The Crystal Shrine Grotto in Memphis, Tennessee, is a man-made cave like no other. In the 1930s, a businessman named Elliott Clovis Hinds sold his lucrative life insurance company so that he could build a memorial park that was slated to feature a visionary cave showcasing the beauty of nature and the life of Jesus…
Approximately 30 miles north of Prague, a mysterious castle known as Houska Castle in the Czech countryside has been the subject of spooky local lore since it was first constructed in 1278. Houska Castle’s unusual floor plan and remote location, far removed from major water sources, trade routes, or strategically important areas, caused many locals…
In the mid-1990s, a Romanian businessman named Iosif Constantin Dragan commissioned a sculpture of an ancient king known as Decebalus, who ruled the country of Dacia—now known as Romania. If King Decebalus had not defended Dacia against numerous Roman incursions, modern Romania would not exist in its current state. King Decebalus has been a celebrated…
In 1835, a British man named James Newlove was digging a massive hole that was ultimately going to be a duck pond when his shovel struck something quite unexpected. A hole within a hole materialized. With great curiosity, James Newlove lowered his son into what appeared to be a sparkling cave. Newlove’s son reported that…
In the late 1970s, Alexander George Thynn—otherwise known as the 7th Marquess of Bath—decided that his familial home of Longleat needed a sprawling hedge maze where visitors could wander for hours. The 7th Marquess of Bath was known for his eccentric style of dress, numerous mistresses, whom he referred to as ‘wifelets,’ and racy murals…
European fairy tales are full of gorgeous enchanted forests populated by magical creatures such as giants, gnomes, and elves. The vibrant wildflowers that blanket the Hallerbos—or ‘Blue Forest’—in Belgium have surely sparked the imaginations of storytellers throughout the ages. Each spring, the Blue Forest is home to a sea of delicate bluebell blooms that delight…
In the late 1800s, King Leopold II of Belgium decided to build a state-of-the-art greenhouse on the grounds of the Royal Palace of Laeken in Brussels. King Leopold II was a brutish man who left a legacy of violence and appalling human rights abuses in his wake. The only hint of softness that King Leopold…
For nearly 5,000 years, the Sierra Morena mountains in Andalusia, Spain, have been a hotbed of ore mining. Thousands of years of iron, copper, silver, and gold excavation have taken a major toll on the ecosystem. The waters of a highly acidic river known as the Rio Tinto are rusty red due to centuries of…
