Hundreds of "animals" created from scrap metal, alongside a collection of other oddities.

Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha spent 18 years creating these monumental paintings of Slavic history and mythology.

The castle in the romantic landscape of Podyjí houses what may be Europe's largest collection of taxidermy dogs.

When this monument to Slovenia's national poet was erected, it's said to have sparked the ire of nearby church authorities.

A statue built to honor the elite soldiers who fought for Latvia during World War I.

This controversial statue once honoured a Russian Field Marshall, before ultimately being dismantled in a push to remove symbols of Russian influence.

This Latvian shot factory is still used twice a year to manufacture bullets the old-fashioned way.

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

Rent a barrel for a personal view of where the Baltic Sea meets the Gulf of Riga.

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

A stone marker and sculpture in the city of Riga stake a claim for the very first community Christmas tree.

Built to ward off Napoleon's army, this city-sized abandoned Russian fort is now perfect for urban exploration.

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

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

The widest waterfall in Europe is a natural wonder and one of the only places where fish are caught in the air.

A preserved oak tree about 3,500 years old found in Riga, Latvia.

Latvia's symbolic mountain-shaped national library is home to millions of cultural tomes.

A black cat protests the City Guild in Riga's Old Town.

Flamboyant architecture from the turn of 20th century.

The oldest housing complex in Riga is a mini timeline of architectural trends.

A wealthy aristocratic family built this Disney-worthy, fairy-tale castle.

This behemoth bovine guards an Estonian town and is a memorial to the lost species.

The first monument in Estonia that was made by an Estonian sculptor.

During the Soviet era, the spire of this longstanding church was used as a radio transmission tower.