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 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.

This statue is dedicated to the animal cosmonauts that perished during space flight experiments.

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.

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.

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.

3,000 market stands in five former Zeppelin hangars.

Rub it for a bit of good luck.

Plaques celebrating Lithuanian writers freckle a wall of this picture-perfect path.

While this monument tile is shrouded in mystery it also marks the end of the longest ever human chain.

Travelers who fall victim to this mermaid's charms are destined to stay in Užupis forever.

This micro-nation may be some sort of prank, but its constitution sure seems official.

One of Madrid's oldest trees, with a long and colorful history, resides in El Retiro Park.

After the queen of Spain had a dream where these statues fell and crushed her, they were removed from the palace and given new homes around Madrid.

This macabre masterpiece of a mural is one of Francisco Goya's "Black Paintings."

On the wall of this medieval walkway, a symbol of the Spanish Inquisition.

A vista of the city and sea from atop the little-known viewing deck on an unassuming Columbus statue.

The iconic boulevard is the perfect place to catch sight of a bicycling skeleton, a levitating Satan, or a chef with his head stuck in a pizza.

The 2,000-year-old Roman columns are hidden within Barcelona's Gothic Quarter.