One of the world's most unusual events combines headbanging and needlework.

This modernist island church incorporates the Finnish nature into its worship practices.

This cairn marks the only place where Central European Time, Eastern European Time, and Further-eastern European Time meet.

Every summer, an open-air swimming pool appears at the base of a Finnish city's beloved winter attraction.

A lumberjack in Finnish Lapland did not want to cut down his Arctic pines, so he offered them up to be adopted by nature-lovers.

No matter how many times this community-run sauna gets destroyed, it always rises from the ashes.

This lonely rock has been turned into a character loved and feared by children.

Pigduck of Turku.

The etchings on this narrow channel between two islands bear witness to maritime travelers who have passed through since the Middle Ages.

A replica of the home of a famous fictional troll family.

A 246-foot-high revolving restaurant rises unexpectedly from a forested Finnish hilltop.

This irregularly shaped sea fortress has defended not one but three different sovereign states.

A lovingly curated curio shop in which the taxidermy wear newspaper party hats, and peanut shells are spread across every surface.

This bronze boar's snout has been rubbed to a golden sheen by visitors seeking good fortune.

One of the most important yet well-hidden museums dedicated to the history of medicine.

A rather vulgar example of the transition from Latin to the Italian vernacular.

The mystic whose incorrupt corpse still attracts the faithful.

This beautiful park on the outskirts of Rome protects the ruins of two colossal ancient aqueducts.

This hill made entirely of ancient Roman jars was simply a garbage dump to the people of the time.

A mysterious chasm in the heart of the ancient Roman Forum, the Lacus Curtius was once believed to be a gateway to hell.

The martyr's wax-enhanced skeletal remains lie preserved in a glass case in the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

One of seven Jewish catacombs in Rome and one of only two open to the public.

Less a museum than a bizarre fantasy world created by artists and engineers.

University City's quirkiest resident lives in a park named after its first.