• There are more than 15,000 elaborate mansions that are mostly decaying in a small region called Chettinad in southern India.
• The average mansion in the region spans 40,000 to 50,000 square feet and has more than 50 rooms.
• Now the quiet streets are lined with dilapidated mansions that many owners can barely afford to maintain.

In Chettinad, a region covering about 600 square miles in southern India, there are more than 15,000 mansions that are, for the most part, in differing states of decay. 

For about a century, rich bankers and traders poured their money into erecting the biggest, most beautiful mansions they could create. But after World War II, much of the region’s wealth dried up due to people moving away and new laws imposed by the Indian government. 

The mansions are still standing though. The average mansion spans up to 50,000 square feet and has over 50 rooms. They’re so big that many current owners can barely afford to maintain them. 

Take a look inside.