to find a new place to live. Faroe Islands Blankskáli, Kalsoy, after an avalanche hit the village in 1809, the entire village resettled in the new settlement Syðradalur on the same island. The village was finally abandoned cca. 1815. Fossá, Borðoy, abandoned since 1945. Múli, a town on Borðoy, has been considered abandoned since 2002. Skarð, on Kunoy, was steadily depopulated from 1913 to 1919, after all the men of the village drowned while out fishing. Skarvanes is a village on Sandoy, that has been abandoned since the last permanent resident died in 2000. Skálatoftir is the northwesternmost village on Borðoy. Slættanes is a town on Vágar that was abandoned in 1965. Strond, located north of Ánir, has been abandoned since 1930. Víkar, a town on Vágar, has been abandoned since 1910. Víkarbyrgi, on Suðuroy, was abandoned in 2003. Finland Jussarö is an old village near the Jussarö mines. France Six of the French villages destroyed in World War I have never been rebuilt. All are found in the département of Meuse, and were destroyed during the Battle of Verdun in 1916: Beaumont-en-Verdunois Bezonvaux Cumières-le-Mort-Homme Fleury-devant-Douaumont Haumont-près-Samogneux Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre Oradour-sur-Glane was destroyed by a Waffen-SS battalion during World War II and its population massacred. The village was subsequently rebuilt nearby, but the ruins of the old village have been preserved. Germany Open-pit coal mining in several areas of Germany creates ghost towns in preparation for the coal mining. Towns are evacuated several years in advance and turned into ghost towns. When the pit reaches the towns they are finally torn down. Bonnland, Gruorn, Lopau, Wollseifen and others are ghost towns created as part of the creation of military training areas. Greece The island of Spinalonga is considered by some to be a ghost town. Serving as a leper colony for the first half of the 20th century, the island was abandoned when all its inhabitants were cured. By 1962 there were no permanent residents left. In recent years Spinalonga has become a tourist attraction as one of the last leper colonies to be closed down in Europe. Gavros, Kranionas and Ano Kraniounas are all abandoned villages located near Kastoria and Lake Prespa. The castle of Kato Chora is located near the village of Mylopotamos, Kythera. Old Perithia (or Palea Perithia) is a ghost village on the northern side of Corfu on the slopes of Mount Pantokrator. The village was originally established