stenaavel's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Places visited in Tallinn, Estonia
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Belogradchik, Bulgaria

Belogradchik Rocks

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

Biserica Neagră (The Black Church)

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

Palace of the Parliament

This communist behemoth is the heaviest building in the world and a legacy of a brutal regime.
Sinaia, Romania

Peleș Castle

This elaborately decorated, fairytale-like Romanian royal palace is one of the most striking castles in Europe.
Bran, Romania

Bran Castle

The possible imprisonment of Vlad the Impaler here earned the medieval castle its nickname, "Dracula's Castle."
Chisinau, Moldova

Chisinau State Circus

This abandoned Soviet circus is slowly being restored to its Communist-era glory.
Chisinau, Moldova

Lenin Monument

A statue dedicated to the founders of communism.
Butuceny, Moldova

Orheiul Vechi Cave Monastery

This 13th century Orthodox monastery is built right into the Moldovan cliffside.
Chisinau, Moldova

Romanita Collective Housing Tower

Once the tallest building in Chisinau, this unique tower is a relic of Soviet architecture.
Soroca, Moldova

Gypsy Hill

Elaborate mansions built by Roma residents in Soroca to show their success after centuries of discrimination.
Tiraspol, Moldova

Transnistria

A forgotten remnant of the Soviet Union, Transnistria is an unrecognized country hidden behind a heavily militarized border between Moldova and Ukraine.
Lviv, Ukraine

Yard of Lost Toys

This Ukraine alleyway has become its own little island of forgotten things.
Vyshhorods'kyi district, Ukraine

Mezhyhirya Residence

Marvel at the excessive luxury of the ousted Ukrainian president's former estate.
Kyiv, Ukraine

Kyiv Institute of Information

This exquisite, alienesque piece of Soviet architecture is being threatened by modern shopping malls.
Lviv, Ukraine

Citadel Inn

A fortress built to pacify local uprising that had a stint as a Nazi concentration camp before becoming a five-star hotel.
Odessa, Ukraine

Potemkin Stairs

Featured in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.
Lviv, Ukraine

Lychakiv Cemetery

Monumental sculptures guard many of the graves, transforming this necropolis into an open-air fine art museum.
Kyiv, Ukraine

Holodomor Victims Memorial

The haunting complex honors the millions of Ukrainians who died in the forced famine under Soviet rule.
Kamianets'-podil's'kyi, Ukraine

Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle

This Ukranian fortress is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Europe.
Chornobyl, Ukraine

'Monument of the Third Angel'

The biblical sculpture honors those who lost their lives, homes and communities to the Chernobyl disaster.
Kyiv, Ukraine

Arsenalna Metro Station

The deepest metro station in the world.
Kyiv, Ukraine

Peeing Colors in Kyiv

When you've got to go, you've got to go.
Ivankivs'kyi district, Ukraine

Duga 'Russian Woodpecker' Radar

This derelict superstructure was a very important warning system for the Soviet military.
Kyiv, Ukraine

Museum of the Great Patriotic War

One of the largest museums in Ukraine remembers the story of the German-Soviet War in iconic, brutalist style.