Abkhazia’s Abandoned Psyrtskha Railway Station

Is there such a thing as romantic decay? I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but if anywhere in the world deserves this adjective, it’s most certainly Abkhazia’s decaying Psyrtskha Railway Station in Novy Afon.

It’s a strange way to describe a small railway station, but Psyrtskha demonstrates the stark inevitability of empire building, that one day it all comes crashing down, that buildings will be left to the ravages of the wild, and the people are left to look back on what came before, while redefining themselves for what may lay ahead.

When the mighty Soviet Union fell to its knees, Abkhazia was left to fight a bitter war, which led to a life of isolation on the fringe of Europe. The people here may look back longingly on the former days of communism as times of glory, or they may see them as times of repression, and Psyrtskha may appeal to both mindsets. And regardless, Psyrtskha railway station is most definitely the most photogenic, decaying train station I’ve ever seen.

Maybe. Or maybe it’s just an old and abandoned railway station in a country that no one really even knows exists.

But anyway here’s some pictures of romantic decay at its finest, straight from the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia!