Russia · 8th century
Por-Bazhyn (Por-Bajin, Por-Bazhyng, Russian: Пор-Бажын, Tuvan: Пор-Бажың) is a ruined structure on a lake island high in the mountains of southern Tuva (Russian Federation). The name means "clay house" in Tuvan. Excavations suggest that it was built as a Uyghur palace in the 8th century AD, converted into a Manichaean monastery soon after, abandoned after a short occupation, and finally destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent fire. Its construction methods show that Por-Bazhyn was built within the Tang Chinese architectural tradition.
Text adapted from “Por-Bazhyn” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Por-Bazhyn ranks #856 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #37 of the 146 mapped in Russia. Founded 777, it is older than 95% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 48 atlas entries founded in the 8th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,957 times in the last 60 days, more than 83% of the atlas. See how Russia compares in the castle statistics.
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