Castles!- Large Photos

[DonaCatalina]

The celebrated Castle of Cluain Dubhain is situated near Rockvale, Ireland.
map coordinates 53.024015, -8.921045
The castle itself, also called Boston Cadtle, dates to the thirteenth century, though no definite record of its builder is known. Mahon O'Brien defended the castle for three months, before being killed by a musket ball during a siege of the castle laid by Richard Bingham in 1586.

[DonaCatalina]

Bidar Fortress and castle are situated in North Karnataka in Bidar district of the northern plateau of Karanataka, India.
map coordinates 17.9219, 77.5236
Sultan Alla-Ud-Din Bahman of the Bahmanid Dynasty shifted his capital from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1427 and built his fort along with a number of Islamic monuments. It is something to think about when you realize that almost all fortresses in India are the size of Counties in many European countries.

[DonaCatalina]

Castello di Bramafam is located in the city of Aosta, Italy.
map coordinates 45.734, 7.3185
The ruins of the castle today probably date back to the late thirteenth century; but the castle was built onto the Roman era walls which stretch out to either side of it.

[DonaCatalina]

Arg-é Bam was the largest adobe building in the world, located in Bam, a city in the Kerm?n Province of southeastern Iran.
map coordinates 29.116856, 58.368475
This enormous citadel on the Silk Road was built before 500 BC and remained in use until 1850 AD. The outer walls of the citadel are actually within the city walls of Bam; which are extensive themselves.
Before 2003 earthquake

After 2003 earthquake

The citadel is being rebuilt by the government to its 2001 condition.

[DonaCatalina]

The Castle Estense, or Castle of Saint Michele, is a moated medieval structure in the center of Ferrara, northern Italy.
map coordinates 44.8375, 11.619444
Construction on the castle began in 1385 on the orders of Marquis Niccolò II d'Este.

[DonaCatalina]

Château de Gavaudun is a castle in the village of Gavaudun, Lot-et-Garonne, France.
map coordinates 44.560278, 0.888333
The castle was built during the 12th and the 13th centuries, on the main road between Périgord and Agenais.

[DonaCatalina]

Hirado Castle is located in present-day Hirado city Nagasaki prefecture, Japan. It was also known as Kameoka Castle
map coordinates 33.368575, 129.557567
In 1599, Matsuura Shigenobu erected a castle called Hinotake-j? on the site of the present-day Hirado Castle. However, he burned the castle down himself in 1613. The present Hirado Castle was constructed in 1704 by order of the 4th daimyo of Hirado domain, Matsuura Takashi.

[DonaCatalina]

Daugavgriva Castle is located at Vecdaugava oxbow on right bank of Daugava, in the northern part of Riga city, Latvia.
map coordinates 57.0548, 24.09272
The first settlement, Daugavgr?va Abbey, was established on the right bank of the Daugava river, 13 miles from Bishop Albert of Riga's residence in Riga, by Cistercian monks from Pforta in 1205. In 1305, the local abbot sold the monastery to the Livonian Branch of the Teutonic Knights, who began construction of the fortress of Dunamunde.

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

In 1305, the local abbot sold the monastery to the Livonian Branch of the Teutonic Knights, who began construction of the fortress of Dunamunde.

An attempt by the Order to bring some culture to the region for sure.....lol! For those that don't know it, the Livonian Order was actually a separate entity for awhile and then was absorbed by the Teutonic Order after some rough times, although it still retained much of its autonomy in activities.


See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livonian_Brothers_of_the_Sword
or the book The Teutonic Knights by Urban.

[DonaCatalina]

The ruins of Dudelange Castle are located on Mont St Jean, a forested hill to the west of Dudelange in the south of Luxembourg.
map coordinates 49.49046, 6.06033
The site has seen several fortifications; from a Gallo Roman structure, a castle a castle belonging to the Lords of Gymnich was destroyed around 1400, and the ruins today. At the beginning of the 15th century, work began on building a fortified castle which was completed early in the 16th century with Gothic and Renaissance influences.

[DonaCatalina]

Kasteel Hatert is located in the Nijmegen area Hatert in the Netherlands.
map coordinates 51.808889, 5.819167
The castle was built in the 14th century. In the eighty years war it was extensively damaged and only a single tower remains of the medieval structure.

[DonaCatalina]

Przezmark Castle lies in the village of Przezmark in Poland.
map coordinates 53.858136, 19.494524
The construction of the castle started in the early fourteenth century and was subsequently enlarged in following years. In documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the castle is referred to as Prutenicale and laster as Preussisch Mark. A small portion of the original massive complex has been restored and somewhat modernized.

[DonaCatalina]

Odrzykon Castle Rises on a hilltop not far from the village of Odrzykon in south-eastern Poland.
map coordinates 49.742476, 21.785845
Also known as Kamieniec Castle, the first record of the castle's existence is from 1348 when it was listed as a royal property.

[DonaCatalina]

Castelo de Alvor is a medieval castle in the civil parish of Alvor, in the Portuguese district of Faro.
map coordinates 37.129267, -8.593636
The establishment of the first fortress was constructed in the 7th century B.C.E., from the remains of Phonecian, Greek and Carthagninan remnants that were built on a Lusitanian castro settlement. In order to maintain Portuguese conquest, King Denis ordered the reconstruction of the castle in 1300.

[DonaCatalina]

Castle of Leiria is located in the city, parish , county and district of Leiria , in Portugal.
map coordinates 39.747, -8.81
In order to consolidate his rule from 1128, the young Don Afonso Henriques (1112-1185), planned to enlarge his domains. To defend his southern line, He strategically built ??up from scratch, the new castle between Coimbra and Santarem in 1135.