The strangest cities in the world!

 

-The centuries-old village of Hallstatt, located in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, is named after an ancient salt mine. The word "hall" probably comes from the Celtic word for salt.

A town usually refers to an area, which is basically bigger than a village but smaller than a city. It has its own government, name and boundaries. It has a market, and even people living scattered around. However, some towns are exceptional. Absolutely strange. Although they look like other towns, they are actually uninhabited. Some are inhabited by only one person, while others have an entire town living under one roof.

'Replica Hallstatt' or 'Hallstatt 2.0', an exact copy of Hallstatt in Austria

The centuries-old village of Hallstatt in Austria is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And why not! This ‘Hallstatt’ in Austria is like a place straight out of a European fairy tale. Surrounded by UNESCO architecture and centuries-old monuments, the town has a tranquil river and picturesque mountains, which further enhance its beauty.

‘Hallstatt’ is so charming that in 2012, China decided to build an exact replica of the village. At a cost of about a billion dollars, this project was created in every detail of the real Austrian village, even its church and town square were imitated perfectly. It was built in the Guangdong province of China. The project, sponsored by a Chinese billionaire, caused a huge sensation among the residents of the real Hallstatt, as they knew nothing about the project. Later, the residents of Hallstatt in Austria (including the mayor) visited the fake town. They said they were proud that the city was copied, but they didn't like the way it was done. They think the buildings were copied, but they should have met with the owners and asked for permission. The company called Minmetals, which built the city, sent its workers to Hallstatt, Austria, to take pictures from there.

-Marloth Park in the northeastern part of South Africa is a unique wildlife sanctuary and a holiday destination for people from far and wide.

Marloth Park South Africa

Located on the border of the Kruger National Park, Marloth Park is a gem in South Africa. It offers a variety of activities and a peaceful environment for guests and visitors to enjoy. It also serves as a sanctuary for wildlife. According to experts, Marloth itself is an ideal place for a variety of activities and a peaceful environment. It is home to a variety of wildlife such as lions, elephants, hippos and crocodiles. The town is unique for several reasons. Among them, despite the fear of wildlife attacks, the locals cannot build walls around their homes. The only wall in the park is only 1.2 meters (4 feet) high, which is mainly designed to keep people out of the park, not to keep animals inside. Wildlife roaming freely in the town is a common sight. However, thieves enter homes through windows and steal things from refrigerators. Elephants and giraffes block the roads. Lion attacks on humans are also not uncommon. A few years ago, a lion attacked, killed and ate a thief. The police only found the thief's head and one leg. After this incident, the city residents left the lions. Although some say that the thief was shot while fleeing and his body was eaten by the lions. Others say that the lions will help control the increasing theft in the city. However, cyclists are often attacked. This is said to be racially motivated. Because most white residents have cars, and cyclists are mainly black. Who commute to work.

The US Army's 'training city' Asymmetric Warfare Training Center, Virginia

A new city has been built in Caroline County, Northern Virginia, which has a school, a church, a mosque, a subway station, tunnels, bridges and a five-story embassy. But no one lives in this city. Because this is not an ordinary city, but a training center for the US Army worth about $ 90.1 million. Where the US Army trains its soldiers. The city is called the Asymmetric Warfare Training Center (AWTC). This training center was built under a special mission called the Asymmetric Warfare Group. The city was modeled after Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2006, this group of IEDs will train soldiers to face the challenges of modern urban warfare. According to the Army, the training center will create a “complex operational environment.” According to military analysts, the battlefield of the 21st century will no longer be open fields, but rather narrow spaces inside the city. Hence the US administration's training initiative.

-The Haunted City of Ordos

China

China's largest ghost town is Ordos. Most of the new buildings here are empty or incomplete. But once this area was supposed to be home to 1 million people, only 100,000 people live there now. It is known that 2 percent of the city is still unused. The rest is empty and abandoned. The story of this city began about 25 years ago. In the early 2000s, when coal mines were discovered in Mongolia. Coal mining also began. And Chinese mining companies dug up the green pastures of Mongolia and created open-pit coal mines. Local farmers became rich overnight by selling their land. New jobs were created and the constant movement of coal trucks made the roads busy. Coal mining also made the old city of Ordos prosperous. But today the city is almost deserted. Chinese officials spent more than 1 billion dollars to build the city of Ordos. Because, investors at that time built settlements centered around coal mines. They built huge buildings (apartments). The goal was to rent out. But demand couldn’t keep up with the builders, and many investors moved out or went bankrupt before the buildings were completed. According to French photographer Raphael Olivier, the once-deserted city is now “a beautiful city of contrasts.” Today, the streets are lined with unfinished houses. Those who were in the city are also moving elsewhere. In just five years, the price per square foot has fallen from $1,100 to $470. Investors have lowered prices to encourage people to move in.

-Longyearbyen

Norway

Longyearbyen; the last city in the world's northernmost point. It is a place in the Svalbard archipelago of Norway, which is at once strange, wild and poetic. The town, nestled in the Arctic Ocean, is one of the most isolated towns in the world. The population is less than 2,500. Yet it is the capital of the Svalbard archipelago. This small town, located deep in the Arctic Circle, is a place where colorful houses and polar bears coexist. Surprisingly, the local polar bears outnumber humans (3,000 polar bears), so for self-defense, the locals carry licensed firearms, which is a common sight here. This small town has a church, ATM booth, museum, post office, airport and university. Its residents do not stay long; on average, they live here for a little over six years. However, it is a city in the Arctic region where death is also prohibited. Because the extreme cold does not allow the body to decompose. Sick or dying people are taken by plane or ship to another part of Norway. And if someone dies suddenly, they are buried elsewhere. Scientists removed tissue from a person who died a few years ago and tested it for traces of the 1917 pandemic virus. The sun does not set in this region for three months of the year (November to January), which is known as the polar night. Keeping cats is also banned in the city. This decision was made to protect local birds.

-‘Monowi’ is a one-man city!

Nebraska

Monowee is a unique place in Nebraska. Although it is not a recreation center, it is still one of the most popular places in America. Because, it is a one-person town! Monowee is an incorporated village in Boyd County. According to the current US census, this village has only one resident, Elsie Eiler. She is 77 years old. She runs the town's tavern, where many people from neighboring towns visit every day. Elsie's tavern is not only a liquor store; it is also the social center of the town. In addition, Elsie has a large library, where her husband's collection of more than 5,000 books is kept. Visitors can borrow as many books as they want. The library is a living monument to this village, where the stories and memories of Monowee's past are intertwined. It is the smallest town in the United States in terms of population. Monowee was founded in 1903, when the Mason, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad reached this place. A post office was established here in 1902, which operated until 1967. Its peak period was in the 1930s, when the population was 150. In 2018, the village was featured in advertisements for Arabic and Prudential. Monowi was also used as the starting point for the world's largest advertising poster, which was completed in 2018.

-Busingen um Hochrein

Germany

The biggest example of how much controversy a country's border can cause is the German village of Büsingen am Hochrin, surrounded by Switzerland. This small village in Germany is geographically strange and exceptional. It is located in southern Germany and has a population of only 1,519. It is separated from mainland Germany by a narrow strip of land about 700 meters wide. Due to the unusual location of the village, it feels more like a Swiss town than a German city. Although it is part of the Swiss system economically, the law and administration are under German control. Daily life in this village is therefore bound by a dual reality. The residents here transact in Swiss francs, but have to pay income taxes to Germany. Although primary education is based on the German structure, parents have the opportunity to choose the country in secondary school. Even its phone number has two countries! That is, it can use the codes of both Germany and Switzerland. This strange situation began in the seventeenth century - due to religious conflicts and political reasons. In a referendum in 1919, 96 percent of the people wanted to be part of Switzerland, but Germany did not give in. The border dispute remained even after World War II. Finally, in 1967, Germany-Switzerland incorporated it into Swiss territory, and border controls were lifted.

-The suburb of Colma, in San Mateo County, California, USA, has 1,600 living residents but more than 1.5 million graves.

Colma, the City of the Dead

California

Most cities in America are famous for their shopping malls, Walmarts, and multiple restaurants. But Colma, a city in San Mateo County, California, is famous for its cemeteries. There are 17 cemeteries in this city. That is why it is called the 'City of the Dead'. That is, the number of dead people in this city is more than the number of living people. Basically, since most of the land in this city is designated for cemeteries, the number of dead people here is about 1000:1 times more than the number of living people. In 1924, the then local government of the city established Colma as a necropolis (burial ground). Of course, there was a reason for this, because in the 1900s, the first cemeteries were moved to the suburbs of Colma. Since then, the number of dead people here has increased many times more than the number of living people. Then, in the 1920s, as San Francisco gradually became a sprawling metropolis, the city's cemeteries were moved to Colma. But the real history of this suburb dates back to the Gold Rush of 1849, when thousands of people migrated to nearby San Francisco. However, they brought with them diseases, which led to an increase in the number of deaths. By the 1880s, San Francisco's 26 cemeteries were full. In 1900, the local government banned new burials in San Francisco. They said that the land was more valuable than the cemeteries. Because at that time, San Francisco was a busy city that was growing rapidly. Unfortunately, the city was a huge ammunition dump full of densely populated wooden houses, where major disasters were just waiting to happen. The terrible earthquake of 1906 turned San Francisco into a city of the dead. The number of graves also increased. As a result, in 1914, local authorities ordered all the bodies in the cemetery to be removed to Colma. Since then, the city's slogan has been "It's great to be alive in Colma!"

-The Villages

Florida

Rows of houses along tree-lined streets, residents strolling along golf courses, chatter in town squares and lively concerts at night – it all sounds like a dream, but it is reality. This is ‘The Villages’, which is called ‘Florida’s retirement city’. Here, from home to healthcare, shopping, entertainment and sports, even restaurants; everything is only for adults. Because the city is built just for retirees. Spread over an area larger than Manhattan. Located just 45 minutes north of Orlando in Central Florida. In the 1960s, Michigan businessman Harold Schwartz started this idea by buying land in Florida. First, he built a trailer park called Orange Blossom Gardens. Later, with his son Gary Morse, he added facilities such as banks, shops and a golf course. In 1992, it was called ‘The Villages’. Later, the population grew rapidly. Now there are more than 125,000 residents. The community, which spans three counties, has 50 golf courses, more than 2,500 clubs and activities, and three town squares. However, children are not allowed in the town, which has been plagued by controversy and drug and sex scandals.

-Whittier

Alaska

Whittier is a wonderful city. This small town is known worldwide for a unique feature. Almost all the residents of this suburb live in a 14-story building called Begich Towers. This one building, built during World War II (a 1956 army barracks), houses a hospital, school, city offices, and shops! As a result, residents do not even need to step outside for months at a time. It receives about 22 feet of snow a year, which is a thousand times more than the average snowfall in the United States. About 220 people live in this extreme climate year-round. Their only means of income are fishing, tourism, rail, and ferry services. The only land access to this city is a rail tunnel. There is a chance to travel once every hour and there is no chance to return after 10:30 pm. Before 2001, this was not possible either; then, the only hope was the train and boat that ran only a few times a week.

Some other strange cities in the world

1. ‘Replica Hallstatt’ or ‘Hallstatt 2.0’ is a luxurious residential area and tourist center for the rich. It has churches, lakes and perfect imitations of European architecture

2. Marloth Park is a wildlife sanctuary and holiday town, located south of the Kruger National Park. The Crocodile River borders the park

3. Asymmetric Warfare Training Center is a small town where the United States used to train soldiers. However, it was declared extinct in 2021

4. Longyearbyen, the administrative center of the Svalbard region. It is originally a Norwegian city, where about 2,400 residents from 53 countries live

5. Ordos is a city in Inner Mongolia, China, which is a city rich in cultural heritage and is known as a modern planned ‘ghost city’

6. Monowi is the smallest city in America. With one resident! He is the mayor, treasurer, clerk and even the only businessman in the city

7. Colma is a small town in California, which was founded in 1924 as a necropolis (burial ground). It has more dead people than living

8. Whittier - It is called the 'city of one house'. It is the home of all the residents of the city. The city in southwestern Alaska is almost isolated from the outside world

9. Although surrounded by Switzerland, the small German-owned town of Busingen am Hochrein has maintained its bi-national existence for centuries

10. America's 'The Villages', which is called 'Florida's largest retirement city'. Which is known as the best retirement city in the United States