Places That Look Like They Belong in a Fairytale

Throughout the world there are many places that look like they belong in a fairytale book. Their beauty, and sometimes bizarre aesthetic qualities make them rather unique. The following places look like they belong in a fairytale.

Rakotz Bridge
Located in Germany’s Kromlauer park, this devil’s bridge is made with rock spires. The bridge itself is a half of a circle and it was designed so that it’s reflection in the water would look like a perfect circle. In order to preserve the bridge it can no longer be walked on, but it can be viewed at a good angle in the park

Hohenzollern Castle
Only a short distance from Stuttgart, even with more than 200 castles in Germany, this is still one of the most beautiful in the country. It has an interesting history as it was part of the Hohenzollern dynasty during the Middle Ages. The family that occupies it today are distant relatives.

St. Basil’s Cathedral Moscow
The official name of this cathedral is “The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat”. The cathedral was built to celebrate Ivan the Terrible’s capture of Kazan back in 1552. There’s been a lot of stories about this castle since it’s completion in 1560. One of the more interesting rumors is that Ivan actually blinded the two builders who built the castle so that they would never be able to complete anything else as beautiful as it. Today the cathedral is multicolored, but in the past it was white. There has been countless efforts to restore it and a rather interesting find was made during one of these restoration efforts. A wooden spiral staircase was found behind on of the cathedral’s walls back in the 1970s. Now a museum, visitors use the staircase to go into the central church.

Hallstatt Austria
This village doesn’t look like any other place in Austria. In fact it has somewhat of a fairytale feel. It dates back for centuries and flourished during the iron age. Once an ancient salt mine, the area features Alpine houses from the 16th century. One of the things that sets it apart is Lake Hallstatt. It acts as a backdrop to the town and there is a viewing platform for those that want to get an upclose view of the lake. Other sites to see include the Waldbackstrub waterfall and the Echern Valley.

Lake Reschen
What makes this area so enchanting isn’t the water itself, but the bell tower that sticks out of it. Back in 1939, Montecatini, which was an electric company, wanted to combine two lakes, Reschensee and Mittersee. The plan was to build a large dam that would allow for the ability to harness electricity. Unfortunately, the town of Graun as well as parts of Reschen would be flooded because of it. Despite a lot of opposition, plans moved forward and Graun was flooded. Before doing so the rest of the church was removed, but the bell tower remained in place. Despite the bells being removed before the town was flooded, many of the locals claim you can hear bells ringing on a quiet winter night.

Mont-Saint-Michel
Located between Brittany and Normandy, this island commune is one of the most recognizable landmarks in France. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the commune itself is made up of more than 60 different buildings. These include houses, a monastery and even a jail. Over 3 million people visit Mont-Saint-Michel every year.

Colmar, France
Surrounded by vineyards, this area is known for it’s Alsacian wines. This town is very charming as it has a country feel still despite renovations to it. Colmar is made up of canals, houses and a variety of boutiques and restaurants. It’s hard to visit here and not fall in love with the locals as they are quite hospitals to visitors.

The post Places That Look Like They Belong in a Fairytale appeared first on Atlas Traveler – A Travel and Lifestyle blog from Atlastravelweb.com.