13. Rotbav Fortified Church, Romania

The Rotbav Fortified Church is centuries old (its construction finished somewhere around the 1300s) and something of a cautionary tale for the other old churches that dot the Romanian landscape. On February 19, 2016, a whole section of the church collapsed.

It had only gotten to this point of disrepair from neglect and lack of maintenance, an issue shared by its other brethren. Another church, Radeln’s church tower, also collapsed that same week from the same issue. Unfortunately, this sort of neglect means a lot of people are losing their heritage. If you wish to see such places, go now before it’s too late.