These crumbling Latvian forts make for some haunting seaside ruins.

This ornate church has survived Nazi and Soviet occupation, including a short stint as a Soviet-era gymnasium and cinema.

The mile-long pier stretches from a ruined fortress out into the Baltic.

Guests become prisoners on a visit to Latvian prison.

The Latvian city of Ventspils is filled with dozens of cow statues showcasing unique themes.

This impressively complicated radioastronomy research center was once a tool of Soviet spies.

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

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

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

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

This controversial monument was designed to lionize the Red Army, but also disheartened the Latvian people.

This former Nazi labor camp is now a poignant memorial, complete with giant Soviet-style monuments.

This ducal residence was once home to a future Russian empress and a French king in exile.

Spend the night in 1920s Latvia in this historic recreation and movie set.

Mysterious heaps of stones dot these otherworldly woods.

A wooden statue of an Estonian pagan god and King of the Setos stands atop a sacred hill.

Mysterious craters may have been home to an ancient cult.

Disused seaplane hangar gets a second life as the jaw-dropping home of Estonia's museum of maritime history.

This soviet pilot's graveyard is filled with headstones made of airplane fins.

The ruins of an Estonian prison are drowning in the quarry lake where the convicts were once forced to work.

This charming cobbled backstreet is the most Instagramable street in Paris, much to the residents' annoyance.

An abstract monument to a symphonic composer.

A subterranean house of worship carved right out of the bedrock.

Medical museum that houses most notably the taxidermied remains of Vladimir Demikhov's famous two-headed dog experiment.