Vajdahunyad Castle began as a temporary illusion. Built from cardboard and wood for Hungary's 1896 millennial celebrations, the structure proved so beloved that architects rebuilt it in stone within a decade. The result is an architectural sampler platter: 21 different Hungarian buildings compressed into one fairytale complex on a lake island in City Park.

Architect Ignác Alpár modelled the Gothic towers on a genuine Transylvanian fortress once owned by János Hunyadi, father of the great King Matthias. Nearby sits a hooded bronze figure whom Budapest children call "Darth Vader." He is Anonymous, Hungary's mysterious 12th-century chronicler, the only source for much of the nation's early history.

The castle now houses Europe's largest agricultural museum, though most visitors come simply to admire buildings that no longer exist within Hungary's borders. VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours trace how this elaborate fake castle illuminates a thousand years of very real Hungarian history.