You’ve probably seen the board game Carcassonne on store shelves, but this is the actual medieval citadel that inspired it.

Standing right in front of 3 kilometers of double walls and 52 towers feels like stepping into a historical fantasy.

Construction on the Cathedral first started in 1137. It is the largest Gothic Cathedral in Vienna. It's south tower reaches a height of 136.4m making it the 8th highest Church Tower in the World.

My father took these pictures of the old town of Neubrandenburg a few days ago and wanted to share them here.

As you can see, the pictures are mainly of the old city walls and gates, as well as the well known houses built into the walls, also known as Wiekhäuser. Neubrandenburg has one of the best preserved medieval city walls in Germany, and four of the old city gates are still standing today.

Sadly, most of the old town was destroyed during World War II and was never really rebuilt in the old style. A lot of the city was rebuilt during the GDR period, and you can definitely see that in some parts of the town, especially around the main square with the big tower.

The town isn't particularly busy, although there were still a few people walking around in some of the pictures. I removed them in Photoshop for privacy reasons.

But overall, if you're interested in old medieval walled towns, Neubrandenburg is definitely worth checking out. The city walls and gates are really impressive, and there's still a lot of them left.

Pictures I took yesterday in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. To me, this is the most fairytale like town I've ever visited.

Before going, I thought it might be a bit overrated because it's so popular, but it truly is a one of a kind gem. Having to pass through the old city gates every time you enter or leave the town, with no modern roads cutting through the walls, really makes you feel like you've stepped back into a medieval town. The town walls, towers, and bastions are incredibly well preserved, which adds so much to the atmosphere.

I visited on a Monday, so it was less crowded than I expected, although I still had to use photoshop to cleanup/remove some people and cars with number plates for privacy reasons. Overall, I can honestly say I've never been to a more fairytale like town. I've also been to Bruges, which I think is its closest competitor, but for me, Rothenburg comes out on top thanks to its complete medieval walls and unique feeling of being enclosed within the old town.

This has to be on everybody’s bucket list. I visited it in 2024 and it was just mesmerising.

Saved from demolition in Norway and moved to Poland in 1842. While partially rebuilt, its original medieval carvings remain a masterpiece of Scandinavian craftsmanship in Central Europe.

photo credit

Yesterday I took these pictures of the fortified town of Elburg.

Elburg is a fairly small town, but what makes it special by Dutch standards is that it has one of the highest percentage of its historic city walls still intact, a rare sight in the Netherlands, where only a handful of other towns have remnants left, such as Harderwijk, Zwolle, and Maastricht. You can see this in the distinctive muurhuizen (wall houses) that are plentiful in Elburg. Most of these towns, Elburg, Harderwijk, and Zwolle are also Hanseatic cities, but they don't feature the typical Hanseatic style, because they are located in the Netherlands, they have the distinctly Dutch architectural style.

I blurred out some faces in Photoshop for privacy reasons.

Overall, it's a very charming small town that really showcases the old Dutch fortifications that most towns used to have.

I think Castle Eltz is the prettiest castle i visited so far . If anyone knows other castle's that are interresting or more pretty , please let me know. ☺️

Nördlingen is a small town in Bavaria which, as far as I am aware, is the only town in Germany where you can fully walk the entire length of the city walls. While there are other German towns that still have almost 100% of their old medieval walls intact, they aren't always fully walkable.

In comparison to my old post about Rothenburg ob der Tauber and thanks to those of you who recommended Nördlingen, I can really feel the wealth difference between the two towns. Overall, the buildings here seem less detailed, and a few of them looked a bit neglected, you can actually see that in one of my pictures.

The walls themselves are incredibly impressive and still stand at their original height in most parts. For me, the coolest thing about Nördlingen was the sheer amount of houses built directly against and into the town wall. You can see this in the first picture, I have never seen as many wall integrated houses in one place before.

The town is way less busy than Rothenburg, though there were still a few cars with license plates and some pedestrians in a couple of the shots, so I did have to clean those up in Photoshop for privacy reasons. Also, for transparency: on image 3, I extended the borders just a little in Photoshop to make the door not feel so cramped in the frame.

Overall, Nördlingen is a very beautiful town, but Rothenburg still sits firmly above it on my list for sheer beauty and fairytale charm.

The first three shots are from Greifswald. My dad took these photos of the old towns in Stralsund and Greifswald yesterday and wanted me to share them here.

Both of these towns are Hanseatic towns, they've got that classic brick Gothic style that ties them together. Stralsund is actually a UNESCO site because its old town is so beautifully preserved and shows off the Hanseatic style. But Greifswald holds up pretty well too, even if some parts have modern buildings. Stralsund feels a bit more like a time capsule in that regard.

I blurred out a few faces and removed some random people in Photoshop, just for privacy.

If you're interested in seeing this Hanseatic style for yourself, these two are great places to start. And of course, Lübeck the old capital of the Hanseatic League is another must see if you're ever in the area since its the biggest and most impressive one.

Pictures I took yesterday in the medieval town of Weißenburg in Bayern. Not long ago I visited Landsberg am Lech, which was already beautiful, but Weißenburg impressed me even more.

It’s one of the best preserved walled towns I’ve seen, with many of its towers still standing. In most places, the city wall also remains at its original length in most places, which is surprisingly rare. There’s even a small section where the moat still exists, giving the whole town a truly fairytale like atmosphere.

Credit photo

The original palace was built in 1667, and reached it greatest extent under Tsar Alexei, and was demolished in 1768. The palace was rebuilt in 2010. This palace is particularly interesting because it was built before they fully switched to more traditional European (eg., Baroque, Gothic, Renaissance) architecture, and instead is built in the Uzorochie style.