The Radziwiłł family residence is in Nesvizh Castle, also known as Nyasvizh Castle, in Nyasvizh, Belarus. At 183 meters above sea level, it is located. Constructed during the 16th and 17th centuries and occupied by the Radziwiłł family until 1939, the castle and the adjacent Corpus Christi Church played a significant role in shaping the architectural styles of Central Europe and Russia. The church, the castle, and the immediate vicinity were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005. After the Kiszka family vanished in 1533, the estate was given to Mikołaj Radziwiłł and his brother Jan Radziwiłł, bringing the Radziwiłł magnate family ownership to the estate. The Lithuanian Metrica was transferred there in 1551 because the Radziwiłłs were among the most prominent and affluent clans in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The estate became an ordynacja in 1586. Following the Union of Lublin, the castle rose to prominence as one of the most significant homes in the central region of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł, the Voivode of Trakai–Vilnius, the Marshal of Lithuania, and the castellan of Šiauliai began building an impressive three-story castle in 1582. The former defenses were completely transformed into a renaissance-baroque residence, despite the fact that the works were founded on a prior medieval castle framework. By 1604, construction was finished, and a few galleries were added fifty years later. Four octagonal towers protected the vertices of the château. The castle-defenses were breached and destroyed by troops of Charles XII in 1706, during the Great Northern War. A few decades later, the Radziwiłłs asked some architects from Germany and Italy to expand and extensively rebuild the castle. The two-story gatehouse tower was topped with a helm, and the 16th-century castle gates were also rebuilt. Around this period, the three distinct structures that surrounded the central courtyard were combined into one building. The Radziwiłł family was driven from the castle when Russian forces took control of it in the midst of the 1792 Polish–Russian War. The palace was abandoned over time, both by the Russian army and then by its original owners. Nonetheless, the Radziwiłł family restored it, and Prince Antoni Wilhelm Radziwiłł and his French wife Marie de Castellane remodeled the castle-interiors between 1881 and 1886. They also created an English-style landscape park. The park is one of the largest of its kind in Europe, spanning more than one square kilometer. The complex of castles is regarded as the most exquisite in Belarus. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005. From 2004 to 2012, the castle complex underwent major restoration.
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The Indian state of Rajasthan contains the city of Jaisalmer, home of the Jaisalmer Fort. Almost one-fourth of the inhabitants of the ancient city still live in the fort, making it one of the very few still living forts in the world, along with Carcassonne, France. The fort was home to the city of Jaisalmer for the majority of its 860-year existence. In order to cope with the expanding population of Jaisalmer, the earliest dwellings outside the fort walls are reported to have emerged in the seventeenth century. The second-oldest fort in Rajasthan, Jaisalmer Fort was constructed in 1156 AD by the Rawal (Ruler) Jaisal, from whom it gets its name. It was situated at the intersection of several vital trade routes, including the historic Silk Road. The huge walls of yellow sandstone that make up the fort are a tawny lion color during the day that fades to honey-gold as the sun sets, giving the fort a natural appearance amid the golden desert. Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as the Golden Fort, Sonar Quila, or Swarn Durg. Trikutgarh is another name for the fort, which is situated atop Trikuta Hill in the middle of the vast, sandy Thar Desert. Today, it is situated near the southern boundary of the city that bears its name. Because of its prominent hilltop location, the extensive defense-towers can be seen for kilometers in all directions. The fort is situated atop a hill that rises to a height of 250 feet above the surrounding farmland, measuring 1,500 feet long by 750 feet broad. In addition, the fort features four gates or reinforced entrances from the townside, one of which was formerly cannon-guarded. According to legend, the fort was constructed in 1156 CE by the Bhati Rajput Rawal Jaisal. According to the legend, it replaced an older structure at Lodhruva, which dissatisfied Jaisal. As a result, Jaisal erected the city of Jaisalmer, which served as the new capital.
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Situated close to the remnants of Hadrians Wall in the city of Carlisle, Carlisle Castle is a stone keep medieval castle. The castle, which dates back over 930 years and was first constructed in 1092 under William II and reconstructed in stone under Henry I in 1122, has played host to numerous significant events in British history. A significant role was played by this castle in the English-Scottish wars. It has served as the epicenter of numerous invasions and conflicts. In 1745–1746, during the Jacobite Rising, Carlisle was the final English castle to be besieged. On August 7, 1996, the castle was placed on the Scheduled Ancient Monument list. The original construction of Carlisle Castle took place under William II, the son of William the Conqueror, who ruled England. Cumberland was still seen as a region of Scotland at the time. On the location of the ancient Roman fort of Luguvalium, which dendrochronology dates to 72 AD, William II ordered the erection of a Norman-style Motte and Bailey castle at Carlisle. Castle work started in 1092. Henry I of England gave the order to build a stone fortress with towers on the location in 1122. As a result, the city walls and keep were built. The current keep is from approximately 1122–1135. There are just 104 known examples of tower keep castles, the most of which are located near the Welsh border. In the process of expulsion of the Scotts from Cumberland, numerous attempts were made to reclaim the territory. As a result, during the following 700 years, Carlisle and its castle would pass through various hands numerous times. Carlisle Castle served as the crucial stronghold of the Western March, a buffer region designed to guard the western section of the Anglo-Scottish border, from the middle of the 13th century until the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1603. The castle was considerably neglected after 1746, though some small repairs, like the restoration of the drawbridge in 1783, were made. In the nineteenth century, several portions of the castle were then destroyed and used as raw materials to build what is essentially what visitors see today. In August 1996, Carlisle Castle was placed on the register by Historic England. Using photogrammetric tools to document discoveries, Historic England conducted the first formal research into the medieval graffiti and carvings spread across the castle site in 2016.
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The Będzin Castle is located in the southern Polish city of Będzin. The wooden stronghold, which was built in the eleventh century, predates the forteenthth-century stone castle. It served as a crucial defense for the Polish Kingdom and, subsequently, for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The origins of Będzin village date back to the ninth century. The wooden fort in the area, which dates back to the eleventh century according to documents, was destroyed in 1241 during the Tatar invasion and then again reconstructed. The timber fortification was replaced by a stone castle during the reign of Casimir III the Great. As early as 1348, the stone castle was in use. Not long afterward, in 1358, the burgeoning trading settlement of Bytom was granted city powers under the Magdeburg Law. The castle was intended to serve as a military outpost on the southwest frontier of the Kingdom of Poland and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was the furthest westward stronghold, designed to fend off any assault from Bohemian or Silesian areas toward Lesser Poland. The castle was visited in 1364 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Maximilian III, the Archduke of Austria, was imprisoned here in 1588 following his loss in the 1587–1588 War of the Polish Succession. The late 16th century saw the fortress fall into decay. The further devastation was caused by the fire in 1616 and the damage sustained during The Deluge in 1657. Although the stronghold was regularly restored, its significance diminished as frontiers of Poland and its ties with its neighbors changed. Following the division of Poland, Prussian rule over Będzin resulted in the Hohenzollern dynasty gaining ownership of the castle. The adjacent areas were given to the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 and the Congress of Poland in 1815. When a stone fragment squashed a bystander in 1825, the nearly collapsing castle was directed to be demolished. However, the castle was designated as a monument before any work was done on it. Count Edward Raczyński purchased the castle in the 1830s, had it largely renovated, and briefly placed a Protestant chapel therein. However, after Raczyński passed away in 1845, hopes to construct an academy or hospital there were shelved, and the castle once more fell into neglect. It was not until the Peoples Republic of Poland, from 1952 to 1956, that the castle was reconstructed and turned into a museum. #History#Architecture#Castles
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In the Angus region of Scotland, Glamis Castle is located next to the community of the same name. The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne resides there, and it is a public residence. The Lyon family has resided at Glamis Castle since the fourteenth century, however the current structure primarily originates from the seventeenth century. The late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, grew up in Glamis Castle. On August 21, 1930, Princess Margaret, her second daughter, was born there. The grounds of the castle are listed on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes of Scotland, a national listing of noteworthy gardens, and are safeguarded as a category A listed building. There are prehistoric remnants in the area around Glamis Castle. For instance, the Eassie Stone, a well-known Pictish stone with exquisite carvings, was discovered in a creekbed at the nearby village of Eassie. Malcolm II was assassinated in 1034 at the Royal Hunting Lodge in Glamis. The Macbeth character in the play by William Shakespeare stays at Glamis Castle, despite the fact that the real King Macbeth had no relation to the castle. A castle was erected at Glamis by 1372, as the husband of the daughter of the king, Sir John Lyon, Thane of Glamis, received the property from Robert II in that same year. Early in the fifteenth century, the castle was rebuilt as an L-plan tower house. Sir Patrick Lyon, grandson of Sir John, was given the title Lord Glamis in 1445. During the conflict between James V and the Douglases, John Lyon, 6th Lord Glamis, married Janet Douglas, daughter of the Master of Angus. Janet faced treason charges in December 1528 for transporting followers of Angus to Edinburgh. After that, she was accused of poisoning her late husband, Lord Glamis, who had passed away on September 17, 1528. She was eventually charged with witchcraft, and on July 17, 1537, at Edinburgh, she was executed by burning at the stake. After that, James V captured Glamis and made his home there for a while. Glamis was given back to John Lyon, 7th Lord Glamis, in 1543. Patrick Lyon, the ninth Lord Glamis, was made Earl of Kinghorne in 1606. He started the major development of the castle. Glamis was garrisoned by soldiers during the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Upon his return to the castle in 1670, Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, discovered it was unusable. Up to 1689, repairs were made, and a sizable Baroque garden was created. The early 19th century saw the reconstruction of the south-west wing following a fire. The Dining Room is one of several interiors that also comes from the 18th and 19th centuries. The back of ten-pound notes printed by the Royal Bank of Scotland has included an image of the castle since 1987 #History#Architecture#Castles
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Situated in the village of Carisbrooke on the Isle of Wight in England, Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte and bailey castle. In the months leading up to his trial, Charles I was held captive at the castle. There may have been pre-Roman habitation on the site of Carisbrooke Castle. There may have been a building there in late Roman times based on the remains of a wall. Wihtgar, the cousin of King Cynric of Wessex, is said to have died in AD 544 and was buried there according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. By the late 7th century, the fort might have been occupied by the Jutes. The location was home to an Anglo-Saxon stronghold in the eighth century. In order to protect the hill against Viking incursions, a wall was constructed around it circa AD 1000. Family of Richard de Redvers owned the castle from 1100 until his descendants enhanced it with stone walls, towers, and a keep during the course of the following two centuries. Edward I purchased the castle in 1293 from the last Redvers inhabitant, Countess Isabella de Fortibus. From that point on, wardens, acting as delegates of the monarch, were given control over it. During rule of Richard II in 1377, the French attempted an unsuccessful raid on the fortress. The story goes that Peter de Heyno, a local hero, shot the French commander and saved it. In 1467, Anthony Woodville, the future Earl Rivers was granted the castle and the Lordship. During era of Henry I, the keep was erected to the castle, and during reign of Elizabeth I, Sir George Carey, who had been appointed Governor of the Isle of Wight in 1583, fortified it further when the Spanish Armada was anticipated. Later, Carey hired Federigo Giambelli, an Italian engineer, to strengthen the defenses even more. Beginning in 1597, Giambelli built a contemporary trace Italienne fortress that encircled the old castle and bailey entirely. It consisted of a squat rampart and ditch, periodically reinforced by strong bastions. Before his execution in 1649, Charles I spent fourteen months in prison here. Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Queen Victoria, lived there as the Governor of the Isle of Wight from 1896 until 1944. English Heritage is presently in charge of it [Information and Image Credit : Carisbrooke_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carisbrooke_Castle ] [Image : The interior of Carisbrooke Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Geni] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carisbrooke_castle_buildings_2023.JPG ] #History#Architecture#Castles
The castle ruin known as Pontefract Castle is located in the English West Yorkshire town of Pontefract. It is believed that King Richard II passed away there. It saw several well-known sieges during the English Civil War in the seventeenth century. Built in around 1070, Ilbert de Lacy built the castle atop a rock above All Saints Church, to the east of the town, on property that William the Conqueror had given him in exchange for his assistance during the Norman Conquest. Nonetheless, there is proof that the location was occupied in the past. The castle was originally made of wood, but over time, stone was added. Ilberts Castle was mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, most likely referring to Pontefract Castle. In the 12th century, Robert de Lacy was not present to assist King Henry I when he was fighting his brother for control of the castle. For the Honour of Pontefract, Roger de Lacy gave King Richard I 3,000 marks, but the King kept the fortress. In 1199, the year John came to the throne, his successor King John awarded de Lacy the castle. Eldest son of John, Roger, succeeded him after his death in 1213. Nevertheless, Castle Donington and Pontefract Castle were seized by the King. Up until the early 14th century, the de Lacy family resided in the fortress. During the tenure of the de Lacys, the beautiful multilobate donjon was constructed. The estates of the House of Lancaster inherited the castle by marriage in 1311. Six days following his defeat at the Battle of Boroughbridge, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, 1278–1322, was executed outside the castle walls as a result of a sentence imposed on him in the great hall by King Edward II. Because of this, the earl was martyred and his tomb at Pontefract Priory was turned into a shrine. The third son of King Edward III, John of Gaunt, received it after Henry, Duke of Lancaster. He turned the castle into his own home and lavished enormous sums of money on renovations. On June 25, 1483 in Pontefract Castle, brother of Elizabeth Woodville i.e. Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers and her son Sir Richard Grey were murdered by Richard III. Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy, the custodian of the castle, gave the castle to the organizers of the Pilgrimage of Grace, a northern English Catholic uprising against King Henry VIII, in 1536. Because the monarch considered purported surrender of Lord Darcy to be treasonous, he was put to death. The fortress was occupied by King Henry VIII of England, who arrived on August 23, 1541, as part of his summer royal tour of the North. King James visited Pontefract Castle on April 19, 1603, while traveling south to London, and spent the night at the Bear Inn in Doncaster. The castle was part of English jointure property of his wife Anne of Denmark. At the outset of the English Civil War, Pontefract Castle was under the control of Royalists. December 1644 saw the start of the first of three sieges, which lasted until March 1644, when Marmaduke Langdale, 1st Baron Langdale of Holme, came with Royalist reinforcements and the Parliamentarian army withdrew. Artillery and mining activities during the siege caused damage, which led to the collapse of the Piper Tower. Oliver Cromwell led the last siege of Pontefract Castle in November 1648. Charles I was put to death in January. The defenders at Pontefract reached an agreement, and on March 24, 1649, Colonel Morrice turned over the castle to Major General John Lambert. On March 27, Parliament issued an order directing that Pontefract Castle be completely destroyed, leveled to the ground, and its belongings sold off. Tearing down the castle slowly after the main organized activity of slighting may have added to its ruinous state. Nonetheless, visitors can still tour the 11th-century cellars of the castle, which were used for keeping military hardware during the Civil War [Information and Image Credit : Pontefract_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontefract_Castle ] [Image : Early 17th-century painting in the Pontefract Castle Museum by Alexander Keirincx] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1652, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pontefract_Castle.jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
In Tattershall, Lincolnshire, England, there is a castle called Tattershall Castle. Robert de Tattershall constructed a stone castle or a fortified manor house in 1231, which is where Tattershall Castle got its start. Between 1430 and 1450, Ralph Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell, the Treasurer of England, completely renovated and expanded this using bricks. In England, brick castles are less prevalent than stone, earth, and timber structures; when brick was used for construction, it was frequently done so for aesthetic or fashion reasons. The Flemish weavers started the habit of employing bricks. Although there was an abundance of stone in the area, Cromwell decided to utilize brick. Constructed with over 700,000 bricks, the castle has been hailed as the best example of English medieval brickwork. The moat and the 130-foot Great Tower of the fortress made by Lord Cromwell are still intact. The three state rooms of the castle are believed to have originally been exquisitely furnished, with massive Gothic fireplaces that adorned the apartments with tapestries and chimney pieces. The castle was allegedly an early example of a residential country home disguising itself as a fortress. After Oliver Cromwell died in 1456, his niece Joan Bouchier initially inherited the castle. However, following the death of her husband, the Crown seized the property, and it was owned by the royal family from King Edward IV to King Henry VIII. After recovering Tattershall Castle in 1560, Sir Henry Sidney sold it to Lord Clinton, who would go on to become the Earl of Lincoln. The Earls of Lincoln owned Tattershall Castle until 1693. After passing to the Fortesques, it was neglected. In 1910, it was listed for sale. The enormous medieval fireplaces, its finest treasures, remained intact. They had been torn apart and packed for shipping when an American purchased them. At the last minute, Lord Curzon of Kedleston intervened to purchase the castle, and he was adamant about recovering the fireplaces back. They were located in London and brought back following a nationwide search. From 1911 and 1914, he worked on the renovation of castles. After he passed away in 1925, one of the three most significant mid-15th-century brick castles still standing in the United Kingdom was given to the National Trust. Lord Curzon advocated for historic protection legislation in Britain as a result of the Tattershall tragedy, and the Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913 was the result [Information and Image Credit : Tattershall_Castle,_Lincolnshire, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattershall_Castle,_Lincolnshire ] [Image : Great Tower of Tattershall Castle with its three different entrances; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Brian from UK] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en ] [Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tattershall_Castle,_2006.jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
Situated in Granada, Andalusia, Spain, the Alhambra is a complex of palaces and fortifications. Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the first Nasrid emir and the founder of the Emirate of Granada, started construction on the complex in 1238. It was constructed on the Sabika hill, an offshoot of the Sierra Nevada that had previously hosted forts and palace of Samuel ibn Naghrillah from the eleventh century. The location was repeatedly altered by later Nasrid monarchs. The greatest building projects, which contributed significantly to the defining characteristics of royal palaces, were carried out in the fourteenth century under Yusuf I and Muhammad V. The Alhambra was a stand-alone city apart from the rest of Granada during the Nasrid dynasty. It was a royal city and fortification with at least six great palaces, the most of which overlooked the Albaicín sector from their location along the northern perimeter. The Mexuar, Comares Palace, Palace of the Lions, and Partal Palace are the most well-known and well-preserved, and they serve as the primary draw for tourists today. Both contemporary excavations and historical records provide information on the other palaces. Afterwards, the palaces underwent some modifications and the location became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella. Charles V ordered a new palace in the Renaissance style in 1526 to be built in stark contrast to the Nasrid palaces, but it was abandoned in the early 17th century. Following defeat of Napoleon I, when his forces demolished portions of the site, the Alhambra was found after being abandoned for years and its structures occupied by squatters. Initially, British intellectuals led the rediscovery efforts, followed by other American and Northern European Romantic explorers. Washington Irving was the most significant of them all; his Tales of the Alhambra, published in 1832, made the location famous around the world. Known for its remarkable instances of Spanish Renaissance architecture, it is also one of the most well-known monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the old Islamic world. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world, in addition to containing notable examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture. [Information and Image Credit : Alhambra, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra ] [Image : Dawn on Charles V palace in Alhambra, Granada, Spain; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Jebulon] [The Image (file) is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. One can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en ] [Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dawn_Charles_V_Palace_Alhambra_Granada_Andalusia_Spain.jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
Located in the English county of East Sussex, Lewes Castle is a medieval stronghold. Once known as Bray Castle, it stands sentinel over the gap in the South Downs created by the River Ouse, in which the towns of Cliffe and Lewes are situated. Built from native limestone and flint stones, it is situated on an artificial hill north of the main street of Lewes. The only other castle in England with a motte and bailey layout is Lincoln Castle. The castle, however, is unique in that it has two mottes. Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the first motte, known as Brack Mount, was finished, and the second motte, known as the Keep, was finished in the late 11th century. William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, built both mottes. At the beginning of the 12th century, brick shell keeps took the place of the wooden palisades that had hitherto topped the mottes. There was a stone wall with towers in the Bailey area as well. At the Battle of Lewes in 1264, soldiers withdrew from the fortress to fight Simon de Montfort. One of the shell keeps had towers erected to it in the thirteenth century, and a barbican gate was added in the fourteenth. Following his untimely death in 1347, John, the 7th Earl of Warennes, was laid to rest in Lewes Priory. His nephew Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, inherited his title. The Sussex Archaeological Society began renting the castle in 1850. Charles Thomas-Stanford later purchased the castle and gave it to the organization in 1922 [Information and Image Credit : Lewes_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewes_Castle ] [Image : Two towers of Lewes Castle in East Sussex, seen from the west; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Antiquary] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lewes_Castle_towers.JPG ] #History#Architecture#Castles
In the central Iranian province of Fars, the town of Izadkhast is home to the Izad Khast Castle. Constructed during the Sassanid dynasty rule, 224 and 651 AD, the castle served as a walled city fortification along the old Silk Road that passed across central Iran. After Arg-e Bam, it is the second-largest adobe structure in the world. Perched on a high bedrock with a commanding view of the Izadkhast valley lies the castle. Many little passageways and alleys that wind through centuries-old tiny cottages and structures may be found inside the castle walls. On August 9, 2007, the castle and the Izadkhast complex around it were nominated in the Cultural category for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Situated between Shiraz and Isfahan on the historic Silk Road lies the Izad-khast fortress. The location is surrounded by a desert and is in the middle of nowhere. But in the midst of this nowhere, a high single bedrock overlooking a valley provided the perfect setting for the construction of a fortified desert metropolis. Built around the bedrock, the fortification walls of the castle are tall, nearly perpendicular, and span six to fifteen meters on three sides. Because of the natural topography of the site and additional fortifications, the castle was one of the hardest places for foes and criminals to access in antiquity. The location and construction style of the castle exhibit distinctive features. Materially speaking, nonetheless, it is similar to the Citadel of Bam, Rayen, and other neighboring locations in the provinces of Yazd and Kerman [Information and Image Credit : Izad-Khast_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izad-Khast_Castle ] [Image : View of Izadkhast Castle in August 2018.; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Hadi Karimi] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Izadkhast_Castle_by_Hadi_Karimi.jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
Located in Trieste, northeastern Italy, between Barcola and Grignano, lies the 19th-century Miramare Castle. Based on a design by Carl Junker, it was constructed for the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, who would later become Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico, between 1856 and 1860. The archduke created a vast 22-hectare seaside and cliff park as part of the castle-grounds. The archduke thoroughly redesigned the landscaping with a variety of tropical tree and plant types. Ferdinand Maximilian, 1832–1867, of the House of Habsburg–Lorraine, the younger brother of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria, gave the order to build Miramare Castle and its grounds. When Maximilian arrived in Trieste in 1850, accompanied by his brother Charles, he was eighteen years old. He then promptly embarked on a brief voyage to the Near East. His goal to sail and see the world was validated by this voyage. He was made an officer in 1852, and the Imperial Navy appointed him Commander in Chief in 1854. He made the decision to go to Trieste, where he had a house erected with a view of the sea and a park fitting of his status and name. Tradition has it that the archduke picked that barren rocky spur of limestone origin as the location for his house after taking refuge in the small harbor of Grignano during a sudden storm in the Gulf. The entire complex was dubbed Miramar when it was initially acquired at the start of March 1856, presumably in remembrance of the residence of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry in Pena, Portugal [Information and Image Credit : Miramare_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miramare_Castle ] [Image : Miramare Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Michał Bulsa] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Castello_di_Miramare_(Trieste)_(7).jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
Located in the French department of Eure, the town of Gisors is home to the Château de Gisors. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the castle served as a vital stronghold for the Normandy dukes. Its goal was to keep the King of France from invading the Anglo-Norman Vexin area. Robert of Bellême was given the order by King William II of England to construct the first castle at Gisors. The octagonal stone keep atop the motte was constructed by Henry I of England as part of his mission to fortify Normandy against the ambitions of the French monarchy. Henry I also erected the royal castle at Gisors. It witnessed the building of about twenty-five castles. During the imprisonment of King Richard I of England in Germany in 1193, the castle, which was commanded by Gilbert de Vascoeuil, was taken over by King Philip II of France. Following demise of Richard in 1199, Philip went on to conquer a significant portion of the remaining Normandy, which resulted in decline of Gisors in significance as a frontier castle. The connection of the castle to the Templars is another well-known fact, under the administration of the French king from 1158 to 1160. It was the last jail of the Grand Master of the Order Jacques de Molay until 1314. The first construction, which dates to around 1095, was a motte encompassed by a large courtyard or bailey. The motte was enhanced with an octagonal stone keep by Henry I, Duke of Normandy, of England. Important reinforcement work carried out after 1161 saw this keep elevated and expanded, the wooden palisade of the motte turned to stone, creating a chemise, and the outside wall of the bailey finished in stone with flanking towers. One of the best surviving specimens of a shell keep is said to be the octagonal keep. The bailey is thought to have held 1,000 men, but in 1438 there were only 90 English soldiers in the garrison. This had dropped to 43 by 1448. The French Ministry of Culture has designated the Château de Gisors as a historical monument since 1862 [Information and Image Credit : Château_de_Gisors, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Gisors ] [Image : The original octagonal keep and chemise of Gisors; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Nitot] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chateau-de-Gisors.jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
Henry VIII built Pendennis Castle, an artillery fort, in the vicinity of Falmouth, Cornwall, England, between 1540 and 1542. As a component of the Kings Device initiative, it safeguarded the Carrick Roads waterway at the mouth of the River Fal from French and Holy Roman Empire invasions. The earlier castle was surrounded by a ring of substantial stone ramparts and bastions by the end of the century to fend off the growing Spanish threat. The original, circular keep and gun platform was retained. Pendennis was held by the Royalists during the English Civil War and was only captured by Parliament in 1646 following an extended siege. After Charles II was reinstated in 1660, he restored the fortress, which had withstood the interregnum. Defenses of Pendennis were updated and modernized in the 1730s and 1790s because to persistent fears of a potential French invasion; the castle could have up to 48 guns during the Napoleonic Wars. In order to bolster these defenses, new, fast-firing guns were added in the 1880s and 1890s. An electrically driven minefield was also erected across the River Fal, controlled from Pendennis and St Mawes. After being rearmed during World War I but seeing no action, the castle was rearmed again during World War II and saw battle against German Luftwaffe aircraft. By 1956, however, the castle had become obsolete and was dismantled. The Ministry of Works took over management of the site, demolishing several of the more contemporary military structures and making it accessible to the public. English Heritage is in charge of running the castle as a tourist destination in the twenty-first century. Pendennis is regarded by the heritage organization Historic England as one of the best specimens of a post-medieval defensive promontory fort in the nation [Information and Image Credit : Pendennis_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendennis_Castle ] [Image : 16th-century gun platform and keep; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Willhsmit] [The copyright holder of this work, have released this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pendennis_Castle.jpg ] #History#Art#Architecture#Castles
In the English county of Northumberland, there lies a medieval fortress known as Warkworth Castle, which is now in ruins. Situated less than a mile from the northeast coast of England, the village and castle are situated around a loop of the River Coquet. The castle may have been erected by King Henry II of England when he seized control of the northern counties, however Prince Henry of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria, is generally credited with building it around the middle of the 12th century. The first record of Warkworth Castle dates back to 1157–1164, when Roger fitz Richard received a charter from Henry II. When the Scots invaded in 1173, the timber castle was left undefended and was thought to be weak. Robert, son of Roger, inherited the castle and made improvements. King John loved Robert so much that in 1213 he invited him to stay at Warkworth Castle. With periods of guardianship when heirs were too young to manage their holdings, the castle stayed in the family. In 1292, John de Clavering, a Roger Fitz Richard descendant, claimed the Crown as his own after King Edward I spent the night there. Edward II made investments in castles at the start of the Anglo-Scottish Wars, one of which being Warkworth, where he provided funds for the reinforcement of the garrison in 1319. The Scots unsuccessfully assaulted the castle twice in 1327. After John de Clavering passed away in 1332 and his widow in 1345, the 2nd Baron Percy of Alnwick assumed ownership of Warkworth Castle after Edward III had promised him estate of Clavering. Added in the late 14th century by Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, the impressive keep watches over the settlement of Warkworth. The fourth earl started constructing a collegiate church inside the castle and remodeled the bailey-buildings, but after his passing, he stopped working on the project. The English Civil War caused damage to the castle, despite support of the 10th Earl of Northumberland for Parliament. That Percy earl passed away in 1670. Hugh Smithson, who wed the indirect Percy heiress, acquired the castle in the middle of the eighteenth century. Taking the surname Percy, he established the lineage of the Dukes of Northumberland, who subsequently inherited the castle. The dukes renovated Warkworth Castle in the late 1800s, and Anthony Salvin was hired to rebuild the keep. In 1922, the Office of Works took administration of the castle from the 8th Duke of Northumberland. The building is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed structure that has been in the care of English Heritage since 1984 [Information and Image Credit : Warkworth_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warkworth_Castle ] [Image : The Enclosure and Keep of the Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Draco2008 from UK] [Image is availed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Warkworth_Castle_interior,_2007.jpg ] #Castles#History
Knappogue Castle is a tower house in the parish of Quin, County Clare, Ireland. It was constructed in 1467 and extended in the middle of the 19th century. Now that the structure has been renovated, guided tours are available. Seán Mac Conmara, the son of Síoda Mac Conmara, constructed the original castle in 1467, and it is a fine example of a late medieval tower house. The fortress was converted into a headquarter of the MacNamara or Mac Conmara sect in 1571. Donnchadh Mac Conmara led the Irish Rebellion in 1641, and MacNamara had control of Knappogue during the 1640s Irish Confederate Wars. The castle was occupied by Arthur Smith between 1659 and 1661. Knappogue was given back to its MacNamara proprietors in 1660, following the restoration of the crown. The Scott family of Cahircon eventually purchased the castle in 1800 after Francis MacNamara, the High Sheriff of Clare in 1789, gave it to them. The Scott family then undertook extensive renovation and expansion projects. Baron Dunboyne, Theobold Fitzwalter Butler, purchased the castle in 1855. The Dunboyne family used it as their family seat. They carried out the restoration work of the Scotts, adding a drawing room, a long room, and a west wing with the doorway and clock tower. The East Clare Flying Column provided security for the Clare County Council meetings, which took place at Knappogue Castle during the War of Independence. The Quinn family acquired the castle in 1927 when the Irish Land Commission bought the Knappogue demesne. Then, in 1966, Mark Edwin Andrews, a former Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy, bought the castle and surrounding acreage in Houston, Texas. The castle thereafter reverted to much of its original 15th-century state, incorporating and preserving later modifications that documented the ongoing habitation of the castle. The castle was bought by Shannon Development in 1996. The castle now hosts guided tours and serves as a location for medieval feasts and weddings [Information and Image Credit : Knappogue_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knappogue_Castle ] [Image : Knappogue Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : https://www.flickr.com/people/sitomon/ ] [Image is availed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Knappogue_Castle.jpg ] #Castles#History
The medieval castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings is located in Budapest and is known as Buda Castle. Although the huge Baroque palace that now occupies most of the site was built between 1749 and 1769, the original construction was completed in 1265. The building complex used to be known as the Royal Castle or the Royal Palace. The Budapest Historical Museum and the Hungarian National Gallery are currently located within the castle. Buda Castle is located on the southernmost point of Castle Hill and is encircled by the popular tourist destination of Várnegyed, which is well-known for its churches, monuments, homes, and structures from the Middle Ages, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods. The Castle Hill Funicular connects the hill to Clark Ádám Square and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. In 1987, the castle was officially designated as a part of the Budapest World Heritage Site. During the Kádár era, the original Royal Palace was reconstructed in a simplified Stalinist Baroque design after being destroyed during World War II. King Béla IV of Hungary constructed the first royal home atop Castle Hill between 1247 and 1265. It is unclear if it was located close to the Kammerhof on the northern elevation or at the southernmost point of the hill. Younger brother of King Louis I of Hungary, Stephen, Duke of Slavonia, constructed the earliest portion of the current palace in the fourteenth century. The foundation of the castle keep are all that are left. Gothic residence of King Louis I was set around a small courtyard next to the fortress. King Sigismund upgraded the defenses of the palace and greatly expanded it. As the Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund required an opulent palace to symbolize his importance among the rulers of Europe. During his lengthy rule, he made Buda Castle his principal residence, and it grew to be arguably the biggest Gothic palace of the late Middle Ages. A significant hub for the artistic development of the International Gothic style was Buda. Large-scale construction activity peaked during the reign of King Matthias Corvinus. The king completed construction on the Gothic palace in the first several decades of his reign. That is probably when the Royal Chapel and the Lower Church that still stand were constructed. Italian humanists, artists, and craftsmen came to Buda with the marriage of Matthias and Beatrice of Naples in 1476. The capital of Hungary developed into the first Renaissance hub north of the Alps. The palace was reconstructed by the king in the early Renaissance style. The humanists in the court of of Matthias Corvinus typically associated him with Hercules; panels illustrations of the exploits of the Greek hero adorned the bronze gates, and a massive bronze statue of the hero greeted visitors in the forecourt of the palace complex, the site of jousts. The palace was restored during reign of King John Zápolya. Italian military engineers constructed the Great Rondella on the southernmost point of Castle Hill. One of the primary remnants of the former palace is the circular bastion [Information and Image Credit : Buda_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buda_Castle ] [Image : Buda Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Marc Ryckaert (MJJR)] [Image is availed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Budapest_Castle_R02.jpg ] #Castles#History
Located 16 km northeast of Melton Mowbray and 10 km west of Grantham, Leicestershire, England, Belvoir Castle is a beautiful residence and faux historic castle. On this location, a castle was first constructed soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066, and it has subsequently undergone at least three reconstructions. The last structure is an early 19th-century imitation castle that is listed on grade I. David Manners, the 11th Duke of Rutland, inherited it in 1508 through a straight male line. It is his residence. The Manners family was originally buried in the parish church of St. Mary the Virgin in Bottesford, but since 1825, their historic remains have been transported to the ducal mausoleum that was constructed near to the castle in that same year. Although it is accessible to the public, the Duke of Rutland still owns it privately. The castle is located in the most northern point of Leicestershire County, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir on the Nottinghamshire border to the northwest. It is surrounded by Lincolnshire County to the east and Nottinghamshire County to the west. The settlements of Bottesford, Woolsthorpe, Knipton, Harston, Harlaxton, Croxton Kerrial, and Redmile encircle it. Originally, a Norman fortress dominated both the nearby wapentake of Winnibriggs in Lincolnshire and the high ground inside the wapentake of Framland. Until Robert de Ros received Belvoir as a grant in 1257, it was a royal manor. The Norman fortress was noted to be in ruins by 1464. Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, began building a massive Tudor manor house in 1528. 1555 saw its completion. It was one of the more prominent strongholds of the supporters of the king during the English Civil War, and King Charles stayed the night here when traveling into Lincolnshire. Because the family backed the Royalists, Parliamentarians destroyed the Tudor structure in 1649. Many artistic creations can be found within the publicly accessible castle. The opulent state rooms—the most well-known of which are the Elizabeth Saloon, the Regents Gallery, and the State Dining Room, which is decorated in a Romanesque style—are the highlights of the tour [Information and Image Credit : Belvoir_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belvoir_Castle ] [Image : Belvoir Castle; Wikipedia-Image Author : Jerry Gunner from Lincoln, UK] [Image is availed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Belvoir_Castle.jpg ] #Castles#History
São Pedro de Penaferrim, in the municipality of Sintra, on the Portuguese Riviera, is home to the Romanticist Pena Palace. Perched on a peak in the Sintra Mountains, overlooking the town of Sintra, the castle is plainly visible from Lisbon and a large portion of the metropolitan area on a clear day. It is a national monument and one of the most significant examples of Romanticism from the 19th century worldwide. The palace is one of Seven Wonders of Portugal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The President of the Portuguese Republic and other government authorities also utilize it for formal events. The history of the castle began in the Middle Ages with the construction of a chapel devoted to Our Lady of Pena on the hill overlooking Sintra. Tradition has it that building started following a vision of the Virgin Mary. In order to fulfill a commitment, King John II traveled to the location in 1493 with his wife, Queen Leonor. King Manuel I, who succeeded him, had a great affection for this sanctuary as well. He gave the Order of Saint Jerome the order to build a monastery there. For centuries Pena was a modest, sedate retreat for monks, with room for no more than eighteen. Lightning struck the monastery in the 18th century, causing significant damage. But it was the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, which happened not long after, that severely damaged the monastery and left it in ruins. Even though the remains were abandoned for many years, young Prince Ferdinand was nonetheless in awe of them. As King Consort Ferdinand II, he made the decision in 1838 to purchase the old monastery, the surrounding territories, the Castle of the Moors, and a few other local estates. The Portuguese royal family would use the remnants of the monastery as a vacation house, thus King Ferdinand set out to build a palace on their site. Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, a mining engineer and lieutenant general, was tasked with overseeing the reconstruction of the Romantic style. Being a well-traveled amateur architect from Germany, Eschwege probably knew a number of castles along the Rhine. Although it was nearly finished in 1847, the construction was completed between 1842 and 1854. There was significant intervention on questions of decoration and symbolism by King Ferdinand and Queen Maria II. The Portuguese State bought the palace in 1889, and following the Republican Revolution of 1910, it was designated as a national monument and turned into a museum. Before going into exile, Queen Amélia, the last monarch of Portugal, spent her final night at the palace [Information and Image Credit : Pena_Palace, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pena_Palace ] [Image : Palácio da Pena; Wikipedia-Image Author : www.GlynLowe.com from Hamburg, Germany] [Image is availed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pena_National_Palace_-_Sintra_-_Pal%C3%A1cio_Nacional_da_Pena_(15842491914)_(cropped).jpg ] #Castles#History
The official residence and office of the president of the Czech Republic is Prague Castle, a collection of castles located in Prague, Czech Republic. Constructed in the ninth century, the castle has long been the official residence of Bohemian monarchs, Holy Roman emperors, and Czechoslovak presidents. As a result, the president, his advisers, and his staff are frequently referred to as the Prague Castle, the Castle, or the Hrad. It has a secret room that holds the Bohemian Crown Jewels. Prague Castle, which spans about 70,000 square meters, is the biggest old castle in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records. With more than 1.8 million tourists a year, the castle is one of most popular tourist destinations of Prague. Bohemian King Ottokar II strengthened defences and reconstructed the royal palace for housing and representation. During rule of Charles IV in the fourteenth century, the fortifications of the castle were reinforced and the royal residence was reconstructed in the Gothic style. The rotunda and basilica of St. Vitus were replaced by the beginnings of a massive Gothic church, which was finished nearly six centuries later. The castle was abandoned during the Hussite Wars and the decades that followed. Vladislaus II Jagiellon, King of Poland, started restoring the fortress in 1485. The Royal Palace was expanded to include the imposing Vladislav Hall. On the north side of the castle, more defence towers were constructed. Large portions of the castle were destroyed in a massive fire in 1541. A few new Renaissance-style buildings were erected during the Habsburg dynasty. For his wife Anne, Ferdinand I constructed the Belvedere as a summer holiday residence. Prague Castle served as primary residence of Rudolph II. He built the Spanish Hall, the centre piece of the northern wing of the palace, which housed his priceless art holdings. The Bohemian Revolt began at the castle during the Third Defenestration of Prague in 1618. The fortress suffered damage and decay during the ensuing battles. During the decisive Battle of Prague at the time of Thirty Years War in 1648, many pieces of collection from Rudolph II were pillaged by Swedes. In the latter part of the 18th century, Empress Maria Theresa completed the final significant reconstruction of the castle. Prague Castle was the palace of the previous emperor Ferdinand I, who abdicated in 1848 and was succeeded to the throne by his nephew Franz Joseph [Information and Image Credit : Prague_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Castle ] [Image : Prague_Castle; Wikipedia-Image Author : Tilman2007] [Image is availed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)]
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Constructed by The 3rd Viscount Palmerston between 1784 and 1765, Classiebawn Castle is a rural estate situated on a 4,000-hectare estate on the Mullaghmore Peninsula, close to Cliffoney hamlet in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Architect James Rawson Carroll of Dublin created the Baronial design for it. It is made of yellow-brown sandstone that was transported by sea from County Donegal. It consists of a group of gabled buildings with a central tower capped by a turret with a conical roof. Master of the Rolls of Ireland, Sir John Temple, was given the land where Classiebawn currently sits. The 3rd Viscount Palmerston, a statesman who held the positions of British Prime Minister and British Foreign Secretary, inherited the property. The harbor at Mullaghmore and the present Classiebawn Castle were both ordered to be built by this Lord Palmerston. The Rt. Hon. William Cowper-Temple, his stepson and heir, finished the home in 1874 after he passed away in 1865. When the latter went away in 1888 without bearing children, his nephew, The Hon. Evelyn Ashley, the second surviving son of The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, inherited the estate. Every year, Evelyn Ashley would spend a few months there. Wilfrid Ashley, his only son, succeeded him after his death in 1907. Along with his daughters Edwina, who would go on to become Countess Mountbatten, and Mary, who served as the second wife of 4th Baron Delamere from 1944 until 1955, he also enjoyed his summers at the castle. The home was cleared in 1916 and stood unoccupied until 1950. After Edwina Mountbatten inherited it in July 1939, she and her husband, Admiral of the Fleet Louis Mountbatten, made a number of modifications, including the installation of a mains water supply and electricity. The last Viceroy of India, Mountbatten, spent his summers there after his wife passed away in February 1960. He died there in August 1979 when his boat was blown off of the shore of Mullaghmore. The estate of Hugh Tunney, a businessman from Trillick in County Tyrone, currently owns the castle and its environs. He leased the property for many years before purchasing it in 1991 [Information and Image Credit : Classiebawn_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classiebawn_Castle ] [Image : Classiebawn_Castle; Wikipedia-Image Author : Kent Wang] [Image is availed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Classiebawn_Castle,_Mullaghmore.jpg ] #Castles#History
Situated close to the Irish Sea on a rocky knoll, Harlech Castle, a Grade I listed medieval castle, is located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales. Edward I had it constructed between 1282 and 1289, during his invasion of Wales, at the comparatively low sum of £8,190. The fortress took part in numerous battles over the ensuing centuries, withstanding siege of Madog ap Llywelyn in 1294–1295 before falling to Prince Owain Glyndŵr in 1404. After that it served as home and military base of Glyndŵr for the duration of the rebellion, until English forces retook it in 1409. The ballad Men of Harlech commemorates the siege of Harlech, which was held by the Lancastrians for seven years during the Wars of the Roses in the fifteenth century, until Yorkist armies forced its submission in 1468. The fortress was defended by supporters of Charles I after the English Civil War broke out in 1642. They maintained it until 1647, when it was the final stronghold to fall to the forces of the Parliament. The historic environment service of Welsh Government, Cadw, is in charge of overseeing the abandoned castle in the twenty-first century as a tourist destination. UNESCO has designated Harlech Castle as a World Heritage Site, citing it as one of best examples of Europe late 13th- and early 14th-century military architecture. Concentric in shape and constructed of local stone, the stronghold has a colossal gatehouse that was presumably originally used to house the castle constable and other high-ranking guests. A large flight of steps and a water-gate descend from the castle to the previous beach, where the sea once came considerably closer to Harlech than it does now. This feature allowed the castle to be resupplied by sea during sieges. The architecture of Harlech shares many similarities with that of the County of Savoy around the same period, which is consistent with other castles of Edward in the north of Wales. This similarity is likely due to the Savoy origins of the principal architect, James of Saint George. Although there is no proof that a native Welsh stronghold ever stood where Harlech Castle is located in North Wales, the legend of the Welsh princess Branwen is linked to the location in local folklore [Information and Image Credit : Harlech_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlech_Castle ] [Image : Harlech Castle; Wikipedia-Image Author : Cadw] [Image is availed under Open Government Licence version 1.0; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/1/open-government-licence.htm ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harlech_Castle_-_Cadw_photograph.jpg ] #Castles#History
Located in the town of Tamworth, Staffordshire, England, Tamworth fortress is a Norman fortress with Grade I status that commands a view of the mouth of the River Anker into the Tame. However, prior to boundary adjustments in 1889, the majority of the town belonged to Staffordshire, while the castle was located on the border of Warwickshire. During the Anglo-Saxon era, the location was the home of the Mercian kings; however, it was abandoned during the Viking incursions. One of best-preserved motte-and-bailey castles of England, the structure was reinforced by the Normans and then expanded. Offa, the king of the Mercian kingdom, established a palace in Tamworth when it became his principal home. From this palace, he issued many charters known as sedens in palatio regali in Tamoworthige, the first of which was issued in 781. Almost nothing remained of its previous splendor after the Viking invasion in 874. Subsequently, in 913, Æthelflaed, the Mercian Lady, rebuilt Tamworth and strengthened it with an earthen burh. However, when the location was once more raided by the Danes in 943, this did little to protect it. Status of Tamworth as a royal palace vanishes during the ensuing decades, despite the fact that a mint there produced coins for successive Anglo-Saxon monarchs and, eventually, for William the Conqueror, the new Norman king. The land was later given to Robert Despenser, stewardof William, who constructed a timber castle in the style of a Norman motte and bailey in the 1080s. This was the ancestor of the current edifice, taking up the southwest corner of the former burh (burg). Robert died childless, leaving his nieces, one of whom married Robert Marmion, to inherit the castle. From approximately 1100 to 1294, the Marmion family, who were heir apparent to the Dukes of Normandy and thereafter the new English Kings, occupied the castle for six generations. The castle started to be remodeled in stone during their tenure, though there was a point when it looked like it might be completely destroyed. Over the ages, the castle saw several expansions, particularly during the Jacobean era, when the family of the Ferrers and their intermarried relatives began to dominate the inside. The shell keep has a gate tower from the 12th century and later residential space with a H layout that connects a three-story Jacobean south range from the 17th century and a 13th-century north range with oak timbers from the Great Hall from the 15th century. The diagonally placed masonry in the shape of a herringbone from the foot of the causeway to the gate tower is a noteworthy exterior feature that has survived from earlier periods
[Information and Image Credit : Tamworth_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamworth_Castle ]
[Image : Tamworth Castle; Image Attribution and Wikipedia-Image Author : Stan]
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In the French département of Ariège, the town of Foix is dominated by the Château de Foix. Known as a center of the Cathars, it is a popular tourist destination. The French Ministry of Culture has recognized it as a monument historique since 1840. Constructed upon an ancient 7th-century defensive system, the castle dates back to 987. It was referenced in will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne in 1002, when he left the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. The family in charge of the area was essentially established here, giving them the ability to guard the lower land from this strategic location while maintaining control over access to the upper Ariège valley and protection from enemy attack. The castle played a significant part in the history of medieval warfare and was made the capital of the County of Foix in 1034. The castle hosted Counts with brilliant personalities for the next two centuries, who served as the backbone of the Occitan resistance in the crusade against the Albigensians. The region developed as a favored haven for oppressed Cathars. Due to betrayal during the conflict between two Foix family branches, the frequently besieged citadel only once fell, in 1486. From the 15th century onwards, the castle served as the seat of the governor of Foix territory and kept the region safe, especially during the Wars of Religion. It was the only fortress in the area spared from the orders of destruction of Richelieu, 1632–1638. The stronghold functioned as a garrison up until the Revolution. The collections of the Ariège départemental museum have been kept at the castle since 1930. The history of Ariège is presented in sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman, and mediaeval archaeology. In order to reproduce life of Foix during the reign of the Count, the museum is currently rearrangement displays to focus on the history of the castle site
[Information and Image Credit : Château_de_Foix, Wikipedia]
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In County Clare, Ireland, there is a castle called Dromoland Castle that is close to Newmarket-on-Fergus. Under the leadership of head chef Jean Baptiste Molinari, it is run as a five-star luxury hotel with a golf course and a Michelin star restaurant, the Earl of Thomond, which was granted in 1995. Before US citizen Bernard P. McDonough purchased Dromoland Castle in 1962, it belonged to the Baron Inchiquin family. Since then, a five-star hotel has been built out of it. Historic Hotels Worldwide counts the Dromoland Castle Hotel among its members. On Friday, June 26, 2004, US President George W. Bush stayed overnight at Dromoland Castle to attend the EU-US Summit hosted at the venue [Information and Image Credit : Dromoland_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromoland_Castle ] [Image : Entrance to Dromoland Castle; Wikipedia-Image Author : Srleffler at English Wikipedia] [The Work (Image) has been released into the public domain by its author, Srleffler at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Srleffler grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dromoland_Castle.jpg ] #Castles#History
Located in the Polish town of Malbork, the 13th-century Castle of the Teutonic Order, also referred to as Malbork Castle, is a complex of castles. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest castle in the world in terms of land area. It was first built as an Ordensburg stronghold and given the name Marienburg by the Teutonic Order, a German Catholic monastic order of crusaders. Bohemian mercenaries sold the fortress to King Casimir IV of Poland in 1457 during the Thirteen Years War, refusing to pay indemnities. After a few years of Swedish rule, it continued to serve as one of several Polish royal residences and the headquarters of Polish offices and institutions until the First Partition of Poland in 1772. After that, the castle was ruled by the Germans for more than 170 years, ending in 1945, though mostly neglected as military technology advancements reduced the castle to a historical landmark. Although there is disagreement on the exact time frame for building, most historians agree that it took place between the 132 years between 1274 and 1406. The castle was the largest brick castle in the world when it was completed in 1406, and it is a prime example of a medieval fortification. In December 1997, the Malbork Castle Museum and the Castle of the Teutonic Order were inducted as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO [Information and Image Credit : Malbork_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbork_Castle ] [Image : View of Malbork Castle from the Nogat; Wikipedia-Image Author : Gregy] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Poland License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/pl/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zesp%C3%B3%C5%82_Zamku_Krzy%C5%BCackiego_MALBORK_01.jpg ] #Castles#History
The commune of Orschwiller in the Bas-Rhin département of Alsace, France, is home to the medieval castle known as Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg, or occasionally just Haut-Koenigsbourg. Situated in a strategically important location on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, in the Vosges mountains to the west of Sélestat, it was utilized by several nations from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years War, when it was abandoned. Under orders of Wilhelm II, it was renovated between 1900 and 1908. It is now a popular tourist destination, drawing in over 500,000 tourists annually. The Frankish ruler Charlemagne first named the Buntsandstein cliff as Stofenberk in a deed dated to 774. It was then in ownership of the French Basilica of St. Denis and the location of a monastery, having been recertified in 854. When the original castle was constructed is unknown. But in 1147, the monks protested to King Louis VII of France against the illegal construction of a Burg Staufen by the Hohenstaufen Duke Frederick II of Swabia. In 1138, younger brother Conrad III of Frederick was crowned King of the Romans. Frederick Barbarossa, son of Frederick, succeeded him in 1152, and by 1192, the castle was known as Kinzburg. Frederick III, the Habsburg emperor, gave the Counts of Thierstein the castle ruins in fief in 1479, and they rebuilt it with a defense system appropriate for the new cannon available at the time. Following the death of the last Thierstein in 1517, the castle was transferred to the property of Maximilian I, the Habsburg emperor at the time. The Protestant Swedish armies besieged the Imperial stronghold in 1633, during the Thirty Years War, in which Catholic forces faced Protestant forces. The Swedish soldiers burnt and pillaged the castle after a 52-day siege. It was abandoned for several hundred years, during which time the ruins were overtaken by the woodland. The castle served as an inspiration to many romantic poets and artists throughout this period. The commune of Sélestat acquired the ruins three years after they were included on the monument historique of the Second French Empire list in 1862. The area became part of the German Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, and the people of that region gave Wilhelm II, the German emperor, what was left of the castle in 1899. Wilhelm wanted to build a castle that extolled the virtues of medieval Alsace. The period of work was 1900–1908. The renovated Hohkönigsburg was opened in front of the Emperor on May 13, 1908. A historic cortege entered the castle in an intricate re-enactment ceremony, all while it poured with rain [Information and Image Credit : Château_du_Haut-Koenigsbourg, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_du_Haut-Koenigsbourg ] [Image : A view of the Black Forest and the Alsatian plain from the castle Wikipedia-Image Author : Drew de F Fawkes] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ch%C3%A2teau_du_Haut-K%C5%93nigsbourg,_Alsace.jpg ] #Castles#History
Located in the French department of Eure, in Normandy, the medieval castle ruin known as Château Gaillard overlooks the Seine River above the commune of Les Andelys. It is around 40 kilometers from Rouen and 95 kilometers northwest of Paris. Under the patronage of Richard the Lionheart, the concurrent monarch of England and the feudal Duke of Normandy, construction got underway in 1196. Although building the castle was an expensive endeavor, the majority of the work was completed in an exceptionally short amount of time. It only took two years, during which the village of Petit Andely was built. The intricate and sophisticated architecture of Château Gaillard incorporates early concentric fortification ideas; it was also among the first castles in Europe to employ machicolations. With a keep in the inner enclosure, the castle is divided into three enclosures by dry moats. After an extended siege, Philip II, the King of France, took possession of Château Gaillard in 1204. David II of Scotland, who was banished, lived in the fortress around the middle of the fourteenth century. Throughout the Hundred Years War, the castle was owned by various different people. However, in 1449, the French monarch finally took Château Gaillard from the English king, and it stayed in French hands ever since. Château Gaillard was in ruins when Henry IV of France ordered its demolition in 1599 because it was thought to pose a threat to the safety of the local populace. The French Ministry of Culture lists the castle ruins as a monument historique. The outer baileys are open year-round, while the inner bailey is accessible to the public from March through November
[Information and Image Credit : Château_Gaillard, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Gaillard ] [Image : Inner bailey of Château Gaillard; Wikipedia-Image Author : Sylvain Verlaine] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ch%C3%A2teau_Gaillard_(Les_Andelys),_vu_du_ciel.JPG ] #Castles#History
Situated some 50 km southwest of Paris in the Île-de-France area of northern France, the town of Rambouillet in the Yvelines department is home to the Château de Rambouillet. From 1896 until 2009, it served as the summer house of the presidents of French Republic. The Centre des monuments nationaux currently oversees its upkeep. Originally built as a fortified estate in 1368, the château still has its pentagonal bastioned footprint even after losing its eastern wing during reign of Napoleon. On March 31, 1547, King Francis I passed away there—possibly in the grand medieval tower that bears his name. King Louis XVI acquired the château in 1783 as a private property, extending his hunting grounds, from his cousin, the duc de Penthièvre. The estate of Rambouillet was turned into a bien national, or national property, during the French Revolution. The contents of the chateau were removed, and the adjacent park and gardens were neglected. Rambouillet was listed on the liste civile of Napoleon I during his rule. Rambouillet was once more listed on the royal liste civile during the Bourbon Restoration. Following the overthrow of Napoleon III in 1870 and the ensuing establishment of the French Third Republic, the duc de la Trémoille leased the domain of Rambouillet from 1870 until 1883. [Information and Image Credit : Château_de_Rambouillet, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Rambouillet ] [Image : View of the château from its formal French garden ; Wikipedia-Image Author : Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer)] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Rambouillet_(DSC_7006).jpg ] #Castles#History
In County Cavan of Ireland, Castle Saunderson is a castle close to Belturbet. Now in ruins, it served as the ancestral home of Saunderson family. The Finn River enters a tiny channel of Upper Lough Erne on the northeastern side of the Castle Saunderson Demesne. The little hamlet of Wattlebridge, located in the south-southeast of County Fermanagh, is approximately 0.5 miles west of the castle. Situated on the castle grounds, the Castle Saunderson International Scouting Centre is a Scouting Ireland institution that opened its doors in 2012. The center offers 34 acres of campground space in addition to interior accommodations. For the most of the year, it is accessible to both non-Scouts and Scouts alike. Together with the Cairo International Scout Center in Egypt and other locations, it serves as a World Scouting Center for the Boy Scouts. During the Plantation of Ulster, the Saunderson family acquired the original castle. The current castle was built in 1840 and was destroyed in fire in 1990 [Information and Image Credit : Castle_Saunderson, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Saunderson ] [Image : Castle Saunderson ; Wikipedia-Image Author : C.A. Saunderson] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Castle_saunderson.jpg ] #Castles#History
William the Conqueror built Lincoln Castle, a significant medieval fortress, in Lincoln, England, in the late eleventh century on the site of an earlier Roman garrison. The castle features two mottes, which makes it unique. There are just two such castles in the nation; the other is located in Lewes of East Sussex. One of the better-preserved castles in England, Lincoln Castle was used as a jail and court to the present day. The Crown Courts are still housed there. The most of the week, it is accessible to the general public. From there, one may stroll around the walls and take in views of the surrounding countryside, the city, the cathedral, and the castle complex. One of the four remaining examples of the 1215 Magna Carta is on display at the castle. Lincolnshire County Council currently owns the castle, which is classified as a scheduled monument. Following his victory over Harold Godwinson and the English at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066, William the Conqueror encountered opposition to his reign in the northern regions of England. William had a very precarious job for several years. He built several significant castles in the North and Midlands of England, notably those at Cambridge, Huntingdon, Lincoln, Nottingham, Warwick, and York, in an effort to project his power northward and subdue the Danelaw people. William arrived in Lincoln to discover a Viking trading and commercial hub with 6,000–8,000 residents. An excellent strategic location for building a new castle was provided by the remnants of the ancient Roman walled fortification of Lindum Colonia, which overlooked the surrounding countryside to the south and west. In 1068, construction on the new fortification was finished. It is likely that a wooden stronghold was initially built, but a much stronger stone keep eventually took its place. Lincoln Castle is unique in that it has two mottes; the only other extant example of this type of design is located at Lewes. Part of the Roman wall was preserved as a curtain wall and part of it as a revetment holding the mottes in place to the south, where it is perched on the brink of a steep slope. The Roman wall was buried behind an earth rampart and extended upward to build the Norman castle wall in the west, where the land is more level
[Information and Image Credit : Lincoln_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia -Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Castle ] [Image : Eastward view of Lincoln Cathedral overlooking Lincoln Castle. At the upper right, the Westgate Water Tower is not a component of the castle. Wikipedia-Image-Author: Karen Roe]
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Situated in the Santa Maria da Feira area of Aveiro, the Castle of Santa Maria da Feira is a Portuguese castle. Having played a key role in the Reconquista and the independence of County of Portugal, the Castle of Santa Maria da Feira, a symbol of Portuguese medieval military architecture, is among the sites that most accurately illustrate the variety of defenses employed throughout the Middle Ages. Since 1910, it has been recognized as a national monument. According to local legend, an indigenous temple honoring the local deity Bandeve-Lugo Toiraeco formerly stood where the Castle of Feira now stands. The temple was eventually converted into a Marian shrine. While Roman occupation from the early empire is confirmed by tombstones and other remnants found in the defensive region, the connection to other temples is not confirmed. There was a Roman route Olissipo-Bracara Augusta near this location, which connected Braga and Lisbon, respectively. Alfonso III of León established the administrative and military territory known as Terra de Santa Maria in the middle of the ninth century, and he built its defenses in the nearby military castle at Civitas Sanctae Mariae. The stronghold served as a forward station against the southern Arab incursions during the Christian Reconquista for many years. Following successive invasions, the governors Mem Guterres and Mem Lucídio, devised a massive plan to rebuild the castle and develop the Terra de Santa Maria property. In recognition only the judges, magistrates, and councilmen of Lisbon were granted the title of Honra de Infanções, an honor which was eventually bestowed upon the populace by the Leonese kings. The Chronica Gothorum, which dates the construction of the inferior part of the keep, makes the first mention of a built structure in this location dating back to the eleventh century. One of largest fairs of Portugal was held in Feira starting in 1117, and this event eventually gave the town its name. The fair was set up beneath the shadow of the castle
[Information and Image Credit : Castle_of_Santa_Maria_da_Feira, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Santa_Maria_da_Feira ]
[Image : Constructed upon the ancient Roman fortress, the castle with its formidable walls]
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The medieval Castle of Almourol is located in Centre Region of Portugal, 4 kilometers from Vila Nova da Barquinha, the municipal capital, atop the islet of Almourol in the middle of the Tagus River. The castle served as a bastion during the Portuguese Reconquista and was a part of the defensive line under the administration of the Knights Templar. The base of the castle is thought to have been a rudimentary Lusitanian castro that the Romans eventually overran in the first century BCE. It is unclear when the current fortress was built, although it was later altered by other invaders, such as the Visigoths, Alans, and Arabs. Numerous artifacts from the Roman era, such as coins, millennium marks, and Roman foundations, were uncovered during excavations conducted in the interior and external enclosures. In the area of the castle, medieval artifacts, including two marble columns and medallions, were also found. One of the most famous examples of the medieval military architecture during Reconquista is the fortress of Almourol, which also serves as a prime illustration of the influence of the Templars in Portugal. It was known as Almorolan before it was taken over in 1129 by armies loyal to the Portuguese nobility. Gualdim Pais, the leader of the Portuguese branch, then took control of it and renovated the building. An inscription over the main gate states that the building was rebuilt beginning in 1171 and renovated throughout the reigns that followed. The castle lost its strategic location and was left to decay. It was reimagined in the 19th century by idealistic romanticists, which ultimately prompted interventions in the 1940s and 1950s and the conversion of the castle into the Official Residence of the Portuguese Republic
[Information and Image Credit : Castle_of_Almourol, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Almourol ]
[Image: A view of the castle from the small gully that divides the Tagus River islet of Almourol ; Wikipedia Image-Author : Daniel Feliciano] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en ]
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The Wartburg is a mediaeval castle that was first constructed. In the German state of Thuringia, where it is perched 410 meters southwest of Eisenach and provides a view over the town below. St. Elisabeth of Hungary lived there, Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German there, while the Wartburg festival took place there in 1817, and it was rumored to have been the location of the fictitious Sängerkrieg. Ludwig II found great inspiration in it when he made the decision to construct Neuschwanstein Castle. After Weimar, Wartburg is the most popular tourist destination in Thuringia. The majority of the interior of the castle was built in the 19th century, despite the fact that it still has many historical structures from the 12th through the 15th centuries. Due to its historical and religious importance as well as its classic medieval architecture, Wartburg Castle was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. The German word for watchtower, Warte, is most likely whence the castle got its name. Louis the Springer, a Thuringian count of Schauenburg and a cousin of the Counts of Rieneck in Franconia, laid the foundation of the castles in or about 1067. The Wartburg protected the farthest reaches of his ancestral lands, together with its bigger sister castle Neuenburg in the modern town of Freyburg. Louis the Springer would swear that the castle was built on his land because it is reported that he had clay from his lands brought to the top of the hill, which was not quite within his lands. The Palas, the largest building of the Wartburg, was first constructed between 1157 and 1170 in the late Romanesque style. Located north of the Alps, it is regarded as the best-preserved non-ecclesial Romanesque structure. The Palas has chambers with ancient architecture that have been restored as closely as possible to the original Romanesque style, such as the Speisesaal and the Rittersaal. Nonetheless, a large number of the rooms primarily capture the style of the 19th and 20th centuries as well as the popular perception of the Middle Ages at the period [Information Credit : Wartburg, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartburg ] [Image Credit : List_of_castles_in_Germany, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_Germany ] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Source-Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wartburg2004.JPG ] #History#Architecture#Castles
Located near Lassay-les-Châteaux in the department of Mayenne, the Château de Lassay is a 15th-century castle. A castrum was first recorded in Lassay in the twelfth century. Charles de Vendôme owned the castle at the start of the 15th century, but French forces destroyed it because he sided with the English during the Hundred Years War. Charles VII of France gave his son Jean II permission to create a castle in 1458. Jean II was the son of Charles de Vendôme. The new castle was finished in a single year. In 1497–1498, the barbican was constructed. Since then, the various proprietors of the castle have managed to keep most of the original 15th-century building intact. Since 1862, the castle has been recognized as a historic monument. From April through September, it is accessible to tourists
[Information and Image Credit : Château_de_Lassay, Wikipedia]
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[Image : Castle View from the town; Wikipedia-Image Author : Romain Bréget]
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Built between 1888 and 1892 on a contract from Baron Gustavius Eugenius Leo Maria Gislainus de Vrière, Zellaer Castle is located north of the center of Bonheiden. Mechelen-based architect Heugenbaarts drew out the blueprints. White sandstone from the destroyed Vilvoorde forts was utilized to construct the structure. It had to be transported by horse and cart for the farmers who relied on Zellaer. It is said by tradition to be a scaled-down replica of a castle on the Loire. No proof of this has yet to emerge. There are multiple broad moats in the park including a ring moat encircling the neo-Gothic castle. The structure currently houses a contemplation center. This location was the location of an existing castle at the time of building. It is possible that canon Arnold van Zellaer was the initial owner and that Wouter Berthout, the lord of Mechelen, was the client. The notification of the October 20, 1836, public sale still has a description of this original structure. Very old foundations were unearthed when this old castle was being dismantled. These resemble a medieval castle because they were constructed atop wooden piles that were driven into the ground; they may even be from the thirteenth century
[Information and Image Credit : Kasteel_van_Zellaer, Wikipedia]
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[Image : The facade of the castle in 2019; Wikipedia-Image Author : Paul Hermans]
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The Swiss canton of Vaud contains the castle known as Lucens Castle, which is located in the Lucens municipality. It is a nationally significant Swiss heritage site. Because of its advantageous location, the castle was able to maintain control over the Broye Valley, a crucial transit route. The Bishop of Lausanne lived there from the Middle Ages until 1536, when it was used as a means of governing his estate in the Broye Valley. The fortress was periodically destroyed and rebuilt in the 12th century. In 1476, the Swiss Confederation demolished it. Bern took control of the valley and the surrounding area in 1536. At the same time, it became the capital of a bailiwick based in Bern. The Moudon vogt took their residence at the castle in 1542. Between 1579 and 1586, it was expanded, and it functioned as a fortification and arsenal on the Fribourg frontier. After the Bernese were driven out, the Canton of Léman was established in 1798. Soon after, Canton acquired ownership of the castle and sold it to private buyers in 1801. It was transformed into a Swiss Reformed institute for girls in 1925. It is currently privately owned and served as the headquarters of Conan Doyle Foundation from 1965 until 1970
[Information and Image Credit : Lucens_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucens_Castle ]
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Situated in the Italian town of Gradara, Marche, lies the ancient fortress known as the Gradara Castle. It is the towering structure, shielded by two walls, the outermost of which stretches for over 800 meters. The nighttime vista of the fortress and the medieval settlement underneath it is quite spectacular. One of the most popular tourist destinations in the area, the castle hosts musical and artistic museum activities. Due to its strategic location, Gradara has always been a hub for trade and people. In the Middle Ages, the stronghold served as a major battleground for conflicts between papal forces and the volatile Marche and Romagna families. Gradara is a remarkable urban and architectural mix, perched at 142 meters above sea level with the Republic of San Marino, Rimini, and Carpegna in the background. According to legend, the castle played host to the well-known and tragic tale of Paolo and Francesca, who were assassinated by Gianciotto, husband of Francesca, while they were in arms of each other. Dante immortalized this love tale in his Divine Comedy. The Gradara Castle was constructed sometime in the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. Its past is deeply entwined with the notorious conflicts between the Montefeltro and Malatesta dynasties. Only after the Sforza family took ownership of the castle did this protracted dispute come to an end. But Dante stepped in with his Divine Comedy, using the castle as the setting for the story of Paolo and Francesca and turning it into a symbol of love forever [Information and Image Credit : Gradara_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradara_Castle ] [Image : Gradara Castle ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Enrico90p] [The copyright holder of the work (Image), release the work into the public domain. This applies worldwide; In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: the copyright holder grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. ] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gradara.jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
Perched on the highest of seven hills of Bamberg in southern Germany, the Altenburg castle commands a commanding view of the town below. It was established as early as 1109 and is situated in the Bavarian area of Upper Franconia. Although it is most likely that the Altenburg was constructed on the site of an earlier palisade castle, it was first mentioned in 1109. The castle was purchased by the Bamberg Fürstbischöfe, sovereign bishops of the city, in 1251. It served as the bishop-home from 1305 to 1553. The fortress was destroyed by fire in 1553 as part of the Second Margrave War, which was led by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Following then, the castle was utilized as a jail for a while. Adalbert Friedrich Marcus, a physician from Bamberg, purchased the dilapidated castle in 1801, rebuilding it from the ground up. During the years 1808 to 1813, the writer E. T. A. Hoffmann, who was acquainted with Marcus, often spent extended periods of time in one of the wall towers due to his strong attraction to the castle. Public tours of the castle are available nowadays. The Restaurant Altenburg is another eatery within the castle. In addition, the restaurant oversees the operation of the so-called Knights Hall, which is primarily utilized for celebrations and weddings
[Information and Image Credit : Altenburg_(Bamberg), Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altenburg_(Bamberg) ]
[Image : Altenburg Castle, seen from the South]
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#History#Architecture#Castles
In Lower Engadin, Graubünden, next to erstwhile municipality of Tarasp, sits the castle known as Tarasp Castle. It is a nationally significant Swiss heritage site. Most likely constructed in the eleventh century, Tarasp Castle may have been constructed as early as the tenth. The term Wild Earth, Terra Aspera, may allude to the recently discovered areas in the Inn River Valley. By 1089, when Ulrich von Tarasp was named in a papal mandate addressed to the Bishop of Chur, they had taken on the name of the fortress. As part of their plan to establish a barony in the hitherto deserted high alpine valley, the family established Scuol Monastery at the same time as Marienberg Abbey. At this point, the castle was made up of a chapel with a bell tower that doubled as a guard tower, and a ring wall. A ring wall, a portion of the chapel, and its bell tower served as the initial defenses of the site. West of the chapel, a massive palas with walls two meters thick was constructed in the thirteenth century, and it eventually became the heart of castle. It is likely that the residential wings date back to the 13th century as well. The castle was attacked multiple times and burnt twice throughout the 16th and 17th century. Throughout those years, numerous reconstructions and renovations were made to the dwelling wings in particular. The lower floors received wood decorations, new windows pierced through the rock walls, and vaulted ceilings. The chapel has been incorporated within the castle-ring-wall. Only remnants of the 12th-century paintings that adorned the apse still survive. In the seventeenth century, the interior was refurbished. The freestanding bell tower was most likely constructed as a watchtower and church tower combined. It has a five-story height with an ornate Baroque onion dome on top. To defend the castle from attacks, the two half towers and the zwinger, or outer courtyard, were most likely constructed in the sixteenth century. The castle underwent renovations in 1714–1715 and Iin1732. The outer walls are coated with white plaster and adorned with late fifteenth-century coats of arms. Although they have since faded, these paintings were still visible in 1900. A handful, though, have recently undergone restoration efforts [Information and Image Credit : Tarasp_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarasp_Castle ] [Image : Tarasp village and castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Roland Zumbühl] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tarasp-03.jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
The largest fortified building in Trentino-Alto Adige is Castel Beseno. Situated inside the borders of the municipality of Besenello of Trento province Italy, it serves as one of the locations for the museum complex of Provincial Museum of the Castello del Buonconsiglio. Large rooms, strong doors, bastions, courtyards, imposing walls, dungeons and cisterns, and a plethora of frescoes may all be found within. Views of the entire Vallagarina and the Rio Cavallo below are available. The castle hosts cultural and tourism events during the summer. From the center of Besenello, it is accessible. From the summit of the hill, one has always had access to the valley that leads to Folgaria and control over the entire Vallagarina below. The first known details about this fortification date back to the 12th century, when the Da Besenos, a family of their vassals, lived there as a fief of the counts of Appiano. After a fire in the 1500s, it was reconstructed and refurbished, transforming its appearance from a medieval castle to a home while keeping its status as a well-armed defensive stronghold. The turbulence did not end so soon: in fact, at the end of the eighteenth century, it was once again the target of a bloody siege by troops of Napoleon, who were ultimately defeated after days of siege by a column of Austrian troops arriving in defense of Castel Beseno. Despite the massive deployment, they were unable to prevail. Subsequently, the castle experienced a lengthy period of decline due to the more tranquil political environment, which diminished the necessity of this defensive edifice. Eventually, the castle was abandoned during the nineteenth century. The elliptical construction, which was reconstructed in the latter half of the 20th century, spans the full summit of the limestone hill and is 250 meters long and roughly 50 meters wide [Information and Image Credit : Castel_Beseno, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_Beseno ] [Image : The south-eastern side of Castel Beseno seen from the panoramic point near the hamlet of Serrada in the municipality of Folgaria; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Matteo Ianeselli ] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.it ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Calliano-Castel_Beseno_from_Folgaria-southeast.jpg ] #History#Architecture#Castles
Architecturally similar to the Scottish tower house, Doe Castle, also known as Caisleán na dTuath, was the ancient stronghold of Clan tSuibhne and was located close to Creeslough in County Donegal of Ireland. One of the better fortalices in the northwest of Ireland, it was constructed in the early 15th century. With a moat carved out of the rock on the landward side, the castle is situated on a small peninsula that is encircled by water on three sides. The building is mostly made up of tall exterior walls encircling a four-story tower-house, or keep, inside a bawn. The Quinn family most likely constructed Doe Castle around 1420, although the gallowglass MacSweeney family had acquired ownership of it by the 1440s. For nearly 200 years, the castle was held by a Clan Sweeney branch, but King James VI and I took control of it when the MacSweeneys rebelled against him. During the Plantation of Ulster on March 7, 1613, the king gave Sir John Davies, the Attorney-General for Ireland, the castle and other estates. Sir John sold the castle to Captain John Sandford, an English settler from Shropshire, on December 31, 1614. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Owen Roe ONeill led the Ulster Army of the Irish Confederate armies, returning there in 1642. Throughout the English and Irish struggle for dominance of Ireland in the 17th century, the castle was owned by different people on multiple occasions. It is known that the castle was occupied by Sir Charles Coote, the Governor of Londonderry, in 1650. In the end, Sir George Vaughan Hart purchased the castle, and his family lived there until 1843. After being taken over by the Land Commission in 1932, the castle was designated a national monument in 1934 and purchased by the Office of Public Works. In the 1990s, the tower house of the castle received extensive repair
[Information and Image Credit : Doe_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doe_Castle ]
[Image : Doe Castle from the front, featuring Towerhouse and Bawn Walls; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Seamus mcmonagle]
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Located in Alcántara, Extremadura, Spain, the Alcántara Bridge is a Roman bridge. The Roman emperor Trajan issued an order in 98 AD to construct the stone arch bridge across the Tagus River between 104 and 106 AD. Over the years, fighting has caused more damage to the Alcántara Bridge than environmental factors. One of the tiniest arches was demolished in 1214, but it was reconstructed using stone from the original quarries centuries later, in 1543. Charles III rebuilt the second arch on the northwest side in 1762 after it had been destroyed in 1760, but it was demolished once more in 1809. Although some bridge repairs were performed temporarily in 1819, the bridge was severely damaged once more in 1836. 1860 saw the reconstruction of the bridge using mortared brickwork. And in 1969, the main pillars were fully restored after the José María de Oriol Dam was finished, allowing the Tagus riverbed to be drained. The province of Lusitania was an old Roman province where the bridge was built. Known as opus pontis, or bridge labor, the expenses of constructing and maintaining bridges fell under the purview of several local towns in ancient Rome. Their shared expenses demonstrate that Roman bridges belonged to the area as a whole, not just to a particular town. The cost of constructing the Alcántara Bridge in Portugal was borne by twelve local communities. The inscription on the arches over the center pier was updated with their names
[Information and Image Credit : Alcántara_Bridge, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alc%C3%A1ntara_Bridge ]
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The Niedzica Castle, also called Dunajec Castle, is situated near Niedzica, in the southernmost region of Poland. It was built by Kokos of Brezovica between 1320 and 1326 on the site of an old stronghold encircled by clay walls in the Pieniny highlands. Measuring from the center of the dam on Lake Czorsztyn, the Niedzica Castle is located 300 meters upstream from the mouth of the Dunajec River, at an elevation of 566 meters. The best place to see the silhouette of Niedzica Castle is from the Czorsztyn Castle ruins across the lake. Numerous books have this castle on their covers because it is regarded as one of the most gorgeous in the nation. Since the fourteenth century, the castle has played a significant role in Polish-Hungarian ties. It was the location of a 1412 agreement requiring the return of funds granted to Sigismund, the king of Hungary, by the Polish monarch. The 16 Spiš towns that Sigismund had handed the Polish monarch as collateral were returned once the loan was repaid. The castle served as a border station with Hungary for many years. At Niedzica an agreement was made to turn the area into a protectorate of Poland during the Turkish invasion five centuries prior. With family rights dating back to 1325, Kokos, a Hungarian from Brezovica, built the castle. It was acquired by the noble Zápolya family in 1470. But in 1528, John Zápolya, who was vying for the Hungarian throne, gave up the entire county, including the castle, and William Drugeth acquired it in exchange for his backing. It was acquired by Hieronim Łaski and his son Olbracht sixty years later. Ján Horváth purchased the castle from Plaveč around the end of the 16th century. The castle had numerous renovations from its succeeding owners in the fifteenth, sixteenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries. The last Hungarian occupants left in 1943, when the Salamon family decided to leave because to the approaching German front in World War II. Two years before the Red Army marched in, the last countess departed with her kids. Under the direction of the Polish Ministry of Culture, the final reconstruction of the castle was finished in 1963. Since then, it has operated as a history museum
[Information and Image Credit : Niedzica_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niedzica_Castle ]
[Image : Niedzica Castle at Lake Czorsztyn ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Zygmunt Put Zetpe0202]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
In the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, there is a castle called Lenzburg Castle that is situated above the historic town of Lenzburg. It is amongst the most significant and ancient of the castles of Switzerland. Slightly more than 250 meters in circumference, the nearly round castle hill rises roughly 100 meters above the surrounding plain. The Lenzburg Counts constructed the castle in the eleventh century as their seat, and those are the oldest portions of the structure. The castle, along with its historical museum and the castle hill containing Neolithic burial mounds, are recognized as nationally significant heritage monuments. Prehistoric people had already settled on the noticeable hill. For instance, in the parking lot in 1959, a Neolithic cemetery was discovered. Small finds from the Roman and Alemannic periods have also been made. A tale claims that two knights, Wolfram and Guntram, vanquished a dragon that was formerly housed in a cave on a mountainside. The two Counts of Lenzburg were made grateful by the people, who also granted them permission to erect a castle atop the hill. A document from 1036 mentions an Ulrich, Count of Aargau. He oversaw the abbeys of Schänis and Beromünster and served as the Vogt of the Emperor in Zürich. In 1077, grandson of Ulrich, also Ulrich, assumed the role of emperor in the Investiture Controversy and imprisoned two Papal legates for half a year, marking the first official mention of the castle-existence. With strong ties to the emperor, the Counts of Lenzburg were at that time some of the most significant feudal lords on the Swiss Plateau. But in 1173, the line ended. Ulrich IV, the last Count of Lenzburg, bequeathed his personal heir, Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa, because the two had served together on the Second Crusade. The emperor visited Lenzburg Castle and oversaw the distribution of the estate personally, granting the Count Palatine Otto of Burgundy, his son, the majority of the territory. But death of Otto in 1200 meant that the Hohenstaufen family had to leave the Aargau. By marriage, the Counts of Kyburg acquired Lenzburg Castle in approximately 1230 through two nearby noble houses, Andechs-Merania and Châlon. The town of Lenzburg was thereafter established as a fortified market settlement at the western foot of the castle hill [Information Credit : Lenzburg_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenzburg_Castle ] [Image : The Lenzburg Castle on Top of a Hill ; Image-Credit : Lukas Feldmann, Pexels; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Image Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/the-lenzburg-castle-on-top-of-a-hill-5653452/ ] #Castles#History#Architecture
The High Middle Ages saw the construction of Bürresheim Castle in the Eifel, which was later transformed into a notable residential complex during the Baroque era. Because of its current level of preservation, it is regarded as a remarkable testament to Rhenish aristocracy and residential life. It was once the capital of a tiny imperial lordship. Constructed as a fortress in the twelfth century, Bürresheim Castle was initially recorded in 1157 alongside its proprietors. The complex took on its current form only in the fifteenth century, however it still seems like a closed whole. There used to be two totally separate, unconnected, and differing sized complexes with only the 12th-century Romanesque keep in common. Two neck ditches and curtain walls previously protected Bürresheim Castle. Only a small portion of the curtain walls are still visible because the latter have already filled in. The oldest structure in the palace complex is the nearly square keep. It is now reachable via a 17th-century baroque staircase that was formerly only accessible through a lofty entryway. The apartment of gatekeeper was located on the fifth story and was most likely added upon in the fifteenth century. From the complex building, there is an ideal view of the transition from the castle to the palace. Situated on a rocky spur near the mouth of the Nitzbach and Nette, northwest of Mayen, the castle is owned by the local community of Sankt Johann in Rhineland-Palatinate. Bürresheim Castle, together with Eltz Castle and Lissingen Castle, is one of the few aristocratic homes in the Eifel that has escaped destruction and conquest. It has withstood the conflicts of the 17th and 18th centuries as well as the social unrest brought on by the French Revolution. Being situated on the boundary between the two ecclesiastical electorates of Cologne and Trier had a significant influence on its history
[Information and Image Credit : Schloss_Bürresheim, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_B%C3%BCrresheim ]
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In the Spanish province of Jaén, the town of Baños de la Encina is home to the old Burgalimar Castle. The castle was built around 967 AD, according to a marble inscription plaque near the entrance. Currently on display at National Archaeological Museum of Madrid is the marble plaque. To protect the Guadalquivir River valley and the routes leading to and from Córdoba, the capital of the country, the castle was constructed as a military outpost and garrison. The castle is made out of a sizable walled enclosure that is roughly 50 meters wide and 100 meters long, with an uneven shape. One entrance gate is located in the north, and the other is located in the south or southeast. The southern entrance, which holds greater significance, is a straight passageway with horseshoe-shaped arches situated between two towers. Above the walkway were chambers with floor openings through which missiles could be launched at would-be assailants. Today, the foundations of additional buildings and the remnants of a cistern are located inside the castle. It was constructed in the tenth century while Córdoba was ruled by the Umayyad Caliphate. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the castle was controlled by different groups over various periods. Castile finally took control of the fortress in 1225 when it annexed the surrounding area. Subsequently, in 1466, the Castilians erected a keep tower known as the Torre del Homenaje, or Tower of Homage. In 1931, it received the designation of National Monument of Spain
[Information and Image Credit : Burgalimar_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgalimar_Castle ]
[Image : From a distance, Burgalimar Castle;]
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The Valère Basilica, commonly known as Valère castle, is a fortified religious structure in the Swiss canton of Valais that is located in Sion. Perched atop a hill, it looks out toward the Château de Tourbillon, which sits atop the other hill. It is a nationally significant Swiss heritage site. Perched 615 meters above sea level on the Valère hill, the castle of Valère commands a commanding presence over the Swiss canton of Sion town of Valais. Because Valère Hill is home to numerous protected species, the site has been listed in the Federal Inventory of Sites and Monuments of National Importance since 1977. The fortified settlement and its walls surround the castle, with the church situated at the summit of the hill. The castle can only be accessed from the northeast due to the highly irregular relief of the Valère hill. Early in the fourth century, the Diocese was established in Octodurum, which is now known as Martigny. One of the oldest still in use in the world is the pipe organ on the west side of the Valère Basilica, which is thought to have been constructed in 1435. The likelihood is that Guillaume de Rarogne, who became the bishop of Sion, brought it to the church. Its pipes are set up in a way that somewhat resembles a church : the smaller pipes form a triangle, while the larger pipes form two towers. The organ has not evolved much since it was altered to play Baroque music in the 1700s. It was refurbished in 1954, concurrently with the restoration of the Rysum organ, another well-known early model
[Information and Image Credit : Valère_Basilica, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val%C3%A8re_Basilica ]
[Image : The Valère and Tourbillon castles as seen from Sion; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Christian David]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
In Markt Falkenberg of Bavaria is where one can find the Falkenberg Castle. The tiny passageways where Waldnaab towers rises above and the earliest remnants of the walls of the Höhenburg exists, which was populated until 2009, are thought to have been built in the eleventh century. In 1154, the castle was first mentioned in passing under the name Pilegrin de Valkenberch. This defensive structure has had numerous owners since it was built. The Falkenbergs were there at first, followed by the Leuchtenbergers in 1280. The Waldsassen Monastery acquired ownership of the fortress in 1300. After 1486, the abbot Udalrich II Birker decided to retire there. It belonged to the Electoral Palatinate circa 1571. Königsmarck, a Swedish general, shelled and conquered the fortress shortly before the Thirty Years War came to a close. In 1803, the castle was secularized and became the property of the Bavarian Kingdom. Three-quarters of the keep were destroyed in 1809, and the stones were used to construct the vicarage. The castle was designated as a monument decades later. The castle complex was purchased by the Falkenberg market in December 2008. Eight separate hotel rooms with views over Falkenberg have been established on the upper floor following extensive renovation. The castle opened for public visitation and events in early 2016 following formal inauguration in November of 2015 by Prime Minister Seehofer. The Falkenberg granite is the type of granite on which the rock of the castle is built upon. It was there that woolsack weathering, a geological term, was first used. The castle hosts lectures, musical performances, and festivals for the Forum Falkenberg, the cultural hub of the market town of Falkenberg. The castle has eight double rooms and is also utilized as a hotel. The Burg Event and Conference Center, which is mostly utilized for conferences and events, was constructed adjacent to the castle [Information and Image Credit : Burg_Falkenberg, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Falkenberg ] [Image : Falkenberg Castle ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons License Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 not ported; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.de ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Falkenberg-Burg-2.jpg ] #Castles#History#Architecture
At the entrance to the South Campus of Maynooth University, there is a destroyed castle known as Maynooth Castle, located in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Built in the early 13th century, it served as the principal abode of the Kildare Fitzmaurice and Fitzgerald. In 1176, Strongbow gave Maurice Fitzgerald, Lord of Llanstephan, the land that is now Kildare. Around 1203, the original keep was built. Gerald Fitzmaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, constructed the castle at the confluence of two streams, which became the residence of the Fitzmaurice and Fitzgerald families. Sir John Fitzgerald extended it in the fifteenth century after that. The ancestors of Gerald Fitzmaurice went on to become the Earls of Leinster and Kildare. Lords Deputy of Ireland. In March 1535, an English force under the command of William Skeffington assaulted the enormous castle, destroying most of the medieval construction with their powerful, contemporary siege guns. Following a ten-day siege, the castle collapsed, and the garrison was ruthlessly executed in front of the castle gate. Shortly after, Silken Thomas was taken prisoner and sent, together with his five uncles, to the Tower of London. On February 3, 1537, they were put to death at Tyburn for treason. Following the marriage of his daughter to George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare, Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, renovated the Castle between 1630 and 1635. However, a large portion of this structure was destroyed in the 1640s during the Eleven Years War. Only the Solar Tower and the gatehouse are still standing. The Fitzgeralds permanently departed Maynooth Castle and established their family seat first at Kilkea Castle and then at Carton House. In order to turn the castle into a Heritage Site, the Office of Public Works recommenced restoration work on it in February 2000. The partially collapsed structure is still open to visitors today, albeit entry is restricted [Information and Image Credit : Maynooth_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynooth_Castlen ] [Image : Maynooth Castle in 2016; Wikipedia-Image-Author : William Murphy] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maynooth_castle.jpg ] #Castles#History#Architecture
The Reifenstein Castle is located in the northern Italian region of South Tyrol in Freienfeld, close to Sterzing. It is situated in the Eisack Valley next to a dried-up marsh. The 12th century is when the castle is first mentioned, and the 14th century saw modifications. It belongs to the counts of Thurn und Taxis. It is well-known for its ornate Green Hall, which features wood-carved chapel doors and Gothic paintings, as well as its collection of armor and stubes. A medieval sleeping bunk and an actual kitchen and bathroom may also be found in the castle. William P. Carr, who purchased the castle just before World War II, was one of its owners. His surname was Reifenstein at the time, but he had changed it to Carr before the war
[Information and Image Credit : Reifenstein_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reifenstein_Castle ]
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Located in city of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain, the Alcazar of Segovia is a medieval castle. It is one of the most well-known medieval castles in the world and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain. It has been there since at least the 12th century. In addition to housing twenty-two monarchs and other prominent historical figures, it has served as the backdrop for important historical events. Above the meeting point of the rivers Eresma and Clamores, the fortress is perched atop a rocky crag at the western extremity of Old City of Segovia, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Since being designated as a National Archive by a Royal Decree in 1998, it is currently in use as a museum and a military archives building. It has also served as a military academy, a state jail, and a Royal Artillery College on occasion. The Alcazar was a royal residence and a stronghold for the Castilian kings. Its architecture is a remarkable example of Power Architecture and reflects the majesty of the building; its formidable walls, its deep moat, its towers, which include the Homage and Juan IIs, and its advantageous location all denote strength and authority. In addition, the extravagance and elegance of the interior, featuring elaborately furnished chambers and coffered ceilings, were intended to surprise and overwhelm guests, so enhancing the power of the Kings of Castile. In a similar vein, the history of Alcazar has been greatly influenced by the stories and traditions surrounding it. Even though it has a harsh, defensive look, Alcazar of Segovia has also been a center of everyday living. Its halls have seen the upbringing of numerous princes, nobility, and infants, whose presence has softened the exterior of the palace and made it feel like home to many. Its history started in the 12th or early 13th century, when the Alcazar, or Major Palace, served as the residence for the Castile royal family. The treasure of the Crown of Castile, which provided the money for the first expedition of Christopher Columbus, was kept in the Homage tower. Apart from that, the royal armory kept in the Alcazar was the model for the one currently on display in the Royal Armory of Madrid. Important occasions in Spanish history have taken place at the Alcazar, including the numerous Cortes of Castile and the signing of the Concord of Segovia, which established the foundation for the creation of the Spanish nation. Additionally, before the demise of the explorer, King Ferdinand the Catholic and Christopher Columbus had their final meeting there. The first military flight for military purposes took place in the 18th century, as the headquarters of the Royal College of Artillery, thus initiating military aviation
[Information and Image Credit : Alcázar_of_Segovia, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alc%C3%A1zar_of_Segovia ]
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Situated in the French département of Dordogne, the commune of Beynac-et-Cazenac is home to the castle known as Château de Beynac. Among the most well-known and well-preserved in the area is the castle. Perched on a limestone cliff, this austere edifice from the Middle Ages dominates both the village and the north bank of the Dordogne. To seal off the valley, the lords of Beynac, one of the four baronies of Périgord, erected the fortress in the twelfth century. Since the sheer rock face would deter any attack from that direction, the defenses were erected on the plateau and included twin barbicans, double crenellated walls, and double moats, one of which was a naturally occurring ravine that had been widened. The largest and oldest portion of the castle is a massive square-shaped Romanesque keep with few windows and vertical walls that is kept together by watch towers attached to it. It also has a narrow spiral stairway that ends on a terrace with crenellations. A similar-era home that was expanded and remodeled in the 16th and 17th centuries is linked to one side. A partially 14th-century home with a courtyard and a square-plan stairway leading to the 17th-century apartments is located on the other side. The 17th-century painted ceiling and woodwork are still intact in the flats. The Salle des État features a modest oratory completely painted in murals from the fifteenth century, as well as a Renaissance-style fireplace. French forces occupied the Beynac citadel during the Hundred Years War. The border separating France and England was the Dordogne. The English controlled the Château de Castelnaud, which was located nearby on the other side of the river. The Dordogne area saw several power struggles, conflicts, and even skirmishes between the supporters of the English and French forces. But since the forces required to capture these castles were so expensive—only the wealthiest nobles and kings could afford to build and maintain them—the castles fell more frequently via deceit and intrigue than through open attack. Lucien Grosso purchased the castle in 1962 and has since repaired it. Sumptuous tapestries depicting hunting and other scenes from the lives of the lords of the era are on display for visitors to the castle. The French Ministry of Culture has designated the Château de Beynac as a monument historique since 1944
[Information and Image Credit : Château_de_Beynac, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Beynac ]
[Image : Beynac-et-Cazenac view from Jardins de Marqueyssac ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Ladislaus Hoffner]
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Situated in the north of the historical province of Beaujolais, in southwest Burgundy, is the French town of La Clayette, home to the Château de La Clayette, a castle dating back to the 14th and 19th centuries. It is a historical monument that is listed. The castle was first constructed as a fortress due to its advantageous defensive position, which was encircled by a moat full of water. It is not accessible to the public at this time and is private property. The castle was first mentioned in 1307 as a fortified home. The fortified home was transformed into a castle by Philibert de Lespinasse in 1380, amid the Hundred Years War. Louis de Chantemerle owned the castle by 1420. While traveling to Lyon in 1524, Francis I of France stopped over at the castle for one night. Paul of the House of Damas, one of the oldest aristocratic families in France, owned the castle by 1632. The castle was inherited by the Dyo family in 1703 following the passing of Jean-Léonard de Damas. The castle was purchased by Bernard de Noblet in 1722, and his descendants are the current owners. It was enlarged in the 19th century to its present dimensions
[Information and Image Credit : Château_de_La_Clayette, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_La_Clayette ]
[Image : The Château as seen from the lake ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Jackydarne]
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The vast Taufers Castle complex is located in the Italian municipality of Sand in Taufers in South Tyrol. Situated around 957 meters above sea level on a naturally occurring mountain peak, the castle commands a commanding view over the Ahrntal entry and the Tauferer Valley to the south. It is situated above Sand in Taufers. The Ahr crosses the small area that designates the boundary between the two valleys below the castle rock, or Klapf. Shortly after 1091, the Taufers were established as a ruling family; Hugo von Taufers and Taufers Castle were first referenced in 1136, along with the Noble Freemen of Taufers in 1224. The Romanesque phase, carried out by the Lords of Taufers, and the Gothic phase, carried out by the Lords of Fieger and the bishops of Brixen, are the two construction stages that define the history of the castle. In 1456, the latter bought the Taufers castle, court, and office from Duke Sigmund of Austria-Tyrol. The keep, a residential tower, the palace, another structure perched on the edge of a cliff above the Ahr, and the surrounding wall made up the original castle. Only during the 15th century, and up until about 1621, did the Dukes of Austria, the Lords of Fieger and the Barons of Wolkenstein-Rodenegg, expand the buildings along the surrounding wall. They constructed an extensive gate complex with defensive towers and intricate drawbridge structures, which is only visible in detail today, along with offices and living quarters for judges and nurses. An improved view of the previous circumstances can be obtained from the 2012 renovation of the outer access bridge over a recently excavated ditch. Significant restorations, including the rebuilding of collapsed walls and the rehabilitation of many rooms, were carried out under Ludwig Lobmeyr in the first ten years of the 1900s following decades of deterioration. The final decade of the 20th century saw the South Tyrolean Castle Institute, who have owned Taufers Castle since 1977, carry out the essential building work, including major facade conservation and interior repair. The castle appeared closed as a result. The inner courtyard, keep, ice cellar, castle garden, and other areas of the castle are open for visitors to explore without a guide, whereas the showrooms that are worth viewing require a guide
[Information and Image Credit : Burg_Taufers, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Taufers ]
[Image : View of Taufers Castle from the east, showing the once-collapsed keep;
Wikipedia-Image-Author : Klaus Foehl]
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Located in the Aude department in the Occitania region, the French city of Carcassonne is home to the ancient citadel known as the Cité de Carcassonne. It is located in the southeast of the city core, atop a hill on the right bank of Aude River. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, an architect and thinker, renovated the citadel towards the end of the 19th century. Because of its remarkable witness to the design and layout of a medieval fortress town, it was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. Founded in the Gallo-Roman era, the fame of the citadel comes from its double enclosing walls, spanning three kilometers, punctuated by fifty-two turrets. With a roughly 2,500-year history, the town has had periods of Roman, Visigothic, and Crusader occupation. It was a Gaulish village in the beginning, and the Romans opted to fortify it as a town in the third century CE. The settlement is referred to as a castellum in 333 CE, when the Roman defenses were in place. Between 34 and 40 towers, placed 18 to 30 meters apart along the curtain wall, supported the ancient walls. Each tower was roughly 14 meters tall and had a semicircular floor plan. The village had around forty primary entrances. The basic structure of the Gallo-Roman walls was preserved even after they were renovated in the fifth and sixth centuries when the Visigoths occupied the town. With his many building projects, Bernard Aton IV Trencavel, vicomte of Albi, Nîmes, and Béziers, ushered in a prosperous era for the city. In Languedoc, a new sect known as Catharism emerged during this time. Bernard Aton V began rebuilding the Gallo-Roman defenses and building a mansion for himself in 1130. For the first time, a whole fortification encircled the Cité of Carcassonne. Three or four thousand people lived in the city at this period, including those who lived in the two communities located beneath the walls of the Cité, the bourg Saint-Vincent to the north and the bourg Saint-Michel to the south of the Narbon gate. Outside the Roman walls, a second line of defenses was erected after 1226. In 1247, the town was at last annexed by the French Crown. It offered the Crown of Aragon and France a solid French frontier. The new outer walls were strengthened and extended to the south during this time, while the inner Roman walls were mostly destroyed and rebuilt. Following the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, the region of Roussillon was incorporated into France, and the military importance of the town diminished. After the fortifications were abandoned, the town developed into one of major economic hubs of France, specializing in the production of woolen textiles. The French government determined in 1849 that the defenses of the city ought to be destroyed. The locals were vehemently against this choice. Later, the government changed its mind, and restoration efforts got underway in 1853. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, an architect, was tasked with restoring the castle. Following his passing in 1879, his student Paul Boeswillwald carried on with the restoration work, which was eventually taken over by architect Nodet
[Information and Image Credit : Cité_de_Carcassonne, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cit%C3%A9_de_Carcassonne ]
[Image : Constructed in the fourteenth century, the Pont-Vieux overlooks the Cité and has been recognized as a historical monument since 1926; Wikipedia-Image Author : Txllxt TxllxT]
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The Rocca Castle Calascio is a rocca, or mountaintop stronghold, located in the Italian province of Abruzzo. Situated approximately 1,460 meters above sea level, the castle is the tallest fortification in the Apennines. Constructed using stone and masonry solely for military objectives, the stronghold overlooks the Plain of Navelli from one of the highest locations in the historic Barony of Carapelle. It was never meant to serve as a house for nobility. With just one watchtower, the construction of the fortress got underway in the tenth century. The thirteenth century saw the addition of a walled courtyard surrounded by a higher inner tower and four cylindrical towers at each corner. The lower half of the fortress was constructed using notably larger stones than its upper half. This feature is thought to have been designed to prevent invaders from accessing the base. There was never a combat test for the fortification. However, an earthquake estimated to have been between a 7 and an 8 on the Richter Scale severely devastated it in November of 1461. The fortress was not rebuilt, although the village below it, called Calascio, did. Beside the elevated plain of Campo Imperatore, in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, is the Castle of Rocca Calascio. The seventeenth-century, octagonal Santa Maria della Pietà church is located next to the fortification at a little lower elevation
[Information and Image Credit : Castle_of_Rocca_Calascio ; Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Rocca_Calascio ]
[Image : The difference between the larger stones of the lower part of the Castle of Rocca Calascio and the smaller stones of upper structure is clearly visible; ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Renano]
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In Ghent, in the Belgian province of East Flanders, there is a medieval fortress called the Gravensteen. The present castle was built in 1180 and served as the home of Counts of Flanders until 1353. After that, it served as a court, a jail, a mint, and even a cotton factory. After being renovated between 1893 and 1903, it is currently a museum and a significant city monument. The Gravensteen has its roots in the reign of Arnulf I i.e. between 890–965. Approximately 1000 AD, the location, which was sandwiched between two branches of the Lys River, was originally defended, first with wood and then with stone. This was quickly rebuilt as a motte-and-bailey fortress, which burned down in 1176 or later. On the location of the previous fortification, Philip of Alsace ,1143–1191, erected the present castle in 1180. Perhaps it was influenced by the crusader strongholds Philip saw during the Second Crusade. In addition to serving as a fortification, the Gravensteen was designed to terrify the Ghent burghers who frequently questioned the authority of the count. It consists of several smaller buildings, a home, and a big central donjon. A 24 little échauguette-lined, oval-shaped, reinforced enceinte encircles these. Its sizable moat is likewise supplied with water from the Lys. The Counts of Flanders lived in the Gravensteen from 1180 until 1353. The castle fell into disrepair once the counts of Flanders stopped calling it home. Up to the eighteenth century, it served as a courtroom and a prison. It served as the location of mint of Ghent from 1353 until 1491. Later, private structures were built on top of or near the medieval ruins. An industrialist who bought the Gravensteen during the Industrial Revolution turned it into a cotton mill. It was even supposed to be demolished. Over time, the City of Ghent acquired portions of the castle and, under the direction of architect Joseph de Waele, undertook a significant renovation in a romanticizing Gothic style between 1893 and 1907. De Waele intended to restore the castle to its projected 12th-century appearance, using inspiration from the methods used by French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Up to the eighteenth century, it served as a courtroom and a prison. It served as the location of mint of Ghent from 1353 until 1491. Later, private structures were built on top of or near the medieval ruins. An industrialist who bought the Gravensteen during the Industrial Revolution turned it into a cotton mill. It was even supposed to be demolished. Over time, the City of Ghent acquired portions of the castle and, under the direction of architect Joseph de Waele, undertook a significant renovation in a romanticizing Gothic style between 1893 and 1907. De Waele intended to restore the castle to its projected 12th-century appearance, using inspiration from the methods used by French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. It is believed that many of the characteristics added during this time, such the windows and flat roofs of the eastern outbuilding, are not historically correct. The Gravensteen served as the focal point of the 1913 Ghent World Fair, which drastically altered the downtown of the city. It is still accessible to public
[Information and Image Credit : Gravensteen, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravensteen ]
[Image : The Gravensteen, seen from the south-east; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Marc Ryckaert (MJJR)]
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Lismore Castle is a castle in the County Waterford of Republic of Ireland, situated in the town of Lismore. It was owned by the Desmond Earls until 1753, when it was passed down to the Cavendish family. The Duke of Devonshire now resides there in Ireland. The sixth Duke of Devonshire had it substantially rebuilt in the Gothic style in the middle of the 1800s. The location of the castle was originally occupied by Lismore Abbey, an important monastery and place of learning founded in the early 7th century. The castle was built in 1185 by Prince John of England, the Lord of Ireland, to secure the river crossing. When King Henry II of England came here in 1171, it was still an episcopal center. It was also the episcopal seat of the local bishop for a short while after 1185, when King John of England, his son, was tasked with erecting a castellum. It belonged to the Desmond earls, whose estates were divided up during the plantations when Gerald FitzGerald, the 14th earl of Desmond, was killed in 1583. Sir Walter Raleigh leased Lismore in 1589 and later bought it. Raleigh sold the land to Richard Boyle, another infamous colonial explorer who would go on to become the 1st Earl of Cork in 1620, while he was imprisoned for high treason in 1602. With just twenty-seven pounds when he arrived in the Kingdom of Ireland from the Kingdom of England in 1588, Boyle went on to build an incredible wealth. After acquiring Lismore, he turned it into his principal house and built an opulent mansion with striking gabled ranges on either side of the courtyard. In addition, he constructed the Riding Gate, a gatehouse with a castellated exterior wall. The main chambers featured velvet and silk embroidery, tapestry hangings, and plaster ceilings adorned with fretwork. The fourteenth of the fifteen children of the Earl, Robert Boyle, The Father of Modern Chemistry, was born here in 1626. Eventually, The 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork,1694–1753, commonly referred to as the Earl of Burlington in architectural histories, inherited the castle. He was a significant influence on Georgian architecture. After Lady Charlotte Boyle, the heiress and daughter of the 3rd and 4th Earls of Burlington and Cork, married the Marquess of Hartington in 1753, the castle was eventually acquired by the Cavendish family. The 4th Duke of Devonshire, who became the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1755, was born out of this marriage. Improvements at Lismore were carried out by their son, the 5th Duke, who designed the bridge over the River Blackwater in 1775. Thomas Ivory, an architect from Cork, was the architect for the original structure. The current appearance of the castle is a result of the work of the 6th Duke, also referred to as the Bachelor Duke. As soon as he succeeded his father in 1811, he set about converting the castle into a chic quasi-feudal ultra-regal stronghold. From 1812 to 1822, he hired architect William Atkinson to rebuild the castle in the Gothic style using cut stone that was transported from Derbyshire. The favorite home of the Bachelor Duke has always been Lismore, but as he got older, his affection for the area turned into a passion. Public access is available to the gardens situated within the castle. While much of the informal design of the lower garden dates back to the 19th century, the upper garden is a walled garden from the 17th century. The abandoned west range was transformed into Lismore Castle Arts, a modern art gallery, in 2005. The remaining interior space can be rented by parties of up to twenty-three people, but is not accessible to the general public
[Information and Image Credit : Lismore_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lismore_Castle ]
[Image : Lismore Castle, 2006 ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Raúl Corral]
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[Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lismore_Castle_(Lismore,_Co._Waterford).jpg ]
#Castles#History#Architecture
In Cornwall, England, the UK, Restormel Castle is located close to Lostwithiel on the River Fowey. It is one of four principal Norman castles of Cornwall, along with Launceston, Tintagel, and Trematon. The castle is distinguished by its flawlessly round architecture. Situated in the parish of Bodardle manor of Lanlivery, Restormel was a part of the Norman magnate Robert, fief of Count of Mortain. Baldwin Fitz Turstin, the local sheriff, most likely constructed Restormel fortress as a motte and bailey fortress in 1100 following the Norman conquest of England. For almost two centuries, lineage of Baldwin kept the manor as tenants and vassals of the Earls of Cornwall. Despite being the opulent home of Earl of Cornwall until the 16th century, the castle was all but destroyed. During the English Civil War, it was briefly reoccupied and the site of fighting, but it was later abandoned. Now that English Heritage is in charge of it, it is accessible to everyone. Restormel Castle, which is perched on a high point with a view of the River Fowey, is a remarkably intact example of a circular shell keep, a unique kind of fortification constructed for a brief time in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. There are just 71 instances known to exist in Wales and England, with Restormel Castle being the best preserved. These castles were constructed by transforming a wooden motte-and-bailey fortification, with a stone wall erected in place of the palisade outside and a plethora of domestic stone structures erected inside the bailey. To serve as a defense, these were grouped together inside the wall. In a dramatic example of the 13th-century pattern, the buildings are bent to fit into the shell keep. The wall is up to 2.4 meters thick and has a diameter of 38 meters. With a wall walk 25 feet above the ground, it still stands tall, and the battlemented parapet is largely intact. Slate, which looks to have been quarried from the scarp face northeast of the castle, was used to build both the wall and the interior structures. The solar, guest quarters, kitchen, hall, and ante-chapel were among the household structures housed inside the wall. The castle structures were supplied with pressurized water from a naturally occurring spring. The entrance to the inner castle is guarded by a square gate tower, which is mostly destroyed. It is possible that this was the first portion of the old castle to be built entirely of stone. The chapel is located on the other side; it is believed to have been added in the thirteenth century and is housed inside a square tower that protrudes from the wall. It seems to have been altered during the English Civil War to become a gun emplacement. There was formerly an external bailey wall that was made of wood and had earthwork defenses. It has since been destroyed and is no longer visible. Additionally, there are historical allusions to a dungeon that has since disappeared. The castle gives the impression that it is perched atop a motte; its enormous walls were, remarkably for the time, buried deeply into the original motte. An outside ringwork that is later filled in to give the impression that it is heaped up against the castle wall enhances the effect. This might have happened in a later era of the existence of the castle to create a garden walk surrounding the ruin
[Information and Image Credit : Restormel_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restormel_Castle ]
[Image : Restormel Castle, seen from the west ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Zaian at English Wikipedia]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
In the northern Italian province of Parma, close to Langhirano, sits the 15th-century Torrechiara Castle. It is strategically located south of the city of Parma, atop a terraced hill with a view of the Parma River and the valley below. Pier Maria II de Rossi, the fourth count of San Secondo, ordered the construction of the fortress, which was completed between 1448 and 1460. The fortification demonstrates the impact of the strongholds of the Sforza family, especially Visconti-Sforza Castle. In addition to serving as an aristocratic home for the mistress of de Rossi, Bianca Pellegrini d Arluno, the castle was constructed as a defensive fortress. Bianca passed away in Torrechiara circa 1480. In 1482, Pier Maria retired to Torrechiara, where he passed away a few months later. Both of them were interred in the northeast tower of the castle, at the Oratory of San Nicomede. Over the ages, the castle saw numerous ownership changes before being designated as a national monument in 1911. The Italian State bought it the next year and let the public use it without any furnishings. The castle was mostly rebuilt between 1448 and 1460, although it dates back to the Middle Ages. It comprises four rectangular towers united by two lines of merloned walls. Many rooms in the interior are furnished with fantastical, grotesque, or realistic characteristics. The paintings in the lunettes depict Bianca Pellegrini running through Rossi and her estates in quest of her beloved; Benedetto Bembo is credited with creating the fresco cycle. The room opens up onto a broad loggiato. On December 23, 2008, a moderate earthquake with a magnitude of roughly 5.2 rocked the area, seriously damaging the castle, especially the battlement and the outside walls of San Nicomede Tower. When structural renovations were finished in 2009, some of the rooms were off-limits to the general public. On the ground floor, where the early 19th-century reconstruction of the collapsing roof slab had occurred, the San Nicomede Oratory was refurbished. The old Sala della Sera was reconstructed and repaired on the main floor of the castle, and it was positioned at the end of the row containing the Aurora, Meriggio, and Vespro chambers. 2014 saw the castle reopen in July
[Information and Image Credit : Torrechiara_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrechiara_Castle ]
[Image : Castello di Torrechiara, Wikipedia-Image Author : Mdntb]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
The Sarzanello fortress is a military stronghold that overlooks the Val di Magra from above. It is located in the province of La Spezia and is situated on route alla Fortezza on the Sarzanello hill, close to Sarzana. Because to its characteristics and location, it is one of the city symbols of Sarzana. The Regional Museums Directorate took over as the managing body of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities in December 2019 after it was formerly known as the Museum Center of Liguria. The stronghold is made up of two different types of structures. 1. The primary component of the fortification is the first, actual castle, which features a triangle layout with three bastions at the summit. The actual structure of the castle is housed in this manufacturing part. The second is a massive ravelin, nearly the size of the fortress, shaped like a triangle with a defended embankment. Set against the first and joined by a flying bridge to create a rhombus-like structure with the first element consisting of two triangles. The stone bridge that spans the deep and expansive defensive moat provides access to the stronghold. Beginning in the fourth century, gradual and irreversible decline of Luni fforced its citizens to flee to the nearby hills in search of safety. As a result, new villages such as Nicola, Ortonovo, Castelnuovo Magra, and Ameglia grew, if not completely originated, on the surrounding hills, and the Sarzanello hill itself was eventually inhabited by exiles who gathered around the most significant home of the Bishop. The oldest reference to a military system dates back to 963, when the Bishop of Luni was granted ownership of six castras, including Sarzano, in a diploma issued by Emperor Otto I. The castle grew in significance over time as the political and military landscape shifted; by the end of the tenth century, it was home to one of the bishopric houses of the valley. The castrum is frequently cited as the curtis of Emperor Frederick I in the years 1076, 1078, and 1080, as well as the curtis of Henry VI in 1191 [Information and Image Credit : Fortezza_di_Sarzanello, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortezza_di_Sarzanello ] [Image : Sarzanello Fortress Castles of the Val di Magra ; Wikipedia-Image Author : Chabe01] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribuzione-Condividi allo stesso modo 4.0 Internazionale License ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.it ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Forteresse_Castracani_-_Sarzana_(IT42)_-_2022-08-28_-_10.jpg ] #Castles#History#Architecture
Savonlinna, Finland is home to Olavinlinna, a three-tower fortress from the fifteenth century. Situated in the Kyrönsalmi strait, which links the lakes Haukivesi and Pihlajavesi, the building is situated on an island. It is the last surviving example of a medieval stone fortress in the north. First held in the summer of 1912, the Savonlinna Opera Festival takes place on a magnificent stage provided by the castle. Under the name Sankt Olofsborg, Erik Axelsson Tott established the castle in 1475, hoping to capitalize on the political unrest that followed the conquest of the Novgorod Republic by Ivan III. It was the first Swedish castle to be equipped with a series of round, thickset towers resistant to cannon fire. After the completion of the three-towered keep in 1485, work on the outer curtain walls with their two towers began right once. 1495 saw their completion. With the keep on the western side of the island and the outer bailey and curtain walls on the eastern side, the castle resembles a truncated rhomboid. St. Eriks Tower, one of the towers of the Keep, had a weak base and eventually collapsed. The Thick Tower, one of the towers of Bailoey, blew apart in the eighteenth century. On its place, a bastion has been constructed. The castle was rebuilt with bastions into a late eighteenth-century fort reminiscent of Vaubanesque architecture. In the 19th century, the castle suffered numerous destructive fires that destroyed most of its original furnishings and décor. The castle is home to a number of modest exhibitions. The Castle Museum features relics related to or found within the castle, while the Orthodox Museum features religious artifacts and icons from both Finland and Russia
[Information and Image Credit : Olavinlinna, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olavinlinna ]
[Image: The castle has three towers remaining – Olavinlinna; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Miraceti]
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#Castles#History
Situated on a hill three kilometers west of center of Palma, on the Spanish island of Majorca, lies Bellver Castle, a Gothic-style castle. It is one of the few circular fortresses in Europe, having been constructed in the fourteenth century for King James II of Majorca. Originally housing the Majorcan kings, it was then utilized for a considerable amount of time as a military prison from the 18th until the mid-20th century. Today, under civilian administration, it is one of the top tourist destinations of the island and home to the history museum of the city. The upper complex of the Herodion, a round hilltop palace on the West Bank dating from 15 BCE with a great central tower and three smaller towers atop, appears to have served as the model for the layout of the castle, which consists of a circular floor with round towers attached to it. They are connected, and the main one is connected to the complex via a tall bridge that spans the surrounding moat. Architect Pere Salvà, who also contributed to the building of the Royal Palace of La Almudaina, constructed the majority of the fortification between 1300 and 1311 for King James II of Majorca and Aragon with the help of other skilled masons. The building was constructed using rock from the hill on which the castle is located, which has finally caused fissures to show. After the construction of the castle and the installation of cannon, the battlements atop the balconies and on the barbican vanished, quickly followed by those in each tower; loopholes were constructed in their place. When the Kings of Mallorca were not present in mainland Europe, the castle was initially their home. In the 17th century, viceroys hardly rarely utilized the castle as a residence. Only once in its history has the castle fallen into enemy hands, following an attack in 1521 amid the Majorcan Second Revolt of the Brotherhoods. Originally built to house the royal court of James of Mallorca, the building-design blends defensive features with palace requirements. The most remarkable aspect of the structure is its circular form, which is exclusive to Mallorca. Its three smaller towers, the donjon, and the inner yard are all shaped in the same way. The donjon of the castle is surrounded by a moat. The focal point ought to be the circle of inner yard. There is a well in the center of it, indicating that a cistern is underneath. The palace is designed as a two-story edifice that encircles the center courtyard. A gallery of gothic semicircular arches faces this yard, providing access to all of its dependencies
[Information and Image Credit : Bellver_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellver_Castle ]
[Image : Bellver_Castle, Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Poniol60]
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[Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Castillo_de_Bellver.jpg ]
#Castles#History#Architecture
Sixth-largest castle site of Slovak history consists of the ruins of Spiš Castle to the east of the country. In the Spiš region, the castle is located above the villages of Žehra and Spišské Podhradie. In 1993, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The castle area is 39,000 square meters in size. The division of Slovak National Museum namely Spiš Museum at Levoča is in charge of overseeing it. On the site of an earlier castle, Spiš Castle was constructed in the twelfth century. It served as the political, administrative, commercial, and cultural hub of the Szepes County of Hungarian Kingdom. The dynasties that owned it before 1464 were the kings of Hungary, up to King Matthias Corvinus. Following it the Zápolya family ruled up to 1528, the Thurzó family between1531–1635, the Csáky family between1638–1945, and, from 1945 onward, the state of Czechoslovakia, and finally Slovakia. Originally a fortified Romanesque stone castle, by the second half of the thirteenth century a two-story Romanesque palace and a three-nave Romanesque-Gothic basilica had been built. The area of the castle was doubled by the construction of a second extramural settlement in the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century, the castle underwent a complete reconstruction that included raising the walls and building a third extramural settlement. Approximately in 1470, a late Gothic chapel was added. The upper castle was transformed by the Zápolya clan into a cozy family home reminiscent of late Renaissance homes from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through late Gothic architectural elements. The Csáky family, the last occupants of the Spiš Castle, left it in the early eighteenth century because they felt it was too uncomfortable to live in. They relocated to the recently constructed village palaces in Hodkovce, close to Žehra and Spišský Hrhov. A fire in 1780 completely destroyed the castle. There are a few theories, but the cause of the fire is unknown. One is that the Csáky family intentionally set it on fire in order to lower taxes because, at the time, buildings with roofs were subject to additional levies. Another theory is that the fire was caused by a lightning strike. A third theory holds that while some soldiers were producing moonshine inside the castle, they unintentionally lit the fire. Regardless, the castle was abandoned following the fire and started to deteriorate. In the latter half of the 20th century, considerable archaeological research was done at the castle, and it was partially rebuilt. The restored areas contain artifacts like torture devices that were once used in the castle, as well as exhibits from the Spiš Museum, which is in charge of overseeing the castle
[Information and Image Credit : Spiš_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spi%C5%A1_Castle ]
[Image : Aerial photograph of the castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Civertan ]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
Situated in the town of Srebrna Góra Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, Fort Srebrna Góra, also known as Srebrnogórska Fortress, is a former military fort that is now a monument and museum. It was built between 1765 and 1777, while the area was a part of the Prussian Kingdom. As of May 1, 2004, the fort has been officially recognized as one of the national historic monuments of Poland. The Polish National Heritage Board is responsible for maintaining its listing. It has been recognized as a unique illustration of a mountain stronghold from the 18th century in Europe. Because of its firm bedrock base, the fort has been referred to as Gibraltar of Prussia or Gibraltar of Silesia. Frederick II, King of Prussia, gave the order in 1764–1777 to build the fortress at Srebrna Góra. With assistance from many Prussian military engineers, Ludwig Wilhelm Regeler, a Prussian architect, designed it. In the years that followed, some minor additions were made, but no significant changes were made; work on an adjacent flanked fort was started, but it was soon abandoned. The complex consists of multiple bastions, six forts, and related structures. The central Donżon Fort, located atop the Warowna Góra hill, serves as the primary fort of the complex. Perched atop the Sudety Mountains, the complex marks the natural boundary between the Silesian Lowlands and the Kłodzko Valley. Three hills are covered by the fort: Wielki Chochoł, Warowna Góra, and Ostróg. With enough supplies to last a year under siege, the fort could house a garrison of 4,000 troops. There were 264 artillery pieces defending it. The castle was built to protect a road that led from Prussian territory to Bohemian territory in the south, assisting in the defense against any potential Austrian attacks. It was stated that the construction cost 4.5 million Prussian thalers. During the siege, the attackers never managed to take control of the castle. The fortress was the scene of an actual fight only once, on June 28, 1807, when Napoleonic forces successfully besieged it during the War of the Fourth Coalition. It was deemed obsolete by 1860, and the garrison was lowered. In 1867, it was abandoned as a functioning military fortress
[Information and Image Credit : Fort_Srebrna_Góra, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Srebrna_G%C3%B3ra ]
[Image : Aerial view of the fort; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Tomekziel ]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
The castle known as Kriebstein Castle is located in the German state of Saxony, close to the town of Waldheim. The Dresden Main State Archive holds the original document pertaining to Kriebstein Castle, which was first mentioned on October 4, 1384. Above the River Zschopau and its sheer craggs, the castle stands. Situated at the tip of a hill spur, encircled by the Zschopau, which flows around the point in a broad bow, the castle is categorized as a spur castle within the topographical grouping of hill castles. A man-made ditch, known as the Halsgraben, divides the rising terrain behind the castle from the rock upon which it is perched. The Kriebstein is a typological hybrid of an oval-shaped ringwork castle, or Ringburg, and a tower castle, or Turmburg. Standing tall on the tallest cliff, the colossal keep dominates the entire scene. The tower, including its weather vane, is 45 meters tall with sides that measure 22 by 12 meters. The castle has a distinct and thus distinctive profile because to its late medieval oriel turrets and flèche. The tower-shaped gatehouse, the kitchen, the curtain wall with its household wing, and other structures, such as the chapel wing, are arranged around the keep. The double-bay, cross-ribbed vaulted Gothic hall and the back of the castle are located on the east side of the chapel wing. Located right above the steep slopes of Zschopau River, this building complex features a continuous upper floor that dates back to the 17th century. Directly connected to the central keep of the castle is the Late Gothic kitchen structure. The entire area is encircled by a residential wing that served as the great hall, the well house, and the northern defensive wall that connected to the gatehouse. Today, it serves as a concert and event space; weddings are held in the castle [Information and Image Credit : Kriebstein_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriebstein_Castle ] [Image : Kriebstein Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author-Source : Burg Kriebstein (Sachsen) , Uploaded by X-Weinzar] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Burg_Kriebstein.jpg ] #Castles#History#Architecture
Located in the Anamur ilçe district of Mersin Province, Bozdogan village of Turkey is home to the historic Mamure Castle. East of Anamur, on the Mediterranean coast, sits the fortress. On the ruins of a Roman fortress from the fourth century, the Cilicia kings of Armenian Kingdom erected the castle. It was restored throughout the Byzantine era and the Crusades, with the intention of deterring pirates. Alaattin Keykubat I of the Seljuk Turks used parts of the earlier fortifications to construct a new castle after capturing the remains of the castle in 1221. Later, the Karamanid dynasty, an Anatolian Turkmen principality, ruled over it. An inscription by İbrahim II of Karaman in 1450 states that the stronghold was taken during reign of Mahmut (1300–1311), while the exact date is unknown. After Mahmut made renovations, the castle was called Mamure, which means prosperous. The Ottoman Empire annexed the castle in 1469. Following successive repairs in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and eighteenth centuries, a portion of the castle was converted to a caravansarai. The castle spans 23,500 square meters and is encircled by a moat. Wide ramparts link its 39 towers and bastions. There are three primary courtyards in the castle: one each in the west, east, and south. A modest complex comprising a single-minaret mosque and a derelict Turkish bath may be found in the western courtyard. There are lighthouse remnants in the courtyard to the south. This fortress seems to be the same as the one William Henry Bartlett painted in 1836, Kalendria on the coast of Cilicia. The picture and a corresponding lyrical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon can be found via the external links provided below. But Kalenderis, or what is now Aydıncık, another town around 60 km east of Mamure, is the referenced town in the name Kalendria
[Information and Image Credit : Mamure_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamure_Castle ]
[Image : Mamure Castle, Anamur, Mersin Province, Turkey ;
Wikipedia-Image-Author : Beñat Irasuegi]
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[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en ]
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#Castles#History
Situated in the Aragon autonomous area of Spain, next to the town by the same name in Huesca Province, is the Romanesque Castle and Abbey known as the Castle of Loarre. It is among the oldest castles of Spain. Because of its important location on the frontier, the fortress was primarily constructed in the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Following reconquest by Sancho el Mayor,1063-1094 A.D., of the surrounding regions the first of the two main building programs got underway around 1020. Following 1070, Loarre gained significance. King Sancho Ramírez established an Augustinian canon community in Loarre in 1073, and it was from Loarre that he prepared to conquer Huesca in 1094. But all of the possessions of Loarre were given to a brand-new royal monastery at Montearagon in 1097 by his successor, Peter I of Aragon and Navarre. Based on the available evidence, it appears that the second major construction program took place between 1073 and 1097, as many buildings clearly originate from this time frame. Nonetheless, it is also evident from a comparison with other monuments that the construction and ornamental program persisted into the twelfth century. Because the castle was perched on a rocky outcrop, its layout had to change. Unlike many other castles, Loarre was made up of a number of buildings enclosed by curtain walls. The interior layout at first featured a chapel hidden behind a number of curtain walls and two towers. Another chapel was constructed outside the castle walls in a Romanesque style towards the end of the eleventh century. The castle is eight towers and outermost walls date back to the 13th or 14th century. Numerous restorations have been carried out on the church and castle; the most significant one occurred in 1913, and others, especially in the 1970s, resulted in the reconstruction of numerous crumbling walls and towers
[Information and Image Credit : Castle_of_Loarre, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Loarre ]
[Image : Castillo de Loarre; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Samueloku]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
The 16th-century Lindisfarne Castle is situated on Holy Island, close to Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, England. Sir Edwin Lutyens made significant alterations to the castle in 1901. A causeway allows access to the island from the mainland during low tide. The region where the castle is situated was formerly a highly unstable boundary between England and Scotland; Viking raids were also common in this area. In 1537, Lindisfarne Priory was eventually closed down as a priory as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Following the suppression of the priory, army of Henry VIII converted the remnants into a naval depot. Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, was given an order by Henry VIII in 1542 to defend the location in case of a Scottish invasion. Ralph Cleisbye, the captain of the fort, possessed a falcon, two brass sakers, a wheel-mounted demi-culverin, and another fixed demi-culverin by December 1547. Making use of the advantageous strategic location of the island, a small fort was constructed in 1549 on Beblowe, the highest point of the island, which is about a kilometer east of the monastery structures and has a view of the harbor. When military engineer Sir Richard Lee examined the region in 1565, all he found was a turf rampart and a decaying platform. After that, Elizabeth I ordered renovations to be made to the fort in order to fortify it and provide gun platforms for the newest advancements in artillery technology. The cost of these 1570–1571 works was £1191. The previous structures served as a supply of building stone for the current project. The need for the fortress vanished when James I united the Scottish and English thrones upon coming to power in England. At this point, the little harbor of Lindisfarne was guarded by the castle, which was still under garrison from Berwick. The Jacobite rebels briefly took over the castle in the eighteenth century, but they were swiftly recaptured by Berwick soldiers who imprisoned them. The rebels managed to escape by digging a way out and hiding at nearby Bamburgh Castle for nine days before successfully making their getaway. Later on, the castle served as a coast guard watchtower and developed into a little tourist destination. The historic fort was sketched by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1901
[Information and Image Credit : Lindisfarne_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindisfarne_Castle ]
[Image : Lindisfarne Castle, a 16th-century fortification made into a family home by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901; Wikipedia-Image-Author : matthew Hunt]
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[Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LindisfarneCastleHolyIsland.jpg ]
#Castles#History#Architecture
The magnificent Frederiksborg Castle is located near Hillerød, Denmark. The biggest Renaissance mansion in Scandinavia, it was constructed as a royal palace for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, taking the place of an earlier castle that Frederick II had acquired. Adjacent to the castle lake, Slotssøen, is a spacious formal garden designed in the Baroque style, spanning across three islets. Following a significant fire in 1859, the castle was reconstructed using historic blueprints and artwork. Its apartments were completely repaired and presented to the public as the Danish Museum of National History in 1882, thanks to the generosity of the general public and the brewer J. C. Jacobsen. The museum, which is open all year round, has biggest collection of portrait paintings in Denmark. It also gives guests the chance to see a number of the state rooms of the castles, such as the beautifully decorated and mostly spared from the fire Valdemar Room and Great Hall, as well as the Chapel and Audience Chamber. A fire engine was positioned in the castle year-round throughout the renovations. The Gøyes, a Danish aristocratic family, had long controlled the estate near Hillerød, which was once called as Hillerødsholm. Mogens Gøye, 1470–1544, Steward of the Realm, had played a key role in bringing the Danish Reformation in the 1520s and 1530s. In the northernmost of three nearby islets in the estate-lake, he resided in a half-timbered house. The land was called Hillerødsholm, which translates to islet of Hillerød. The couple became its owners after his daughter Birgitte married the courtier and naval hero Herluf Trolle in 1544. Trolle demolished the ancient structure and erected a bigger manor home in the 1540s. The first inland Danish castle was Frederiksborg Castle. Since the water had historically been the primary route of transportation, all previous castles had been located near ports or on the shore. Additionally, it was the first to be constructed entirely for leisure rather than defense. Because of its location in Hillerød, far improved roads—originally designated for the king—were developed [Information and Image Credit : Frederiksborg_Castle; Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederiksborg_Castle ]
[Image : Frederiksborg Castle, Denmark;
Wikipedia-Image-Author: :
Casper Moller, from London, United Kingdom]
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#Castles#History
Situated near the Irish village of Malahide, 14 km north of city center of Dublin, is Malahide Castle, some of which date back to the 12th century. The Malahide Demesne Regional Park is made up of the more over 260 acres of parks that are still present. Beginning in 1185, the estate was given to Richard Talbot, a knight who traveled to Ireland with Henry II in 1174, along with the lands and harbour of Malahide. The earliest sections of the castle date back to the 12th century. The Talbot family occupied it for 791 years, from 1185 until 1976, with the exception of the years 1649–1660, when Miles Corbet received it from Oliver Cromwell following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Towers were added in 1765, during what is thought to have been a notable expansion of the structure during reign of Edward IV. The estate is also thought to have withstood tragedies like the Battle of the Boyne, in which the family of the owner lost fourteen members by the evening when they sat down for breakfast in the Great Hall, and the Penal Laws, despite the continued Roman Catholicism of the family until 1774. Airships from RNAS Anglesey in Wales used the grounds of the castle as a mooring-out base in 1918 during the First World War, when they performed anti-submarine operations in the Irish Sea. Prior to the end of the war, plans were in place to base airships here starting in 1919. Great-great-grandson of James Boswell, Lord Talbot de Malahide, sold the private papers of the famed author to American collector Ralph H. Isham in the 1920s after they were found in the castle. Since then, Yale University has acquired the documents, and it has released academic and popular versions of his letters and journals. It is also thought that Isham soon after discovered and bought a second cache. Eventually, the 7th Baron Talbot inherited Malahide Castle and its demesne, intending to give it to the state. Rose, his sister, who had lived there as a caretaker in the 1950s, inherited the castle upon his death in 1973. With regret, Rose gave the castle to the Irish State in 1975 in order to pay the unpaid inheritance taxes. Many of the items, most notably the furnishings that had been sold, had generated some debate. Partially some items were recouped from the buyers and were done by both public and private entities
[Infromation and Image Credit : Malahide_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malahide_Castle ]
[Image : Malahide Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : William Murphy, from Dublin, Ireland]
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#History#Castles
The ruins of Čachtice Castle are located in Slovakia, adjacent to the Čachtice village. Because of the uncommon flora that grow on the hill where it is located, it has been designated as a national nature reserve. The Countess Elizabeth Báthory, who was accused of being a serial killer, lived at the castle before it was converted into a jail. As a guard on the route to Moravia, Kazimir of the Hont-Pázmány gens constructed Čachtice in the middle of the thirteenth century. It later belonged to Elizabeth Báthory, the Stibor family, and before that to Matthew Csák. When Elizabeth married Ferenc Nádasdy in 1575, the Nádasdy family gave her Čachtice, along with the surrounding estates and villages. Čachtice was formerly a Romanesque fortress with a fascinating dwelling tower built like a horseshoe. Later on, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, its size was expanded, and it was transformed into a Gothic castle. 17th-century renovations throughout the Renaissance came next. In 1708, rebels of Francis II Rákóczi took control of the castle. In 1799, it suffered from negligence and was burned down. Before being converted into a tourist attraction in 2014, it was allowed to deteriorate
[Infromation and Image Credit : Čachtice_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%8Cachtice_Castle ]
[Image : Čachtice Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Civertan]
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#History#Castles
Situated close to the Irish Sea on a rocky knoll, Harlech Castle, a Grade I listed medieval castle, is located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales. Edward I had it constructed between 1282 and 1289, during his invasion of Wales, at the comparatively low sum of £8,190. The fortress took part in numerous battles over the ensuing centuries, withstanding siege of Madog ap Llywelyn in 1294–1295 before falling to Prince Owain Glyndŵr in 1404. After that it served as home and military base of Glyndŵr for the duration of the rebellion, until English forces retook it in 1409. The ballad Men of Harlech commemorates the siege of Harlech, which was held by the Lancastrians for seven years during the Wars of the Roses in the fifteenth century, until Yorkist armies forced its submission in 1468. The fortress was defended by supporters of Charles I after the English Civil War broke out in 1642. They maintained it until 1647, when it was the final stronghold to fall to the forces of the Parliament. The historic environment service of Welsh Government, Cadw, is in charge of overseeing the abandoned castle in the twenty-first century as a tourist destination. UNESCO has designated Harlech Castle as a World Heritage Site, citing it as one of best examples of Europe late 13th- and early 14th-century military architecture. Concentric in shape and constructed of local stone, the stronghold has a colossal gatehouse that was presumably originally used to house the castle constable and other high-ranking guests. A large flight of steps and a water-gate descend from the castle to the previous beach, where the sea once came considerably closer to Harlech than it does now. This feature allowed the castle to be resupplied by sea during sieges. The architecture of Harlech shares many similarities with that of the County of Savoy around the same period, which is consistent with other castles of Edward in the north of Wales. This similarity is likely due to the Savoy origins of the principal architect, James of Saint George. Although there is no proof that a native Welsh stronghold ever stood where Harlech Castle is located in North Wales, the legend of the Welsh princess Branwen is linked to the location in local folklore
[Information and Image Credit : Harlech_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlech_Castle ]
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#Castles#History
A Late Gothic castle, the Albrechtsburg was built between 1471 and roughly 1495. It is situated in the German state of Saxony, in the heart of Meissen. It is next to the Meissen Cathedral, perched on a hill above the Elbe River. During the Siege of Gana in 929, King Henry I of Germany defeated the Glomacze tribe and established a castle on a rock above the Elbe river, where their village was located. This castle, named Misnia after a local creek, served as both the center of town and the home of the Margraves of Meissen starting in 965. The Margraves of Meissen went on to win the Electorate of Saxony in 1423. Frederick I was named Elector of Saxony in 1423. Ernst and Albrecht, his grandchildren, ruled over Thuringia and Saxony combined from 1464 to 1485. In 1471, they hired renowned builder Arnold von Westfalen to construct the first German palace on the site of the former margravial castle. Court of Wettin never really made Albrechtsburg Castle its center. The builders agreed on a split of their domain in 1485, while work was still ongoing. The united administration of the two brothers was disbanded, and the territory was split in half. Ernst, brother of Albrecht, gained the remaining Thuringian territories and the Duchy of Saxony with Wittenberg, to which the electorate was connected, while Albrecht received practically the Margraviate of Meissen with the freshly constructed castle and the eventual Thuringian district. Construction was suspended in the higher northern regions between 1495 and 1500 while internal finishing work was being completed. These lands were not finished until 1521 by Jakob Heilmann, the son of Duke Albrecht, Duke Georg, 1500–1539. The first floor of the northeastern structure features a loop ribbed vault in the style of the Prague-based architect Benedikt Ried, and the room above features a fireplace that dates from this era. During that period, the balustrades of the Great Staircase Tower required figural reliefs by sculptor Christoph Walther I, whose frames feature early Renaissance forms. In 1676, the castle was dubbed Albrechtsburg in honor of one of its founding lords. However, Georg the Bearded, son of Albrecht, was the one who initially moved inside Albrechtsburg Castle. The castle suffered severe damage during the Thirty Years War. It is been vacant ever since. Only in the early 1700s, after Augustus II the Strong established the Meissen porcelain factory at the castle in 1710, did Albrechtsburg Castle come back into the public eye. European porcelain was invented two years earlier by Johann Friedrich Böttger and Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. Originally, Dresden was to be the factory, but Augustus the Strong decided on the abandoned castle because to its remote position because no other place would have had such a firm grasp on the formula for producing porcelain. The white gold became internationally known when the porcelain business moved into the erstwhile princely house on June 6, 1710. The castle was abandoned once more in the middle of the 1800s when the factory was relocated to a brand-new factory structure. The old manufacturing buildings were demolished and the castle is architecture was reconstructed between 1864 and 1870. Extensive paintings adorned the late Gothic walls, taking the place of the missing furnishings. Afterwards, the Frankfurt-based, well-known artist Alexander Linnemann was also involved in this process, helping to design the new doors, for example. The Albrechtsburg Castle was opened to the public at the close of the 1800s and continues to be a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists
[Information and Image Credit : Albrechtsburg, Wikipedia]
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[Image : Albrechtsburg and Meissen Cathedral on the Elbe river; Wikipedia-Image-Author: Stephan Hoppe ]
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#Castles#History
In Arundel, West Sussex, England, there is a medieval castle that has been renovated and restored. In the eleventh century, Roger de Montgomery founded it. Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk, repaired the castle in the 18th and 19th centuries after it was devastated during the English Civil War. The Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk have called the castle their home since the eleventh century. The building is categorized as Grade I. It was once a motte-and-bailey castle. The King gave Roger de Montgomery the estate as part of a much bigger bundle of hundreds of manors, and he was proclaimed the first Earl of Arundel. Roger, the cousin of William the Conqueror, had remained in Normandy to maintain order while William was away in England. He received large territories in the Welsh Marches, throughout the nation, and a fifth of Sussex as compensation for his allegiance. Around 1067, he started construction on Arundel Castle. Robert of Bellême, the owner of the castle, rebelled, and between 1101 and 1102, the army of Henry I besieged the fortress. The castle gave itself over to the king at the end of the siege. The fortress was under siege in 1643, during the First English Civil War. After eighteen days, the 800 royalists within submitted. Later, in 1653, Parliament mandated that the castle be slighted. Nonetheless, it is thought that weather likely caused greater damage. Over the ensuing decades, the Howard family kept ownership of the castle, but it was not their preferred home. Instead, the several Dukes of Norfolk dedicated their time and resources on enhancing other ducal properties, such as Norfolk House in London. It was at this time that Francis Hiorne was commissioned by the Duke to build the folly that still exists on the hill above Swanbourne Lake. Queen Victoria spent three days at Arundel Castle in 1846 with her husband, Prince Albert. The castle was internally remodeled by Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, just in time for her visit. The furniture design was created by the architectural firm Morant. During this period, a suite of six rooms was constructed on the second floor of the southeast range. Following the 1846 royal visit, the 15th Duke started rebuilding the castle once more, and he did so from 1875 until 1905. By early 2020, the large gardens had undergone substantial restoration thanks to the work of head gardener Martin Duncan and his team. Duncan, a landscape designer and horticulturist, has been employed at the Castle since 2009. He was awarded the Kew Guild Medal in 2018. A wild water garden encircling the ponds is the result of the most recent efforts of the gardeners and volunteers
[Information and Image Credit : Arundel_Castle, Wikipedia]
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[Image : View of the Norman motte of Arundel Castle with the quadrangle in the foreground]
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#Castles#History
Constructed between 1873 and 1914, Peleș Castle is a Neo-Renaissance palace located in the Royal Domain of Sinaia in the Carpathian Mountains, close to Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated on a historic route that connects Transylvania and Wallachia. It was officially inaugurated in 1883. It was built for King Carol I of Romania. Upon his first visit to the future castle site in 1866, King Carol I of Romania, 1839–1914, under whose reign the country achieved its independence, fell in love with the breathtaking mountain beauty. Five square kilometres of property close to the Piatra Arsă River were acquired by the Crown in 1872. The property was designated as the Sinaia Royal Estate. Peleș Castle was founded on August 22, 1873, when the King ordered the building of a royal hunting park and summer resort on the land. The royal stables, the Economat Building, the Foișor hunting lodge, the quarters of guards, and a power plant were among the ancillary structures constructed concurrently with the castle. Peleș became the first castle in history to run entirely on electricity generated locally. King Carol I rejected the first three architectural ideas offered for Peleș because they were too expensive and duplicated other palaces in Western Europe. The project was awarded to German architect Johannes Schultz because of his more inventive design, which the King found appealing. A magnificent, palatial mountain castle that blends various elements of traditional European styles, primarily German and Italian Renaissance aesthetics. Architect Carol Benesch led the works as well. The towers, including the 66-meter-tall main central tower, were designed by Czech architect Karel Liman, who added further modifications between 1893 and 1914. Later on, the Sipot Building was constructed, and it functioned as headquarters of Liman during the construction. Liman oversaw the construction of both the mansion of King Ferdinand I in the Royal Sheepfold Meadow and the neighboring Pelișor Castle, which would serve as the future home of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie of Romania, between 1889 and 1903. As with King Ferdinand and Queen Marie during the building of Pelişor Castle, Foişor Villa was home to King Carol I and Queen Elizabeth during construction
[Information and Image Credit : Peleș_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pele%C8%99_Castle ]
[Image : Peleș Castle in autumn ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : TiberiuSahlean]
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In Bojnice, Slovakia, there is a medieval castle called Bojnice Castle. Constructed in the 12th century, the castle combines aspects of Gothic and Renaissance architecture with Romanesque design. Bojnice Castle is one of the most popular tourist destinations of Slovakia, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists each year in addition to serving as a favorite location for fantasy and fairytale film productions. From the 12th century until the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, when it became a part of Czechoslovakia, the land was controlled by Hungarian kings and noblemen. A Czech businessman bought it in 1939. The first documented account of Bojnice Castle dates back to 1113 and is found in a manuscript kept at the Zobor Abbey. It was initially constructed as a wooden fort, but as stone replaced it, the outer walls were fashioned to fit the unsteady rocky terrain. King Ladislaus V of Hungary gave it to the Hungarian nobleman Matthew III Csák in 1302, who became its first owner. King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary possessed it later in the fifteenth century, and in 1489 he granted it to his illegitimate son John Corvinus. Matthias enjoyed coming to Bojnice, where he also worked on the royal edicts. Under what is now called the Linden tree of King Matthias, he used to dictate them. Following his passing, the Hungarian noble family Zápolya acquired ownership of the castle. The castle was purchased and extensively reconstructed in 1528 by the Thurzós family, who were the wealthiest in the northern Kingdom of Hungary. The old stronghold was transformed into a Renaissance mansion. The Pálffy family took ownership of the castle in 1646 and proceeded to renovate it. Ultimately, the last well-known Pálffy family castle owner completed a sophisticated romantic rebuild between 1888 and 1910, imitating the French castles of the Loire Valley that exist today. The castle housed a number of state entities after 1945. The castle caught fire on May 9, 1950, but the government paid to have it restored. A museum that specializes in the documentation and exhibition of the period of architectural neo-styles was established here following this rebuilding. Currently, the Bojnice Museum is a component of the Slovak National Museum. The Bojnice Castle is the subject of numerous legends, most of which are local knowledge. These comprise the most well-known of them all, The Legend of the Black Lady, The Story of Peter Poky and The Legend of a Broken Heart
[Information and Image Credit : Bojnice_Castle, Wikipedia]
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[Image : View of Bojnice Castle from west; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Martin Vavrik ]
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Situated 15 kilometers from Listowel, Ballybunion, sometimes known as Ballybunnion, is a seaside town and resort in County Kerry, Ireland, situated along the Wild Atlantic Way. There were 1,618 people living in Ballybunion as of the 2022 census. The townlands of Ballybunion and Doon West contain promontory fort and ring fort sites, which provide evidence of prehistoric occupancy in the area. The Fitzmaurice dynasty constructed Ballybunion Castle in the early 16th century on the site of an earlier promontory fort. Up until lands of William Óg Bunyan were taken after the Desmond Rebellion in the late 16th century, the castle was owned by the Bunyan family. Since the 1920s, the castle has been a recognized national monument. There are two primary beaches in Ballybunion, separated by Castle Green. Due to the fact that both sexes used to swim on different beaches, the Ladies Beach is located to the right and the Mens Beach is located to the left. Tourists visit Ballybunion in the summer, and the beaches around the town are popular spots for surfing, with a specialized surf school located on the beach for men. Other customs include taking a seaweed bath, which consists of seawater mixed with sharp wrack. There are numerous eateries, bars, cafes and schools in the town itself
[Information and Image Credit : Ballybunion, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballybunion ]
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The Hadrian Mausoleum, sometimes called Castel Sant Angelo, is a soaring rotunda located in Rome, Parco Adriano of Italy. Hadrian, the Roman Emperor, had originally ordered it to be built as a mausoleum for himself and his family. Later on, the popes utilized the structure as a castle and stronghold; it is currently a museum. It used to be the highest building in Rome. Between A.D. 134 and A.D. 139, the Roman emperor Hadrian had his tomb built on the right bank of the Tiber. The tomb was once a garden-topped, golden quadriga-adorned cylinder. A year after death of Hadrian in Baiae in 138, his ashes were interred here, along with those of his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who also passed away in 138, and his wife Sabina. After then, the bodies of other emperors were interred here as well; burial of Caracalla in 217 is the final known deposition. The Treasury Room, located deep beneath the structure, is most likely where the urns holding these remains were kept. Hadrian also constructed the Pons Aelius, which faces directly into the mausoleum and is famous for its Baroque additions of sculptures of angels carrying instruments in the air. It still offers a picturesque entrance from both the left bank of the Tiber and the heart of Rome. A large portion of the ornamentation of the tomb and contents have been lost because Flavius Honorius Augustus included the structure in the Aurelian Walls after it was transformed into a military fortification in 401 A.D. According to Procopius, the original beautiful bronze and stone statuary was thrown down upon the attacking Goths when they besieged Rome in 537 A.D. The urns and ashes were scattered by Visigoth robbers during invasion of Rome of Alaric in A.D. 410 [Information and Image Credit : Castel Sant Angelo, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_Sant%27Angelo ] [Image : Mausoleum of Hadrian; Wikipedia-Image-Aithor : 0x010C ;] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chateau-saint-ange-tibre.jpg ] #Castles#History
In County Mayo, Ireland, Rockfleet Castle, also known as Carrickahowley Castle, is a tower house close to Newport. Constructed around the middle of the fifteenth century, Grace O-Malley—pirate queen and leader of the Clan O-Malley — is most known for having lived there. There have been rumors that she died in the castle. Another name for it is Carraigahowley, which translates to Rock of the Fleet. With four stories and a height of more than eighteen meters, Rockfleet Castle faces drumlins of Clew Bay. While the public used to be permitted to enter the castle, it is now strictly forbidden due to safety concerns. In 2015, a metal walkway was erected around the castle to connect it to the nearby meadow. This was done since it was very inconvenient to enter the castle during high tide. The external masonry was pointed in 2017.
[Information and Image Credit : Rockfleet_Castle, Wikipedia]
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[Image : Rockfleet Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Brholden; ]
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Along with Himeji and Kumamoto, Matsumoto Castle, once known as Fukashi Castle, is one of the most important historic castles of Japan. Because of its black appearance, the edifice is also known as the Crow Castle. During the Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate, it served as the headquarters of Matsumoto Domain. It is situated in the city of Matsumoto of Nagano Prefecture . Completed in the latter part of the sixteenth century, the keep still has its original exterior stonework and wooden interiors. One of the twelve surviving original tenshu in Japan, it is recognized as a National Treasure of Japan. Because Matsumoto Castle is situated on a plain rather than a hilltop or between two rivers, it is a flatland castle. An intricate network of connected moats, gatehouses, and walls would have made up its whole defensive system. The Sengoku era is when the castle first came into being. During the Eisho period of 1504–1520, the shugō of Shinano Province, Shimadachi Sadanaga of the Ogasawara clan, constructed a stronghold at this place. The original name of this small border post was Fukashi Castle. After the Siege of Fukashi in 1550, the Takeda clan took control of it. Baba Nobuharu, retainer of Takeda Shingen, was named castellan. In addition to serving as a stronghold in the ongoing battle between the Takeda and the formidable Uesugi clan to the north, the castle served as the Takeda field headquarters during their conquest of the Matsumoto Basin. The fortress was turned over to Oda Nagamasu when Oda Nobunaga defeated the Takeda clan in 1582. Kiso Yoshimasa received it back shortly after. Following assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582, Ogasawara Dosetsuzai, with the support of Uesugi Kagekatsu, took control of the castle. Later, Ogasawara Sadayoshi, his nephew, renamed the castle Matsumoto Castle and swore allegiance to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ishikawa Kazumasa took command of Matsumoto when Tokugawa Ieyasu was moved from his ancestral territories to the Kantō area after the victory of Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Odawara in 1590. The tower, along with other parts of the castle, were constructed by Kazumasa and his son Yasunaga. These parts include the Watari Yagura, the residence, the drum gate, the black gate, the Tsukimi Yagura, the moat, the innermost bailey, the second bailey, the third bailey, and the sub-floors of the castle, all of which were started in 1590. They had a crucial role in the layout of the town facilities of the castle as well. Most of the castle is said to have been finished around 1593–1544. The Matsumoto Domain was founded by the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period. From 1613 to 1617, the Ogasawara made a brief comeback to Matsumoto as daimyō. From 1617 to 1633, the Toda-Matsudaira clan succeeded them, followed by the Matsudaira dynasty from 1633 to 1638, the Hotta clan from 1638 to 1642, the Mizuno clan from 1642 to 1725, and once again from 1725 until the Meiji restoration in 1868 [Information and Image Credit : Matsumoto_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsumoto_Castle ] [Image : The keep of Matsumoto Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : 663highland ] [Image availed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:130608_Matsumoto_Castle_Matsumoto_Nagano_pref_Japan01bs5.jpg ] #Castles#History
A five-star luxury hotel has been created out of Ashford Castle, a medieval and Victorian castle that has been enlarged throughout the years. It is located in Ireland, close to Cong, on the County Galway side of Lough Corrib, on the border between Mayo and Galway. It was once owned by the Guinness family and now a part of the Red Carnation Hotels group. The Anglo-Norman House of Burke constructed a castle in 1228 around the edge of a monastic complex. Following a bloody battle between the forces of the de Burgos and those of the English official Sir Richard Bingham, Lord President of Connaught, when a truce was agreed upon, Ashford came into the hands of a new master after more than three and a half centuries under the de Burgos, whose surname changed to Burke or Bourke. When Bingham acquired the castle in 1589, he erected a walled enclave inside its boundaries. Either around 1670 or 1678, Dominick Browne, a member of the Browne family, was granted the estate by royal grant. The Browne family founded the Ashford estate in 1715, and a hunting lodge modeled after a 17th-century French Château was built. The coat of arms of the Brownes is represented by the double-headed eagles that are still visible on the roof. A member of the family lived at the castle in the late eighteenth century. One Thomas Elwood, who was listed as residing in Ashford in 1814, served as the agent of the Brownes in the early 1800s. In 1852, Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness bought the land. He made two substantial Victorian-style additions. In addition, he added 26,000 acres to the estate, constructed new roads, and planted thousands of trees. For the book about County Galway by Sir William Wilde, the castle was depicted. Following the death of Sir Benjamin in 1868, his son Lord Ardilaun inherited the estate and proceeded to further construct the neogothic edifice. An enthusiastic gardener, Lord Ardilaun supervised the creation of vast forests and completely reconstructed the west wing of the castle, which was created by architects George Ashlin and James Franklin Fuller. Two de-Burgo-time towers in the west and the early 18th-century section in the east were united by the new building. The entire fortress was augmented with battlements. Additionally, he provided financial support for the operating of multiple steamboats, the most famous of which was the Lady Eglinton, which ran between the villages of Upper Lough Corrib region and Galway City, thereby promoting increased trade in the region. He was viewed by many as an - improving landlord - during the Land Wars of the late 19th century, when tenant farmers were agitating the land, as tenants at nearby Lough Mask House exemplified. A few of his initiatives failed, most notably the Cong Canal, popularly called the Dry Canal, which was constructed to connect Lough Mask and Lough Corrib but failed because it could not hold water. Despite these obstacles, he and his spouse Olive, the daughter of 3rd Earl of Bantry had a great affection for the castle and its grounds. This is best demonstrated by the fact that, upon his ennoblement in 1880, he derived his title from the island of Ardilaun, which was a part of the estate on Lough Corrib. Following its reconstruction, the Ashford Castle entertained a number of well-known visitors, including George V, the Prince of Wales, who lodged with the Guinness family. President Ronald Reagan of the United States visited the location. The Quiet Man was filmed close to the castle in 1950
[Information and Image Credit : Ashford_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashford_Castle ]
[Image : Ashford Castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Ericci8996]
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#Castles#History
Schloss Drachenburg, also known as Drachenburg Castle, is a late 19th-century estate designed to style as a castle. On the Drachenfels hill in Königswinter, a German town on the east bank of the Rhine, south of the city of Bonn, it was finished in just two years, from 1882 to 1884. The State Foundation of North Rhine-Westphalia owns the villa. A Drachenfels Railway intermediate station provides service to it. After graduating from high school, Stephan Sarter, a Bonn native, began an apprenticeship at the Leopold Seligman bank in Köln. He changed jobs and joined Salomon Openheim as a market analyst in their Paris branch. He made a fortune by trading on his own account, and in 1881 he petitioned for a patent of nobility. He ordered the schloss as a proper backdrop for a German baron even though he spent the remainder of his life in Paris. Bernhard Tüshaus and Leo von Abbema, two architects from Dortmund, created the original blueprints of the building, and work on it started in 1882. Wilhelm Hoffman was hired by Sarter to finish the project after it appears that he and the original architects had a falling out. In 1902, Sarter passed away alone, and his inheritance, which included the schloss, was divided up among a number of his kin. A Bonn lawyer and one of his nephews, Jacob Hubert Biesenbach, saw the potential of the building as a tourist destination and purchased the other legatees for 390,000 Marks. Despite being relatively profitable, Biesenbach sold the castle to Egbert von Simon in 1910 because revenue was not enough to meet expenses. Von Simon ran the castle profitably. During the First World War, cavalry officer Von Simon was killed in action at Arras. Hermann Flohr, a merchant and arms trader, bought the castle and estate piecemeal at several auctions. He lived in one portion of the castle while using the other as a facility for ladies who were recovering from illness. The Catholic order of Christian Brothers purchased the castle in 1930, and they used it to build St. Michaels Boarding School. The Federal Railways rented the castle from the State of North-Rhine, Westphalia, after the war as a training center until they moved to their own facilities in Wuppertal in 1959. The castle was thereafter abandoned and started to degrade. A Syndicate for the Preservation of Drachenburg was established in 1963, and they were successful in getting the castle designated as being worth preserving. Paul Spinat, a local textile businessman, bought it in 1971 and had it extensively restored before opening it to the public and using it for entertaining. He passed away in debt in 1989, and the State of North-Rhine, Westphalia assumed control of the estate and oversaw additional restoration work that lasted for another 20 years. The presence of several postcards and other illustrations that Jacob Biesenbach had ordered for his initial tourist effort at the turn of the 20th century was very helpful to the restoration. The North-Rhine, Westphalia Foundation is now in charge of managing the structure
[Information and Image Credit : Schloss_Drachenburg, Wkipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Drachenburg ]
[Image : Schloss Drachenburg; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Carsten Steger]
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In the Indian state of West Bengal, North 24 Parganas district, is the city and municipality of Gobardanga. It is one of the earliest municipalities of West Bengal and was established on April 20, 1870. The word Gobardanga is Sanskrit in origin. The phrase is made up of the letters Go-Bar-Danga. The phrase is literally translated as Go i.e. world/earth, Bar i.e. greatest and Danga i.e. Place, which is translated to Greatest Place on Earth. Gobardanga has a lengthy historical past. In earlier times, Brahmin zamindars of the Bharadwaj Gotra had controlled Gobardanga. Their descendants continue to live in the Zamindar House, their ancestral house, where they uphold all rules and conduct their customary Durga Puja celebrations. The family that currently owns this mansion, the Mukhopdahyays, hails from Sharsha, which is currently an Upazila in the Bangladeshi division of Jessore District of Khulna. Khelaram Mukhpadhyay of the family built the Zamindar home. The Gobardanga Prasannomoyee Kali Mandir is nearby. The temple, which was built by the then-zamindar Kaliprassana Mukhopaddhyay, faces south and contains 12 other shrines to Lord Shiva, 12 of which are distributed into 6 shrines on either side of the temple. According to some theories and assertions, Rani Rashmoni, the creator of the Dakshineshwar Kali temple in Dakshineshwar, Kolkata, once traveled down the Jamuna river to Gobardanga and encountered the temple. It was from this encounter that she allegedly got the inspiration for building the Dakshineshwar Kali temple alongside 12 other Lord Shiva shrines. People frequently go from adjacent and distant locations to this temple to offer prayers because it is highly popular
[Information and Image Credit : Gobardanga, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobardanga ]
[Image : Gobardanga Zamindar House; Wikipedia-Image-Author: Amitabha Gupta]
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In the Irish county of Offaly town of Birr stands the sizable castle known as Birr Castle. The 7th Earl of Rosse and his family reside there, so the residential areas of the castle are off-limits to visitors. However, the grounds of demesne and gardens are open to everyone, and they include a science museum, a café, a reflecting telescope that was the biggest in the world for many years, and a modern radio telescope. Since 1170, there has been a castle on the property, and the O-Carroll family reigned from here over the region known as Ely O-Carroll from the 14th to the 17th century. The castle was given to younger son William of Sir Laurence Parsons upon the passing of both he and his elder son Richard. William was held in Birr for fifteen months by Catholic forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The castle was renovated by Laurence, son of William, a baronet from 1677, after the American Civil War. In the early 19th century, a later descendant—Laurence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse—also worked on some remodeling and raised and Gothicized the castle. The large telescope at Birr was built by his son, the 3rd Earl of Rosse, who was also in charge of its construction. When it was finished in 1845, it was the biggest telescope ever built. It could see farther into space and capture more light than any other telescope could. As a result, Birr became a center for astronomical observations, and travelers from all over the world began to stop by the observatory [Information and Image Credit : Birr_Castle, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birr_Castle ] [Image : Birr Castle ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Birr Castle Demesne] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Birr_Castle_Offaly.jpg ] #Castles#History
In Killarney National Park, County Kerry of Ireland, Ross Castle is a tower house and keep from the 15th century that is situated on the edge of Lough Leane. It is the ancestral residence of the Clan O-Donoghue Chiefs, who were afterwards connected to the Killarney Browne family. The Office of Public Works manages the castle, which has seasonal public access and guided tours. The O-Donoghues Mór (Ross), the local reigning clan, constructed Ross Castle in the late 15th century. However, ownership was transferred to the MacCarthy Mór during the Second Desmond Rebellion in the 1580s. Sir Valentine Browne, an ancestor of the Earls of Kenmare, was thereafter given a lease on the castle and the land by him. During the Irish Confederate Wars, the fortress was one of the last to fall to the Roundheads of Oliver Cromwell, and it was only conquered after artillery was transported by boat over the River Laune. Edmund Ludlow assaulted the fortress by sea after marching to Ross with 4,000 foot soldiers and 200 horses, but Lord Muskerry defended the castle from his attack. The Irish believed that until a vessel could navigate the lake, Ross would remain unconquerable. The Brownes kept the holdings after the battles because they could prove that their successor was too young to have taken part in the uprising. They had built a mansion residence close to the castle by around 1688, but they were exiled following the Glorious Revolution because of their loyalty to King James II of England. The castle was converted into a military garrison, and it remained thus until the beginning of the 19th century. The Brownes did not relocate back to Ross, instead constructing Kenmare House close to Killarney. According to a tradition, O-Donoghue, his horse, his table, and his library all vanished into the lake after he leaped or was sucked out of the grand room window at the top of the castle. O-Donoghue is rumored to be living in a large palace at the base of the lake, where he maintains a watchful check on all he observes
[Information and Image Credit : Ross_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Castle ]
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French fortified city Carcassonne is located in Aude district of Occitania. It serves as the prefecture of the department. Carcassonne, which has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age, is situated in the Aude plain between two ancient trade routes that connected the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Ancient Romans immediately understood its strategic value, and they occupied its hilltop until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Visigoths conquered Septimania in the fifth century, and in their newly created Visigothic Kingdom, they erected the city of Carcassonne. The Gallo-Roman era and later medieval castle known as the Cité de Carcassonne was renovated in 1853 by the thinker and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. As a result of the extraordinary preservation and restoration of the medieval citadel, it was included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. Consequently, the economy of Carcassonne is mainly dependent on tourism, but it also depends on manufacturing and winemaking. Since the Neolithic era, people have been aware of its strategic location halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. When the Romans fortified the hilltop in 100 BC and subsequently established it as the colonia of Julia Carsaco, Carcassonne started to be recognized strategically. The Visigothic ruler Theodoric II had controlled Carcassonne since 453 when the Romans officially handed up Septimania to him in 462. The county of Carcassonne, a medieval lordship, was in charge of the city and its surroundings. It frequently joined forces with the county of Razès. In France, Arab and Berber Muslim forces invaded the region of Septimania in 719 and overthrew the local Visigoth Kingdom in 720. After the Frankish conquest of Narbonne in 759, the Muslim Arabs and Berbers were defeated by the Christian Franks and fled to Andalusia after 40 years of occupation, and the Carolingian king Pepin the Short came up strengthened. As an Occitan Cathar stronghold during this time, Carcassonne rose to fame for its participation in the Albigensian Crusades. The border province of Roussillon was given to France by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, which diminished the military importance of Carcassonne. The first fortification to employ hoardings during a siege was Carcassonne. Through square holes in the face of the wall, temporary wooden platforms and walls would be attached to the upper walls of the fortress, protecting the defenders on the wall and allowing defenders to extend past the wall to launch projectiles at the attackers at the wall below, acting much like a permanent machicolation
[Information and Image Credit : Carcassonne, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne ]
[Image : Aerial photograph of the Cité de Carcassonne ]
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#Castles#History#Architecture
South of Veytaux in the canton of Vaud, on an island in Lake Geneva, lies a castle called Chillon Castle. It is located on the slender shore between Montreux and Villeneuve at the eastern end of the lake, providing access to the Rhône-Valley-Alpine region. Among the most popular medieval castles in Switzerland and Europe is Chillon. It was successively occupied from 1536 until 1798 by the House of Savoy, then by the Bernese, and is currently a part of the State of Vaud. It is a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance. Its contemporary equivalent, the Fort de Chillon, is concealed by the mountain-incline. The island of Chillon, an oval limestone rock advancing in Lake Geneva between Montreux and Villeneuve with a steep side on one side and the lake and its steep bottom on the other side, is particularly where the castle of Chillon is located. The location of the castle is significant because it guards the path between the Rhone valley, which provides a direct route to Italy, and the Vaud Riviera, which gives access to the north towards Germany and France. It also provides a glimpse of the Savoyard coast on the other side of the lake. Thus, a garrison could manage traffic on the way to Italy and charge a toll, both militarily and commercially. Since the Roman era, Chillon has served as a military outpost. The construction of the existing castle took place during three eras: the Savoy, Bernese, and Vaudois periods. Initially, Chillon served as a Roman stronghold that protected the important route through the Alpine Alps. In the nineteenth century, archeological digs turned up Roman-era artifacts as well as Bronze Age artifacts. Before a square donjon was erected in the tenth century, the Romans would have fortified the area from a double wooden fence. Although the oldest components of the castle have not been precisely dated, the first documented mention of it dates to the year 1005 A.D. To regulate the route from Burgundy to the Great Saint Bernard Pass, it was constructed. The Counts of Savoy had a fleet of ships on Lake Geneva, and from the middle of the 12th century, the castle served as their summer residence. The dukes of Savoy used the fortress to imprison prisoners during the Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century. A Genevois and Bernese force conquered the fortress in 1536, and all the inmates were freed. Until Chillon was turned into a state jail in 1733, the castle served as the home of the Bernese bailiff. The Lemanic Republic was established in 1798 after the French-speaking canton of Vaud expelled the German-speaking Bernese rulers. To support them in maintaining their independence from the other Swiss, the Vaudois invited French troops. Chillon served as a weapons and ammunition storage facility when the French invaded and occupied. The Romantic aesthetic prompted some 19th-century restoration work on the Castle that sacrificed historical accuracy. A thorough restoration of the monument was started at the end of the 19th century, and as a result, an ethic of monumental restoration was formed. This was one of the first instances where archaeology and history were used to restore a structure in a historically accurate manner
[Information and Image Credit : Chillon_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillon_Castle ]
[Image : Chillon Castle at nightfall with the Dents du Midi in the background.]
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#History#Architecture#Castles
The Königsberg Castle served as a landmark for Königsberg, Germany, the capital of East Prussia, which later became Kaliningrad, Russia since 1946. The castle stood where an Old Prussian fort called Tuwangste once stood close to the Pregel River at a crucial crossing point in Prussian territory. Three Prussian villages in the area were later named —Löbenicht, Sackheim, and Tragheim. The Teutonic Knights replaced the Prussian fort with a temporary one made of earthworks and timber after capturing the area in 1255. By 1257, a brand-new Ordensburg castle made of stone was being built. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the castle underwent numerous rounds of significant expansion and refortification. The Teutonic Order Grandmasters lived in the fortification, which eventually evolved into a castle, and Prussian emperors later made it their home. The splendid palace is described in the 1815 Encyclopaedia Britannica as having a handsome library and a hall that is 83.5 meters long and 18 meters wide without supports to support it. With 284 steps up to the summit and a height of almost 100 meters, the gothic tower of the castle offered panoramic views. This enormous structure, which was surrounded by a sizable quadrangle and was located virtually in the middle of the city, was once the headquarters of the Teutonic Order. In the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, it was expanded and changed. On the Schloßkirche, often known as the palace church, on the west wing, Frederick I was crowned in 1701 and William I in 1861. The Order of the arms of Black Eagle members were inscribed on the walls and columns. The 83 m long and 18 m tall Moscowiter-Saal was located above the church. The apartments of Hohenzollerns and the Prussia Museum were both accessible to the general public every day up until the end of World War II. The museum housed numerous paintings by the artist Lovis Corinth as well as 240,000 exhibits from the Prussian collection, a collection from the Königsberg State and University Library, and more
[Information and Image Credit : Königsberg_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigsberg_Castle ]
[Image : Königsberg Castle courtyard in c. 1900] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. The author of this image from Switzerland is unknown, and the image was published at least 70 years ago. It is therefore in the public domain in Switzerland by virtue of Art. 31 of the Swiss Copyright Act. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
[ Art. 31 of the Swiss Copyright Act Link : https://shorturl.at/dnQR3 ]
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#History#Castles#Architecture
The Balga castle of the Teutonic Knights is located in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. In the Pogranichny municipality of Bagrationovsky District, north of Mamonovo, and about 30 kilometers southwest of Kaliningrad, are the castle ruins. Honeda, an Old Prussian or particulalrly Warmian fortification, had once stood atop Balga Hill. The 1237 Prussian Crusade of Wettin margrave Henry III of Meissen unsuccessfully besieged the fort, but Teutonic Order troops under the command of Grand Marshal Dietrich von Bernheim eventually took control of it in 1239. The Teutonic Order built Balga, the oldest Ordensburg in the area of modern-day Kaliningrad Oblast, starting in 1239 to regulate maritime traffic on the Vistula Lagoon. The Teutonic Knights defeated the Old Prussians along the coasts of Warmia and Natangia with the aid of Duke Otto I of Brunswick-Lüneburg. During the 1242 Prussian rebellion, Duke Witopek II of Pomerania declared war against the Teutonic Order due to the enslavement of these pagan peoples; nevertheless, he was ultimately forced to withdraw from the uprising. Beginning in 1250, Balga served as administrative hub of Kommende Balga and the residence of a Teutonic Knights Komtur. Many Komturs from Balga, including Winrich von Kniprode and Ulrich von Jungingen, went on to hold the highest office of Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. Balga was a part of the Prussian Duchy from 1525 to 1701 and the Prussian Kingdom from 1701; it belonged to the province of East Prussia from 1772 to 1829. Up until 1878, when it again split, the province was combined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia; Balga remained in East Prussia until 1945. One of the last clashes between the German Wehrmacht and the Soviet Red Army during World War II took place near the castle ruins as the latter army advanced during the East Prussian Offensive. The conflict severely damaged the castle ruins and the German defenders destroyed many vehicles by sinking them in the lagoon near to the ruins. Balga was included in the region that was incorporated into the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian SFSR after the war and was part of the portion of East Prussia that had been awarded to the Soviet Union at the Potsdam Conference. Grave robbers and treasure seekers who were looking for treasures left by World War II German and Soviet soldiers who died on the battlefield frequented the area surrounding Balga
[Information and Image Credit : Balga, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balga ]
[Image: Balga ruins in their 1930s condition, before damage during World War II; Wikipedia-Image Author : Sendker]
[The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is believed to be in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Balga3.jpg ]
#Castles#History
A fortification from the Scaliger era, the Scaligero Castle serves as a gateway to historic area of Sirmione on Lake Garda. One of the best-preserved castles in all of Italy. With 308,459 visits in 2019, it was the 22nd most popular attraction in Italy. On the southernmost point of Lake Garda in Northern Italy, it was constructed in the second half of the 14th century. The Scaligeri, who give it its name, are the Veronese Della Scala family. Construction was started on their behalf. From 1259 through 1387, the family held sway over Verona and a sizable portion of the Venetian region. After the Della Scala family submitted to Venice in 1405, the fortress was later under the jurisdiction of Republic of Venice beginning in the 15th century. It remained a crucial fortification in the region. With the construction of the nearby fortress in Peschiera del Garda in the 16th century, its prominence began to fade. Up to the Italian Union, it was still utilized as a fortification and armory before becoming the municipal government-office of Sirmione. It underwent restoration beginning in 1919, the year it became into a museum and a popular tourist destination. However, it was not completely reconstructed until 2018 after the internal waters of the castle were cleared. The interior docks are the only remaining portion of a fortified port from the fourteenth century
[Information Credit : Scaligero_Castle_(Sirmione), Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaligero_Castle_(Sirmione) ]
[Image : Scaligero Castle Facade, Italy , by Natalia Yefremova, Pexels;
Image-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/scaligero-castle-facade-italy-8986604/ ]
#Castles#History#Architecture
The historic Guaita castle, whose construction goes back to the 11th century, is located in the little state of San Marino. The three tower architectural complex actually consists of more than just the medieval castle. The Guaita, often referred to as the Rocca, is one of three towered summits that look out over San Marino, the capital of the country. Cesta and Montale are the other two. The stronghold is the most well-known and the oldest of the three towers built atop Monte Titano. Since its establishment, it has been used as a prison, and it is shown on the flag and coat of arms of the country. Since 2008, it has been listed as a World Heritage Site. Visitors to the historical site come to admire the one-of-a-kind, century-old building as well as the breathtaking view of the little state. The Guaita tower-name translates to -- The First Tower -- in Italian. It had kept its original appearance by the year 1475. Over the span of 200 years, the gymnast has undergone nearly continual reconstruction beginning at the end of the 15th century. The facility was constructed as a prison and maintained its gloomy status until 1970, making it one of the oldest prisons in the world. The castle is now completely outfitted for tourist use. The superb viewing decks of the tower are located at the summit. It rises about 750 meters above sea level [Information Credit : Guaita, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaita ] [Information Credit : https://www.orangesmile.com/extreme/en/ancient-castles/guaita-tower.htm ] [Image : Large View of Guita Castle] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Commonists] [(Please Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fortress_of_Guaita_-_First_Tower_(San_Marino).jpg ] #Castles#History#Architecture
Falak-ol-Aflak, also known as The Sky of the Skies or Shapur Khast Castle, is a fortress that is located on top of the same-named, sizable hill in Khorramabad, the regional center of Lorestan province of Iran. This enormous building was constructed between 224-651 A.D., during the Sassanid Empire. The Khorramabad River passes by the eastern and south-western slopes of the Falak-ol-Aflak hill, offering the castle some natural protection on those sides. The residential areas of Khorramabad currently flank the western and northern sides of the hill. Among the most significant monuments erected during the Sassanid era is the castle of Falak-ol-Aflak. Since it was created more than 1800 years ago, it has gone by a variety of names. It has been known by several names, including Shapur-Khast or Sabr-Khast fortification, Dezbaz, Khoramabad castle, and finally Falak-ol-Aflak Castle. The foundations of the real castle are about 300 by 400 meters in size. The slope and the complete building are 40 meters tall, towering above the surroundings. Twelve towers on a two-tiered rampart were formerly built around the current structure, according to archeological findings. The enclosure of the rampart mostly extended westward. Only two of the twelve original towers still stand, and they are located to the northwest and southwest of the current castle. The dehumidifier method seems to have been used in the construction of Falak ol-Aflak Castle. Previously, researchers thought the almost one-meter-high dehumidifier canals that covered the whole region beneath the castle were hiding places for the inhabitants. The Sassanid engineers really installed a dehumidifier in the castle because they were aware of the shifting climate of the area and the presence of subsurface waters. The Falak ol-Aflak castle is composed of several materials, including wood and stone, which are susceptible to moisture. Because of this, the castle was erected on the highest point of the city in Khoram-abad so that the wind could enter the structure and dry its foundations
[Information and Image Credit : Falak-ol-Aflak, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falak-ol-Aflak ]
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[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Falakolaflak.jpg ] #History#Castles
Province of Biscay in Northern Spain is home to the castle known as Butrón, which is situated in Gatika. It was initially built in the Middle Ages, but Francisco de Cubas started an almost total reconstruction of it in 1878 that gave it its current form. The castle is designed after Bavarian castle models and has a fairy-tale appearance. Instead of producing a structure where people could really live, the current structure was constructed as a pastime for its then-owner and to generate something that is visually stunning. Since the towers have limited usable space and many areas of the castle have outdoor connections, it would actually be extremely uncomfortable to live there given the damp Basque weather. There is a park surrounding the structure, which has palm trees and other exotic flora. According to Kate Middleton in a BBC interview with David Ferald, getting married in this fantasy castle was her ambition. It was abandoned before being rebuilt and made accessible to the public. This did not work out, so the building was closed to visitors but the grounds were still accessible. Despite being purchased by INBISA in November 2005, the structure is still covered by the general protection provided by Spanish Law 16/1985 regarding historic buildings in Spain
[Information and Image Credit : Butrón, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butr%C3%B3n ] [Image: Current state of the castle; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Enekochan]
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[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fachada_del_castillo_de_Butr%C3%B3n.jpg ]
#Castles#History#Architecture
The commune of Les Trois-Moutiers in the French Vienne department is home to the Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers, a castle. The original name of the castle, Motte Bauçay or Baussay, dates to the thirteenth century. The Bauçay family, the lords of Loudun, once made the castle their fortress. The English captured the Motte Baussay multiple times during the Hundred Years War, and it was completely destroyed during the French Revolution. Wealthy merchant François Hennecart purchased it in 1809, then in 1857 he sold it to Baron Joseph Lejeune. The majority of the structures of the castle, meanwhile, were damaged by fire in 1932, and the castle was thereafter abandoned. A French startup set up a crowdfunding campaign website in December 2017, and 27,190 people who had to donate at least €50 apiece joined the cause to raise €1,600,000 to buy the castle with the intention of preserving it. In his book Green urbex: Le monde sans nous, the French photographer Roman Veillon did a project on the castle
[Information and Image Credit : Château_de_la_Mothe-Chandeniers, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_la_Mothe-Chandeniers ]
[Image : Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Pierre Mairé]
[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mothe_chandeniers1.jpg ]
#History#Castles
Located in Luxembourg, is the Fischbach Castle. It is located in the heart of Luxembourg, close to Fischbach. All the castles in Luxembourg have a long history, but Fischbach has the longest. The estate of Fischbach was formerly owned by the Abbey of Echternach, which for many years was the most affluent organization in Luxembourg. According to records, the castle was taken over by the first liege who was independent of the Church in 1050 A.D. Throughout the Thirty Years War, the castle underwent numerous modifications and adjustments, including total devastation in 1635. Auguste Garnier, a metallurgist and industrialist who held the castle during the second quarter of the 19th century, converted the estate into an industrial hub by erecting blast furnaces there. When Grand Duke William II acquired the land in 1847 to strengthen his political grip over Luxembourg and appease the local public following the Belgian Revolution, he became the first head of state to hold the castle. He instantly gave the order to destroy the blast furnaces at Garnier. When the personal union between the Netherlands and Luxembourg came to an end in 1890, Grand Duke William III sold Fischbach Castle to Duke Adolphe of Nassau, who would later become Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Grand Duchess Charlotte continued to reside at Fischbach for the remainder of her reign even after the complete restoration of Berg Castle and the Grand Ducal Palace. She stayed at Fischbach right up to her death in 1985, despite having abdicated in 1964. Prince Henri and Princess Maria Teresa moved into the palace two years after Charlotte passed away, where they remained until Henri succeeded his father, Jean, as Grand Duke in 2000. Grand Duke Jean spent his final days in Fischbach on April 23, 2019. After spending a year in London, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie relocated to Fischbach Castle in late 2019
[Information and Image Credit : Fischbach_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischbach_Castle ]
[Image : Drawing by Nicolas Liez (1834)] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is believed to be in Public Domain in the United States as well] [(Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:F-Clement_N-Liez_vue-de-fischbach.png ]
#Castles#History
In the western Highlands of Scotland, about a mile from the settlement of Dornie, is the tidal island with a Scottish castle known as Eilean Donan. The original fortress of the island, constructed in the thirteenth century and used as a stronghold by the Clan Mackenzie and its allies, the Clan MacRae, was taken by them in 1563. However, government ships demolished the castle in 1719 in retaliation for the participation of the Mackenzies in the Jacobite uprisings at the beginning of the 18th century. The original castle was rebuilt in the 20th century by Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap to become the current structure. One of the 40 National Scenic Areas of Scotland, Kintail, includes Eilean Donan. Eilean Donan is named in honor of the Celtic martyr Donnán of Eigg, who died in 617. There is no sign of the church that Donnán is claimed to have founded on the island. It is probable that around the sixth or seventh century, an early Christian monastic cell was established on the island. A fortification from the Iron Age or the early Middle Ages may have existed on the island, as evidenced by the discovery of stone fragments that have vitrified. During the rule of Alexander II,1214–1249, in the first half of the thirteenth century, a massive curtain-wall castle that encircled much of the island was built. The region around the island served as a good defensive position against Norse expeditions at the time since it was on the border between the Norse-Celtic Lordship of the Isles and the Earldom of Ross. According to a foundation legend, the son of a Matheson chief developed the ability to converse with birds. As a result of this talent and numerous overseas exploits, he amassed wealth, power and the esteem of Alexander II, who commissioned him to construct the castle to protect his domain. The presence of only one person on the island was all that was known about it in 2001
[Information and Image Credit : Eilean_Donan, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilean_Donan ]
[Image : Castle ruins, sometime before 1911]
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#History#Castles#Architecture
The Château de la Bretesche is a medieval structure dating back to the 14th century that was again renovated in the 19th century. It is situated in the French department of Loire-Atlantique in the town of Missillac. Since January 7th, 1926, the castle has been recognized as a historic monument. The castle was initially constructed in the 14th century and then restored in the 15th. Its term, which refers to a defense tower that hangs over the main gate of the castle and is derived from the Low Latin word Brittisca, which means -- British Fortification, was later inspired from Parapet in the tenth century. It was a branch of the town of La Roche-Bernard during the time, which was located in the Duchy of Brittany. When François de Coligny dAndelot visited Brittany in 1558 to assess the defenses of the coast, he invited the nobles of the province to the Château de la Bretesche to hear from a priest. Numerous Breton noble families from the Vilaine region then converted to Protestantism in a matter of weeks. The castle was looted and set on fire in 1793 during the French Revolution after being besieged by the Duke of Mercœur, the governor of Brittany during the Wars of Religion, in the 16th century. Jacques Perron started the reconstruction process in the 19th century. The Montaigu family purchased the Château de la Bretesche from Jacques Perron in 1847. Throughout the 19th and 20th century, they alternated for 45 years as mayor of the Missillac commune. The refurbishment of the castle and complete restoration were started in 1847 by the Marquis de Montaigu. On the Viollet-le-Duc-approved plans from November 1847, he skillfully mixes the neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance architectural styles with the help of Nantes architects Boismen and Le Diberder. By tying the knot with a member of the wealthy industrialist family of Wendel, his son Pierre is able to finish the project with the help of the yearly salary of his wife. The castle was designated as a historical monument in 1926, and the environs of the site were classified in 1943. There, Georges Franju shot Spotlight on the Assassin in 1961, with the Château de la Bretesche serving as sort of the main character
[Information and Image Credit : Château_de_la_Bretesche, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://shorturl.at/jxX19 ] [Image : Bretesch Castle; Wikipedia-Image Author : juliofsanguino] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.fr ] [(Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
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Windsor Castle is a royal house in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is closely identified with the English and subsequent British royal families, and it represents nearly a millennium of architectural history. The original fortress was built in the 11th century, following the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. It has been used by the ruling monarch from the reign of Henry I, who reigned from 1100 to 1135, and is the longest-occupied palace of Europe. Windsor Castle was erected as a motte-and-bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound, to project Norman control around the edges of London and to oversee a strategically crucial stretch of the River Thames. The fortress, over time replaced with stone walls, withstood a lengthy siege during the First Barons War at the beginning of the 13th century. During the middle of the century, Henry III built a sumptuous royal residence within the castle, and Edward III went much further, renovating the palace to create an even finer group of buildings. Windsor Castle survived the English Civil War, when it served as a military command for Parliamentary forces as well as a jail for Charles I. During the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, Charles II renovated much of Windsor Castle with the assistance of architect Hugh May, producing a collection of lavish Baroque interiors. Following a period of neglect in the 18th century, George III and George IV refurbished and reconstructed the palace of Charles II at enormous expenditure, resulting in the current style of the state rooms, which are filled with Rococo, Gothic, and Baroque furnishings. For much of the reign of Queen Victoria, she made a few small changes to the castle, which became the center of royal entertainment. During the reign of George VI, the royal family utilized it as a sanctuary during the Luftwaffe bombing assaults of WWII. Following the survival of a fire by the castle in 1992, numerous state rooms underwent considerable renovation. It is a major tourist destination, a location for official visits, and primary residence of Elizabeth II from 2011 to 2022. The grounds of Windsor Castle comprise 13 acres and incorporate elements of a castle, a palace, and a small town. The current castle was built in a series of phases, culminating in the repair work following a fire in 1992. It is essentially a Georgian and Victorian style founded on a medieval framework, with Gothic elements reinterpreted in a contemporary form. The design of the castle has made efforts to achieve modern renditions of past fashions and traditions since the 14th century, repeatedly emulating obsolete or even archaic designs
[Information Credit : Windsor_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipdia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Castle ]
[Image : Courtyard of Windsor Castle, England]
[Image-Credit :
Михаил Лазаренко, Pexels;
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