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Imperial Pomp: Strange Post-Soviet Skyscrapers in Remote Russia

01 Jun

[ By SA Rogers in Culture & History & Travel. ]

Deep in the most remote reaches of the Soviet Union, strange skyscrapers glitter against the sky, made all the more out of place by their sleepy rural settings and lack of similarly scaled surroundings. Photographer Frank Herfort calls them ‘Imperial Pomp,’ monstrous and overly ostentatious structures that sprung up throughout the nation and the former Soviet Union in the decades since the collapse of the USSR. Traveling to places that might not otherwise draw many foreign visitors, Herfort captured the skyscrapers in all their strangely proportioned glamour for his photo book ‘Imperial Pomp – Post Soviet High-Rise.’

“After exploring Moscow’s structures I realized, that in all cities and former Soviet countries you can find such buildings,” says Herfort. “So I traveled to Vladivostok, to Blagoveshchensk on the Chinese border on River Amur, to Astana in Kazakhstan, to Baku in Azerbaijan, to Sochi and to St. Petersburg. And everywhere in between. I was always impressed by these huge constructions while driving through Moscow. Moscow doesn’t have a big skyline or big houses in the cityscape, and then I was even more impressed when suddenly there appeared one of these big new colored buildings. They are standing like single flowers cropped in the landscape.”

The German photographer notes that he feels like the buildings are “used to manipulate the humans and try to make them feel small.” He says the buildings rarely have infrastructure or real access built around them to invite the public to experience and interact with them, because they weren’t built with a care for anything other than showing off. That would certainly fit with the American perspective on Russia and its strongman fascination.

The buildings do feel like modern iterations of the strange Soviet-era monuments that still litter much of the former Soviet Union, though they’re nowhere near as creative and sculptural as the wondrous and bizarre relics of what used to be Yugoslavia.

Herfort’s book is out of stock at the publisher’s website, but a few copies are still available on Amazon, and you can see more of his work at his website.

[ By SA Rogers in Culture & History & Travel. ]

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Imperial Remnants: 7 Abandoned Wonders of Historic India

28 May

[ By Steph in Uncategorized. ]

Abandoned India Main

The remains of once-flourishing empires of India, from the ancient Mughal to the British colonies, now stand in varying states of decay, from the perfectly-preserved to the ruinous. Ghost stories, legends of curses and the shadow of thousands of fatalities hover about these historic abandonments located throughout the Southeast Asian nation.

Ross Island British Colony

Abandoned India Ross Island 2
Abandoned India Ross Island 1

Tree roots strange the remains of bunkers and other structures of Ross Island, a former British colonial settlement in the Andaman Islands of India first inhabited by Westerners in 1788. Poor weather conditions led to a high mortality rate in its first years as a colony, and it was abandoned, but in 1887, after a number of Indian uprisings, it was repopulated for use as a jail and penal colony. In 1942, Japanese troops invaded, but the British regained control after World War II was over and eventually passed the island onto the Indian Navy. Ross Island was established as a tourist attraction by 1993, and today, brick pathways enable visitors to explore the wild remains.

Bhangarh, India, “The Most Haunted Place in Asia”

Abandoned India Bhangarh
Abandoned India Bhangarh 2

Remote and rarely visited, the ghost village of Bhangarh is reputed to be ‘the most haunted place in Asia.’ Its location between the cities of Delhi and Jaipur, with no nearby shops or restaurants, makes it somewhat difficult to access. Established in 1573, the town began to decline by 1630 and was entirely uninhabited by 1783 after political strife an a famine. Entry is strictly prohibited between dusk and dawn, with locals claiming that anyone who does disappears, but during the day, occasional hardy tourists who have heard the legends about paranormal activity among the ruins trickle through. As the legend goes, the city of Bhangarh was cursed byt he Guru Balu, who sanctioned construction of the town, but warned “The moment the shadows of your palaces touch me, the city shall be no more!” A prince ignored the threat, raising a palace high enough to cast a shadow on Balu Nath’s retreat, resulting in a curse.

Whatever the reason for its decline, Bhangarh is a place of incredible beauty, the half-fallen village set against lush greenery and rocky cliffs.

Ancient Mandu

Abandoned India Mandu
Abandoned India Mandu 2

The ancient settlement of Mandu was the capital city of a northern Indian Muslim state between 1401 and 1561, but has lain abandoned for 400 years. Located in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh, it’s a fortress town full of impressively ornate stone mosques, palaces, Jain temples and other structures and encircled by a battlemented wall. Places of interest include a ship palace between two artificial lakes, so named because it appears to float, as well as a royal complex that still bears witness to the once-great society its residents ruled. Rarely visited by Western tourists, the ruins are a bit of a hidden gem.

Kalavantin Durg, India’s Most Dangerous Fortress

Abandoned India Kalavantin Durg

Reputedly the most dangerous fortress in the world, Kalavantin Durg can only be accessed via an extremely strenuous trek up the side of a near-vertical mountain. Today, stairs make it a little easier for visiting tourists to access the top for views that reach all the way to Mumbai. The fort is believed to have been built around the time of Buddha, roughly 500 BCE, for a queen named Kalavantin, but that’s about all anyone knows of its origins. The local Adivasi people climb to the top of the fort on every Shimga Festival of Holi. It hasn’t been in use as a fort for centuries.