It is difficult to surprise experienced tourists with something: they have already seen strange megaliths, and ancient ruins, and dangerous bridges, and grandiose singing fountains, and bizarre houses. However, our top 5 unusual cities in the world can impress even those travelers who have seen almost everything.
Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway
The northern city of Longyearbyen has many quirks:
- it is forbidden to keep cats here, because they can eat some especially rare bird, and there are many of them;
- you should only go outside with a rifle in order to fight off a polar bear if necessary;
- the first day of study for students begins with shooting lessons.
And in Longyearbyen there is no functioning cemetery, and what was, was closed 100 years ago. Therefore, all the dead and those who are seriously ill and may die are taken to the mainland. Such precautions are warranted. On Svalbard, due to the eternal cold, corpses do not decompose for a long time, and polar bears come after them - the scourge of the region. Also, in the bodies of the dead, dangerous viruses can persist for decades.
Gibsonton, Florida, USA
Gibsonton is sometimes called Showtown due to the fact that in the 60s of the last century it became a haven for traveling circus performers from all over the country. The city authorities allowed performances to be held on the territory of private houses, and also did not object to cages with bears, tigers and lions standing right on the street.
Circus on wheels in the middle of the 20th century was fashionable fun in the United States. Circus shows were usually held during the warmer months. In winter, the artists had to live somewhere and preferably not in their own carts. Gibsonton became such a refuge for all traveling circuses.
After a while, no one was surprised to see giants or bearded women on the street. Chairs for dwarfs and platforms for illusionists have appeared in local bars. Unsurprisingly, many artists stayed here after their careers ended.
And in our time, Gibsonton has very democratic laws. For example, here it is allowed to keep tigers right at home, and in the garden in front of elephants' mansions. Circus troupes still come here, and many tourists consider it exotic.
Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India
In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu there is an interesting commune of Auroville, which was founded on an ordinary pasture under a large star anise. The founder of the city is the 90-year-old occultist Mirra Alfassa.
The city of Auroville is a utopia brought to life. There are no cars here, but there are numerous gardens with about 2 million trees. No Auroville resident has private property, but you will have to buy a house, although according to the papers it is still considered the property of the community, and after you leave the city it will go to someone else.
All residents of Auroville are obliged to work for the good of the city. For this they receive all the benefits and do not pay anything for them. The city exists completely autonomously from the country outside its borders - there is everything you need for a prosperous life.
Actually, Auroville can accommodate 50 thousand people, but now its population consists of only 2.5 thousand inhabitants. Anyone can join the community, however, newcomers are looked after here throughout the year before being allowed to live here on a permanent basis.
Hallstatt, Guangdong, China
The Chinese are masters at making replicas. In 2012, they even built on their territory, in the province of Guangdong, a whole city, which completely repeated the Austrian settlement of Hallstatt.
In Hallstatt, China, everything corresponds to the original: baroque fountains on cobbled squares, a cathedral, houses. In order not to be mistaken in details, on the eve of the grandiose construction, Chinese "paparazzi tourists" set off to Austria with powerful cameras that recorded every mansion, every statue, every tree.
For a complete coincidence of the new Chinese city with the Austrian, it was necessary to choose a suitable place. There was no ideal site, so the Chinese began to adjust the landscape to the Austrian terrain: they leveled the hills, recreated the ravines, made a lake.
The construction cost of the entire city was $ 940 million. The funds were allocated by a businessman, probably a big fan of Austria.
The inhabitants of Hallstatt reacted with hostility to the appearance of a copy of their city in faraway China. The Chinese also trolled the Austrians, inviting some respected people from Hallstatt to the opening of their city. However, unrest in Austria subsided when the residents of the real Hallstatt realized that the number of tourists from China had grown 20 times.
The same Chinese, who do not have the funds to travel to Europe, are content with walks in the fake Hallstatt. The city even sells real estate, however, the prices here are much higher than in the Alpine Hallstatt.
In general, China loves and knows how to copy European cities. Before Hallstatt appeared in the Middle Kingdom, there were already replicas of the Dorchester from Great Britain and Florence, which had been turned into a huge store in China. The Chinese also rebuilt some areas of Venice, Stockholm, Barcelona.
Whittier, Alaska, USA
You have never seen such a small town! It consists of just one building, which is home to 220 people. There is a police station under one roof, a hospital operates, a church receives parishioners, the baptismal font in which is an inflatable pool.
The city of Whittier is located in cold Alaska, where in winter the thermometers outside the window show -30 degrees, and the wind reaches 100 km / h. The advantages of living in a house where everything is there are obvious: in winter there is no need to go out the door into the cold.
In fact, Whittier used to be a military base that was founded in 1943. To the place chosen for her, a tunnel was made through Mount Maynard, along which two roads were laid - an automobile and a railway. Now the tunnel is closed for the night, and the city is cut off from the whole world.
The military base existed before the 1964 earthquake. Then the military left the area, and the personnel serving the base remained.
What are the people who live in Whittier doing? Some receive tourists (for them there is a hotel in the building-city), someone works in the port where cruise liners dock. Others found work in the nearby city of Anchorage.
