Now harmless, this looming post struck fear into the heart of medieval troublemakers.

The Renaissance-era courthouse is a relic from the fortified town's centuries of Venetian rule.

An ancient knight and a symbol of the city's freedom.

Formerly Yugoslavia's "forbidden island," this sleepy little city still holds the abandoned remains of military strongholds.

This picturesque medieval monastery guards a small trove of historic treasures.

A wunderkammer of gold and silver reliquaries and ancient saintly bones.

Longest fortress system anywhere in Europe.

The complex has been abandoned since the Croatian War of Independence, barring a stint as a set for 'Game of Thrones.'

Where the lovelorn find a home for their sentimental keepsakes.

A wonderfully strange collection of 500+ stuffed frogs doing people things.

A musical instrument played by the sea.

A chain of 16 wondrous lakes formed as a result of the gradual dissolution of soluble layers of bedrock.

An ethereal glowing blue ocean cave in Croatia.