Editing Ghost town (section)

===Europe===
[[File:Oradour-sur-Glane-Streets-1294.jpg|thumb|Main street of [[Oradour-sur-Glane]], France, unchanged since the German massacre]]
[[File:Jussarö building1.jpg|thumb|Abandoned mining building on the [[Jussarö]] island in [[Ekenäs, Finland|Ekenäs]], Raseborg, Finland]]
[[File:Заброшенная деревня Кривец.jpg|thumb|The forest occupies the territory of the village of {{ill|Krivets, Arkhangelsk Oblast|lt=Krivets|RU|Кривец (Архангельская область)}}, deserted by urbanization. [[Arkhangelsk Oblast]], Russia]]
[[Urbanization]] – the migration of a country's rural population into the cities – has left many European towns and villages deserted. An increasing number of settlements in Bulgaria are becoming ghost towns for this reason; at the time of the 2011 census, the country had 181 uninhabited settlements.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://sofiaecho.com/2011/07/21/1126999_bulgarias-population-is-73-million-official-2011-census-results |title=Bulgaria's population is 7.3 million – official 2011 census results |newspaper=The Sofia Echo |date=21 July 2011 |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208224710/http://sofiaecho.com/2011/07/21/1126999_bulgarias-population-is-73-million-official-2011-census-results |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Hungary, dozens of villages are also threatened with abandonment. The first village officially declared as "dead" was {{interlanguage link|Gyűrűfű|hu}} in the late 1970s, but later it was repopulated as an [[eco-village]]. Some other depopulated villages were successfully saved as small rural resorts, such as [[Kán, Hungary|Kán]], [[Tornakápolna]], [[Szanticska]], [[Gorica, Hungary|Gorica]], and [[Révfalu]].

In Spain, large zones of the mountainous [[Iberian System]] and the [[Pyrenees]] have undergone heavy depopulation since the early 20th century, leaving a string of ghost towns in areas such as the [[Solana Valley]]. Traditional agricultural practices such as sheep and goat rearing, on which the mountain village economy was based, were not taken over by the local youth, especially after the lifestyle changes that swept over rural Spain during the second half of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diariodeteruel.net/comarcas/30412-sos-mundo-rural-aragones-alerta-de-la-despoblacion-de-los-pueblos.html |title=Sos Mundo Rural Aragonés alerta de la despoblación de los pueblos |publisher=Diario de Teruel |language=es |date=12 March 2013 |access-date=11 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315150215/http://www.diariodeteruel.net/comarcas/30412-sos-mundo-rural-aragones-alerta-de-la-despoblacion-de-los-pueblos.html |archive-date=15 March 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Examples of ghost towns in Italy include the medieval village of [[Fabbriche di Careggine]] near [[Lago di Vagli]], in [[province of Lucca]], in [[Tuscany]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.italyundiscovered.com/2015/06/14/lake-of-vagli/|title=Lake of Vagli|work=Italy Undiscovered|date=14 June 2015|access-date=17 February 2021|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129010046/http://www.italyundiscovered.com/2015/06/14/lake-of-vagli/|url-status=dead}}</ref> the deserted mountain village of [[Craco]], located in [[Basilicata]], which has served as a filming location,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visititaly.eu/places-and-tours/craco-the-ghost-town-jewel-of-basilicata|title=Craco, the Ghost Town jewel of Basilicata|website=visititaly.eu|access-date=17 February 2021}}</ref> and the ghost village of Roveraia, in the municipality of [[Loro Ciuffenna]], in [[province of Arezzo]], situated near Pratovalle.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Fanti |first=Marco |date=29 July 2023 |title=Tomba di Rinaldo Mori al Cimitero di Pratovalle e Roveraia – Loro Ciuffenna (AR) |url=https://www.pietredellamemoria.it/pietre/tomba-di-rinaldo-mori-al-cimitero-di-pratovalle-e-roveraia-loro-ciuffenna-ar/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 April 2025 |website=Pietre della Memoria |publisher=Associazione fra Mutilati ed Invalidi di Guerra |language=it}}</ref> The presence of the village is attested since the Middle Ages, when there was a tower.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Piano territoriale paesistico della provincia di Arezzo – Pratomagno: valle dell'Agna |url=https://pianificazioneterritoriale.provincia.arezzo.it/wp-content/uploads/PTCP/QC_16_SCHEDE/QC_16a_unita_paesaggio/AP_0913.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=Provincia di Arezzo - Pianificazione Territoriale |publisher=Provincia di Arezzo |pages=1–2 |language=it}}</ref> During [[World War II]] it was an important partisan base<ref>{{Cite web |last=Irdani |first=David |date=24 April 2010 |title=Rappresaglie di San Giustino |url=https://resistenzatoscana.org/storie/rappresaglie_di_san_giustino/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=Resistenza Toscana |publisher=Federazione Regionale Toscana delle Associazioni Antifasciste e della Resistenza |language=it}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> and it was abandoned between the 1960s and the 1980s, when the last family who lived here left the village.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fanti |first=Marco |date=4 April 2020 |title=Parco della Rimembranza ai Caduti di Pratovalle e Roveraia nella Grande Guerra |url=https://www.pietredellamemoria.it/pietre/monumento-ai-caduti-di-pratovalle-nella-grande-guerra/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 April 2025 |website=Pietre della Memoria |publisher=Associazione fra Mutilati ed Invalidi di Guerra |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Centrone |first=Daniel |date=November 2024 |title=Sentieri partigiani sul Pratomagno |url=https://www.toscananovecento.it/custom_type/sentieri-partigiani-sul-pratomagno/ |url-status=live |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=ToscanaNovecento. Portale di Storia Contemporanea |publisher=Regione Toscana |language=it}}</ref> Two projects have been proposed for the recovery of the village: in 2011 the proposal of Movimento Libero Perseo "Roveraia eco - lab", based on sustainability,<ref>{{cite web |title=Il Progetto delle Funzioni |url=https://it.scribd.com/document/67728479/Il-Progetto-Delle-Funzioni |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=Scribd |publisher=Movimento Libero Perseo |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Roveraia eco - lab |url=https://vimeo.com/13408245 |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=Vimeo |publisher=Movimento Libero Perseo |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=7 March 2012 |title=Roveraia. Un progetto ecosostenibile di tutta eccellenza |url=http://sito2012.blogspot.com/2012/03/roveraia-un-progetto-ecosostenibile-di.html |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=L'Evidenziatore del Web |language=it}}</ref> and in 2019 there was a proposal aiming to recover the village with a mix of functions called "Ecomuseum of Pratomagno".<ref>{{cite web |date=13 July 2021 |title=Ecomuseo del Pratomagno |url=https://issuu.com/dida-unifi/docs/ecomuseo_del_pratomagno_emma_amidei |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=Issuu |publisher=DIDA - Department of architecture, University of Florence |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Amidei |first=Emma |date=14 January 2021 |title=Portfolio di architettura |url=https://issuu.com/emmaamidei/docs/portfolio_amidei |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=Issuu |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Amidei |first=Emma |date=10 October 2020 |title=Architecture Portfolio |url=https://issuu.com/emmaamidei/docs/portfolio_amidei_0409c0677fe129 |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=Issuu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1 March 2021 |title=Ecomuseum of Pratomagno |url=https://www.koozarch.com/interviews/ecomuseum-of-pratomagno/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=KooZA/rch}}</ref>
[[File:Roveraia.jpg|thumb|Ghost village of Roveraia]]

In the United Kingdom, thousands of villages were abandoned during the Middle Ages, as a result of [[Black Death]], revolts, and [[enclosure]], the process by which vast amounts of farmland became privately owned. Since there are rarely any visible remains of these settlements, they are not generally considered ghost towns; instead, they are referred to in archaeological circles as [[deserted medieval village]]s.

Sometimes, wars and genocide end a town's life. In 1944, occupying German ''[[Waffen-SS]]'' troops murdered almost the entire population of the French village [[Oradour-sur-Glane]]. A new settlement was built nearby after the war, but the old town was left depopulated on the orders of President [[Charles de Gaulle]], as a permanent memorial. In Germany, numerous smaller towns and villages in the [[former eastern territories of Germany|former eastern territories]] were completely destroyed in the last two years of the war. These territories later became part of Poland and the [[Soviet Union]], and many of the smaller settlements were never rebuilt or repopulated, for example [[Kłomino]] (''Westfalenhof''), [[Pstrąże]] (''Pstransse''), and [[Janowa Góra]] (''Johannesberg''). Some villages in England were also abandoned during the war, but for different reasons. [[Imber]], on [[Salisbury Plain]], and several villages in the [[Stanford Battle Area]], were commandeered by the [[War Office]] for use as training grounds for British and US troops. Although this was intended to be a temporary measure, the residents were never allowed to return, and the villages have been used for military training ever since. {{Convert|3|mi|0|abbr=out|spell=In|disp=or}} southeast of Imber is [[Copehill Down]], a deserted village purpose-built for training in [[urban warfare]].

Disasters & natural disasters have played a part in the abandonment of settlements within Europe. Two examples are [[Pripyat]] and [[Chernobyl]]. After the [[Chernobyl disaster]] of 1986, both cities were evacuated due to dangerous radiation levels within the area. As of today, Pripyat remains completely abandoned, and Chernobyl has around 500 remaining inhabitants. Another example is [[Todoque]] in the Canary Islands, Spain. During the [[2021 Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption]], the locality was severely affected. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, including the parish Church of Saint Pius X, the health center, the headquarters of the neighborhood association, the School of Early Childhood Education, and Los Campitos Elementary School and the Todoque Elementary and the Infant Education School, and by October 10, new lava flows destroyed the remaining buildings that were still standing, leaving the town practically erased from the map.

An example in the UK of a ghost village which was abandoned before it was ever occupied is at [[Polphail]], [[Argyll and Bute]]. The planned development of an oil rig construction facility nearby never materialised, and a village built to house the workers and their families became deserted the moment the building contractors finished their work.