Putrefaction plateaus in Iran, where the dead were sent for decontamination before going to their final resting place.

A peculiar samurai statue overlooks the center of Brno.

A peculiar clock commemorates a historic victory won by ringing the noonday bell an hour early.

Tall columns of volcanic basalt make up this improbable-seeming rock formation.

Enormous sandstone towers loom within a Czech forest.

Bohemian paradise covered in majestic forests.

This tipsy office building in downtown Prague was originally called “Fred and Ginger.”

Macabre astrological automaton clock dating to the late 1400s.

The monument honors the mountaineers who were part of Europe’s best anti-Nazi forces.

This massive subterranean fissure is known as the "underground Grand Canyon."

Castle and secret tunnel withstood a siege until its owner was killed by the Holy Roman Empire, while sitting on the toilet.

This one-time health resort was used by aristocrats around the world.

A Roman mosaic depicting a classical myth was only rediscovered after bombing during World War II.

One of the best-preserved Roman amphitheaters is still used today, but for less brutal events.

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

A monastery considered a state-protected cultural monument of exceptional importance, founded in the 14th century by Serbian King Stefan Dečanski.

Artists made this mosque into a marvel of Ottoman baroque architecture.

A scenic UNESCO site that doubles as a habitat for various forms of wildlife.

A naturally beautiful, seemingly bottomless deep blue spring.

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.

A mountain pass in Bulgaria's Balkan Mountains was the site of four historic battles.

This historic black and white monastery is one of Bulgaria's architectural jewels.

Bizarrely shaped rock formations in northwest Bulgaria come with equally bizarre legends.

A fire once nearly devoured this gorgeous 14th-century Gothic cathedral.