Ancient Ruins in Europe

Check out the Ancient Ruins in Europe and decide your plan.

Visegrad, Pest County, Hungary

Visegrad, a city on the Danube in Hungary, is home to the small, but impressively fortified Visegrad Castle. It absolutely was engineered by King Bela IV, but destroyed after raids by the Turks. Today, the ruins of the castle are open to the public.

The Castle of St. Hilarion, Northern Cyprus

Perched atop a mountain in the Kyrenia range, the Castle of St. Hilarion is one of the foremost dramatic ancient ruins of Europe. The castle isn’t named after the Palestinian monk St. Hilarion the Great, but after another saint of the same name. The castle dates to the 11th century. The interiors of the castle are fascinating to walk through, and the view of the Mediterranean outside, unbelievable.

Ephesus, Asian Turkey

Ephesus was a Greek town on the Ionian coast of Asian Turkey that was inhabited for 500 years, starting in the 10th century BC. Unlike the other ruins on this list, Ephesus may be a whole town. The ruins contain dozens of temples, fountains, libraries and streets, all preserved in spectacular shape. The amphitheater, especially, was glarge enough to be comparable to a small, modern stadium.

Pula, Croatia

Pula is an ancient waterfront city in Croatia. It has a rich heritage of ancient construction: temples, arches, amphitheaters and gates dating to the Middle Ages and even prehistoric times. From the Pula Arena and the Chapel of Mary Formosa to the Pula Amphitheater, the city has some of the finest ancient ruins you are likely to encounter anywhere.

The Plovdiv Roman Theatre, Bulgaria

The Plovdiv Roman Theatre, an ancient amphitheater that dates back to 100 AD, is a ruin that isn’t well-known outside of Plovdiv, the second largest city of Bulgaria. With 28 rows of marble seats arranged in horseshoe formation and a three-story stage building, Plovdiv was one of the best-built theaters of its time. After repeated incidents of severe damage over its history, the theater, today, has been beautifully restored. Hosting performances each night, the Plovdiv Roman Theatre is in demand once again, probably as it was millennia ago.

Image by Réka M. Varga,rejflinger,archer10 Under Creative Common License.