16 May, 2016 02:58

Forgotten world: Eerie drone footage of top 5 places abandoned by humankind (VIDEO)

Haunting drone footage reveals an eerie glimpse of five places seemingly forgotten by the world and standing desolate for a variety of reasons.

The abandoned sites, which range from a Cold War spy station to an unfinished nuclear power plant, have been captured from a bird’s-eye view and collated together by Ruptly, RT’s international video news agency, which has ranked them in order of five to one.

5. Soviet A-135 missile defense system, Moscow, Russia

This abandoned complex of buildings was once part of the Russian capital’s anti-ballistic missile shield equipped with short- and long-range interceptors. The development of A-135 began in 1971 and was created in line with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the aim of replacing the A-35 system.

The system became operational in the early ‘90s with the aim of countering enemy missiles targeting Moscow or its surrounding industrial and economic areas. The system’s long-range nuclear-capable counter missiles attained their full service life and were reportedly decommissioned around the mid-2000s. A new system A-235 is currently in development.

4. Gruenau Ballhaus, Berlin, Germany

This impressive ballroom was built on the edge of Berlin in the late 19th century and despite surviving two World Wars now stands abandoned and in ruin.

The ballroom was closed in 1991 after German reunification and has since been left to rot.

3. Balestrino Castle, near Genoa, Italy

This thousand-year-old castle is the only structure in the ghost town of Balestrino that was left unaffected by earthquakes and landslides that plagued the town throughout the 19th century, and which resulted in its total evacuation in 1953 due to geographic instability.

The beautiful Del Carretto castle, once attacked by Napolean, now stands deserted on a hilltop.

2. National Security Radar Station, Berlin, Germany

This highly classified spy station was built by the US National Security Agency (NSA) during the Cold War on top of a massive hill, known as Devil’s Mountain.

It was situated in former West Berlin and remained operational until after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Germany’s reunification. The buildings and radar domes still remain in place.

1. Abandoned nuclear power plant, Crimea, Russia

The construction of this nuclear power plant began in 1976 with the plan being that it would supply energy to the whole of the Black Sea peninsula.

However after the Chernobyl disaster the Crimean station projects was scrutinized and the building was found to be on a potentially geologically volatile area. The project was abandoned in 1989, unfinished, despite being 90 percent complete.

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