The WORST episodes of Abandoned Engineering
Every episode of Abandoned Engineering ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst 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 - The Drop
Season 10 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/21/2022
Exploring the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans that dared to take on the authorities and paid the price and Belgica Fort, built to defend an unlikely treasure. The Dew Drop Inn, a New Orleans music mecca that defied the law and paid the price; Belgica Fort, an epic ruin constructed to protect an unlikely treasure; and the aftereffects of West-81, a military exercise that shook the West to its core.
#2 - Enemy At The Gates
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/19/2022
Exploring a series of vaults, hidden from view in Edinburgh, Scotland that tell a murky story of opportunity, crime and destitution. The Old Herring Factory is a remote Icelandic facility that significantly impacted the country’s economy; in the calm waters of Croatia’s Adriatic Sea, Fort Punta is a vast fortification; and in the ruins of an Alaskan battleground at Fort Schwatka Unalaska are the remains of an Alaskan battleground where a foreign invader set foot on American soil for the first time since 1812.
#3 - Cowboy Mountain
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/26/2022
The remains of Chiatura, formerly known as the Venice of the air, an ingenious sky-high solution to a ground-based problem, were discovered in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Ghost Town in the Sky was an Appalachian dream that conjured the spirit of the old west, left to rot on a North Carolina mountainside. The enormous Guernsey Hospital was constructed when a portion of Britain was under the Nazi yoke. Houtouwan, a simple Chinese island, was involved in a brutal revolution that brought about a tragic period of mass imprisonment and murder.
#4 - Drone Wars
Season 10 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/3/2022
In a battle decided by a brand-new weapon of war, Agdam, a city in Azerbaijan, was levelled to the ground. In addition, there are two puzzlingly deserted towns in Sicily, a Kansas City Workhouse that seems to have been constructed for the aristocracy, a vast complex in Estonia that inspired a revolution, and more.
#5 - Moonshot
Season 10 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/10/2022
An industrial ruin in the Florida Everglades that once took part in the greatest race the human race has ever seen; a community in Indonesia torn apart by a terrifying and deadly unseen force; the graffiti-covered walls of an Ibizan legend hinting at a fun-loving past; and a Bulgarian school hiding an ambitious and covert plan for retaliation.
#6 - Rock And Ruin
Season 10 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/17/2022
Exploring traces of a mass deception hidden at Ponte Dirillo in Italy, as well as a once lavish theatre in Ohio and an ancient city with a poisonous secret. A once-opulent theatre in Ohio that brought down the house, an ancient city with a poisonous secret that was only recently revealed, a war-torn shell given new purpose by a blockbuster series, and traces of a massive deception buried across an Italian island are just a few examples of the stories that are told in this episode.
#7 - Castle Of The Occult
Season 10 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/24/2022
Explores a dense forest near the Czech capital of Prague that hides Houska Castle, an eerie keep that has been subject to long-standing rumours that it possesses supernatural powers. The ruins of a massive stadium that promised a valiant sporting victory over western rivals lie in the disputed region of Abkhazia; a mysterious castle rumoured to have supernatural powers is hidden in a dense forest not far from Prague; a luxurious hotel was looted by a cruel warlord in Liberia, West Africa; and the scattered ruins of a settlement in north-central Arizona reveal an ancient one that was given life by a deadly force.
#8 - The Green Mile
Season 10 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/31/2022
Exploring Serbia, Fort Pike in Louisiana, and a mountainside refuge in Georgia that was revealed to the world by an act of God.
#9 - Blitz Spirit
Season 10 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/7/2022
Exploring a grand structure in Hull that was reduced to rubble by Hitler's planes, Casa Albero in Italy, USS Hornet in California and the Sofia tunnels. This episode looks at the Casa Albero in Italy, the USS Hornet in California, and the Sofia tunnels. Also a grand building in Hull that was once the centre of the community was destroyed by Hitler’s planes while those inside were laughing at him on the big screen.
#10 - An American Exodus
Season 10 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/14/2022
Exploring a decrepit Liberian landmark with American origins, a desolate town in Belgium and a pioneering scientific structure in Cleveland. Doel, a ghost town in Belgium, stands in the shadow of its destroyer. Chacaltaya Ski Resort in Bolivia is a high-altitude retreat that was once a world-class sporting resort but has been robbed of its lifeblood by a global threat. Warner & Swasey, a groundbreaking scientific building in Cleveland, has been rendered obsolete by light pollution.
#11 - The Rock
Season 10 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/12/2022
The Tunnels of Gibraltar were a Second World War espionage base hidden in the Rock of Gibraltar. An ingenious US Airforce project that continues to keep us safe is preserved at the Atlas-1 Test Site. At Roghudi Vecchio, an ancient culture is threatened when an Italian town is deserted. At Naissaar, a highly classified Soviet munitions factory is hidden in Estonian forests.
#12 - Rock 'N' Roll Island
Season 11 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/15/2023
Exploring Air Studios, on the Island of Montserrat, that became a mecca for rock legends. Also Tskaltubo, in Georgia, built to host a fearsome dictator.
#13 - Penthouse Palace
Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/22/2023
Exploring Haludovo Palace Hotel in Croatia, Wolf's Lair, a German military complex and Herouni Mirror Radio Telescope - a pioneering facility in Armenia.
#14 - Castle Kingdom
Season 11 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/29/2023
Exploring a theme park in Buenos Aires built in a time of terror and dogged by controversy, and a jaw-dropping collection of castles in Turkey.
#15 - Fake News Fortress
Season 11 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/5/2023
Exploring Dover Commando Fortress in South East England, where traces of a top-secret Commando raid are still visible.
#16 - The True Cross
Season 11 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/12/2023
Exploring Old Byron Hot Springs in the Californian desert - a once glittering Hollywood hotspot, converted into a top-secret interrogation centre.
#17 - Wonderland
Season 11 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/19/2023
A symbol of national pride that became a symbol of excess in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
#18 - K-Pop Dreamland
Season 11 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/26/2023
Exploring Yongma Land - a South Korean dreamland given a second life from the most unlikely of places.
#19 - Blues Prison
Season 11 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/3/2023
Exploring Old Joliet Prison, a battered facility near Chicago that descended into open war, but then hosted the Blues Brothers!
#20 - Apocalyptic Skyscraper
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/18/2022
Exploring a ruined castle above a German village, a rural town in Idaho, a futuristic skyscraper in Johannesburg and a fantasy world outside of Buenos Aires.
#21 - Divine Intervention
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/24/2021
Exploring a luxury resort that conceals a top-secret facility, a mysterious complex in Bali struck by disaster, and a relic of hope near Jerusalem.
#22 - Shadow of the Wars
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/1/2021
Exploring a dystopian powerhouse in Pennsylvania, USA, a fairy-tale castle in Poland and AngloSaxon religious ruins across vast plains of Scotland.
#23 - Death In Paradise
Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/8/2021
Exploring a bloody battleground on the Pacific Island of Peleliu and an ominous military stronghold in Russia.
#24 - Before The Crown
Season 8 - Episode 12 - Aired 10/15/2021
Exploring the honeymoon home of a young princess and grand monuments designed by the most notorious dictator of the 20th century.
#25 - Megalomaniac's Palace
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/21/2022
Exploring a once lavish palace in Iraq, the Sathorn Unique, an epic ghost tower in Thailand, and a former sports stadium in Georgia, USA