235 Items Tagged

Fortresses

Gdańsk, Poland

Wisłoujście Fortress

This 700-year-old structure is one of the most unique architectural and historic monuments in Gdańsk.

The Palace of Cortés.

Cuernavaca, Mexico

Palace of Cortés

The conquistador's former fortress is the oldest preserved colonial building in the Americas.

A part of the sconce inside of the office building.

Stockholm, Sweden

Johanneshovs Skans (Johanneshov Sconce)

Part of an abandoned19th-century fortress hides in plain sight inside a modern office building.

Ruthven Barracks.

Kingussie, Scotland

Ruthven Barracks

These ruins witnessed the final gathering of the failed Jacobite Rebellion.

Forte de São José, the "Principado da Pontinha."

Funchal, Portugal

Principality of Pontinha

A micronation on an islet along the coast of a Portuguese island.

Odiham, England

Odiham Castle

It's believed King John of England stayed at this 13th-century castle before riding off to sign the Magna Carta.

Shlisselburg, Russia

Oreshek Fortress

An abandoned 14th-century castle and prison complex on a small island in the Neva River.

Gothenburg, Sweden

Ragnhildsholmen Castle Ruin

This castle ruin in the middle of nowhere is a gem for wildlife enthusiasts.

Landscape surrounding Yamchun Fort.

Ishkoshim, Tajikistan

Yamchun Fort

This ancient Silk Road outpost overlooking the Wakhan Valley is miraculously still standing.

Chittorgarh Fort

Chittorgarh, India

Chittorgarh Fort

A former bastion of Rajput chivalry, this massive hill fort is the site of legend and tragedy.

Ananuri.

Ananuri

This architecturally eclectic fortress witnessed centuries of bloody turmoil, including the massacre of its ruling clan.

Sar Yazd Castle

Sar Yazd Castle

This ancient fortress in Iran was once the oldest and largest treasury in the world.

Castle Itter.

Castle Itter

German and American troops joined forces to defend this fortress during the strangest battle of World War II.

Fortress of Suomenlinna

Helsinki, Finland

Fortress of Suomenlinna

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

Castle at Jaseongdae Park.

Busan, South Korea

Japanese Ruins of Busan

The 400-year-old remains of the samurai invasion of Korea.

Spinalonga fortress.

Lasithi, Greece

Spinalonga Island

This abandoned Greek island was the last active leper colony in Europe.

Obscuring the "New" castle behind.

Bergisch Gladbach, Germany

Bensberg Old Castle

This strange building looks like a medieval fortress crashed into a 1960s Brutalist office block.

The Bahdinan Gate.

Bahdinan Gate

This beautiful arched gate is all that remains of the fortress the ancient mountaintop town of Amadiya once was.