Unforgettable Eerie Places We Traveled to Across Europe

Lake Resia Bell Tower

In the Italian Alps, right next to an Austrian border pass, lies Lake Resia (Reschensee) with a submerged medieval bell tower.

A sad story tells the tale of a farmer's village, that was forced to relocate and had to make place as per the Italian post-war government's directions for a hydroelectric dam project.

The area had been annexed, together with the rest of the South Tyrol region, by Italy from Austria. The locals mostly saw it as a punishment, as the first unannounced dam flooding was initiated in 1949 and their homes were submerged.

What was left was rot and crushed lives. The people of Grauen were relocated, and many left as immigrants to Austria.

The ones that stayed report to have heard over the decades the ringing of the bell in the age-old bell tower at night.

Yet, the bell was removed from the tower when the valley was flooded, which just adds to the eerie charm of this place.

Hallstatt Bone House

One of the most fascinating customs in Austria, Bavaria, and the Czech Republic is that of ossuaries.

An ossuary or Charnel house is an enclosed place where the bones of the dead are stored. This age-old practice was most prominently common where burial places were scarce.

Hallstatt is an ancient settlement perched against the Salzberg mountain in Austria, and space has always been scarce. Cremation was also forbidden back in the day.

The solution was (or still is) a second burial. The bones would be dug up after 10 to 20 years, and they would be neatly stacked in the Hallstatt bone house.

Skulls are painted with symbolic messages and the names of the deceased. Every so often, they would also add the date of passing. Each skull has its place, and families are grouped into sections.

The custom could have been a pagan remnant of the Hallstatt culture, as it was the capital of the mysterious Celtic kingdom of Noricum.

Saxon Cemetery of Sighișoara

Sighișoara is a town that was built by the Saxons as they were invited to settle in Transylvania, Romania, by the Hungarian ruler almost 900 years ago.

The Transylvanian Saxons retained their know-how and language to this current day, and a significant number were renowned for their special craftsmanship skills.

Located at the highest peak of the town within the fortress is the Church on the Hill with the adjoining Saxon Cemetery and probably one of the oldest schools in the country.

A walk-up across the wood-covered 176 steps takes you to this viewpoint, which is also one of the most historically important places in this medieval city.

The cemetery is filled with tombstones marked with German names, with some dating back to the mid-18th century.

Old branches of long-gone Saxon families that died out due to pandemics and wars, and a few of the remaining Saxon's roots can be spotted in this eerily beautiful cemetery.

The church is a mystery in itself. The crypt, below the choir area, was pillaged a few times over the centuries by thieves who were hoping to find riches here.

Influential men were preserved in the crypt, and the bones were visible up to the 90s, until they were laid to rest in the cemetery.

Devil's Footprint Frauenkirche

At the core of Munich sits the Frauenkirche, Munich's own cathedral. In the cathedral, right at the entrance, is a footprint known as the Devil's footprint.

The legend goes something like this:

The builder of the cathedral bet his soul with the devil that no window could be seen in the church. The sly devil found a way into the completed church before it was consecrated and stood where the footprint can be seen today.

As it is the devil's nature, he was elated that he couldn't see the windows, and in his excitement he left a footprint as he stamped into the ground.

But as he took another step forward, he could suddenly see all the windows from this new perspective.

Angry, the devil turned into a powerful wind and tried to take down the cathedral. He didn't succeed, but it is still said today that his winds and storms still howl between the towers of the Frauenkirche in Munich.

Peleș Castle

Peleș Castle in Romania took us on a mesmerizing journey with its surreal interiors.

It starts with a grand entrance to the gothic hall decorated with dark wooden carved panels and a stained-glass ceiling.

Lavish interiors are combined with a dimly lit room atmosphere. Neo-Renaissance meets vampiric gothic elements.

Chandeliers, knight armors, golden mirrors, and colorful stained glass come together in this perfectly curated castle, which was the former summer residence of the Romanian king.

Secret passages and buttons, as well as an elevator, were part of the royal family's setup for this castle.

It's as if time stood still, and I can only highly recommend that you plan a visit to the eerily enchanting Peleș castle.

Sarmizegetusa Regia

We drove for over an hour through thick forests across the hills and mountains of the Carpathians in Transylvania.

Eventually, we got to our destination, an ancient ruin in the forests of Romania known as Sarmizegetusa Regia.

Before the Romans conquered the area almost 2000 years ago, it was the ancient people of the Dacia kingdom who inhabited this area, and Sarmizegetusa Regia was one of their holiest places.

Several temples were located in these forests, well hidden at first, until the Romans found the sacred place, and it was completely razed down and probably also looted.

What's left are stone ruins and theories that there is most likely more to this story. The esoteric community believes that the temples were built on an energetic line.

Scholars say that sacrifices were common, but there are many elements of knowledge that have been lost over the centuries.

Even so, with all this missing knowledge, people that visit the area will remove their shoes to walk barefoot in a set pathway around the stones.

Riegersburg Castle

Europe is dotted with castles, and many of the most wonderful castles were mostly built some 150 years ago.

Therefore, I believe that this makes the Riegerburg castle all the more special.

At the top of a rocky hill in the rural hills of Styria sits the medieval castle of Riegersburg. The surreal setting could be the home of a mystical dragon.

I can only describe it as a place that seems to be detached from time and space. A disorienting maze of rooms and narrow stone passageways with everything that you can imagine, if you think a haunted castle, can be found in Riegersburg.

Alone, the former ice-cold, thick stone-walled prisoner quarters eternally emit the pungent odor of death and misery.

The witch exhibition in the castle recounts the sad and harrowing tale of over 300 witches that were brought to trial, executed, and burned in Styria alone.

Katharina Paldauf, the castle keeper's wife of Riegersburg, was one of the victims, who was taken to trial in the nearby town of Feldbach. She is remembered today as the Flower witch.

But if you think that witch accusations and trials are a thing of the past, think twice. The exhibition also elaborates on witchery in the 21st century, and you will be shocked to learn that executions by fire and drowning are still happening in 2025 somewhere in this world.

Nazi Concentration Camps

Concentration camps are truly some of the most grisly places that you can visit on a trip to Europe. Especially because the horrors are still fresh in our memory.

They serve as a point to educate visitors about the horrific events that were committed there.

We visited two such camps: Dachau, near Munich, and Mauthausen in Austria.

The housing units were completely removed in Dachau, and what's left are reconstructed buildings that serve the purpose of informing.

The same thing goes for Mauthausen, but this place left a much darker effect on us than we anticipated.

From afar, you can spot the stone quarry where prisoners were working to their end. Just above on the hill is a farmhouse surrounded by green pastures.

The inhabitants had tried to tell the local police about the happenings at the quarry, but it was to no avail.

This fact and so many other disturbing stories are difficult to take in, but we should never forget and remember all those who died during this horrible period of our history.

Hoia-Baciu Forest

Hoia-Baciu Forest is probably one of the most haunted forests in Europe.

Located just outside the city of Cluj-Napoca, it is known as the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania. The forest has been holding on to its reputation thanks to the countless unexplained incidents.

A shepherd known as Hoia never came back from the forest, and the case of his disappearance was by no means resolved.

Locals believe that a clearing in the center of the forest is a portal, and visitors have reported uneasiness and nausea as they walked through the clearing.

Sightings of UFOs since the 60s have only deepened the fascination of the Hoia-Baciu Forest in the past 50 years.

People have come out of the forest confused and disoriented, and some reported that time seemed to tick differently in the woods.

Interestingly, the oldest Neolithic settlement in Romania was discovered in the Hoia-Baciu Forest in the last decades. Those are houses and tombs that existed there over 8500 years!

Age-old, strangely shaped hornbeam and linden trees only further amplify the captivating appeal and effect of these legends.