Photographer captures eerie shots from inside Chernobyl’s abandoned music school

9 October 2020, 11:09

30 years ago, one of the worst nuclear disasters in history took place at Chernobyl, in the Ukraine. This music school, located in the forbidden zone, has been abandoned ever since.

The disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which took place near the city of Pripyat in the Ukrainian SSR, was one of the worst of its kind in history, causing 132 people to be diagnosed with acute radiation sickness.

Pripyat was completely evacuated within two days of the disaster, and the surrounding 4,000 square miles of the power plant have been abandoned ever since.

Before the explosion, which released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, the Ukrainian city had 15 primary schools for about 5,000 children, five secondary schools and one professional school.

It was also home to a music school, pictured below.

The school had several practice rooms, and a big auditorium with a grand piano. Most of the rooms are now completely empty, providing an eerie landscape where only two lonely instruments remain.

Read more: Who composed the haunting music for ‘Chernobyl’ on HBO? >

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   All photos were taken by photographer André Joosse, who visited the Zone several times to document the abandoned villages, the city of Pripyat and the Nuclear Power Plant Site. Have a look at his website for more photos.