世界上十大今非昔比的城市(下)
elsberg
5.惡魔山This relic of the Cold War sits silently atop the highest peak in West Berlin. A listening station, it once kept an ear out for all radio traffic coming in and out of the Soviet half of the city. The hill itself was built in 1963 with the rubble left behind after World War II. The site was originally a Nazi military training school, which the Allies tried in vain to demolish and instead decided to bury under 120 meters of debris and wrecked houses which later became known as Devil's Mountain.
在西柏林最高的惡魔山山頂上，靜靜地佇立着一個冷戰的遺址。那是一座監聽站，它曾經被用來監聽蘇聯控制的東柏林收發的所有無線電。而惡魔山本身則是於1963年用二戰後留下的斷壁殘垣堆成的。這裏原本是一座同盟國未能成功摧毀的納粹軍校，他們決定將其埋在120米高的房屋殘骸與碎片下，故而後來這裏又被稱作惡魔山。
Today, this derelict, graffiti covered building has exchanged many hands since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Among its owners was David Lynch, who had plans to build a meditation university, but the municipality of Berlin scuttled the plan. Others planned to build a luxury hotel and restaurant as well as a spy museum, but chances are that nothing will happen anytime soon. That's good news for Cristopher McLarren, a former Teufelsberg employee who's organizing weekend tours for spy enthusiasts.
柏林牆倒塌後，這座塗鴉滿壁的無主建築已幾經易手。其中一位主人大衛·林奇曾計劃將其改建爲一所冥想學校，但這個計劃被柏林市政當局阻止了。也有人計劃將其建成豪華旅館、餐廳或間諜博物館，但在短期內這些都不太可能發生。對於曾在惡魔山工作的克里斯托弗·麥克拉倫來說這是好事，因爲他正組織面向間諜愛好者們的惡魔山週末遊。
outh
4.普利茅斯
Discovered by Christopher Columbus back in 1493, the 40 square mile Caribbean island of Montserrat is actually growing with each passing day. This may come as good news given the size of this tiny speck of land, but it's also the reason why the entire southern part of the island is abandoned.
普利茅斯所在的蒙特塞拉特島於1493年被哥倫布首先發現。這座位於加勒比海的40平方英里大的島嶼每天都在擴大。對於一個彈丸之地來說這是好事，但這也正是整座島的南部被遺棄的原因。In 1995 and again in 1997, the once dormant Soufriere Hills volcano erupted and covered the city of Plymouth and the surrounding area in 4.6 feet of hot ash. Like the ancient city of Pompeii, most of Plymouth's buildings, streets and cars are permanently locked into pyroclastic flows as hard as concrete. Luckily, most of the citizens were safely evacuated to the northern half of the island, but its tourist economy is literally in ashes, and with no hopes of revival in the near future given the state of the desolate land left behind.
曾經沉寂的蘇弗裏埃爾火山在1995年和1997年兩度噴發，爲普利茅斯及其周邊地區蓋上了一層4.6英尺厚（約1.4米）的火山灰。冷卻的火山灰碎屑如混凝土般堅硬，將普利茅斯絕大多數的建築、街道和車輛永遠吞沒，就像龐貝古城那樣。萬幸的是，絕大多數市民安然無恙地被疏散到島嶼北部。不過普利茅斯的旅遊經濟就真的灰飛煙滅了，火山爆發之後這裏一片荒蕪，短期內看不到任何復甦的跡象。eau Miranda
3.米蘭達城堡
A once beautiful castle built in southern Belgium near the French border, this Neo-Gothic chateau now lays in ruins. During the French Revolution the politically active Liedekerke-Beaufort family had to leave their castle and move to a nearby farm to lay low and await the aftermath. Once everything was settled, they were ready to start anew and began the construction of Chateau Miranda in 1866.
米蘭達城堡坐落於比利時南部，近法國邊境。這座新哥特風格的城堡曾經美麗動人，但現在已成一座廢墟。在法國大革命時期，活躍於政界的利德凱爾克-波弗特家族不得不離開自己的城堡，去一處附近的農場避避風頭。風波一平息，他們就準備好東山再起，並於1866年開始建造米蘭達城堡。Years passed by quietly until the last stages of World War II, when German troops occupied the region during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, the Belgian National Railway company used it as a summer retreat for orphaned children up until the 1980s. With rising maintenance costs, the castle was abandoned in 1991. Four years later, a fire destroyed portions of the roof and the family stripped it of valuables, hardwood floors and Italian marble, relocating them to another castle in Italy. Today, even after several offers to purchase and transform it into a hotel, it remains empty. Furthermore, the Liedekerke-Beauforts have put forward a formal request to demolish it. Whatever the outcome, Chateau Miranda is currently living its last days as a ruin.
時光流逝，這裏的安詳維持到了二戰末期。德軍在突出部戰役中佔領了這片區域。從戰爭結束到20世紀80年代，比利時國家鐵路公司將米蘭達城堡用作孤兒們夏天避暑的場所。而隨着城堡維護費用的上漲，它在1991年被徹底拋棄了。四年後，一場火災燒燬了城堡部分房頂，利德凱爾克-波弗特家族隨即帶走堡內值錢的物件，將硬木地板和意大利大理石拆下，安置到另一座位於意大利的城堡中。今天，即使幾次有人有意購買城堡並將其改造爲旅館，城堡依舊空空如也。利德凱爾克-波弗特家族甚至正式提出要拆毀這座城堡。不論結果如何，已成廢墟的米蘭達城堡正在度過它的最後一程。Land USA
2.美國聖地
In 1958, a Waterbury, Connecticut man named John Greco built a Bible theme park with reused materials. Surprisingly, the amusement park was a hit in the 1960s and '70s, attracting more than 40,000 visitors every year. Among its main attractions were a miniature Bethlehem, the Nativity scene, Jerusalem, Christ's crucifixion, Herod's Palace, a 50 foot stainless steel cross visible from everywhere, and many Bible verses written in stone. In 1984, Mr. Greco decided to temporary close the park for refurbishment and expansion, but two years later he passed away and the park never re-opened.
1958年，來自美國康涅狄格州沃特伯裏市的約翰·格列柯用二手物料建造了一家聖經主題的公園。令人驚訝的是，這家主題公園在20世紀60、70年代很受歡迎，每年都吸引了超過4萬名遊客來訪。其主要景物有：伯利恆的微縮模型、耶穌誕生、耶路撒冷、耶穌受難、希律王宮殿，以及一個可以從園內任何角落都看到的五十英尺高的不鏽鋼十字架，還有許多刻在石頭上的聖經章節。1984年，爲了翻修和擴建公園，格列柯先生決定暫時閉園，但兩年後他不幸去世，這個公園也就再也沒開放過了。azia Train Station
1.阿布哈茲火車站
Once a popular tourist destination for the Russian elite, including Stalin himself, the region of Abkhazia just off the coast of the Black Sea has seen a steep decline in popularity and economic fortunes. Declaring independence from Georgia in 1999, Abkhazia is still a disputed territory. Its economic problems can be seen everywhere, including the beautifully ornate train station at Sukhumi. Despite two decades of neglect, it still offers us a glimpse of what life for the Soviet upper class looked like. Mahogany shelving, beautiful marble columns and intricate plasterwork can still be seen, albeit in a state of decay.
阿布哈茲地區毗鄰黑海海岸，這裏曾經是包括斯大林本人在內的俄羅斯精英們的熱門旅行目的地。而現今，阿布哈茲的人氣和經濟狀況都急轉直下。阿布哈茲在1999年宣佈從格魯吉亞獨立，但在其領土問題上依舊存在爭議。阿布哈茲的經濟問題隨處可見，連華麗漂亮的蘇呼米火車站也不例外。不過即便已廢棄了20年，我們依舊可以在此一窺蘇聯上層階級當年的生活——紅木製成的貨架、漂亮的大理石柱、精緻的石膏裝飾陳舊破腐，依舊可見。The station is still occasionally visited by passenger trains, but because it's close to the ceasefire line with Georgia it's the end of the line. The region has seen major investments from Russia lately, which is looking to consolidate its influence in Abkhazia. Maybe it will be a bustling train stop once more.
現在偶爾還有客運火車經過這座火車站，但由於它位置靠近俄羅斯與格魯吉亞的停火線，所以這裏也是終點站。不久前，俄羅斯對阿布哈茲地區進行了一大筆投資，希望藉此鞏固在阿布哈茲的勢力，增強影響力，這或許會讓阿布哈茲火車站再度熱鬧起來。校對：黃一凡；陳小樹 來源：前十網
