Places From the Backwoods Wants to Go

More than 200 eclectic sculptures surround the artist's home.

A cathedral resurrected from the ashes of one of Europe's greatest urban fires.

The church's remarkable frescoes incorporate Finnish artist Hugh Simberg's trademark themes of death and the supernatural.

The last permanent exhibit dedicated to the Soviet leader.

Roughly 17 million letters to Santa have found their way to this Arctic Circle post office.

This intricately spiralling forest was created as a monumental work of art.

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

These Finnish rapids have been attracting tourists for over a hundred years and are now released with the push of a button.

Nuclear waste experts study this prehistoric crater lake to envision landscapes one million years in the future.

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.

The smallest restaurant in the world.

A little-known sculpture park of contemporary environmental art in a Lapland forest.

This insurance company building reminds customers that witches, bears, and gnomes are out there, best be insured.

An abstract monument to a symphonic composer.

Finnish lake, and scene of an infamous murder mystery.

A collection of collections ranging from dentistry to minerals.

Crawling into this primordial cave may feel disconcertingly familiar.

Villas that once served as playgrounds for the rich now fall away in decay.

Collection of nearly 500 concrete figures sculpted by the late Veijo Rönkkönen.

Quality time with reindeer in the stunning scenery of their natural Lappish habitat above the Arctic Circle.

This endearingly discomfited urinating statue commemorates the sneaky pees had by us all.

This lake-bound geographical marker sits at the point where three European countries intersect.

Menacing or in memoriam, the Silent People and their meaning are left to interpretation.