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Legend has it that in 1787, Catherine the Great set out to explore the lands of Crimea, recently added to her empire. Her lover, Grigory Potemkin, who played a crucial role in the acquisition, sought to impress her. However, the region was in despair and disrepair. To avoid disappointing his mistress, Grigory allegedly constructed impressive yet fake villages along her journey.
Grigory is said to have ordered the creation of freshly painted building facades. He transported livestock to make it seem as though the countryside was flourishing, filled sandbags to look like sacks of grain, and instructed peasants to line the road, wearing fake smiles.
The myth suggests that Catherine passed through these staged villages, oblivious to the deception, giving rise to the term “Potemkin village.” Though historians have debunked this story as exaggerated, the term endures, used to describe any fake town designed to appear real.
Now, let's dive into ten of the most intriguing Potemkin villages in history.
10. Kijong-dong
From a distance, the North Korean village of Kijong-dong seems like a typical town. Established in the 1950s within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea, it looks like an ordinary settlement with neat residential buildings. However, upon closer inspection, you'll notice that the windows are missing glass, the lights are automated, and the only people visible are maintenance staff.
The village is entirely fictional. No one lives there. It was built exclusively for propaganda purposes, designed to give the impression that North Korea is a thriving and appealing place to live. To drive the point home, loudspeakers blast anti-Western rhetoric (along with Communist operas and military marches) so loudly that it can be heard in the nearby South Korean town of Daesong-dong. This propaganda runs 20 hours a day, aiming to encourage defections from the South. However, it has yet to achieve its goal.
9. Doom Town in Nevada
It's probably for the best that Doom Town is a fake, because who would want to reside in a city named Doom? In the 1950s, Nevada became a hotspot for nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War. The U.S. government is said to have tested nearly a thousand atomic bombs in the desert, so close to Las Vegas that the mushroom clouds could be seen from the Strip, turning it into an accidental tourist attraction for those unaware of the radiation risks.
In order to understand the impact of an atomic bomb on an actual town, scientists built fake towns to test the bombs. They constructed real homes, furnished them, filled them with genuine food, parked cars along the roads, and even placed mannequins dressed in clothes to mimic people. The goal was to see what could survive a nuclear explosion. The result? Not much.
8. WWII Airplane Camouflage Town
During World War II, the U.S. government constructed a fake town on the West Coast over a Boeing warplane factory. This was Boeing Plant 2, also known as Boeing Wonderland, and it was designed to hide the factory from potential Japanese bombers. The Seattle factory wasn't the only one with such a setup—other fake towns were created, including one in Burbank, California, to shield the Lockheed plant.
Given the proximity of these Southern California factories to Hollywood and the nation's strong sense of patriotism during the war, the government easily enlisted top movie set designers and large-scale painters to craft fake houses, sidewalks, fences, trees, and cars. From above, it appeared as a real neighborhood. However, in reality, the buildings were only four to six feet tall, the trees made from burlap and chicken wire, and the greenery painted directly on actual runways. The designers were so thorough that they even painted some of the 'yards' brown to simulate unwatered grass.
7. Theresienstadt, Czech Republic
The next entry is particularly somber and tragic. Theresienstadt was a concentration camp operated by the Nazis during World War II. Initially intended to imprison Jews while they awaited deportation to other extermination camps and forced labor sites, the living conditions were horrific, and the inmates lived in constant dread of being sent away.
Under duress, the Nazis permitted the International Red Cross to visit the camp in June 1944. However, much like the false towns created for Catherine the Great, a façade was constructed to mask the grim reality of the ghetto. In preparation for the visit, thousands of prisoners were sent to Auschwitz to reduce overcrowding, houses were freshly painted, and gardens were cultivated. Once the inspection ended, normal life resumed, and the dire conditions returned.
In one of the most grotesque acts of propaganda, the Nazis filmed the transformation of Theresienstadt to promote it as a 'spa town' where elderly Jews could retire in peace, far from the horrors of the Holocaust.
6. Apix, Florida
During the 1950s, the U.S. government explored the use of liquid hydrogen as an aircraft fuel source. This occurred during the Cold War, when the U.S. sought to keep such projects hidden from the Soviet Union. The secretive operation was codenamed Project Suntan, aimed at developing a spy plane powered by liquid hydrogen.
How does one conceal such a vast operation as the development of liquid hydrogen-powered planes? The answer: create a Potemkin village. The U.S. government fabricated a fake town called Apix, standing for 'Air Products Incorporated, Experimental,' and selected a remote, swampy spot in Palm Beach County for its location. They even invented a fictional population and laid out plans for a residential area. Today, Apix is scarcely mentioned, appearing only occasionally on maps, with only a railroad signal box bearing its name left as a remnant.
5. Fake Paris
During World War I, France devised a counterfeit version of Paris to mislead German bombers. Paris was a prime bombing target for Germany, with Zeppelins frequently dispatched to attack the city. French authorities concluded that the best tactic was to deceive the Zeppelin pilots by creating a false city to divert their attention.
While radar technology existed, it wasn't precise enough to be useful. All the French needed to do was build a mock city near Paris that would appear similar to the real one from the sky. They designed the replica just north of Paris, complete with working lights, imitation buildings, and even a fake train station. The phony city also featured a faux Champs-Elysées.
We'll never know if France's Potemkin village would have succeeded in saving the lives of Parisians. The war ended before its completion, and all that remains today are photographs of the illusory city of lights.
4. Holland Town in Shanghai
Visitors to Shanghai might be taken aback to discover a replica Dutch town complete with a traditional windmill nestled in the middle of the city's industrial sector. This unique town was designed to evoke the charm of strolling along cobblestone streets in a quaint Dutch village, even though it sits within the heart of Shanghai.
Holland Town was part of Shanghai's ambitious One City, Nine Towns project, where each town was modeled after a city from a different country. The aim of this initiative was to expand suburban areas across Shanghai to help alleviate overcrowding in the city center.
Despite the grand vision, these themed towns didn't quite become the sought-after living spaces that had been hoped for. Tourists visiting Shanghai generally preferred experiencing Asian-inspired architecture, dining, and attractions rather than replicas of foreign cities. Of the many planned towns, only six were constructed, and much like Holland Village, they remained largely deserted, with the primary use being wedding photoshoots. Fortunately, Holland Town has found a purpose and now accommodates a growing number of local residents.
3. Agloe, New York
The final entry isn't a replica town or a test site, nor is it created for propaganda. It’s a 'paper town' or 'trap town,' designed by mapmakers to catch those who plagiarize maps.
Agloe was a fictional town created by mapmakers from America's General Drafting Company to expose competitors who copied their maps. Eventually, this invented town appeared on a Rand McNally map. Naturally, General Drafting accused plagiarism, but Rand McNally insisted that Agloe had to exist because a business named Agloe was operating at that location.
As it turned out, the Agloe General Store was built at the exact spot of the fictional town. The store’s owner had seen Agloe on a map and decided to open a shop there, despite the lack of any real houses or businesses in the area. In this way, an entirely fabricated town became somewhat real—if only for a brief moment.
2. Ertebat Shar, the Fake Afghan Village in California
Fort Irwin, located in the Mojave Desert, is a vast military base about the size of Rhode Island. It's home to the National Training Center, where U.S. soldiers undergo 21-day rotations. During their training, soldiers visit Ertebat Shar, a mock Afghan village, to familiarize themselves with the challenges of operating in a village that resembles those found in Afghanistan.
The simulated Afghan village is a recreation where actors pretend to sell fake bread and meat in the streets. The layout of the town was carefully crafted using satellite images of Baghdad to replicate the width of actual streets. While the village may appear genuine as you walk through it, a bird's-eye view reveals its true nature as a façade. The buildings are simply frames, supported by wooden structures.
1. Mcity, Ann Arbor, Michigan
How do you test a self-driving car? These cars must be prepared for a variety of unpredictable situations, such as icy conditions, pedestrians, and other drivers. Testing them in populated areas could be hazardous. So, what’s the alternative to assessing how these vehicles perform in real-life scenarios?
The automobile industry has found an answer: create a fake city that replicates a typical American town. Mcity, located in Michigan, serves as a testing facility for car manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and General Motors to test autonomous vehicles. This mock city is equipped with real streets, intersections, traffic signals, road signs, parking meters, and even a railroad crossing. Although it’s known to exist and is used for testing, access is highly restricted, with public demonstrations and visits being rare.
