The Ta Prohm temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia was founded and built in the late 12th century as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. What’s unique about it is, it was preserved almost impeccably and is very similar today to what it looked like back then.
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s a highly visited tourist site. Most of the temple complex has been restored and some parts have been thoroughly reconstructed. As the image shows, it blends in beautifully with the jungle around it.
The Tahawus Ghost Town in the Adirondacks
It turns out that other than the incredible view of blue lakes and green forests they offer, the Adirondack Mountains also have their very own ghost town called Tahawus. Ghost village, to be precise – and the home in the image is one of its abandoned buildings.
Founded in the 1820s for mining purposes, the village was abandoned by residents twice – once in 1858, and later again in 1989. Today, visitors can see the few remnants left of ghostly Tahawus.
All Saint's Abbey in the Black Forest in Germany
Amid the mesmerizing scenery of the Black Forest in Germany lie the ruins of All Saint's Abbey. The abbey was founded in 1192 and in time became one of the most important religious and cultural institutions in the area. Throughout the following centuries, big fires ruined parts of the abbey, until the final one in 1804 damaged it irreversibly.
If you visit the area today you could find a few other buildings surrounding the ruins of the abbey, among which are a chapel, a café, and a museum.
The Bodiam Castle in England
This super ancient, lovely-looking castle was built in the 1380s by Sir Edward Dallingridge and his wife Elizabeth, who were both thoroughly immersed in the English high society of the time. Think "Bridgerton" but real. And a few centuries older.
While the inside of the medieval castle was ruined, its exteriors survived wonderfully, remaining a fascinating attraction for archeologists, and later on for tourists.
The City Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana
This abandoned church is all the rage among filmmakers! The City Methodist Church, located in Gary, Indiana, is a Gothic church sitting empty since the beginning of the 1970s. It may be a bit less of a historic relic compared to other buildings on this list, but Hollywood seems to think quite highly of it.
Movies like "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Transformers 3" filmed scenes there, and they're definitely not the only ones.