1 00:00:01,919 --> 00:00:06,169 Once, they were some of the most advanced structures and facilities on the planet. 2 00:00:09,211 --> 00:00:12,586 The best achievements in design and construction . 3 00:00:15,712 --> 00:00:20,919 Today they are abandoned, contaminated and sometimes deadly. 4 00:00:23,253 --> 00:00:28,753 These empty buildings are filled with the lost lives of real people, 5 00:00:30,793 --> 00:00:34,919 leaving many questions unanswered and mysteries unresolved. 6 00:00:37,169 --> 00:00:42,336 In today's show, we explore the world's strangest abandoned buildings, 7 00:00:42,793 --> 00:00:45,086 which created empty Silent Cities. 8 00:00:47,793 --> 00:00:53,628 Why did an abandoned air base become a restricted area? 9 00:00:54,670 --> 00:00:59,211 Zeljava is an underground airbase shrouded in secrecy. 10 00:00:59,836 --> 00:01:03,169 This is the kind of place that had to look really good on paper. 11 00:01:03,420 --> 00:01:07,961 We will hide the airfield in the hill, so no one will see it. 12 00:01:08,545 --> 00:01:12,961 The mountain was supposed to protect it against the nuclear weapon that was dropped on Hiroshima. 13 00:01:14,712 --> 00:01:17,378 How Japan's tiny mining island came to be 14 00:01:17,503 --> 00:01:20,461 the most crowded place on the planet ? 15 00:01:21,919 --> 00:01:25,086 It is one of the most claustrophobic places on Earth . 16 00:01:25,211 --> 00:01:29,003 More than 5,000 people lived in the tiny community . 17 00:01:29,586 --> 00:01:33,378 In fact, they were able to increase the surface area of ​​the island quite easily, 18 00:01:33,545 --> 00:01:36,753 because the necessary materials were obtained from the ground. 19 00:01:37,128 --> 00:01:41,211 A 200-meter-deep mine was dug into the sea next to the island 20 00:01:41,336 --> 00:01:46,128 it is an incredible feat of engineering. 21 00:01:47,877 --> 00:01:51,586 Is it the layout of the streets of the model city of the Soviet Union 22 00:01:51,794 --> 00:01:54,628 became a matter of life and death for this population ? 23 00:01:55,545 --> 00:02:00,003 The abandoned city of Pripyat is the modern day Pompeii. 24 00:02:00,503 --> 00:02:05,712 Life changed very quickly overnight and it was very bad. 25 00:02:06,211 --> 00:02:09,169 It was inextricably linked to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 26 00:02:09,420 --> 00:02:12,253 but it must be taken as it was intended. 27 00:02:12,378 --> 00:02:17,420 At that time, the Soviet dream was there and people wanted to be a part of it. 28 00:02:19,294 --> 00:02:25,169 And how did Nazi Germany turn a resort into a mind control facility? 29 00:02:26,003 --> 00:02:30,294 Prora was the last element, the ideological missing piece, 30 00:02:30,670 --> 00:02:35,044 which was to ensure that everyone thought alike. 31 00:02:35,628 --> 00:02:38,378 This was mind control at its best. 32 00:02:51,044 --> 00:02:53,503 Abandoned Buildings 33 00:02:53,793 --> 00:02:56,628 Silent Cities 34 00:03:00,169 --> 00:03:04,211 One of the most sinister and forgotten abandoned communities in history 35 00:03:04,545 --> 00:03:08,712 is located in northern Germany on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. 36 00:03:12,253 --> 00:03:16,670 A huge building is hidden behind the pines that line the coast 37 00:03:17,461 --> 00:03:20,586 A forgotten remnant of Hitler's Nazi regime . 38 00:03:22,836 --> 00:03:25,793 Being one of the longest buildings constructed in Europe, 39 00:03:26,044 --> 00:03:29,336 its huge mass dominates the peaceful landscape. 40 00:03:31,586 --> 00:03:37,086 Its name is Prora and it was built as a resort for thousands of Germans. 41 00:03:39,378 --> 00:03:42,294 But how did this huge structure get here 42 00:03:42,877 --> 00:03:45,712 and what was its real, sinister purpose? 43 00:03:48,961 --> 00:03:55,461 Prora resort is like a modern center of willpower. 44 00:03:55,670 --> 00:04:00,712 The workers were supposed to rest here, but what really happened? 45 00:04:00,836 --> 00:04:04,793 People were woken by pain annunciators telling them what to do, 46 00:04:04,877 --> 00:04:08,712 how and when to do it, everyone ate at the same time, 47 00:04:08,877 --> 00:04:12,793 in the so-called free time, everyone watched the same propaganda films 48 00:04:12,877 --> 00:04:15,503 and read the same propaganda literature. 49 00:04:17,669 --> 00:04:21,461 Considering the time and money spent on the Prora complex , 50 00:04:21,586 --> 00:04:26,378 it is understandable that this project was of vital importance to the Nazis. 51 00:04:27,836 --> 00:04:31,836 It was a long-term project to create a master race, 52 00:04:32,003 --> 00:04:33,961 who would think like the Nazis. 53 00:04:44,628 --> 00:04:48,793 Katja Lucke is a local historian and an expert on this place. 54 00:04:50,253 --> 00:04:55,461 He discovered that although Prora was a resort for industrial workers, 55 00:04:55,876 --> 00:04:59,378 its true role in Hitler's Germany was much more obscure. 56 00:05:01,793 --> 00:05:05,503 People were controlled and manipulated here 57 00:05:05,628 --> 00:05:09,712 according to Nazi ideology. 58 00:05:09,836 --> 00:05:13,877 The Nazis came up with the idea of ​​building a resort by the sea, 59 00:05:14,044 --> 00:05:18,503 specifically for German workers, 60 00:05:18,628 --> 00:05:21,712 who didn't have much money 61 00:05:21,836 --> 00:05:26,794 so that they too can rest by the sea. 62 00:05:27,628 --> 00:05:32,336 The idea was that people could rest and recover as much as possible, 63 00:05:32,961 --> 00:05:36,503 without having a single moment of free time. 64 00:05:36,670 --> 00:05:41,836 To be healthy and strong for the war, to achieve better work results 65 00:05:42,211 --> 00:05:46,003 and would actually be fit for mass murder. 66 00:05:48,503 --> 00:05:50,919 But how did an ordinary rest camp become 67 00:05:51,044 --> 00:05:55,003 play a role in Hitler's plan for genocide and world domination? 68 00:06:00,128 --> 00:06:05,793 The concept of Prora started with the organization Kraft Durch Freude 69 00:06:05,961 --> 00:06:08,378 or "Strength through Joy." 70 00:06:10,003 --> 00:06:12,461 It was led by top Nazi Robert Ley 71 00:06:12,712 --> 00:06:17,378 and on the face of it, Strength Through Joy offered little more than a subsidized vacation 72 00:06:17,503 --> 00:06:20,253 to millions of low-wage German industrial workers. 73 00:06:22,294 --> 00:06:25,961 But its real function was to unite them behind Hitler. 74 00:06:29,836 --> 00:06:35,420 "Strength Through Joy" had very big plans for this, 75 00:06:35,545 --> 00:06:39,086 they wanted to bind people behind the Nazi regime 76 00:06:39,211 --> 00:06:43,753 and even more, people were tried to be brainwashed 77 00:06:43,836 --> 00:06:46,378 and prepare them for a possible war. 78 00:06:49,378 --> 00:06:52,461 For Prora, Ley planned to go even further 79 00:06:52,586 --> 00:06:57,712 than the organized pastimes that "Strength through Joy" dealt with until now, 80 00:07:00,044 --> 00:07:04,044 The huge complex offered people all the possibilities for recreation. 81 00:07:04,169 --> 00:07:06,545 Of making weapons for the Third Reich 82 00:07:07,044 --> 00:07:12,003 swimming pools, cinema, bowling alleys, cafes and cabarets. 83 00:07:17,461 --> 00:07:22,294 However, the background of all activities was non-stop propaganda. 84 00:07:25,670 --> 00:07:29,378 In terms of its intentions, this complex was far ahead of its time. 85 00:07:29,545 --> 00:07:34,794 Yes, it was rather spartan, but at the same time a powerful complex, 86 00:07:34,961 --> 00:07:39,044 which, of course, had a built-in control element. 87 00:07:40,420 --> 00:07:44,128 But for the average German worker it was like Nirvana. 88 00:07:44,253 --> 00:07:48,586 They came from industrial cities and had never seen the sea, 89 00:07:48,753 --> 00:07:51,461 so its appeal can be understood. 90 00:07:53,044 --> 00:07:57,793 Its purpose was to make those coming from the ship say: 91 00:08:01,169 --> 00:08:04,169 There must have been a lot of nationalism. 92 00:08:11,712 --> 00:08:14,753 You could even say that this is Nazi ideology set in stone. 93 00:08:14,919 --> 00:08:19,420 In fact, we can see in the stone that 94 00:08:19,628 --> 00:08:24,586 how the Nazis envisioned a human commune. 95 00:08:24,793 --> 00:08:30,503 The program would last the whole day and would start with a morning assembly, 96 00:08:30,670 --> 00:08:36,461 followed by swimming in the sea, lunch and the closing ceremony. 97 00:08:36,586 --> 00:08:38,919 Everything would be organized in detail. 98 00:08:40,628 --> 00:08:46,253 The 4.5 km long building was divided into 8 6-storey accommodation blocks, 99 00:08:46,628 --> 00:08:51,169 all built of reinforced concrete, which was a great innovation at the time. 100 00:08:55,503 --> 00:08:57,586 It was something unprecedented, 101 00:08:57,712 --> 00:09:02,753 "Oh, it's modern technology, 102 00:09:03,793 --> 00:09:06,336 it's progress, we're at the forefront here." 103 00:09:06,712 --> 00:09:09,961 Reinforced concrete can seem boring these days, 104 00:09:10,294 --> 00:09:12,670 but at the time it was very exciting. 105 00:09:17,169 --> 00:09:20,712 Each block had several dozen rooms with a sea view, 106 00:09:21,003 --> 00:09:23,420 all deliberately quite simple in construction. 107 00:09:25,794 --> 00:09:29,211 In Prora, it was not luxury that mattered, but power. 108 00:09:29,877 --> 00:09:34,793 The large lobbies had to give the same impression as the Nuremberg stadium. 109 00:09:41,503 --> 00:09:44,461 This room belongs to the reception hall. 110 00:09:44,586 --> 00:09:50,753 It is tall and must have influenced and intimidated the workers who came here. 111 00:09:51,003 --> 00:09:55,545 This is one way to make a big impact. 112 00:09:56,003 --> 00:09:58,670 You felt discouraged when you came here , 113 00:09:59,545 --> 00:10:04,628 but at the same time were excited to be a part of such a big idea. 114 00:10:06,670 --> 00:10:08,794 That's how the manipulation worked. 115 00:10:11,670 --> 00:10:16,044 I don't think you could see the building in the 1930s , 116 00:10:16,294 --> 00:10:20,378 that would look like Prora and not be overwhelmed by it, 117 00:10:20,586 --> 00:10:25,211 "Oh, it 's already something, and it's ours." 118 00:10:31,044 --> 00:10:36,378 An important part of the Prora complex must have been a huge auditorium, 119 00:10:37,128 --> 00:10:41,420 which could simultaneously accommodate 20,000 tourists. 120 00:10:44,793 --> 00:10:49,836 It is harsh, it represents everything that is great about the so-called Aryan race 121 00:10:49,961 --> 00:10:53,586 and it was designed to emit national doom 122 00:10:53,712 --> 00:10:56,420 and you had to believe it would have that effect. 123 00:10:58,211 --> 00:11:02,003 We have been creating huge halls for a very long time, 124 00:11:02,128 --> 00:11:04,378 the romans coped with it particularly well, 125 00:11:04,545 --> 00:11:09,086 they contain tens of thousands of people on a fairly small surface area. 126 00:11:11,211 --> 00:11:16,753 I believe the view in front of you would be quite mesmerizing 127 00:11:17,586 --> 00:11:23,211 and perhaps this psychological effect worked in Hitler's favor. 128 00:11:26,461 --> 00:11:31,336 It is one of the major architectural legacies of the Nazis, 129 00:11:31,712 --> 00:11:35,128 although this building did not start to function as planned. 130 00:11:35,670 --> 00:11:40,086 You begin to understand what it meant to get used to their ideology. 131 00:11:43,169 --> 00:11:47,794 At the end of the war, Prora was taken over by the invading Russian forces, 132 00:11:48,336 --> 00:11:52,628 who turned it into a military prison for opponents of the communist regime. 133 00:11:53,753 --> 00:11:58,503 When the Berlin Wall fell in the 1990s, Prora was abandoned 134 00:11:58,877 --> 00:12:04,253 and it was only recently that it began to be restored into luxury apartments with sea views. 135 00:12:14,253 --> 00:12:17,253 Many think that the complex should be razed to the ground. 136 00:12:17,378 --> 00:12:20,628 Let's forget about this forced will program, 137 00:12:20,753 --> 00:12:24,294 it belongs to our dim past and let's move on. 138 00:12:26,836 --> 00:12:30,793 The fact that it is now being renovated into luxury homes, 139 00:12:31,545 --> 00:12:34,919 in its own way symbolizes the victory of capitalism. 140 00:12:35,128 --> 00:12:40,753 Ironically, this represents what we see in those happy posters, 141 00:12:40,919 --> 00:12:43,044 but for a different reason. 142 00:12:48,003 --> 00:12:50,628 Abandoned Buildings 143 00:12:50,793 --> 00:12:53,420 Silent Cities 144 00:12:53,836 --> 00:12:56,336 Abandoned Buildings 145 00:12:56,670 --> 00:12:59,128 Silent Cities 146 00:12:59,336 --> 00:13:02,753 Reinforced concrete, an innovation used in Prora, 147 00:13:02,919 --> 00:13:05,503 helped to build a home for an entire community as well, 148 00:13:05,793 --> 00:13:09,794 which stretches along the southwestern coast of Japan near the port of Nagasaki. 149 00:13:11,420 --> 00:13:13,753 This is the small island of Hashima. 150 00:13:18,420 --> 00:13:22,836 140 years ago it was just a narrow ridge jutting out from the sea. 151 00:13:24,086 --> 00:13:27,336 But when coal was found there at the end of the 19th century , 152 00:13:27,545 --> 00:13:30,793 the island grew larger with the help of land reclamation, 153 00:13:32,294 --> 00:13:36,211 to accommodate the huge number of miners and support facilities. 154 00:13:37,003 --> 00:13:40,128 How it became the most crowded city in the world 155 00:13:40,628 --> 00:13:43,044 and why was it eventually abandoned? 156 00:13:45,919 --> 00:13:49,211 Taking land from the sea is a major engineering challenge, 157 00:13:49,503 --> 00:13:52,128 because you have to work with water that moves. 158 00:13:53,420 --> 00:13:58,044 It rises and falls, it can be acidic and salty, 159 00:13:58,253 --> 00:14:01,044 it consumes man- made materials quite quickly. 160 00:14:02,086 --> 00:14:05,670 And you try to bring in loads of new material, 161 00:14:05,793 --> 00:14:08,794 stack it in a moving environment 162 00:14:08,961 --> 00:14:13,503 and create a solid structure where you can live and work 163 00:14:13,628 --> 00:14:15,836 and erect huge buildings on top of it. 164 00:14:18,628 --> 00:14:23,420 Hashima was called the island without greenery for a reason. 165 00:14:23,628 --> 00:14:27,086 It is one of the most claustrophobic places on Earth . 166 00:14:28,378 --> 00:14:32,461 More than 5,000 people stay in the narrow and tiny community . 167 00:14:33,086 --> 00:14:37,753 But they got used to it and felt uncomfortable going to the mainland. 168 00:14:37,877 --> 00:14:41,961 Today's tourists can't wait to get out of here. 169 00:14:43,836 --> 00:14:49,169 Locally, Hashima is called Gunkanjima - Battleship Island. 170 00:14:50,211 --> 00:14:54,253 Tomoji Kobata is a former coal miner who worked on the island, 171 00:14:54,378 --> 00:14:56,753 until it was closed in 1974. 172 00:14:57,794 --> 00:15:00,503 Tomoji remembers very well how he first came here. 173 00:15:02,420 --> 00:15:06,128 When I saw the island for the first time from the ship. 174 00:15:06,378 --> 00:15:10,793 It seemed to me that this island resembled a warship. 175 00:15:12,712 --> 00:15:17,461 I couldn't see the whole island when I landed. 176 00:15:17,877 --> 00:15:21,169 I looked out the office window and saw a mountain of coal, 177 00:15:22,128 --> 00:15:27,836 shafts and working miners. 178 00:15:28,836 --> 00:15:32,793 I saw it was a coal island. 179 00:15:37,545 --> 00:15:41,336 A very rich coal seam was discovered under Hashima 180 00:15:41,503 --> 00:15:44,961 and the engineers made a 200 m long shaft to bring it away. 181 00:15:47,545 --> 00:15:51,919 Working conditions so deep under the sea were often unbearable. 182 00:15:54,793 --> 00:15:58,793 The underground was a very dangerous place. 183 00:16:00,211 --> 00:16:06,545 Stones fell from the ceiling. 184 00:16:08,961 --> 00:16:13,211 It was like doing hard work in a steam room. 185 00:16:16,336 --> 00:16:18,545 As the island produced more and more coal, 186 00:16:18,712 --> 00:16:22,420 more and more workers were needed to bring it out of the ground 187 00:16:22,794 --> 00:16:25,128 and there was less and less space. 188 00:16:26,670 --> 00:16:28,961 It was a big logistical challenge. 189 00:16:31,169 --> 00:16:35,461 In my opinion, Hashima is an incredible engineering feat. 190 00:16:35,753 --> 00:16:39,169 Next to a small island in the sea 191 00:16:39,294 --> 00:16:41,753 it was necessary to dig a 200 meter deep mine 192 00:16:41,877 --> 00:16:45,628 "I have a mine that produces material, 193 00:16:45,753 --> 00:16:50,877 where do I put it and who do I sell it to?" There is nowhere to put it. 194 00:16:51,294 --> 00:16:54,294 So you have to think about how to transport it, 195 00:16:54,670 --> 00:16:59,378 how close the ships can be brought, how to put the material on the ships 196 00:16:59,503 --> 00:17:02,169 and then the ships spread it back to earth again. 197 00:17:02,461 --> 00:17:04,960 This is a big logistical challenge 198 00:17:05,128 --> 00:17:08,545 and I think they did a pretty good job of it. 199 00:17:12,585 --> 00:17:18,085 The amazing thing about Hashima is that it is a self-replicating entity 200 00:17:18,210 --> 00:17:21,670 the deeper you dig, the more material you bring up. 201 00:17:22,378 --> 00:17:26,835 You use it as padding and make your island a little bigger, 202 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,794 to accommodate more miners to dig even deeper. 203 00:17:32,044 --> 00:17:34,793 It keeps going round and round and where does it finally stop? 204 00:17:38,586 --> 00:17:42,003 Over the years, the workforce grew tremendously, 205 00:17:42,420 --> 00:17:45,877 the pier was extended to enlarge the island 206 00:17:46,461 --> 00:17:48,794 and to protect against storms. 207 00:17:58,003 --> 00:18:01,461 It seems that reinforced concrete was invented just for 208 00:18:01,586 --> 00:18:04,793 to build something like that on the small island of Hashima. 209 00:18:05,586 --> 00:18:10,919 You have little space and a lot of material to build with, 210 00:18:11,503 --> 00:18:15,503 so reinforced concrete is the best solution - you pour it where you need it 211 00:18:15,793 --> 00:18:18,211 and once it's set, the job is done. 212 00:18:21,461 --> 00:18:26,794 The first thing that surprised me were the reinforced concrete residential buildings. 213 00:18:26,919 --> 00:18:28,877 I didn't know much about the island. 214 00:18:29,003 --> 00:18:34,003 I didn't think I would see on the island 215 00:18:34,128 --> 00:18:37,253 so many tall concrete residential buildings. 216 00:18:42,670 --> 00:18:48,211 Bringing residential buildings near the mine is a difficult task for an engineer, 217 00:18:48,420 --> 00:18:53,128 because there are many things going on underground - you can't see them, but they are there. 218 00:18:53,253 --> 00:18:56,919 You remove the ground where the foundation will be, 219 00:18:57,086 --> 00:19:00,712 you take less material and thus weaken the ground 220 00:19:00,794 --> 00:19:03,378 and then you try to build big structures on top of it, 221 00:19:03,503 --> 00:19:07,420 so the foundation must be made as strong and stable as possible. 222 00:19:10,461 --> 00:19:14,378 It was also important for Hashima that reinforced concrete is fireproof. 223 00:19:14,503 --> 00:19:16,753 Reinforced concrete cannot be set on fire 224 00:19:16,836 --> 00:19:22,169 and when it comes to coal mining, it is probably the best material. 225 00:19:25,628 --> 00:19:29,712 In the 1960s and early 1970s, the mine's production was at its peak. 226 00:19:30,670 --> 00:19:34,003 At its peak there were 5,000 miners on the island , 227 00:19:34,128 --> 00:19:37,294 who produced almost 500,000 tons of coal annually. 228 00:19:39,712 --> 00:19:42,961 The island was overcrowded, noisy and polluted. 229 00:19:46,378 --> 00:19:51,420 Minoro Kinoshita was born in Hashima and remembers the conditions there well. 230 00:19:53,211 --> 00:19:56,794 There were a lot of people there. 231 00:19:56,919 --> 00:20:03,128 There were an incredible number of them. Chaos reigned. 232 00:20:05,628 --> 00:20:11,003 We lived in the 30th building. 233 00:20:12,336 --> 00:20:19,003 There were four of us in the family and we lived in one room. 234 00:20:19,628 --> 00:20:23,961 The room was very small. 235 00:20:24,253 --> 00:20:29,169 It was very small indeed. 236 00:20:33,211 --> 00:20:38,670 Despite the harsh conditions , the people of Hashima survived 237 00:20:39,044 --> 00:20:41,794 and learned to adapt to their unique situation. 238 00:20:46,503 --> 00:20:50,086 The island had a kindergarten, a primary school, a primary school, 239 00:20:50,294 --> 00:20:55,961 hospital, Pachinko parlor, bar, hairdresser and flower shop. 240 00:20:58,336 --> 00:21:02,461 There were no elevators in high-rise buildings. 241 00:21:03,670 --> 00:21:07,294 So people moved around horizontally 242 00:21:08,044 --> 00:21:12,169 and there were many footpaths for it. 243 00:21:13,378 --> 00:21:19,044 You didn't go down the stairs to go around the residential buildings 244 00:21:19,294 --> 00:21:22,378 moved horizontally between apartments. 245 00:21:28,044 --> 00:21:30,793 Maybe Hashima has an element, 246 00:21:30,919 --> 00:21:35,378 such a human factor and overall well-being 247 00:21:35,503 --> 00:21:41,670 and the fact that you don't have room and there are too many people, 248 00:21:44,420 --> 00:21:46,919 I don't know if I even thought about it. 249 00:21:47,378 --> 00:21:51,670 Everything had to be functional. Hashima had to be functional 250 00:21:51,877 --> 00:21:56,794 and I don't know if I thought about anything else besides work efficiency. 251 00:22:01,128 --> 00:22:04,836 Despite the inhumane conditions on the island, 252 00:22:05,420 --> 00:22:09,420 it was the children who constantly found solutions to problems. 253 00:22:11,253 --> 00:22:15,586 Children used their brains to play here. 254 00:22:16,253 --> 00:22:18,545 They played cards on the stairs, 255 00:22:18,670 --> 00:22:23,336 played a ball game when they found an empty seat. 256 00:22:23,712 --> 00:22:26,961 The roofs of the buildings were their playground. 257 00:22:32,336 --> 00:22:40,336 We found our way to play baseball, 258 00:22:41,128 --> 00:22:46,545 to play on the island we had to use our 259 00:22:46,670 --> 00:22:49,793 not someone else's brains. 260 00:22:52,420 --> 00:22:55,961 The population of the island had grown to 5,500 people 261 00:22:56,378 --> 00:22:59,336 who were accommodated on a 160,000 square meter island, 262 00:22:59,836 --> 00:23:03,128 making it the most densely populated place on the planet . 263 00:23:06,586 --> 00:23:11,169 The Hashima mine was closed in 1974. 264 00:23:12,420 --> 00:23:14,461 During its 84-year history 265 00:23:14,586 --> 00:23:19,420 the Hashima mine produced a whopping 16.5 million tons of coal, 266 00:23:20,003 --> 00:23:22,712 but eventually the deposits were exhausted. 267 00:23:26,253 --> 00:23:29,877 When the heart of the island stopped, so did the community 268 00:23:30,169 --> 00:23:33,545 and Hashima was left to the mercy of the forces of nature. 269 00:23:36,836 --> 00:23:39,461 Abandoned Buildings 270 00:23:39,712 --> 00:23:42,253 Silent Cities 271 00:23:42,836 --> 00:23:45,420 Abandoned Buildings 272 00:23:45,712 --> 00:23:48,128 Silent Cities 273 00:23:51,378 --> 00:23:55,253 The city of Pripyat, the pride of the former Soviet Union, 274 00:23:55,712 --> 00:23:58,336 is similarly left at the mercy of the forces of nature. 275 00:24:05,128 --> 00:24:09,919 But why was its new design so important when things went wrong? 276 00:24:14,586 --> 00:24:18,503 Pripja had to offer modern living facilities 277 00:24:18,628 --> 00:24:21,128 to the workers of the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant. 278 00:24:27,211 --> 00:24:31,378 Now it stands abandoned in the pine forests of Ukraine, 279 00:24:34,294 --> 00:24:37,961 it is guarded by armed guards and protected by security barriers. 280 00:24:40,294 --> 00:24:44,753 A warning about how quickly a dream can turn into a nightmare. 281 00:24:46,253 --> 00:24:50,753 The abandoned city of Pripyat is the modern day Pompeii. 282 00:24:51,628 --> 00:24:57,044 Overnight, even within a few hours, life changed. 283 00:24:58,836 --> 00:25:00,961 You see a huge wheel, 284 00:25:01,169 --> 00:25:05,836 where locals could rest, you will see children's toys. 285 00:25:08,378 --> 00:25:13,712 You realize that something happened very quickly and it was very bad. 286 00:25:16,253 --> 00:25:21,794 The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. A. April 287 00:25:22,003 --> 00:25:25,712 unleashed a stream of radioactive waste into the atmosphere. 288 00:25:30,712 --> 00:25:36,793 A huge part of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia was contaminated 289 00:25:38,919 --> 00:25:42,294 and radiation levels rose across Europe. 290 00:25:44,753 --> 00:25:50,545 The irony is that the area has become a popular tourist destination. 291 00:25:52,003 --> 00:25:54,961 Why? I believe it is due to morbid curiosity, 292 00:25:55,086 --> 00:25:59,586 have watched many B-movies and want to see in real life, 293 00:26:00,836 --> 00:26:05,461 what happens on a larger scale when something goes terribly wrong. 294 00:26:09,294 --> 00:26:13,003 Pripyat was only 3 kilometers from Chernobyl 295 00:26:13,128 --> 00:26:15,503 and its deadly radioactive cloud. 296 00:26:16,461 --> 00:26:20,545 At the time of the disaster, it was home to nearly 50,000 people. 297 00:26:23,836 --> 00:26:28,919 It's easy to look at Pripyat now and think it's a disaster city. 298 00:26:29,753 --> 00:26:33,753 It is associated with a nuclear disaster and is located right on the road to Chernobyl. 299 00:26:37,294 --> 00:26:40,793 But it has to be seen as it was intended 300 00:26:40,877 --> 00:26:43,877 and what life was like there before the disaster. 301 00:26:46,794 --> 00:26:50,211 Iconic images that we imagine when it comes to Pripyat 302 00:26:51,169 --> 00:26:54,211 the ferris wheel that's still there and spinning, 303 00:26:55,793 --> 00:26:58,003 gas masks floating on the ground, 304 00:26:58,169 --> 00:27:01,712 they all tell the same story and you can see it when you watch the beating. 305 00:27:02,753 --> 00:27:06,545 While it was up and running, 306 00:27:08,086 --> 00:27:11,794 it was the Soviet dream and people wanted to participate in it. 307 00:27:20,044 --> 00:27:24,712 When Pripyat was founded in 1970 to house Chernobyl workers, 308 00:27:25,420 --> 00:27:29,044 it was supposed to be a model city for the entire Soviet Union, 309 00:27:30,794 --> 00:27:33,712 which would promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy 310 00:27:34,294 --> 00:27:35,753 and would be a model for urban planning. 311 00:27:39,586 --> 00:27:43,753 Guide Sergei Chernov first saw Pripyat as a young man 312 00:27:44,086 --> 00:27:46,712 and he had no doubt that it was the city of the future. 313 00:27:51,253 --> 00:27:55,919 The city was never finished. The entire construction was planned in advance. 314 00:27:56,586 --> 00:28:00,003 It was a thriving city. 315 00:28:00,378 --> 00:28:03,836 It was the first place I saw in my life. 316 00:28:04,003 --> 00:28:07,877 There were so many roses and children. 317 00:28:13,294 --> 00:28:18,961 City planners had endless space and they took advantage of it. 318 00:28:20,586 --> 00:28:23,712 Residential blocks were separated by parks and gardens 319 00:28:24,044 --> 00:28:29,128 and with an average age of less than 30, the city had many sports facilities. 320 00:28:35,793 --> 00:28:38,294 The heart of Pripyat was the city's central square. 321 00:28:41,503 --> 00:28:43,670 Right now we are in the middle square 322 00:28:43,836 --> 00:28:49,086 and the house in front of us is a cultural house and it was called Energeetik. 323 00:28:56,294 --> 00:28:59,794 To our right is the hotel. Its name was Polissija. 324 00:29:01,253 --> 00:29:06,794 At the time of the explosion, it was a modern and modern hotel. 325 00:29:10,794 --> 00:29:15,836 And there is a five-story building with a slogan on it that says: 326 00:29:16,961 --> 00:29:19,253 "Let the atom be a worker rather than a soldier." 327 00:29:30,294 --> 00:29:33,670 The new model city glorified the triumph of socialism 328 00:29:34,128 --> 00:29:37,294 and soon the reason for its existence was ready. 329 00:29:38,794 --> 00:29:42,961 The first reactor of the Chernobyl power plant was completed in 1977. A. 330 00:29:43,420 --> 00:29:46,294 By 1983, all four reactors were operational. 331 00:29:49,628 --> 00:29:54,670 On the morning of April 26, 1986, at 1:23 a.m., 332 00:29:55,169 --> 00:29:58,128 the bright future of Pripyat was broken. 333 00:29:59,793 --> 00:30:03,461 The fourth reactor exploded and spread radiation all over Europe. 334 00:30:03,586 --> 00:30:05,628 Two reactors were permanently shut down. 335 00:30:06,128 --> 00:30:08,294 It is the world's biggest nuclear accident. 336 00:30:12,253 --> 00:30:15,211 The explosion in the fourth reactor of Chernobyl 337 00:30:15,420 --> 00:30:18,503 released a huge amount of radioactive material, 338 00:30:19,294 --> 00:30:22,336 but the inhabitants of Pripyat were not warned. 339 00:30:24,336 --> 00:30:27,003 Within hours, people started getting sick. 340 00:30:29,586 --> 00:30:34,294 Another day passed before the authorities ordered the evacuation of the city. 341 00:30:35,877 --> 00:30:40,253 Hundreds of cars and buses arrived to take away the residents of Pripyat. 342 00:30:40,919 --> 00:30:44,086 They were told they were only leaving for a few days. 343 00:30:50,420 --> 00:30:56,628 The layout of Pripyat with huge avenues and open spaces 344 00:30:57,211 --> 00:31:02,461 actively contributed to what happened in the next 48 hours . 345 00:31:03,336 --> 00:31:08,086 The entire population, nearly 50,000 people, had to be evacuated from the city. 346 00:31:10,378 --> 00:31:14,794 If you try to do this in an organically grown collection, 347 00:31:14,919 --> 00:31:17,836 where there are narrow streets and cross streets everywhere, 348 00:31:18,086 --> 00:31:22,086 is much more difficult, it would be a hell of a challenge. 349 00:31:24,670 --> 00:31:29,628 Taking the structure and taking it apart and planning the evacuation 350 00:31:29,753 --> 00:31:33,461 and having arteries to carry people away, 351 00:31:33,877 --> 00:31:37,670 this made the evacuation much more efficient. 352 00:31:40,003 --> 00:31:44,044 53,000 people were evacuated in just 48 hours . 353 00:31:44,169 --> 00:31:46,794 From Pripyat and its neighboring areas. 354 00:31:48,003 --> 00:31:50,545 To keep people away from the contaminated area 355 00:31:50,670 --> 00:31:53,503 a 2,500 square kilometer exclusion zone was established. 356 00:31:59,044 --> 00:32:01,461 Abandoned Buildings 357 00:32:01,670 --> 00:32:04,086 Silent Cities 358 00:32:04,794 --> 00:32:07,294 Abandoned Buildings 359 00:32:07,545 --> 00:32:10,169 Silent Cities 360 00:32:12,461 --> 00:32:17,670 The destruction of Pripyat by the atomic power that gave it life was ironic. 361 00:32:19,211 --> 00:32:22,169 500 km to the south is another Cold War commune, 362 00:32:22,294 --> 00:32:25,128 which would have easily withstood radioactive fallout, 363 00:32:26,919 --> 00:32:30,586 but proved vulnerable to the bitter hatred of civil war. 364 00:32:35,003 --> 00:32:38,919 In 1958, the people of southwestern Yugoslavia realized that 365 00:32:39,086 --> 00:32:42,836 that intensive construction works are taking place in the area. 366 00:32:44,211 --> 00:32:47,628 The secrecy was so strong that the locals had no idea 367 00:32:47,753 --> 00:32:51,336 that one of the largest and most expensive constructions in Europe 368 00:32:51,503 --> 00:32:54,128 takes place right in their backyard. 369 00:32:55,628 --> 00:32:57,794 Zeljava underground air base. 370 00:32:59,712 --> 00:33:03,169 Zeljava is the kind of place that must have looked really good on paper. 371 00:33:03,378 --> 00:33:06,670 We hide the airfield in the hill. 372 00:33:06,793 --> 00:33:08,794 Nobody can see it. 373 00:33:10,877 --> 00:33:14,294 It wasn't really unusual. There were other places in Europe, 374 00:33:14,420 --> 00:33:19,044 for example in Switzerland and Italy where there were similar projects. 375 00:33:19,545 --> 00:33:24,503 In fact, the Russians and the US used it throughout the Cold War 376 00:33:24,628 --> 00:33:29,336 aircraft reinforced shelters to shelter aircraft 377 00:33:29,712 --> 00:33:32,294 and for defense against tactical nuclear weapons. 378 00:33:41,294 --> 00:33:46,169 Urban explorer Goran Les is an expert on abandoned military bases 379 00:33:46,461 --> 00:33:49,586 and has thoroughly researched the Zeljava base . 380 00:33:51,336 --> 00:33:55,670 The Cold War had a major purpose for this airfield and air base 381 00:33:55,793 --> 00:34:00,503 repel an initial attack by the Soviet Union or the West. 382 00:34:04,586 --> 00:34:07,044 That is why it was built here in a secluded location. 383 00:34:07,169 --> 00:34:10,294 It was protected by a mountain from the south 384 00:34:10,461 --> 00:34:15,420 and the northern side was formed by a plateau with good visibility. 385 00:34:17,752 --> 00:34:22,545 Hiding the planes underground seems like a good idea, 386 00:34:23,211 --> 00:34:27,586 but in Zeljava it took a whole 20 years, 387 00:34:27,712 --> 00:34:31,961 to dig a 3 kilometer long tunnel into the mountain. 388 00:34:34,712 --> 00:34:39,044 Zeljava was to become the cornerstone of the Yugoslav Air Force. 389 00:34:40,712 --> 00:34:43,792 In order for the base to be used by three fighter squadrons, 390 00:34:43,877 --> 00:34:46,919 five two-kilometer runways were built. 391 00:34:49,127 --> 00:34:53,919 The problems started when they started digging a tunnel into the mountain. 392 00:34:56,586 --> 00:34:59,086 When they started building tunnels in the mountain in Zeljava , 393 00:34:59,211 --> 00:35:04,294 was surprised to discover that there are natural caves in the rock, 394 00:35:04,420 --> 00:35:08,086 it was not as solid a mountain as it was thought to be. 395 00:35:08,545 --> 00:35:14,086 So they were challenged - how to continue the tunnel through the air. 396 00:35:14,503 --> 00:35:18,128 They had to restructure these places , 397 00:35:18,253 --> 00:35:22,128 to extend a tunnel through the air of these caverns, 398 00:35:22,336 --> 00:35:24,420 instead of building it through the rock. 399 00:35:26,836 --> 00:35:29,628 This is what the engineers learned on the job 400 00:35:29,753 --> 00:35:34,128 and that's why they used concrete to strengthen the mountain 401 00:35:34,253 --> 00:35:38,253 and to create the large spaces they needed to store their planes. 402 00:35:40,628 --> 00:35:44,253 Hangars for 80 aircraft were dug into the rock, 403 00:35:44,670 --> 00:35:48,253 as well as command and control facilities, generators, 404 00:35:48,793 --> 00:35:52,793 for bomb and fuel depots and housing for a thousand people. 405 00:35:55,670 --> 00:36:00,628 Special arrangements were added to reduce the effects of a nuclear explosion. 406 00:36:01,336 --> 00:36:06,670 The entire entrance is a blast chamber that turns 90 degrees away, 407 00:36:06,793 --> 00:36:10,753 the force of the nuclear explosion is absorbed in this chamber 408 00:36:10,836 --> 00:36:13,253 before entering the main tunnel. 409 00:36:14,378 --> 00:36:17,294 On the roof you can see these concrete diaphragms, 410 00:36:17,420 --> 00:36:20,420 which were meant to reflect the explosion. 411 00:36:21,253 --> 00:36:25,086 The back door is located at the end of this curved tunnel. 412 00:36:25,670 --> 00:36:30,253 This hundred-ton concrete swing door. 413 00:36:32,628 --> 00:36:35,961 Placing the Air Force underground protects it from any attack 414 00:36:36,086 --> 00:36:39,794 or from an explosion directly affecting it. 415 00:36:39,961 --> 00:36:42,877 But burying planes underground, 416 00:36:43,128 --> 00:36:45,961 yes, here's a mountain overhead for protection, 417 00:36:46,086 --> 00:36:49,877 but if the explosion were to occur at some opening, 418 00:36:50,003 --> 00:36:52,712 through which one goes in and out, 419 00:36:53,044 --> 00:36:57,086 then the tunnels magnify and direct the blast 420 00:36:57,211 --> 00:36:59,712 towards the very thing you are trying to protect. 421 00:37:02,961 --> 00:37:06,169 Zeljava could cut herself off from the world for a whole month 422 00:37:06,420 --> 00:37:09,336 and still use its five runways. 423 00:37:10,877 --> 00:37:16,003 The base had to withstand the impact of a 20-kilogram nuclear weapon 424 00:37:18,503 --> 00:37:23,169 a bomb with the same destructive force destroyed the city of Nagasaki. 425 00:37:24,877 --> 00:37:28,793 The planes were kept behind their airtight doors, 426 00:37:29,086 --> 00:37:31,836 they were lined up behind each other 427 00:37:32,753 --> 00:37:36,003 and the plane that was about to fly away 428 00:37:36,420 --> 00:37:41,628 was transported to the beginning of the runway and took off from there. 429 00:37:45,211 --> 00:37:49,378 This shape was purposely built to accommodate the Mig-21 aircraft, 430 00:37:49,586 --> 00:37:52,003 since it had one vertical stabilizer, 431 00:37:52,253 --> 00:37:55,836 that's how it got through under the concrete shield. 432 00:37:59,336 --> 00:38:03,128 Are those tunnels with movable concrete barriers 433 00:38:03,336 --> 00:38:06,961 would have really prevented a nuclear explosion 434 00:38:07,169 --> 00:38:09,836 massive explosive force from penetrating the mountain? 435 00:38:09,961 --> 00:38:12,794 We don't know because the mountain was not attacked. 436 00:38:12,919 --> 00:38:17,294 But it was supposed to protect against such a nuclear bomb, 437 00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:21,128 as it was dropped on Hiroshima, but the bombs became much more powerful. 438 00:38:24,712 --> 00:38:27,503 You also have to think about the logistics of this whole operation. 439 00:38:27,670 --> 00:38:30,753 1000 people could live inside the mountain for a month, 440 00:38:31,169 --> 00:38:35,670 but if you come out after a nuclear attack, will you survive? 441 00:38:35,793 --> 00:38:40,919 What's next? Who do you send planes against when there is no one left? 442 00:38:42,961 --> 00:38:45,378 And all this was not cheap. 443 00:38:46,211 --> 00:38:49,336 Zeljava cost six billion dollars to build, 444 00:38:49,794 --> 00:38:54,503 making it one of the most expensive constructions in post-war Europe. 445 00:38:56,211 --> 00:38:59,378 However, despite the huge waste of time and money, 446 00:38:59,503 --> 00:39:03,294 which made Zeljava the largest air base in Yugoslavia 447 00:39:03,503 --> 00:39:07,253 and one of the largest in Europe, it was all for nothing. 448 00:39:10,378 --> 00:39:13,253 When Yugoslavia broke up in 1991, 449 00:39:13,586 --> 00:39:16,545 rival forces fought over an air base. 450 00:39:19,253 --> 00:39:23,545 When Bosnian forces were about to take over the area, 451 00:39:23,836 --> 00:39:28,919 they mined the area around the airfield so that the armed forces would not take it back. 452 00:39:29,461 --> 00:39:33,086 The Serbs detonated a large number of explosives, 453 00:39:33,336 --> 00:39:37,086 which were buried on runways and in tunnels. 454 00:39:37,420 --> 00:39:43,712 The base was completely destroyed after one year of fighting. 455 00:39:45,294 --> 00:39:47,211 Considering its huge cost 456 00:39:47,336 --> 00:39:50,545 and the fact that it was only used. 457 00:39:50,670 --> 00:39:55,670 Against the people of Yugoslavia in the civil war in the early 1990s, 458 00:39:56,128 --> 00:40:02,044 then it was a great white elephant among military objects. 459 00:40:04,877 --> 00:40:09,586 With ruined tunnels and mined airstrips, Zeljava was abandoned. 460 00:40:11,086 --> 00:40:14,336 Today, few people risk entering 461 00:40:14,628 --> 00:40:18,503 into the polluted tunnels of this once impressive military base. 462 00:40:19,877 --> 00:40:23,919 Zeljava can be considered the era of Cold War paranoia. 463 00:40:24,086 --> 00:40:27,378 It was shrouded in such secrecy decades ago , 464 00:40:27,670 --> 00:40:31,794 that it cannot be a tourist destination due to excessive preparations , 465 00:40:31,919 --> 00:40:37,628 one must come here with extreme caution to avoid losing one's life . 466 00:40:38,670 --> 00:40:43,294 Places like the huge Prora building, the tiny concrete-clad Hashima, 467 00:40:43,670 --> 00:40:47,712 the grassy streets of Pripyat and the tunnel network of Zeljava 468 00:40:48,044 --> 00:40:51,877 show how engineers overcame challenges 469 00:40:52,128 --> 00:40:55,253 to make life possible in unusual places. 470 00:40:55,877 --> 00:40:59,169 The concept of an abandoned community - a ghost town 471 00:40:59,586 --> 00:41:03,128 leaves us feeling like what went wrong here? 472 00:41:03,670 --> 00:41:08,378 What happened to abandon it? Could it happen again? 473 00:41:09,253 --> 00:41:14,628 It creates a sense of what life would be like in a post-apocalyptic world. 474 00:41:17,712 --> 00:41:22,378 Some of these abandoned ghost towns are getting new life. 475 00:41:23,670 --> 00:41:29,003 I always imagine futuristic sky bridges connecting buildings 476 00:41:29,128 --> 00:41:33,211 and it's amazing that Hashima did it decades ago. 477 00:41:33,753 --> 00:41:36,753 Is it a glimpse into the past or the future? 478 00:41:37,044 --> 00:41:39,794 The population is growing by leaps and bounds, 479 00:41:40,003 --> 00:41:44,128 so it's a view of who and how we're going to live, 480 00:41:44,253 --> 00:41:46,670 but also to how we can fade away. 481 00:41:49,294 --> 00:41:55,420 In Pripyat, tourists can see a Soviet city frozen in time, 482 00:41:56,294 --> 00:41:59,712 and after the end of the tour, the excitement of radiation control follows. 483 00:42:01,670 --> 00:42:06,086 The point is not to go see how people who are not there lived. 484 00:42:06,919 --> 00:42:09,586 The question is instead why it happened. 485 00:42:09,712 --> 00:42:14,503 Because you don't believe what the media is saying and conspiracy theories are circulating 486 00:42:14,794 --> 00:42:17,253 and that's what feeds people's imaginations. 487 00:42:18,378 --> 00:42:23,294 I am surprised that when the disaster happened in Pripyat, 488 00:42:23,420 --> 00:42:26,793 and they were able to evacuate the entire city so quickly 489 00:42:27,044 --> 00:42:31,044 it was not used to analyze future disasters. 490 00:42:33,753 --> 00:42:37,003 But Prora, the huge Nazi recreation complex, 491 00:42:37,128 --> 00:42:39,712 is becoming a real success story. 492 00:42:41,961 --> 00:42:44,712 For many years, people wanted it demolished. 493 00:42:45,628 --> 00:42:49,420 Now one block has already been converted into luxury holiday apartments. 494 00:42:50,211 --> 00:42:53,169 The second one will soon become a five-star hotel. 495 00:42:53,670 --> 00:42:58,545 Prora is located in the middle of beautiful nature and it is teasing. 496 00:42:59,211 --> 00:43:04,670 The idea of ​​demolishing it was natural. 497 00:43:04,793 --> 00:43:09,128 But it cannot be demolished because it is such a historical place. 498 00:43:11,586 --> 00:43:16,628 As an engineer, it's really nice to give an old building a new purpose, 499 00:43:16,753 --> 00:43:20,670 especially if it was used for something a little colorful in the past. 500 00:43:20,794 --> 00:43:23,128 Leaving this ugly history behind 501 00:43:23,378 --> 00:43:27,253 and seeking new purposes, new things 502 00:43:27,378 --> 00:43:30,169 and it will definitely give you a sense of satisfaction. 503 00:43:33,086 --> 00:43:35,961 After so many years of gloom and decay 504 00:43:36,628 --> 00:43:42,670 turns an abandoned place into a resort, as it was originally supposed to be. 505 00:43:42,670 --> 00:43:45,670