23 Places Where Nature Has Reclaimed Abandoned Cities

20. Oradour-sur-Glane, France – A Village Preserved in Tragedy

Few abandoned towns carry a heavier weight of sorrow than Oradour-sur-Glane, a once-picturesque French village that became the site of one of World War II’s most horrific massacres. On June 10, 1944, Nazi SS troops descended upon Oradour, rounding up all 642 residents—men, women, and children—and executing them in one of the worst war crimes committed on French soil. Homes were set ablaze, the village was looted, and the bodies of its inhabitants were left among the ruins. Unlike many war-torn areas that were rebuilt after WWII, Oradour-sur-Glane was left exactly as it was that fateful day, preserved as a memorial to those who perished. Walking through the village today is an unsettling experience—rusted bicycles lean against scorched walls, the remnants of a burned-out car still sit in the main square, and store signs hang from facades that will never again see customers. The once-lively streets are now overgrown with grass, and trees have taken root in the ruins of homes, their branches stretching through shattered windows.