Sphinx Observatory

Today, filed under “architectural wonders”: Jungfraujoch, Switzerland’s Sphinx observatory, a imposing, snowbound metal building that looks remarkably like that one place from Inception. Perched atop a rocky cliff, the observatory is accessible year-round via the Jungfrau Railway and is used to study anything from meteorology to glaciology, under high-altitude conditions. The observatory was built in 1937—25 years after the train station opened—to accommodate the scientists who had flocked to the incredible location.
The mountain itself has been modified to work with the building: its top has been tunneled out and fitted with an elevator; a metal-grate terrace hugs the mountain’s sides, affording visitors a 360-degree, 11,333-foot-high view of the Great Aletsah Glacier.

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