In the old days in the UK and Europe it was common for the landed gentry to build purely decorative structures on the grounds of their estates which looked intrigiung but had no useful purpose. These were known as Follies.

Says Wikipedia:

“Eighteenth-century English landscape gardening and French landscape gardening often featured mock Roman temples, symbolising classical virtues. Other 18th-century garden follies represented Chinese temples, Egyptian pyramids, ruined abbeys, or Tatar tents, to represent different continents or historical eras. Sometimes they represented rustic villages, mills, and cottages to symbolise rural virtues. Many follies, particularly during times of famine, such as the Great Famine in Ireland, were built as a form of poor relief, to provide employment for peasants and unemployed artisans.

“In English, the term began as “a popular name for any costly structure considered to have shown folly in the builder”, the OED‘s definition, and were often named after the individual who commissioned or designed the project. The…