Ruins

Rocky landscape with ruins
Nicolaes Berchem, c. 1650
, × cm
Alte Pinakothek

This article is about ruins in architecture; for other meanings, see ruins (disambiguaton).

Ruins is a term used to describe the remains of man-made architecture: structures that were at one time complete but have fallen into a state of disrepair over time due to the action of weathering and lack of maintenance.

There are famous ruins all over the world, from ancient sites in Judea to ancient Greek and Roman sites in the Mediterranean Sea, and Incan sites in Peru. Ruins can be fortifications, places of worship, or remnants of houses, storehouses, or other buildings, or even entire cities and towns. Ruins are important for the studying of the past, in particular history and archaeology. There are also substantial ruins in modern cities such as Rome and Athens. Ruins often occur as a result of natural disaster, war or other forms of depopulation. Many European cities were in ruins after World War II, especially Berlin, London, Coventry and Dresden.

Ruins are often romanticized in literature and film, and often provide a backdrop for other forms of decline or decay.

Ruins

See also