These magnificent properties have been abandoned and are currently in a state of disrepair for reasons ranging from natural disasters to rumored obsessions.
Bodium Castle (Sussex, England) was built in 1385 by a knight under King Edward III, with the intention of using it as a solid family manor.
After the entire family died, the castle changed hands several times until abandoned in the 17th century. It is now the place that attracts many tourists to visit.
Jal Mahal is a “floating” palace in the middle of an artificial lake in Jaipur, India. Currently, four parts of the building are submerged.
The palace was originally built in the 16th century as a hunting lodge for royalty. Drought, dam construction, and lake expansion contributed to the palace’s final sinking underwater a century after it was built.
The Sans Souci Palace (Haiti) is located in the northern mountains of Haiti and was completed in 1813. It was the residence of King Henri Barshe until his death in 1820.
It is known as the “Palace of Versailles of the Caribbean”. The palace was later irreparably damaged during the earthquake of 1842. This place was declared a World Heritage Site in 1982.
Duckett’s Grove (Carlow, Ireland) was built in the 1700s on a 12,000-acre site of the famous Duckett family.
This Gothic castle was burned down in a fire in 1933 and has since been abandoned.
Pidhirtsi Palace (Lviv, Ukraine) was designed by the famous architect Andre dell’Aqua in the 17th century, serving as a residence for Polish military commanders.
The palace was later converted into a tuberculosis hospital during World War II and was soon abandoned.
Built in 1893, Grand Hotel (Corsica, France) was once a luxury hotel with a large staircase and tennis courts. It was designed specifically for the super-rich at the time.
After World War II, the hotel had a hard time attracting guests. This is why this hotel was closed shortly after World War II.
Villa de Vecchi (Italy) is a villa east of Lake Como that is rumored to be haunted. The house was built in the 1850s by the head of the Italian National Guard, Felix de Vecchi.
According to legend, Felix returned home but his wife was brutally murdered and her daughter missing. A long search didn’t work and he committed suicide later that year. The mansion was transferred to de Vecchi’s brother, and has since been abandoned since 1960.
An American railway executive, James H. Dooley, built the Swannanoa Palace (Virginia, USA) marble mansion in 1912 as a replica of Villa de Medici in Rome. It takes 300 artisans to complete and includes a 4,000-piece Tiffany stained glass window.
After the Dooleys died in the 1920s, the mansion was transformed into a country club.
It was officially abandoned in the 1980s and later transformed into a historic site.
Sammezzano Castle has been closed and abandoned since the 1990s.
Gbadolite, once a small village, was transformed into the “Versailles Palace of the Forest” by former journalist Mobutu Sese Seko in 1965.
The palace has been abandoned since 1997