Buildings in Impossible Places (8 Photos)

October 28, 2026

By Vidar

Eight buildings in places that make no sense

A hut on the Matterhorn, a hotel inside a hairpin bend, a lighthouse on a rock in the open sea. Someone built every one of them anyway, and they are all still standing.

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🏔️ Solvay Hut — Matterhorn, Switzerland 🇨🇭

This small shelter clings to the Hörnli Ridge of the Matterhorn at 13,133 feet. It is the highest hut owned by the Swiss Alpine Club, and climbers may only use it in an emergency.

💡 Cable Fact: Building materials were pulled up by cable from the Hörnli Hut, about 2,400 feet lower on the same ridge. Crews finished it in 1915; it was consecrated in 1917 and rebuilt in 1966.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsSolvay HutSwiss Alpine Club · 1917 · Hörnli ridge, Matterhorn4,003 mSwiss Alpine ClubEmergency use only1Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay gave 20,000 francs but, according to the SAC, never saw the hut: war kept him from the 1917 consecration.Swiss Alpine Club2Up to 600 climbers spend the night there each year, but only around 40 in a real emergency, according to the SAC.The Local191531 AugSAC: the hut stood, after two months’ work19178 AugSAC: officially consecrated1922JulPhotographed by Santiago Perdigó200519 AugPhotographed by Orion666201528 SepPhotographed by Whgler on the ridge20178 AugThe Local: centenary in Zermatt202216 JulPhotographed from afar by Roy EgloffMore photos1922 A climber at the hut door, stereo photographPhoto: Santiago Perdigó / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Orion666 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

🌊 Ar-Men Lighthouse — Brittany, France 🇫🇷

The Ar-Men lighthouse rises out of open water about 6 miles west of the island of Sein, off the tip of Brittany. Building it took 14 years, from 1867 to 1881, because workers could land on the rock only when the sea allowed.

💡 Work Fact: In the first season, crews managed just 8 hours of work on the rock and drilled 15 holes. The last two keepers were lifted off by helicopter on April 10, 1990.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAr-Men LighthousePaul Joly (engineer) · 1867–1881 · Chaussée de Sein, BrittanyBuilt 1867–1881Automated 10 April 199037 m tall1It took fourteen years, from 1867 to 1881, to build this lighthouse in open sea at the end of the Chaussée de Sein.Archives du Finistère2Its keepers nicknamed it “the hell of hells”; the light was automated on 10 April 1990.Archives du Finistère188118 FebFirst lit, on trial199010 AprLast keepers winched off; light automated201115 JanPhotographed by Jocelyn Caron202020 AugPhotographed by Gzen922022AugLantern taken down for restoration202610 SepLantern refitted, facade redoneRead the full file →

📷 Photo (also in cover): Jocelyn Caron / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

🧗 Abuna Yemata Guh — Tigray, Ethiopia 🇪🇹

This church is carved into a sandstone pillar about 650 feet above the surrounding land. The only way to Abuna Yemata Guh is up the cliff face, using hand- and footholds in the rock. From outside, the only sign of the church is the small dark doorway on the ledge.

💡 Bridge Fact: Near the top, climbers cross a natural stone bridge with a sheer drop on both sides, then a narrow wooden plank. Inside are wall paintings from the 15th century.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAbuna Yemata GuhBuilders unknown · 15th-century paintings · Gheralta, TigrayRock-hewn churchSandstone spireLocal earth pigments1A 2016 study says its wall paintings are suggested to belong to the second half of the 15th century.npj Heritage Science2Lonely Planet says the first 45 minutes of the climb are mildly challenging, with a couple of tricky sheer sections.Lonely Planet201628 SepWall paintings analysed · npj Heritage Science20177 NovCommons photo of the pillar, dated 7 Nov 201720182 DecPhoto of a mural inside the church202028 JanAerial photo of the cliffside entrance202112 JunTravelbook on the 45-minute climb20245 JanTravel writer’s climb report (visit undated)202531 MayThe Met: churches vulnerable after the war20255 NovCommons photo of the entrance, dated 5 Nov 2025More photos2017 The pillar above the church frontPhoto: Nccnjeck / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)2025 The ledge at the entrancePhoto: Barrowbob / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Evan Williams / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

🌀 Hotel Belvédère — Furka Pass, Switzerland 🇨🇭

The Hotel Belvédère sits inside a hairpin bend of the Furka Pass road, with the valley dropping away below. Josef Seiler opened it in 1882 as a small lodge beside the Rhône Glacier.

💡 Movie Fact: James Bond drove past it in Goldfinger in 1964. The glacier has since pulled back more than half a mile, and the hotel has been closed since 2015.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHotel BelvédèreSeiler hotel family · 1882 · Furka Pass, ValaisBuilt 188290 beds by 1907Closed since 20151The Carlen family of Brig bought the hotel in 1988; it has been closed since 2015.Swissinfo2According to the NZZ, its front view is on the cover of the best-selling book “Accidentally Wes Anderson”.NZZ1983SepPhotographed with the Rhône Glacier20043 OctPicswiss photo of the pass and hotel201316 AugPhotographed on the Furka road201828 JulPhotographed in its hairpin bend202215 JulNZZ: “the closed icon”202328 AugSwissinfo: closed since 2015, for sale202420 AugPhotographed standing in the bendRead the full file →

📷 Photo (also in cover): LIU Xiao / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🪵 Nageire-dō — Mount Mitoku, Tottori, Japan 🇯🇵

This wooden temple hall sits in a hollow of a sheer cliff on Mount Mitoku, propped up on long, thin stilts. Visitors must climb a steep path of roots, rocks and chains to see it, and the temple never lets anyone go alone.

💡 Throw Fact: Legend says the monk En no Gyōja shrank the hall and threw it into the cliff, so its name means “thrown-in hall.” Tree-ring dating in 2001 placed its construction in the late Heian period, between 1086 and 1184.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsNageire-dōBuilders unknown · 1086–1184 · Mount Mitoku, TottoriNational Treasure since 19521086–1184 (tree rings)Built on long pillars1Legend says En no Gyōja threw the hall into the cliff; the temple says how it was built is still a mystery.Mitokusan Sanbutsu-ji2A 2001 tree-ring study by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties dated the hall to 1086–1184.Mitokusan Sanbutsu-ji2003David Monniaux photo, © 2003201316 JunPhotographed by Reggaeman20157 JunPhotographed by Kazunori Fujimoto20182 JunKazunori Fujimoto’s photo, shown above202012 JulPhotographed by Saigen Jiro202415 AprSeen from the distant worship spot202528 AugAmakara Techo climb reportMore photos2024 Seen from the distant worship spotPhoto: Kazunori Fujimoto / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Kazunori Fujimoto / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🪨 Monemvasia — Laconia, Greece 🇬🇷

A whole town sits at the foot of a huge rock that rises out of the sea off the Peloponnese. Monemvasia is joined to the mainland by a single causeway about 1,300 feet long.

💡 Entrance Fact: The name means “single entrance” in Greek. People have lived on the rock since the sixth century.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMonemvasiaBuilders unknown · 6th century · Monemvasia, LaconiaSettled in the 6th centuryProtected since 1965Also called Malvasia1The name comes from its sole connection to the mainland: Greek for “the only entrance”.Hellenic Ministry of Culture2In 1890 a small part of the natural causeway was cut to create a bridge for boats.Wikipedia20031 SepIngo Mehling photographs the rock and lower town2004OctPhoto of the causeway to the old town201717 MayMunicipality publishes its history page202022 JanAerial photo by Katsikas pantelis20202 FebOur aerial photo, by Katsikas pantelis202322 AprAerial photo by C messierMore photos2003 The rock and lower town from the seaPhoto: Ingo Mehling / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Katsikas pantelis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

⛪ Monastery of San Juan de la Peña — Aragon, Spain 🇪🇸

A cliff hangs right over the cloister of the old monastery near Jaca. Monks built underneath it in the Middle Ages, and part of the church is carved straight into the rock.

💡 Name Fact: San Juan de la Peña means “Saint John of the Cliff.” The cloister under the rock dates from around 1190.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsSan Juan de la PeñaOld Monastery · Cloister late 12th c. · Botaya, JacaCloister under the rockApses cut into the rockRoyal Pantheon1The two apses of the pre-Romanesque lower church are dug into the rock that shelters the monastery.Patrimonio Cultural de Aragón2The first kings’ remains were moved to Huesca on 13 August 2026 as a wildfire advanced, and returned on 26 October.Cultura de Aragón201417 SepIramonf photographs the cloister (our photo)20175 FebZarateman: the Old Monastery under the rock201919 OctZarateman: the cloister beneath the overhang20235 JanDiego Delso: the cloister in January20249 SepKent Wang: the cloister arcades202626 OctAragon government returns the royal remainsMore photos2017 The whole Old Monastery under the rockPhoto: Zarateman / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Iramonf / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 es)

⛰️ Castelmezzano — Basilicata, Italy 🇮🇹

Houses pile up beneath sharp sandstone peaks in the Lucanian Dolomites. Castelmezzano looks squeezed into the only ground the rocks left free.

💡 Escape Fact: Local legend says people moved here in the 10th century to hide from Saracen raiders, and planned to roll boulders off the peaks onto attackers.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCastelmezzanoBuilders unknown · 11th–13th century · Castelmezzano, BasilicataLucanian Dolomites54 rock-cut stepsCastrum Medianum1Tradition says people fleeing 10th-century Saracen raids hid among these rocks, where attackers could be driven off by rolling boulders.Petra Holiday Home2A stair of 54 steps carved into a rock spire led to a lookout in the walls of the Norman-Swabian castle.Comune di Castelmezzano202013 NovSiViaggia on the medieval village202311 AugComune page on the rock-cut stairRead the full file →