enough) official homeless shelters. Some of the tunnels can even be visited privately late at night in groups led by sanctioned rail-expert tour guides.
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64 Comments
February 27th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I love these series’. The photography and little stories behind the locations are amazing and give me inspiration to go out and look for places like this! Very nice work!!
February 27th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Way cool stuff, heY! Thank you, Bester respekt,
~ Anemi
February 27th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Those are some awesome photos. I’d love to see them full size. Nice job!
February 28th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Wow very good pics , Thanks for share.I dont care who is owner of those pics.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I believe it should be Tampere, not Tempere.
A nice post though!
February 28th, 2008 at 9:57 am
“The European Union may appear on the surface to be a unified body” … are you kidding me? To whom does that appear?
One must have a very, VERY superficially view and some nonexistent knowledge to think so.
Would you call Canada, Kenya and Guyana a unified body, as they all are members of the Commonwealth?
February 28th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Thank you for these splendid series, it’s truly amazing to look at, and quite a bit to reflect on.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:26 am
By your first paragraph, one might be led to believe that England is one of the European Union’s constituent countries; it is not. Rather, the country is “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” where this abandoned wonder is located, or “UK” for short.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I wonder if I ask if someone would give me the pumping station?
February 28th, 2008 at 10:40 am
You spelled Tampere wrong. It is “Tampere” not “Tempere”.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Europe has such a rich history, I wish sometimes that our history in the US was a little more extensive that a measly few hundred years.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Wow, amazing pics!
February 28th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Just pave the places already…
February 28th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Why, when the pictures are the centre piece of the article, would you post such puny ones?
February 28th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Good Collection and Novel Idea !!!!
February 28th, 2008 at 11:54 am
The bottom right picture is in Budapest. It’s the tunnel the tram uses to go under the chain bridge…. and it’s still running…
February 28th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
there’s a lot of idiots raging on this post for some reason. just because there is a comment box doesn’t mean you need to use it. nobody cares.
oxygen thief, calm your nerd rage.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
you missed the most amazing ruin of them all. the canfranc railway station.
http://www.forbidden-places.ne.....ay-station
February 28th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Interesting list
February 28th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Just yesterday I was in the factory in Warsaw, Poland mentioned above :) Unfortunatelly there are plans to demolish it soon :(
February 28th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Nice tour through Europe’s history but I wonder why the top one is still left abandoned, its use in history or just lake of need? It looks like it has some pretty nice architecture.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Ryhope is most certainly *not* abandoned. It is open and up and running regularly.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Wow, the pictures look great, the photography makes it look really magnificent!
February 29th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Your photos are so empty. So much emptiness and loneliness in these photos. I can’t help think that many of these structures and places dont have people in them - because there simply werent many people there - and there probably aren’t any people there because so many people died from WW II.
February 29th, 2008 at 2:56 am
Shoddy story!
Ryhope pumping station isn’t exactly an abandoned cathedral to industrial inginuity anymore… it’s a fully restored museum.
I suggest 3 minutes of research next time you post.
February 29th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Great pictures and thanks for the background stories as well. Berlin is an interesting city in many ways and its large number of abandoned buildings have always fascinated me. Lots to explore!
I took some pictures of the abandoned pneumatic dispatch system a while ago (see link above).
February 29th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Oxygen Thief, you are a little boring, nogood prick…
Run back in that little ashole behind you.. go on… shu!
February 29th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
We are currently working to sort out a misunderstanding regarding the Beelitz portion of this post. In the meantime, please refrain from vulgar language or unsubstantiated claims in the comment system. Have a complaint? Please use our ‘Contact’ form. Thank you for your consideration.
March 1st, 2008 at 4:29 am
Very interesting collections, what a waste to see such interesting heritage neglected…
March 1st, 2008 at 6:57 am
Very Impressive,I used to go to China ,It is also wonderful.Mayby,China Travel can be your good selection.
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:04 am
I live 5 miles from Ryhope pumping ststaion and it is far from abandoned. It is a museum that is open regularly - check it out here; http://www.ryhopeengines.org.uk/
March 8th, 2008 at 1:45 am
Very interesting collections, what a waste to see such interesting heritage neglected
March 12th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
a great collections. all the pictures look madnificent!
March 13th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
great collection.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:14 am
The disintegration of the opulence of the humanity powder to the powder … the human being does not have parameters in the abandon of his(her,your) own(proper) domain(control) …. good photos good work .. journalistic.But very sad reality .
March 28th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Very Cool Stuff: Made me feel like a kid again - we used to always search out places like these. I’ve been to a lot of places including London, Paris, Rome, and Venice and have always been intrigued with the history that was just waiting to be re-discovered. I walked around the Coloseum and saw some of the rooms below… I have to wonder what else is there!
April 19th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Amazing photos
Kristal L. Rosebrook
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