The BEST episodes of Abandoned Engineering
Every episode of Abandoned Engineering ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Abandoned Engineering!
As the saying goes – they probably seemed like good ideas at the time. The world is peppered with examples of incredible engineering projects and buildings designed to make life easier for those that used them, amaze those that came to see them, and make money for those that ordered, designed and built them. They were the stuff of dreams. Each and every one of these extraordinary places is home to a wealth of powerful and compelling stories. We’ll see and hear about some of the most spectacular examples of abandoned engineering the world has ever known. We’ll show how and why they were built, consider the financial and social costs of their failure and examine the environmental and ecological impacts.
#1 - Panama's Nazi Conspiracy
Season 13 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/10/2024
This episode explores Fort Sherman, Panama; Radunsti Hospital, Bulgaria; Rocchetta Mattei, Italy; and Siemensbahn Railway, Berlin, Germany. A jungle stronghold in Panama built to defend a prized American possession that soon faced the threat of an elaborate Nazi conspiracy. In Italy, an eclectic hilltop structure built to be the home and laboratory of a reclusive scientist making grand claims. A ghostly railroad cutting through the German capital of Berlin, that became a potent symbol of a city divided. And, in the rugged mountains of Bulgaria, a brutalist structure that once offered hope to its residents, devastated in the wake of Communism collapse.
#2 - Operation Just Cause
Season 13 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/10/2024
This episode explores El Djem Amphitheatre, Tunisia, a colossal dynastic monument that bore witness to violent and bloody spectacle.Also explored: Fort Amador in Panama, a military base on the frontlines of a battle between the United States and a drug-running tyrant that had allegedly once been a CIA asset. In the foothills the Italian Alps, a community built on utopian ideals, in La Serra Ivrea. In the heart of the Polish capital of Warsaw stands Mokotów Prison, a grisly facility that once caged members of a revolutionary movement.
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#3 - The Ghosts of Skeleton Coast
Season 13 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/10/2024
In the US state of Alabama, a weird and wonderful fantasy land conceived by a visionary with a wild imagination. A place of refuge in Ireland that turned into a house of horrors during a moment of unprecedented national crisis. Scarred ruins strewn across a South Korean city tell of a moment when an outpouring of democratic fervor was met by ruthless repression and a violent crackdown at the hands of a military dictatorship. And, on Namibia's arid skeleton coast, lie scattered traces of a brutal but once vital industry.
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#4 - Jailhouse Rebellion
Season 13 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/10/2024
This episode visits Newland Park, UK; Pomona, Namibia; Old Essex County Jail, NJ, USA; and Modlin Fortress, Poland. In the state of New Jersey, USA, are the decaying remains of a facility that became a powder keg of injustice that was set to explode. In Poland, an imperial bastion at the heart of a global conflict became the unlikely setting for a unique war movie made by two American filmmakers. A quiet country retreat in England, where members of the establishment chose to harbor wanted radical fugitives who changed the United Kingdom forever. And a remote Namibian outpost built after the discovery of unprecedented riches hidden in the barren desert.
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#5 - Hunt for the Nazi Gold Train
Season 13 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/10/2024
This episode visits Briarcliff Mansion, GA, USA; Nazi Gold Tunnels (Ksi Castle), Poland; Grand Sofar Hotel, Lebanon; and Mount Shannon House, Ireland. Near the Polish city of Wazbrzych, a fairy-tale castle perched on a cliff top conceals a vast subterranean tunnel network linked to an enduring legend of lost Nazi gold. In the American city of Atlanta is a millionaire's mansion, built from the riches of a world-famous business empire, that became entangled in a web of controversy. In Ireland, a country estate that was embroiled in a violent struggle for freedom. And a hedonist paradise in Lebanon that would find itself caught in the crossfire of a nation tearing itself apart.
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#7 - The Desert Pirates
Season 13 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/10/2024
In Alabama, the home of a secretive fraternal organization, that would play a part in one of America's greatest moments of change. Hidden in the hostile Tunisian desert lie a vast chain of ruins that once stood in the way of Allied Victory in North Africa until a band of rogue heroes uncovered their weakness. In the Lebanese capital, Beirut, a once lavish complex was scarred by an avoidable tragedy that made headlines around the world. In Greece, an elite institution designed to form the leaders of tomorrow.
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#8 - Guernsey Nazi Towers
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/11/2019
A little-known dark past explains the vast monolithic structures that dominate the small British island of Guernsey.
#11 - Hell Island
Season 12 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/27/2023
Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells is a Texan retreat, frequented by the rich and infamous; Anchieta is a tropical island complex in Brazil, the scene of a dramatic uprising; McDermott Castle was a magical stronghold that inspired an Irish national hero; and Dosan Seowan Academy is the gateway to a powerful ancient order in South Korea.
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#14 - The Real Schindler's List
Season 13 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/10/2024
This episode explores Kasbah Telouet, Morocco; Schindler's Ark, Czech Republic; Ariaú Amazon Towers, Brazil; and Rudesdorf, Berlin.In a quiet corner of the Czech Republic, a run-down facility conceals a dramatic story of hope and survival against all odds in the brutal age of Nazi tyranny. High in Morocco's Atlas Mountain range is an imposing and lavish stronghold, once home to a wealthy warlord that stood accused of betraying his country. Deep in the Brazilian rainforest are the remains of an Amazonian paradise, lost to the financial lure of reality Television. And, in Germany a cathedral of industrial that played a pivotal role in building the nation's capital.
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#19 - The Desert Ghost Fleet
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/26/2019
The programme looks at a mysterious group of rusting ships stranded in an arid desert, a monstrous defensive line on the snow-covered peaks of the Italian Alps, a ghostly collection of buildings, and the sunken remains of a unique vessel.
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#20 - Ghosts of the Swamp
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/25/2020
Including an exploration of forgotten relics from the defence of America's homeland, at Fort Jackson, USA, concealed by the banks of the Mississippi River; a concrete behemoth at Lorient Sub Base, on the coast of France, that proved invulnerable to enemy bombardment; and a ghostly ruin at Gwrych that is now home to a haunting presence.
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#22 - The Abandoned Nazi Railway
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/5/2018
The Canfranc Railway Station is a large and elaborate abandoned Nazi railway station in the Spanish Pyrenees. Why was it built?
#23 - The Italian Dam Disaster
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/22/2018
An abandoned concrete wall... five strange deserted structures. A lost escape route from nuclear Armageddon... A submerged link to D-day... Once they were at the cutting edge of design and construction, now they lie disused, contaminated and dangerous. But who built them? And why were they abandoned?
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