The European Union’s tallest freestanding structure provides radio and television broadcasting to half of Latvia.

Latvia’s first skyscraper, nicknamed ‘Stalin’s birthday cake.’

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

With a design inspired by traditional Latvian textiles, this monument honors the Latvian people who suffered under Soviet occupation.

The statue of a legendary giant who carried Christ and shouldered the world's sins.

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

This enigmatic artifact remained buried in a churchyard for years.

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

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

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

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

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

Flamboyant architecture from the turn of 20th century.

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

A former Latvian headquarters of the brutal KGB secret police is now open as a grim reminder of their atrocities.

A historic scientific breakthrough that crosses nine borders.

The enormous isokinetic structure hangs within a science center in Estonia.

Once a year, local students "clean" this statue with a champagne shower.

First point in the Struve Geodetic Arc, a 19th century undertaking to measure the Earth's size and shape.

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.

A spectacular Petrine Baroque summer palace commissioned for Catherine I by Peter the Great.

The Guardian of Tallinn.

This striking memorial is one of Estonia’s most controversial Soviet leftovers.