Joseph HeinrichSoftware engineer
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Sep 6, 2026Visualization

Stone & Signal

See which historic places get the most visits on Wikipedia.

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How to use this project

Help

How to explore

Explore where these places are, when they began, and how often people visit their Wikipedia articles.

  1. Pick a country

    Select a circle on the Map to open a landmark. Larger circles mean more places in the data.

  2. Choose a time period

    Open Founding years and select a bar. This narrows the list and Wikipedia chart. Select the bar again to show all years.

  3. Compare Wikipedia visits

    Choose Wikipedia visits and select a dot for details. Add places to your trail to keep them handy while you explore.

Wikipedia languages
How many languages have a Wikipedia article about a place.
Visits
How many times Wikipedia articles were viewed over 365 days in the saved data. One person can visit more than once.
Wikipedia rank
The data ranks places using their Wikipedia languages and visits. Number 1 ranks highest. This does not measure historical importance.
Founding year
The year a place began, as listed in Wikidata. “About” means the date is an estimate. BCE means before the Common Era; CE means Common Era.
Side Quest / VisualizationChoose a country on the Map to see a landmark. Choose Wikipedia visits to compare places.
5,793 historic placesData from 31 July 2026

Historic landmarks on Wikipedia

Stone
& Signal

Find castles, palaces, fortresses, and ruins around the world. Choose a country to see a place and its Wikipedia visits.

Places in the data5,793Castles, fortresses, palaces, ruins
Founding year listed3,6102183 have no year
Middle listed year1500Median of known years
Search matches887of 887 places you can open
01 / Map

Landmarks by country

Each circle is a country. Bigger circles mean more places, though the largest sizes are capped. Select one to open a landmark. North is up; west is left.

Country locations sized by all landmark record countsFrance: 351 records — select to open a landmarkItaly: 350 records — select to open a landmarkGermany: 349 records — select to open a landmarkJapan: 297 records — select to open a landmarkSpain: 230 records — select to open a landmarkPoland: 217 records — select to open a landmarkEngland: 182 records — select to open a landmarkAustria: 182 records — select to open a landmarkCzech Republic: 182 records — select to open a landmarkIndia: 156 records — select to open a landmarkSwitzerland: 141 records — select to open a landmarkPortugal: 132 records — select to open a landmarkSweden: 131 records — select to open a landmarkRussia: 126 records — select to open a landmarkSlovakia: 126 records — select to open a landmarkNetherlands: 124 records — select to open a landmarkChina: 121 records — select to open a landmarkTurkey: 120 records — select to open a landmarkIran: 120 records — select to open a landmarkHungary: 120 records — select to open a landmarkUkraine: 120 records — select to open a landmarkGreece: 114 records — select to open a landmarkIreland: 107 records — select to open a landmarkUnited States: 98 records — select to open a landmarkScotland: 96 records — select to open a landmarkRomania: 93 records — select to open a landmarkBelgium: 83 records — select to open a landmarkBrazil: 78 records — select to open a landmarkWales: 67 records — select to open a landmarkSouth Korea: 56 records — select to open a landmarkCroatia: 47 records — select to open a landmarkDenmark: 46 records — select to open a landmarkLuxembourg: 42 records — select to open a landmarkSyria: 37 records — select to open a landmarkLatvia: 37 records — select to open a landmarkGeorgia: 37 records — select to open a landmarkIndonesia: 36 records — select to open a landmarkAzerbaijan: 35 records — select to open a landmarkBosnia and Herzegovina: 32 records — select to open a landmarkGhana: 31 records — select to open a landmarkSlovenia: 28 records — select to open a landmarkBelarus: 27 records — select to open a landmarkEgypt: 26 records — select to open a landmarkArmenia: 25 records — select to open a landmarkMorocco: 25 records — select to open a landmarkLithuania: 24 records — select to open a landmarkSerbia: 24 records — select to open a landmarkPakistan: 23 records — select to open a landmarkCanada: 23 records — select to open a landmarkIsrael: 22 records — select to open a landmarkBulgaria: 22 records — select to open a landmarkAlbania: 22 records — select to open a landmarkSaudi Arabia: 22 records — select to open a landmarkTaiwan: 21 records — select to open a landmarkFinland: 20 records — select to open a landmarkEstonia: 19 records — select to open a landmarkNorway: 19 records — select to open a landmarkJordan: 17 records — select to open a landmarkMalta: 17 records — select to open a landmarkChile: 15 records — select to open a landmarkThailand: 14 records — select to open a landmarkLebanon: 14 records — select to open a landmarkPhilippines: 14 records — select to open a landmarkSri Lanka: 13 records — select to open a landmarkAlgeria: 12 records — select to open a landmarkTunisia: 12 records — select to open a landmarkCuba: 11 records — select to open a landmarkMexico: 10 records — select to open a landmarkVietnam: 9 records — select to open a landmarkIraq: 9 records — select to open a landmarkNorthern Ireland: 9 records — select to open a landmarkMozambique: 8 records — select to open a landmarkOman: 7 records — select to open a landmarkCyprus: 7 records — select to open a landmarkUzbekistan: 6 records — select to open a landmarkBangladesh: 5 records — select to open a landmarkAfghanistan: 5 records — select to open a landmarkMalaysia: 5 records — select to open a landmarkKosovo: 5 records — select to open a landmarkArgentina: 5 records — select to open a landmarkCuraçao: 5 records — select to open a landmarkNamibia: 5 records — select to open a landmarkLiechtenstein: 4 records — select to open a landmarkHaiti: 4 records — select to open a landmarkNorthern Cyprus: 4 records — select to open a landmarkPeru: 4 records — select to open a landmarkSouth Africa: 4 records — select to open a landmarkPalestine: 4 records — select to open a landmarkPanama: 4 records — select to open a landmarkColombia: 4 records — select to open a landmarkLibya: 4 records — select to open a landmarkJersey: 4 records — select to open a landmarkKenya: 3 records — select to open a landmarkMoldova: 3 records — select to open a landmarkNepal: 3 records — select to open a landmarkGuatemala: 3 records — select to open a landmarkAustralia: 3 records — select to open a landmarkVatican City: 2 records — select to open a landmarkBenin: 2 records — select to open a landmarkSan Marino: 2 records — select to open a landmarkDominican Republic: 2 records — select to open a landmarkMadagascar: 2 records — select to open a landmarkBhutan: 2 records — select to open a landmarkSuriname: 2 records — select to open a landmarkSingapore: 2 records — select to open a landmarkIsle of Man: 2 records — select to open a landmarkBahrain: 2 records — select to open a landmarkAngola: 2 records — select to open a landmarkNew Zealand: 2 records — select to open a landmarkCape Verde: 2 records — select to open a landmarkYemen: 2 records — select to open a landmarkMontenegro: 2 records — select to open a landmarkNorth Korea: 2 records — select to open a landmarkUruguay: 2 records — select to open a landmarkEthiopia: 1 records — select to open a landmarkMonaco: 1 records — select to open a landmarkBrunei: 1 records — select to open a landmarkGibraltar: 1 records — select to open a landmarkCambodia: 1 records — select to open a landmarkParaguay: 1 records — select to open a landmarkMyanmar: 1 records — select to open a landmarkTonga: 1 records — select to open a landmarkFaroe Islands: 1 records — select to open a landmarkLaos: 1 records — select to open a landmarkSão Tomé and Príncipe: 1 records — select to open a landmarkGuernsey: 1 records — select to open a landmarkAruba: 1 records — select to open a landmarkBolivia: 1 records — select to open a landmarkNicaragua: 1 records — select to open a landmarkTanzania: 1 records — select to open a landmarkGuyana: 1 records — select to open a landmarkUnited Arab Emirates: 1 records — select to open a landmarkNiger: 1 records — select to open a landmarkSint Maarten: 1 records — select to open a landmarkQatar: 1 records — select to open a landmarkSudan: 1 records — select to open a landmarkDemocratic Republic of the Congo: 1 records — select to open a landmarkThe Bahamas: 1 records — select to open a landmark
The Map changes only with landmark type. Search and year filters apply to the list and Wikipedia chart. Some circles have no place to open. On small screens, scroll sideways to see the whole map.
Browse places

All founding years

Showing 12 of 887 matches, highest Wikipedia rank first. Search by name or country to narrow the list.

About the data

These visits cover 365 days in data saved in July 2026. Dates may be rough or missing. The list is incomplete, and Wikipedia visits do not measure historical importance.

The data comes from Castlemap and Wikidata, saved in July 2026. It does not update live or include every historic landmark.

Why this exists

The question

Which castles, palaces, fortresses, and ruins get the most visits on Wikipedia?

What to try

Choose a country on the Map to see a landmark. Choose Wikipedia visits to compare places.

Method and limits

About the data

I used the World Castles file published by TidyTuesday on 1 September 2026, which was accessed from Castlemap on 31 July. Country, category, and era summaries use all 5,793 records.

The 887-place sample includes the top 300 fame ranks, the 100 earliest dated records, and a selection of places with many Wikipedia languages but few views. It also includes every seventeenth record starting at rank 1, plus the top two per country where available; duplicates are removed. This selection is for browsing and cannot support estimates of how common a pattern is.

Missing years remain unknown and approximate years stay marked. Records with missing pageviews are omitted from the Wikipedia chart. All data is bundled with the page; it makes no live data requests.

The Map counts all 5,793 landmarks; search and individual details cover the 887 selected places. Circles use the middle latitude and longitude for each country, without borders. Circle sizes have a limit, so the largest counts may look alike. Country groups follow the source, including separate groups for UK constituent countries. Search and year filters do not affect the Map or its selections. Some country/type combinations have no selected landmark to open.

The founding-year bars use all landmarks and rescale when the landmark type changes. Medians use only known values. The Wikipedia chart uses logarithmic spacing on both axes: large values are compressed so smaller values remain visible. Its visits cover the source’s trailing 365-day window, rather than live activity.

Among the 3,610 known founding years, the median is 1500. Category medians are 1293.5 for ruins, 1350 for castles, 1667 for fortresses, and 1716 for palaces. Median 365-day pageviews are 1,468 for ruins, 1,169 for castles, 2,586 for fortresses, and 7,610 for palaces.

Skills used

  • Data analysis
  • Data engineering
  • Visualization
  • Information design
  • Interaction design
  • Editorial storytelling
  • Accessibility
  • Performance

What the data shows

  1. More than a third of these places have no listed founding year: 2,183 out of 5,793. Their dates stay unknown here.
  2. The middle founding year is 1716 for palaces and 1350 for castles. These dates describe the listed places, not every historic landmark.
  3. Wikipedia visits show online interest. They do not tell us how important a place is to history.

Sources

TidyTuesday; curated by Georgios Karamanis from Castlemap and Wikidata · Creative Commons CC0 1.0World Castles, Fortresses and Palaces — TidyTuesday 2026-09-01 ↗Wikimedia Foundation · Structured data available under Creative Commons CC0 1.0Wikidata licensing policy ↗