Check out the “Hungarian Chernobyl”!
Change language:
Near Veszprém on an isolated private property stands Szentkirályszabadja, or as the locals call it, the ghost town. Better known as the “Hungarian Chernobyl”, the city has been empty for the last three decades.
Despite the name, there’s no radiation here, the name mostly reflects the abandonment of the place. Szentkirályszabadja used to be a massive Soviet barrack, built for Russian and Ukrainian soldiers back in the 1960s. There were all kinds of luxuries for the soldiers and their families who were stationed here. The busy military complex was home to around seven thousand souls.
Next to the five-storey panel houses, there was a theater, cinema, store, pub, post office, kindergarten, and school—a complete small town, all built in the typical Soviet style, catering to the needs of the soldiers.
Naturally, little to no people were allowed to pass through the doors of the complex. Obviously, the locals and the soldiers started trading their goods like alcohol, tobacco and even colored TV, which was considered a huge luxury back in the day. That may have been a contributing factor in the lavish living conditions of the barracks of Szentkirályszabadja.
This looks a lot like the two military bases that I took over in Székesfehérvár in 1991. Today the Commercial/Industrial Park located at exit 63 on M7 was the first and is one of the largest and most successful Commercial/Industrial parks in Hungary. It takes a little vision, but someone might be able to do this to the Szentkiralyszbadja.
Good luck!
George Loranger