Welcome to Prypiat (Chernobyl)


Without a doubt, Prypiat (Chernobyl) is not a very tourist friendly place. Up until April 1986, at least 50,000 people lived there. It was a prosperous city, with big buildings, gardens, pools, and children.

On 26 April 1986, something went wrong during an experiment at the plant. There was an explosion, releasing vast amounts of radioactivity. The explosion blew the 100 ton roof off, causing a fierce fire. Three days later, nearly 50,000 people who had lived in the city began to be evicted, they left with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. They weren't only allowed to bring anything that had been exposed to radiation. They left the city alone and empty. They left everything frozen in time, and never returned.

This city was made famous for the biggest environmental disaster in the history of man.






Pripyat was founded in 1970 to house the workers and families of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was located only 18 kilometers away.It was a very European style city with all services one could need. In its last days it had up to 43,000 people, about 50 thousand rose bushes and had so much prospect that it came to be regarded as the City of the Future.

The nuclear plant accident took place the morning of April 26 while conducting security tests in the plant reactor 4. Unknowns and mismanagement caused the reactor to overheat as it exploded, releasing 500 times more radiation than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The (invisible) toxic cloud spread so quickly across Europe that the Swedes were the first to realize the amount of radiation released just one day after the accident.


The abandoned plant

That same April 27, authorities in the Soviet Union, arrived in Pripyat with orders to evacuate people immediately and told them they could not take anything more than what they were wearing. The town was deserted in just 36 hours.

To date, the city is guarded by military authorities of Ukraine and one is allowed to pass through only with special permits. The current level of radiation is a thousand times greater than is safe for human life. It is estimated that it will be possible to re-inhabit the city in about 24,000 years.





























I have seen so many amazing photos of this town, if you have any more to share, please do so in the comments! Thanks