A magical and peaceful ruined Cistercian abbey in what is now southern Belgium.

Lavish royal estate punctuated with heated greenhouses.

This fairytale castle was built as a show of power but was nearly torn down thanks to its history of torture.

Part modern art project, part traditional chapel, this see-through church is only substantial from the right angle.

A striking Soviet memorial commemorates the liberation of Belarus from the Nazis.

Thanks to its heroic service during WWII this Soviet castle has been turned into a monument towered over by a brutalist titan.

The house that took a plunge into the facade of a museum.

Part ski resort, part modern art space, this lodge brings giant metal spiders and bloody doors to the Austrian Alps.

This spire on an Austrian mountain is wrapped around a long spiral slide and has the world's tallest wooden observation deck.

This 19th century cyclorama acts like an analogue time machine to a different era.

Austria's ultra-modern art museum looks like Cthulhu's giant alien heart.

Apartment complexes built into huge repurposed natural gas tanks.

The shell of a medieval fortress offers commanding views of the area it once protected.

Dine amidst exotic plants at this former royal greenhouse.

A neo-Gothic church built to thank God for saving the Emperor of Austria from an assassination.

An exquisite Baroque church in Vienna's old town.

This cubist Vienna church building looks like some sort of alien stonehenge.

Baroque celebration of the end of the Great Plague of Vienna.

A centuries old castle atop a dormant volcano houses museums devoted to both women and witches.

Artfully arranged bones of 5,800 Austrians.

A spherical "micro-nation" in the heart of Vienna.

Built to give thanks for the passing of a plague epidemic, this cathedral is a one-of-a-kind architectural hybrid.

Swarovski's museum/theme park is a fake diamond fantasia overlooked by a giant.

A tropical paradise just a short trip from the opera house is filled with beautiful winged creatures.