A century-old prison in the heart of Vilnius is now a lively bar, dance club, and artist residency.

Latvia's symbolic mountain-shaped national library is home to millions of cultural tomes.

The statue of a legendary giant who carried Christ and shouldered the world's sins.

The reconstruction of this prominent building fulfilled a long-written command.

3,000 market stands in five former Zeppelin hangars.

This charming Latvian lane doubled as Baker Street on the Soviet Union’s version of Sherlock Holmes.

This enigmatic artifact remained buried in a churchyard for years.

A black cat protests the City Guild in Riga's Old Town.

The oldest housing complex in Riga is a mini timeline of architectural trends.

This celebration of Latvia’s freedom and independence avoided demolition over half a century of Soviet occupation.

The former Field Marshall and Minister of War to the Russian Imperial Army.

A former Latvian headquarters of the brutal KGB secret police is now open as a grim reminder of their atrocities.

This quiet, unassuming spot in Budapest was the birthplace of the bloody 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

The island home of an unlucky whaling captain whose story inspired a great American novel.

The statue of John Harvard isn't actually John Harvard—or even, technically, the founder of the school.

This headstone marks the grave of an 11-year-old boy killed during clashes in the streets over the boycotting of British goods.

This rare polygonal meeting house is rumored to be built in a circle so that the devil has nowhere to hide.

The building that inspired Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House."

The Vermont square that inspired Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery."

Danish tourist destination well known for open stalls where vendors sell marijuana on the street.

Climb to the top of its spiral spire for spectacular views of Copenhagen.

The gilded, masterful astronomical clock will calculate time, dates, and planetary positions for thousands of years to come.

Copenhagen's celebrated theme park and gardens.

This pair of gilded girls atop an Art Deco building in Copenhagen were built to function as a weather indicator.