Clan Rising
Edinburgh Castle above the medieval old town, reconstructed as it stood in 1511

Historic Places, Rebuilt

Explore the streets your family actually walked.

Inverness on the eve of Culloden. 1511 Edinburgh. Regency London. Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar. Photoreal AI reconstructions that run free in your browser with nothing to download, plus 161 cities, 2133 castles, 999 landmarks and 77 famous ships ready to rebuild as they stood in their prime.

Browse the reconstructions ↓Build your own castle

Start with your family name

Or explore England · Ireland · Scotland · Wales · the full catalogue.

The record

Six doors into your family’s past.

The royal court on the ramparts of Stirling CastleCastles of EuropeSeen a castle? See it in its primeLook up any great castle, read its history, and recreate it to explore, room by room, as it stood.Find a castle →
Regency London beneath St Paul's, reconstructed as it stood in 1818Landmarks of EuropeExplore the great landmarks in their primeThe Colosseum, Versailles, Pompeii, Europe's most visited landmarks, ready to rebuild and step inside.Explore landmarks →
The gun deck of HMS Victory as she lay at TrafalgarFamous ShipsWalk the decks of the great shipsTitanic, HMS Victory, the Vasa. How each was built, where she fought, and what she looked like below decks.Explore ships →
Banners flying over a hillside fortressFamily Names A–ZAll 497 families, A to ZThe full record, every documented surname, its motto, its region and its stories.Browse the catalogue →
Banners flying over a hillside fortressClan & Surname MapEvery surname, mappedTrace any family name to the region it rose from, nation by nation, tile by tile.Open the atlas →
A walled city sprawling beneath its castle rockClan & Castle RankingsThe most powerful clans, rankedEditorial power rankings of sustained political, military and economic power, nation by nation.See the leaderboards →

Castles of Europe

Seen a castle? See it in its prime.

2133 of Europe’s great castles, the history, the families who held them, and a one-click rebuild of each as it stood when the fires were lit.

Guédelon Castle, FranceFranceGuédelon CastleCorfe Castle, EnglandEnglandCorfe CastleCaernarfon Castle, WalesWalesCaernarfon CastleKenilworth Castle, EnglandEnglandKenilworth Castle
Explore all 2133 castles →

New · Landmarks of Europe

Recreate a great landmark and explore it.

The Colosseum on a games day, Versailles under the Sun King, Pompeii before the ash, the most visited landmarks in Europe, each ready to rebuild in its prime and step inside.

The ten most visited

Sagrada Família, SpainBasilicaSagrada Famíliaprime 2026Eiffel Tower, FranceTowerEiffel Towerprime 1889Colosseum, ItalyAmphitheatreColosseumprime AD 90Stonehenge, EnglandAncient siteStonehengeprime 2500 BCPompeii, ItalyAncient sitePompeiiprime AD 79Pantheon, ItalyBasilicaPantheonprime AD 126Cologne Cathedral, GermanyCathedralCologne Cathedralprime 1880Palace of Versailles, FrancePalacePalace of Versaillesprime 1682Louvre Museum, FranceMuseumLouvre Museumprime 2025Wembley Stadium, EnglandStadiumWembley Stadiumprime 2007

Ten worth discovering

Montmartre Cemetery, FranceCemeteryMontmartre Cemeteryprime 1888Chiswick House, EnglandMuseumChiswick Houseprime 1729Munich Residence, GermanyPalaceMunich Residenceprime 1842Science Museum, EnglandMuseumScience Museumprime 2019Wells Cathedral, EnglandCathedralWells Cathedralprime 1508Campo de' Fiori, ItalySquareCampo de' Fioriprime 1889Anfield, EnglandStadiumAnfieldprime 2024Amphitheatre of Pompeii, ItalyAmphitheatreAmphitheatre of Pompeiiprime AD 79Burghley House, EnglandMuseumBurghley Houseprime 1779Hôtel de Ville, Paris, FranceSeat of powerHôtel de Ville, Parisprime 1892

All the landmarks of Europe →

New · Historic Cities

Explore a great city in another century.

Roman London, Viking York, Shakespeare’s London, Canaletto’s Venice, 161 famous cities, each rebuilt street by street at the turning points of its life, 14-39 scenes deep with the famous interiors included.

Liverpool, EnglandEnglandLiverpoolExplore it in 1850 · 1910Valletta, MaltaMaltaVallettaExplore it in 1600 · 1910Regensburg, GermanyGermanyRegensburgExplore it in 1250 · 1750Visby, SwedenSwedenVisbyExplore it in 1350
Explore all 161 historic cities →

New · Famous Ships

Step aboard the ships that made the crossings.

Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar, the Mayflower mid-Atlantic, Titanic on her only crossing. 77 ships recorded as they were in their prime, each ready to rebuild from the gun decks to the great cabins.

The ten best known

Titanic, BritainShipTitanicprime 1912Mayflower, EnglandShipMayflowerprime 1620HMS Victory, BritainShipHMS Victoryprime 1805RMS Lusitania, BritainShipRMS Lusitaniaprime 1907RMS Queen Mary, BritainShipRMS Queen Maryprime 1936HMHS Britannic, BritainShipHMHS Britannicprime 1916RMS Olympic, BritainShipRMS Olympicprime 1911Vasa, SwedenShipVasaprime 1628HMS Hood, BritainShipHMS Hoodprime 1941RMS Carpathia, BritainShipRMS Carpathiaprime 1912

Ten more worth boarding

HMS Renown, BritainShipHMS Renownprime 1940Nautilus, FranceShipNautilusprime 1800Littorio, ItalyLittorio-class battleshipLittorioprime 1942Roma, ItalyLittorio-class battleshipRomaprime 1943German cruiser Nürnberg, GermanyShipGerman cruiser Nürnbergprime 1939SMS Prinz Eugen, AustriaTegetthoff-class battleshipSMS Prinz Eugenprime 1915HMS Glorious, BritainShipHMS Gloriousprime 1940Greek cruiser Georgios Averof, GreecePisa-class cruiserGreek cruiser Georgios Averofprime 1912German cruiser Prinz Eugen, GermanyShipGerman cruiser Prinz Eugenprime 1941Pola, ItalyZara-class cruiserPolaprime 1941

All 77 ships →

Free to explore now

Finished reconstructions you can step into today.

The two reconstructions no catalogue page can own: a Hebridean birlinn, which is a kind of galley rather than one named ship, and John Brown’s shipyard on the launch day of the Queen Mary. Both baked already, both free to explore.

Birlinn of the Isles in c.1450, reconstructed as a photoreal sceneBirlinn of the Isles, c.1450The galley of the Lords of the Isles under sail and oar through the Hebrides, the warship on a dozen clan crests, made real.Clydebank in 1934, reconstructed as a photoreal sceneClydebank, 1934John Brown's shipyard on launch day for the Queen Mary, the great hull on the ways, the cranes and the cloth-capped crowd.

New · Build Your Own Castle

Recreate any place in Europe

Pick a year from 1400 to 1945, a region of Europe on the map, your family or the local folk, and a castle, village or city, AI builds a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone.

Recreate a place →

Questions about the reconstructions

What is Historic Places, Rebuilt?

Historic Places, Rebuilt is Clan Rising's free project rebuilding the towns and castles families came from as photoreal AI reconstructions from history. Each is a photoreal AI reconstruction from history: a sequence of 360° scenes you explore in your browser, standing in the great landmarks and looking all the way around.

Are the reconstructions free, and do I need VR or an app?

Yes, every reconstruction is completely free. There is nothing to buy, download or install, you just sign in with a free Clan Rising account, and they open full-screen in any ordinary web browser on a phone, tablet or computer. No VR headset is needed; you just drag or swipe to look around.

Which towns and castles can I explore right now?

You can currently explore Titanic, Mayflower, HMS Victory, RMS Lusitania, Birlinn of the Isles and Clydebank. More towns and clan castles are added regularly.

How are the reconstructions made?

Each scene is a photoreal AI reconstruction, generated as a 360° panorama and then checked against the historical record, the buildings, streets and skyline as they stood in the chosen year. The result is an impression grounded in history rather than a literal photograph, which is why we call each one a photoreal AI reconstruction from history.

How accurate are the reconstructions?

They are photoreal evocations of the period, composed scene by scene, historically grounded impressions rather than survey photographs or measured drawings. We hold each scene to its year and deliberately leave out anything built later, so what you see belongs to the date on the page.

Can I request my family's town or castle?

Yes. More towns and clan castles are on the way, and you can tell us where your family is from on the submit page so we can prioritise the places people most want to explore.

Play As Your Clan

Explore history as your own familyStart your story →

Hold a real castle against whatever you send at it, command a ship in her own service years, or advise a life history followed closely. The chronicler sets the scene; the deeds are yours.

Request a reconstruction

Which town or castle should we build next?

Tell us where your family is from, or the place you’d most like to explore, and we’ll add it to the list. Leave your email and we’ll let you know the moment new ones go live.

Request a reconstruction & get notified

Name the town or castle in the location field below, and we'll tell you when new reconstructions are ready to explore. Free, no spam.

Up to two. Pick from the catalogue, type a surname we don't have yet, or choose "I'd rather not say".

I'm interested in
Start from the catalogue: the family atlas, Scotland, or the stories & legends.