The world's most evocative abandoned churches and chapels

The world's most evocative abandoned churches and chapels - Across the world churches, chapels, and even cathedrals have been abandoned. Some have fallen into solemn disrepair, others simply forgotten over the vastness of time. Most, however, remain compelling examples of religious architecture and are worth the effort to discover and admire.

Click through the gallery of these redundant but fascinating places of worship.

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United States of America - An abandoned church in Bodie State Historic Park, CA. This 19th-century ghost town features many period buildings in varying states of disrepair.

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Bulgaria - Night falls over the Jrebchevo Dam. In 1965 an entire village was flooded by a new reservoir. This half-submerged church is the only surviving building.

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Belgium - Founded in 1146, Villers Abbey, located in the pretty town of Villers-la-Ville, was eventually abandoned in 1796 and is now mostly ruins. The church however, still impresses with imposing vaulting, arches, and rose windows.

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Spain - You'll need to delve underground to admire the 12th-century Church of San Juan de Duero Monastery, located in Soria, which together with the monastery building is a fine example of Romanesque architecture.

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Russia - The still magnificent but sadly forlorn Cathedral of Holy Ascension stands as a reminder of the prosperity that once defined the village of Voznesenka.

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France - The grandiose Church of Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux in Caen ceased to be a place of worship after being partially destroyed in WWII.

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Croatia - Pag Island, in the Adriatic Sea, is known for its stark, moonlike landscape and medieval religious architecture. The humble remains of simple chapels like this one are commonplace.

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Ireland - The crumbling, weatherworn remains of Burren's 13th-century Carron Church, in County Clare.

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Russia - Muratovka village, in the country's Chelyabinsk region, is the location of Dionysius the Areopagite's Church, which dates back to the second half of the 18th century.

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India - Nature long began reclaiming this disused church, set deep in an Andaman Island tropical rain forest.

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Turkey - Perched dramatically above the Arpaçay gorge, the 11th-century Convent of the Virgins stands on its own near the ruined Armenian medieval city of Ani, now situated in Turkey.

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Greece - The Gramvousa Fortress Church lies in splendid isolation on an uninhabited island off the coast of Crete's Gramvousa Peninsula.

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United States of America - Detroit's once thriving St. Agnes Church has long been abandoned and is slowly falling into picturesque ruin.

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France - A small, long-forgotten chapel clings to a rocky cliff textured with lichen near Mont-Saint-Michel, in Brittany.

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Russia - The dilapidated interior of the once magnificent Theotokos of Zazan Church in the desolate and equally neglected town of Yaropolec, near Moscow.

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United Kingdom - The landmark twin towers of St. Mary's Church in Reculver, near Kent. Nothing remains of the interior, the foundations of which date back to the 7th century.

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Bermuda - The Unfinished Church on St. George's Island speaks for itself. Construction began in 1874, but work on this Gothic wonder was never completed.

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Canada - The empty shell of an Anglican church stands as testament to Godmanchester's links with its English namesake, a small town in Cambridgeshire, UK.

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Switzerland - Snowclad and surrounded by pines, the Romanesque St. Gian Church stands in heightened abandon near the resort of St. Moritz.

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Cambodia - The Preah Monivong National park near Kampot is the unlikely setting for this abandoned Catholic church, which sits at the top of Bokor Mountain.

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Chile - Sitting in overgrown grounds, the neglected San José Obrero Church in Santa Lucia still retains a modicum of charm.

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Thailand - The incomplete Djittabhawan Temple in Pattaya is little more than a wooden footbridge set across the sea. A small shrine greets visitors.

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United States of America - Once the largest Methodist church in the Midwest, the City Methodist Church in Gary, IN closed permanently in 1975.

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Greece - The Agios Ioannis Padromos Church at Sounio, Corfu was built in the 15th century and is a fine example of a four-sided cubic church.

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Russia - The vast Kalacheevskaya Cave in Semeyka houses a long-abandoned underground monastery. A small place of worship that entices sightseers.

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Spain - A church is clearly visible among the buildings on this decommissioned military base in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

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United Kingdom - St. Botolph's Church in Skidbrooke, Lincolnshire dates back to the early 13th century. Now redundant, it's reputed to be haunted.

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Philippines - Only the tower remains of the 16th-century Cagsawa Church. The rest of the building was destroyed by the 1814 Mayon Volcano (seen in the background).

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Australia - Old and forgotten community churches are scattered throughout the outback, like this one at Silverton, New South Wales.

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France - The French countryside is littered with the evocative ruins of rural churches and chapels, many of which have long closed their doors to parishioners.

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