March 16th, 2017

The Polish observatory of Biały Słoń was an unlucky one. That's because its construction was completed in 1938. The observatory was in use for just over a year, before the Soviet Aggression begun in 1939 and the personal of the observatory fled to Hungary. The building has been abandoned ever since, though some slight restoration has been carried out since 2012. The name Biały Słoń is polish for 'White Elephant', most likely in reference to the impressive appearance of the snow-covered building in winter. Even though Biały Słoń never achieved its true potential as an observatory, the building itself is quite spectacular, as is the case with many other abandoned observatories around the world.

-E