Most of us don't give much thought to the buildings we pass on our daily commute. But every so often, we come across one that makes us stop, stare, and marvel at its “beautiful impossibility.”
Sometimes it’s the sheer scale or location of a structure that leaves us wondering how on earth it was built and appreciating the craftsmanship behind it. Other times, it’s simply the building’s beauty—its symmetry, color, or decorative details that have long since fallen out of favor.
Whatever the case may be, you don’t need to know your arches from your architraves to appreciate these architectural gems. And, luckily, with online communities like the one that shared the images we’re featuring here today, you also don’t need to travel very far to admire them.
The buildings featured in today's collection inspire a sense of wonder in all kinds of ways. Let's take a closer look at three of these architectural gems to see what makes them so extraordinary.
#102 13th-Century Saigerturm(Saiger Tower) With A 19th-Century Upper Replacement Seen From A Cobblestone Street In The Town Of Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
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15points
#107 Grosvenor And Lansdowne Crescent Gardens Surrounded By Late 19th-Century Georgian And Regency-Style Town Houses And The 1879 Victorian Gothic Revival St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, West End Of Edinburgh, Scotland
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14points
#108 Gloucester Cathedral Cloister, Constructed Between 1351 And 1412. Perpendicular Gothic
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14points
#109 French Renaissance-Style Alwyn Court Completed In 1909, An Apartment Building At 180 West 58th Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City
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14points
#112 16th-Century Gothic Church Of Saint Bavo Located On The Grote Markt In The City Of Haarlem, The Netherlands
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13points
#115 1911 Kurmittelhaus(Spa Treatment Center) With Curved Gables And Roofs By The Freiburg Architect Robert Mühlbach With The Collaboration Of Alexander Ackermann In The Spa Town Of Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
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13points
#116 Details Of The Flamboyant Gothic-Style West Facade Of Orléans Cathedral Featuring Ornate Tracery And Crocketed Gables, Orléans, France
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13points
#117 19th-Century Neo-Gothic Mariahissen
Once housing a now-defunct lift, and the 19th-century Dutch Renaissance Laurinska huset residential building on the edge of Södermalm Island, seen across the bay from a street in Gamla Stan, the historic old town of Stockholm, Sweden
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13points
#119 Federal-Style House With A Sunroom Addition In Forest Hills Gardens, Queens, New York City
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12points
