Spending time walking around the city, it may be difficult for you to imagine that one day the city will no longer exist. However, this is what happened to some cities in the world.
There are many reasons why a city can disappear. There are cities that can fall victim to a disaster, be drowned by rising waters, or simply categorized as non-existent. In some cases, no one knows why the once thriving city was removed from the map.
Hashima Island, Japan
Hashima Island was once one of the most populous cities in the world. The 16-hectare island provides jobs for more than 5,000 people, many of whom make a living in the island’s underwater coal mines.
When the mine closed, Hashima Island was abandoned by many people. To this day all that remains are ruined tall buildings and forgotten structures, as evidenced in the photo of Hashima Island above.
Consonno, Italy
Consonno is a small town with a population of less than 300 and its history dates back to medieval times. The residents of Consonno make a living by harvesting crops, such as chestnuts and celery.
Then Mario Bagno, an entrepreneur who owns a company to build buildings, neighborhoods, roads and airport runways, comes and decides to turn the area into Italian Las Vegas and plans to call it the “City of Toys”.
He demolished almost every building and got to work building his masterpiece. However, there was a disaster in 1976, a landslide buried the access road and until now the project has never been completed. Since then, Consonno has been abandoned by many people.
Pompeii, Italy
Talking about the lost city, it’s incomplete if you don’t talk about the City of Pompeii in Italy. Pompeii was once a resort town in Italy, where the Romans, who had a high economy, spent their holidays.
But in AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the city under ashes. Everything was forgotten until 1800 years later, when archaeologists discovered parts of the City of Pompeii that remained intact under the rubble.
Centralia, Pennsylvania
Centralia is a small town in Pennsylvania, United States, whose residents depend on coal mining for a living.
Then in 1962, the fire spread to the coal seams and continued to burn for 50 years. In 1981, there was an incident where a boy almost died falling through a sinkhole caused by a fire.
This prompted congress to give the remaining residents the means to relocate. This is why Centralia was removed from the Pennsylvania postal code in 1992, to encourage the remaining residents to relocate.
Nonetheless, a church still stands in Centralia and is open to anyone looking for a place to worship.
Taxila, Pakistan
The ancient city of Taxila in Pakistan flourished from the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. It was an important site for Buddhist scholarship and practice, and its architectural richness reflects Persian, Greek, and Central Asian cultural influences.
Unfortunately, the city was attacked and destroyed most of the city. After the incident, Taxila was never rebuilt and was then abandoned by the community. However, the amazing ruins of Taxila City still exist today.
Humberstone, Chile
The world’s lost cities include Humberstone in Chile which was once known as La Palma. It was renamed after James Humberstone, a chemical engineer who emigrated to South America in the late 1800s and he became a successful natural saltpeter or nitrate miner.
At its peak, Humberstone was a mining town that provided home to about 3,500 people. However, saltpeter was no longer needed after synthetic fertilizers were invented after World War I, and the town was abandoned.
Despite being abandoned, the City of Humberstone is still very well preserved, but has an arid regional climate.
Order of Kangbashi, China
The Kangbashi Order in China, has some of the most stunning and proud architecture in the world. But today, it is known as one of the biggest ghost towns in the world.
In the early 2000s, the Chinese government invested more than a billion dollars into the city, which was a planned upgrade with state-of-the-art buildings and technology.
Unfortunately, however, the economic downturn made Ordos Kangbashi Town unreachable, and there were not enough residents to sustain the city’s economy.
Hallsands, United Kingdom
Then there is also the City of Hallsands in Great Britain. The city of Hallsands is more precisely located on the south coast of Devon, England. This small town has a quite dangerous position, because it is located between the cliffs and the sea.
This was also the reason for the disappearance of Hallsands City. On the night of the events in 1917, many people were thinking about his business in the City of Hallsands. However, the entire village, except for one house, collapsed and fell into the sea.
This left the residents homeless and rebuilt elsewhere. Currently the remains of Hallasands City are under the sea.
San Juan Parangaricutiro, Mexico
Lastly is San Juan Parangaricutiro. This Mexican city initially flourished, until the Paricutin volcano erupted in 1943, covering the city in lava and ash.
The volcano continued to erupt for eight years, destroying everything but the tower and altar of the city church. Today, the half-buried church is a major tourist attraction.
Well, those are some cities in the world that have now disappeared. In addition to the nine cities above, there are many other cities that have been lost. Hopefully with the information above, you can increase your knowledge about the world, yes!
