Fake It Until You Make It: 10 Artificial Ruins

For centuries, the fascination with ruins, often termed ruinophilia, has driven the creation of ingenious replicas—elaborate fake facades and hollow castle structures adorning grand estates across England, Europe, and America. While the trend of building artificial ruins peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries, modern architects occasionally still embrace this practice.

What motivated the construction of structures designed to look decayed? From the 16th to the 19th century, two key factors fueled the trend of counterfeit ruins: a classical education emphasizing the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome, and The Grand Tour—an extensive European journey undertaken by affluent young men and women after their studies. Starting in London or France and often reaching as far as the Middle East, these travels invariably included Italy, where Roman ruins were a major attraction. Many wealthy travelers returned home eager to replicate these ruins, whether to enhance a picturesque landscape, showcase their wealth, or fabricate a sense of lineage for the newly rich.

Below are several examples of romantic ruins built between the 18th and 21st centuries.

1. SHAM CASTLE // BATHAMPTON, ENGLAND

Sham Castle, as its name suggests, is nothing more than a façade. Built in 1762, this structure overlooks the city of Bath and was commissioned by Ralph Allen, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist, to enhance the view from his home and provide employment for stonemasons. From afar, it resembles a ruined castle, but it’s actually just a wall featuring two three-story round turrets and a two-story square tower at each end. Sham Castle isn’t Allen’s only folly—a term often used for decorative architecture. He also built a fake bridge on Serpentine Lake in what is now Prior Park Landscape Garden. Though the bridge can't be crossed, it serves as a picturesque centerpiece for the lake. Today, Sham Castle is located within a private golf course.

2. WIMPOLE FOLLY // CAMBRIDGESHIRE, ENGLAND

Constructing a building that appears to be in decay doesn’t eliminate the need for upkeep. The four-story Gothic tower known as Wimpole Folly, located in Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, was erected between 1768 and 1772 for Philip Yorke, the first Earl of Hardwicke and owner of the Wimpole Estate. Now under the care of Britain’s National Trust, the structure faced the risk of actual collapse a few years ago, prompting restoration efforts. The most recent restoration was so expertly executed that it earned the 2016 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage. Today, the Wimpole Estate welcomes visitors for walks and hikes.

3. CAPEL MANOR FOLLY // ENFIELD, ENGLAND

Capel Manor, located in Bulls Cross, Enfield, England, has hosted several grand residences since its first mention in the 13th century. While visitors might assume the manor’s ruins are centuries old, this historical impression is deceptive: The fake 15th-century structure was constructed in 2010 to enhance the visual charm of the manor gardens, which have welcomed the public since the 1920s.

4. ROMAN RUIN // SCHONBRUNN PALACE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

The Roman Ruin was designed as a decorative garden feature for the 1441-room Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, one of Austria’s most significant landmarks. Originally named The Ruins of Carthage, after the ancient North African city conquered by Rome, the structure is far from ancient—it was built nearly 2000 years after Carthage’s fall in 146 B.C.E. Designed in 1778 by architect Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg, the ruin features a rectangular pool surrounded by an elaborate semi-circular arch, inspired by an engraving of the Ancient Roman temple of Vespasian and Titus.

5. THE RUINEBERG // POTSDAM, GERMANY

One of Germany’s earliest artificial ruins is the collection of structures known as The Ruinenberg. Commissioned by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in 1748, the ruins were part of a grand fountain project for his summer palace in Potsdam, near Berlin. Although the waterworks proved too challenging and were abandoned, designer Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff completed the ruins, which feature Roman pillars, a circular temple, and a Roman theatre wall. Since 1927, the site has been managed by the Prussian Gardens and Palaces Foundation, Berlin-Brandenburg.

6. PARC MONCEAU // PARIS, FRANCE

The sophisticated Parc Monceau, situated in Paris’s upscale 8th arrondissement near the Champs-Elysees and Palais de l’Elysée, was designed in 1778 by the Duke of Chartres. Inspired by English architecture and gardens, particularly the concept of nostalgic ruins, he enlisted architect Louis Carrogis Carmontelle to craft an elaborate park. The park features a Roman temple, antique statues, a Chinese bridge, a farmhouse, a Dutch windmill, a minaret, a small Egyptian pyramid, and artificial gravestones. Its most striking element is a pond encircled by Corinthian columns, now called Colonnade de Carmontelle.

7. HAGLEY PARK CASTLE // WORCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND

The medieval-style castle ruins at Hagley Park in Worcestershire are entirely artificial, constructed using materials from a nearby abbey’s real ruins. Commissioned by Sir George Lyttelton in 1747 and designed by Sanderson Miller, a pioneer of Gothic revival architecture, the folly includes a round tower at each corner, with only one fully completed and adorned with a coat of arms. The estate also boasts a temple portico modeled after an ancient Greek temple, along with urns and obelisks. Today, the grounds are privately owned and not accessible to the public.

8. TATA CASTLE RUINS // TATA, HUNGARY

French architect Charles de Moreau (1758-1841), renowned for his expertise in classical Roman architecture, was commissioned by Nicholas I, Prince Esterhazy of Hungary, to design Tata Castle and craft artificial ruins of a Romanesque church for the palace’s English Garden. Although the ruins were fabricated, Moreau used stones from a genuine ruin—the remains of the early-12th-century Benedictine and later Dominican abbey of Vértesszőlős. He also incorporated a third-century ancient Roman tombstone and relief nearby.

9. BELVEDERE CASTLE // MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the mid-1800s as part of their vision for Central Park, Belvedere Castle was completed in 1869. This Gothic-Romanesque hybrid structure, overlooking the Great Lawn, was initially conceived as a hollow shell and intended to resemble a ruin. Over time, it served practical purposes, including housing a weather bureau and exhibition space. Today, it provides a picturesque setting for Shakespeare in the Park performances, echoing the royal castles often featured in the Bard’s plays.

10. FOLLY WALL IN BARKING TOWN SQUARE // LONDON

In a borough celebrated for its genuine historic structures, the aged-looking wall in London’s Barking Town Square might appear centuries old. However, it’s a modern creation, ironically part of the square’s renovation project. Constructed by bricklaying students from Barking College using salvaged bricks and weathered stone, the wall is known as the "Secret Garden," inspired by the children’s book about a walled garden. Designed to conceal a nearby supermarket, it was unveiled in 2007.