For viewers who like their history with a side of crumbling concrete and rusted steel, “Abandoned Engineering” returns this Friday with another fascinating look at the ghosts of construction past. This week’s episode, “Napoleon’s Mistress,” hopscotches across Europe and the US, exploring structures that have been left to decay, each with its own peculiar story to tell.
From a crumbling mansion in Philadelphia with a surprising link to the Titanic disaster to the chilling remnants of Hitler’s French headquarters – built to oversee Operation Sea Lion, the planned Nazi invasion of Britain – the locations are as diverse as the reasons for their abandonment. The episode also examines an opulent island fortress in Italy, repurposed as a gilded cage for Mafia elites, and a grand palace in Poland, whispered to be the site of a honey trap set for Napoleon himself.
“Abandoned Engineering” doesn’t just gawk at ruins; it explores the engineering ingenuity that went into these projects. Tune in to U&Yesterday this Friday, 25 April at 8:00 PM GMT for a journey through the forgotten corners of engineering history.
