These historic defenses ensured the city within would survive hundreds of years of occupations, sieges, and invasions.

These abundant, over-the-top monuments are so widely scattered that they define the entire compact capital cityscape, often leading to jokes about whether there are more statues than residents.

This lonely minaret with an unusual decorative symbol is all that remains of a historic Ottoman mosque.

A 14th-century Serbian Orthodox church that was once converted into a mosque under the much-disfavored Ottoman Empire.

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

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

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

A statue of the Soviet leader still stands in a quiet corner of Estonia’s most Russian city.

Visitors can sit and study the board with this Estonian chess legend and International Grandmaster.

A unique sculpture calls the outside of this steakhouse home.

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

Walk along the medieval fortifications that have been protecting Tallinn since the 14th century.

The Guardian of Tallinn.

This Soviet-era "closed town" was a top secret uranium producer often left off of maps.

An empty relic of the Moscow Olympics crumbles away in Estonia's capital.

This historic timepiece is thought to be the only public clock in the world that keeps lunar time.

A number of craters left by fatal mortar strikes have been filled with red resin to remember those lost during the Siege of Sarajevo.

The place where World War I began.

A war-torn Olympic relic is being overtaken by graffiti and nature.

Bridge that died in war and was resurected.

A decaying, yet still functioning, work of communist architecture.

Rebuilt several decades ago, its striking murals prevent it from being reconsecrated as a church.

Sofia's legislative center is continuously reinventing itself.

A vast Communist-era exhibition space in the Bulgarian capital.