Posted June 6th, 2008 by Jean Harris
There was a time when tall stone walls and ramparts were needed for protection from invading armies, lifestyles have changed haven’t they? Fortunately, as you can see in these stuningly vivid castle pictures below, some have survived for decades and are standing today, a reminder of how life used to be.
1. Castle Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock Castle is a triangular moated castle dating back to the 13th century located south of Dumfries in the south west of Scotland. John de Maccuswell, deceased in 1241, was first Lord Maxwell of Caerlaverock and its proximity to the English border resulted in its being sieged several times, most notably by Edward I of England. [image source: David A G Wilson]
Interesting fact - Caerlaverock was defended vigorously though defeated. Upon surrendering it was found that only 60 men had kept the entire English army at bay for a prolonged period of time, a testament to its design.
2. Castle Dunluce
Dunluce Castle was first built in the 1200s by Richard de Burgh, the Earl of Ulsterand, and is a medieval castle located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Dunluce castle is only accessible via bridge from the mainland because it sits atop a bassalt outcropping with extremely steep sides, perfect for defence.
Interesting fact: In the 1600s the kitchen area, next to the cliff face, collapsed into the sea and it is rumored that only one small kitchenboy survived because he was sitting in the corner that didn’t fall in. [image source: Ivan JRG]
3. Castle Babelsberg
Babelsberg Castle, considered the main castle in Park Babelsberg but only one of several, is located in Germany and was originally built as a small summer palace for Prince William of Prussia circa 1800s. It later served as a paleontology museum from 1966 until the end of the Cold War. Today the location is part of the Potsdam World Heritage Site. [image source: gari.baldi]
Interesting fact: It survived world war II without much damage only to fall into disrepair during the cold war era. It is being restored to it’s 19th century glory.
4. Castle Beaumaris
Beaumaris Castle was built in Beaumaris, on the island of Anglesey, begining in 1295 for King Edward I by Master James of St George however it was never finished. The castle was the last of several castles built in the area designed to defend the royal home. Its design is of the double wall concept where the outer walls house an inside building which is effectively a very defendable castle unto it’s own. With 14 layers of defense Beaumaris Castle is considered near perfect.
Interesting fact: A “Gate-next-sea” protected a tidal dock that allowed ships to dock with the castle for re-supply. [image source: Today is a good day]
5. Castle Eilean Donan
Eilean Donan Castle was built as a defence for Alexander II from attacks by the vikings in 1220. In 1719 the castle was destroyed by three royal navy frigates after the castle had fallen into spanish hands and was then re-built, 200 years later, by Lt. Col. John MacRae-Gilstrap. [image source: Allan Gourlay]
Interesting fact: Eilean Donan castle has appeared in several movies including Highlander (1985), Loch Ness (1996) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).
6. Castle Mespelbrunn
Mespelbrunn Castle was built between Frankfurt and Würzburg Germany in 1412 by Echter of Mespelbrunn. The castle is of medieval moated design with romanesque - renaissance style. [image source: billbarber1]
Interesting fact: Mespelbrunn Castle was one of the locations in the film The Spessart Inn - 1958, which is based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff.
7. Castle Heemstede
Heemstede castle was completed in 1286 on the spaarne river by Dirk van Hoylede in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been built, burned down and rebuilt several times over the centuries and it was last torn down in 1810, after years of neglect. Today it is a restaurant. [image source: (Erik)]
Interesting fact: Families in the area often moved away during hot summer months to avoid canal fever from the putrid local canals.
8. Castle Werfen
Werfen Castle, aka Hohenwerfen castle, was built near Salzburg Austria during the 11th century by wealthy archbishops in order to protect the city. Today you can tour this beautiful fortress in the Salzachtal and visit the weapons room museum and a renovated prince’s room. [image source: hey trace]
Interesting fact: The worlds largest glacial caves are nearby and also open to tourism but you’ll have to brave the steepest cableway in Austria to reach them.
9. Edinburgh Castle
Castle Edinburgh dates back to the 9th century bc although nothing of it remains from that period. It is now Scotlands second most visited tourist attractions and it towers over the city of Edinburgh from it’s location on Castle Rock mountain. The castle has seen a lot of military activity over the years and still houses a garrison of soldiers albeit mostly for ceremonial purposes.
Perhaps it’s most notable change of hands occured in 1314 when Robert the Bruce hand picked 30 men to re-capture it from King Edward I of England by climbing the north precipice at night and catching it’s defenders off guard. The re-take was successful but Robert the Bruce ordered it’s defences immediately destroyed to prevent further capture. [image source: asifch]
10. Castle Matsumoto
Matsumoto Castle, also known as Fukashi Castle, is located within the city of Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture and can be dated back to the warring states period circa 1504. Matsumoto Castle is a short travel from Tokyo Japan and is sometimes called the ‘crow castle’ by tourists because of its dark color and wing-like roofline. I’m not up to speed on the extensive history of the area, I wish I was, but if you are please share your historical information in a comment below.
Interesting fact: In 1872 Matsumoto Castle was sold at auction which rendered it vulnerable to being dismantled but it was spared that fate and is now a National Treasure of Japan. [image source: Kamoda]
Having researched these ancient wonders I can honestly say, wow.
update: To Lara, Jberg and others - here you go, Neuschwanstein Castle.
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Caerlaverock owes it’s beautiful shape to the ground around it- the first version sank into the estuary peat, and this one stands because of the shield shaped rocky outcrop its built on. It was only defeated finally because the current Maxwell had taken out the curtain wall to let light into a beautifully re-furbished inner court, thinking that Scotland was at peace. woops.
hah, big woops :p
What about Neuschwanstein Castle? That is certainly more beautiful than the ones you’ve listed.
My personal opinion is that they are all beautiful, so it was tough to chose just 10. I couldn’t possibly please everyone in one post but you are absolutely right, Neuschwanstein is amazing too.
I visited a couple Japanese castles, and the historical information signs said, “destroyed by fire in 1945″ — meaning they were destroyed by bombing in WWII and subsequently rebuilt. It was a sobering thought. Hemeji Castle is absolutely breathtaking.
How cool would it be to spend some time travelling the world and visiting different castles? I’m seriously considering a visit to Austria and will add Castle Werfen to my must see list, those ice caves sound wild.
I’m a big fan of El Alcazar and the Alhambra, both in Spain.
Lovely photos but an invented and romanticised version of history and what some of these buildings were actually used for.
No doubt about it, their useage was to protect from brutality which you can argue caused brutality, absolute power corrupts absolutely etc… but this isn’t a political article. People are to blame for their actions, the castles themselves, today, are worth appreciating in my opinion. They no longer witness what they have in the past.
Very difficult to choose just ten. Don’t forget Kilchurn Castle in Argyllshire, Scotland (one of my favourites).
Well, I think you forgot Neuschwanstein.
Thats two votes for Neuschwanstein. I’m on it.
Eilean Donan castle is definitely the most beautiful castle of the lot. It can be photographed from almost any angle and it looks good . The most popular viewpoint for pictures is from across the bay. Actually the best time of the year to photograph the castle is now when the summer sun is quite high in the sky
The picture of Eilean Donan above depicts a relitively flat landscape around it but on either side, accross the water, are large mountains. I haven’t seen pictures from viewpoints that suggest they were taken from up there yet, have you?
What gorgeous pictures! I read a lot of historical fiction and recognize several of the castles you show. The picture of Dunluce Castle is particularly compelling.
Thanks for sharing, Barbara
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Eilean Donan really is very picturesque. But there’s one odd piece of information about it - the castle was destroyed (round about 1719?) and was not rebuilt for at least a hundred years. The rebuilders were unsure about exactly how some aspects of the rebuilding should go. Then a local man stepped forward, and told them how the castle had looked to him in a dream. And that was how they solved the rebuilding. So it is a castle rebuilt according to a dream. Different!
The “local man” was a Macrae whose family had been the castle keepers for hundreds of years . The castle was pur-
chased by Lt. Colonel MacRae-Gilstrap in 1911. Be-
tween 1912 and 1932 the castle was restored by Farquhar
Macrae, a stonemason, who said the reconstruction of the
castle was revealed to him in a dream. His plans of re-
construction where later confirmed by drawings found in
Edinburgh Castle.
Thanks for these further details! Many years ago I took the train across Scotland once on my day off work, and hitchhiked the rest of the way to visit this castle. It certainly repaid the trouble.
Maybe you should have gone with 15 instead of 10.
I’m going to go with more than 15 - but instead of trying to make this post please everyone, which isn’t possible, I’m going to dedicate a page to each of the most famous, hopefully one per country, and make each page at least as informative as wikipedia and a whole lot more attractive.
I have to admit, researching famous castles and sharing what I know about each, has been a lot of fun.
I have to agree with Lara! Where’s Neuschwanstein? It is possibly the most amazing castle in the world!
And don’t forget Leeds Castle, in England. I took a day trip out there when spending a week in London and found it absolutely enchanting. It’s moniker is “The Loveliest Castle in the World”, after all.
Awesome pictures and information! The castles look small, I’d like to know how large they are, how many rooms, etc.
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[…] are some cool castles. Well, pictures of castles, along with some history on each one. Just enough to tempt […]
Matsumoto-jo (jo=castle) is cool but Himeiji-jo in kansai is larger and more impressive.
Hope I get a chance to see in person the other 9 castle. Only manage to visit Edinburgh Castle, Scotland…and it’s really magnificent..
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You know, I have a friend who lives in Scottland, and remember him saying that Edinburgh castle is built on top of on the bassalt plug of an extinct volcano, might be a neat fact to add to your site. But I bet you knew that.
these are really impressive, wonder if there any ghosts lurking those castles?
I would have to say my favorites here are Mespelbrunn Castle and Caste Werfen .breathtakingly beautiful. Great work and thanks for sharing this.
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All the castles you´ve listed are very beautiful, but unfortunatly you forgot the Neuschwanstein Castle, that´s the most beautiful of all, and you shoul have shown the inside, at least one picture. But any way, alll the pictures are nice.
Neuschwanstein Castle has its own page - inside and out. Here you go - Neuschwanstein Castle
The Matsumoto castle looks amazing. I’de love to live there for just a day. But I’de problably spend most of my time trying to find a way out because I’de be lost for most of the day. But still I also find it cool how it sits out on the water.
very cool reflections and photos of towers