A Lost Italian Village Emerged After Decades Under Water—And 5 Other Times This Happened in History

In Rummu, a little town in northern Estonia, vacationers now swim and sun among the ruins of a Soviet prison complex. First used in the 1930s, the prison was established by the Soviet Union, which used prisoners to mine a limestone quarry. After Estonia regained its independence, the prison, the quarry, and—most importantly—the water pumps were abandoned. Without machinery pumping water away, nature reclaimed its rightful place, and the quarry filled with a natural lake, submerging the prison complex with it. Despite its dark past, the site became a de facto summer spot among locals. 

Vilarinho da Furna, Portugal

Vilarinho da Furna, a drowned village in Portugal, reemerges from time to time during the area’s dry season. It was flooded in 1972 to create a reservoir, through curiously enough, the homes in the underwater town still belong to the families who once lived there. The nearby São João do Campo museum holds many artifacts from the community who lived there in an attempt to keep the memory of the 2000-year-old town alive.