21 photos of the most bizarre real estate projects around the world that were left in ruins
The Sutyagin House is often considered one of the tallest wooden houses in the world.
Entrepreneur Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin started building the large wooden home in 1992, and it reached 144 feet with 13 stories. It took over 15 years to build the structure in Arkhangelsk, Russia. At its completion, some called it the "eighth wonder of the world."
Sutyagin said the impressive height of the house was a "happy accident."
“First I added three floors but then the house looked ungainly, like a mushroom,” Sutyagin told the Daily Telegraph in an interview. “So I added another and it still didn’t look right so I kept going. What you see today is a happy accident.”
When Sutyagin was in prison for racketeering, the house remained abandoned and began to fall apart.
While the house was abandoned for years, it was eventually deemed a fire risk. Parts of the home were taken down in 2009 to reduce the risk. However, what was left was actually destroyed in a fire in 2012.
The Sanzhi Pod City — built in 1978 — was meant to be a seaside resort for the US military in Taiwan.
Each pod in the city was built to resemble UFOs, becoming a town of the future.
The city was never opened because of investment losses in 1980.
Others believe various conspiracy theories explain its abandonment. Since many construction workers committed suicide while building the pods, people believe the city is haunted. Some think there is a Dutch graveyard beneath the buildings, causing a supernatural haunting.
The seemingly haunted city decayed and remained untouched for years until it was demolished in 2010.
No one has learned the truth about what really happened in Sanzhi Pod City.
The Bulgarian Communist Party built a monstrous headquarters on top of a mountain in 1981, and it resembles a flying saucer.
The headquarters sits atop the Buzludzha mountain peak, located in the middle of Bulgaria. The saucer-like structure is formally known as the Buzludzha Monument.
In 1989, however, Bulgaria shifted to democracy and abandoned the communist headquarters.
It has laid in ruins for decades as a monument to a failed past.
The site remains closed to the public, but vandals often get inside to explore the abandoned building.
The concrete building still stands today, prompting many people to break in and vandalize the structure.
In 1987, North Korea built a 107-story pyramid tower in its capital city, but it has remained abandoned for decades.
The building was meant to be a hotel, but it has never welcomed a single guest. The Ryugyong Hotel remains dark in the Pyongyang skyline, except for the light atop of the pyramid which warns airplanes of its existence.
The Ryugyong Hotel is now the tallest unoccupied building in the world despite getting a face lift.
The hotel was only supposed to take two years to build, but construction drew on for many years. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, North Korea entered an economic crisis, halting construction entirely. The building remained a concrete eyesore until 2008 when the country started working on the its exterior. But the inside still remains closed to the public.
Eerily, the building's exterior has been lit up and used for North Korean propaganda.
In 2018, the North Korean government turned the building into a light show. With 100,000 LED lights, the building's outside lit up with images of political leaders, events, and monuments. The inside of the hotel remained dark.
Meanwhile, in Turkey, a strange community of mini castles were built for the wealthy but has remained abandoned for years.
In 2014, a developer started building villas that resembled miniature castles. The community — called Burj Al Babas — sits at the base of Turkey's northwest mountains in the town of Mudurnu. Each home is identical to the other, with blue, intricate roofs and towers fit for a princess.
The homes sold for $400,000 to $500,000 each.
There were more than 732 villas within the community, and 350 were sold to wealthy Arab investors.
But many buyers pulled out of the deal when Turkey experienced an economic recession, leaving the town abandoned.
The developer company filed for bankruptcy protection when all of its buyers pulled out of their deals. Political turmoil, higher inflation rates, and the decline in oil prices all contributed to the downfall of this community. The Burj Al Babas hopes to open again in late 2019.
China has a number of bizarre ghost towns, but Tianducheng is one of the more interesting ones because it's a replica of Paris.
Just outside of Shanghai is the city of Tianducheng, which was built in 2007. It was created as a replica of Paris, even with its own 354-foot Eiffel Tower.
Although the town was built for 10,000 people, only 2,000 people live there.
Even though this town isn't entirely in ruins, it's known as a ghost town.
You can still visit the town today for only $82 a night.
The Tianducheng Resort offers guest a room for $82 a night. You can visit replicas of the fountains found outside the Palace of Versailles or take a stroll down one of the city's Europe-inspired streets.
On a grander scale, the Greek government spent a large sum of money to build elaborate venues for the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, but now all the buildings are abandoned.
It's not unusual for Olympic stadiums and venues to become abandoned after the games. But, Athens' venues — which now lie in ruin — are especially noteworthy because the country went $15 billion over budget.
As the country suffered from severe economic issues, its overly elaborate Olympic venues became dilapidated.
The country simply had no use for its larger investments like the Olympic swimming pool and baseball stadium.
Even the volleyball court — built specifically for the Olympics — lies in ruins.
The struggle of finding a use for Olympic venues after the games' end is not uncommon for host cities all over the world.
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