Castles!- Large Photos

[DonaCatalina]

Balmoral Castle is a large estate house situated in the area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, known as Royal Deeside. The estate was purchased by Queen Victoria's consort Prince Albert, and remains a favourite summer royal residence.
The Balmoral Estate began as a home built by Sir William Drummond in 1390. The estate was formerly owned by King Robert II (1316–1390), who had a hunting lodge in the area. After Drummond, the estate was sold to Alexander Gordon, the 3rd Earl of Huntly, in the 15th century. The estate remained in the family's hands until it was sold in 1662 to the Farquharsons of Invery, who sold the estate in 1798 to the 2nd Earl of Fife. The estate formed part of the coronation activities of King George IV in 1822. Traces of the 14th century keep can still be discerned among the later reconstructions.

[CinderellaInAFairytale]

Balmoral is such a lovely place. The park is amazing and there are some breathtaking vistas! Huzzah to the Highlands!

[DonaCatalina]

The first document of the Castello di Issogne dates back to year 1151, when a bull of Pope Eugene III documents the presence of a dominion of the bishop of Aosta in Issogne.
In the 1255 Issogne Castle was still under ecclesiastical control. In this year the bishop of Aosta, Pierre di Pra, regulated its relationships with the community and the cohabitation between the inhabitants of the territories of its dominion. This was not sufficient to guarantee peace in the dominions of the bishop, and in fact between 1280 and 1350, approximately, a sour conflict opposed the bishop to the overlord of Verrès. This eventually blew up in 1379.
Ibleto of Verrès, around the end of the fourteenth century began the construction of a stronghold, replacing the damaged bishop's castle. More than a castle, it was an elegant gothic dwelling in contemporary style.
Ibleto died in 1409. In 1424 his son François di Challant, of the branch of Villas-Challand and Montjovet and lord of Issogne obtains from the Duke of Savoy the title of first count of Issogne. In 1442, on his death leaving three daughters only, a struggle for the succession resulted. It concluded in 1456, in favour of Jacques of Aymaville, who became therefore the second count of Issogne.

[DonaCatalina]

Egeskov Castle (Danish: Egeskov Slot) is located in the south of the island of Funen, Denmark. The castle is Europe's best preserved Renaissance water castle.
Egeskov's history dates to the 14th century. The current castle structure was erected by Frands Brockenhuus in 1554.
Due to the troubles caused by the civil war known as the Count's Feud (Danish: Grevens fejde), general civil unrest, and a civil war introducing the Protestant Reformation, most Danish noblemen built their homes as fortifications. The castle is constructed on oaken piles and located in a small lake with a maximum depth of 5 meters (16 ft). Originally, the only access was by means of a drawbridge. According to legend, it took an entire forest of oak trees to build the foundation, hence the name Egeskov ("oak forest").

[DonaCatalina]

The Château de Culan is a French medieval castle located in the commune of Culan in the Cher département. The Château de Culan is one of the oldest castles still occupied in the world.has known a turbulent history. It is built on a rocky outcrop dominating the River Arnon. The first wooden construction, of which nothing remains, was demolished in the 10th century. A second building was besieged and destroyed by Philippe Auguste (1188), then at war with Henry II Plantagenet, king of England. The present castle dates from 12th century until 15th century, with additions from the Renaissance. It has belonged, most notably, to Admiral Louis de Culant, (1360 – 1444), to Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully (1599 – 1621), and later the Prince de Condé. In 1651, during the Fronde, Mazarin laid siege to the town with royal troops and destroyed the 15th century ramparts. During the Revolution, the castle lands were shared among several families and the fortress was sold as national property.
The castle received several famous visitors: Joan of Arc, Louis XI, Sully, Madame de Sévigné, the novelist George Sand, "la bonne dame de Nohant" came to be near Chopin, and Ernest Renan. General Charles de Gaulle, visiting Saint-Amand-Montrond after the war, preferred to sleep in a private house in the Rue de l'Église.The Château de Culan is in excellent condition. It was remarkably restored between 1950 and 1980 by an earlier owner, Jean Ferragut.

[DonaCatalina]

On the west of the Normandy coast, between Grandcamp les Bains and Vierville sur Mer, a rocky promontory called Pointe du Hoc sticks out of the cliffs. When Germany prepared an 'Atlantic Wall' of defences against Allied invasion in 1943/44 they picked Pointe du Hoc, with its vertical slopes, tiny shingle beach and views of the surrounding coast, to build a defensive compound mounting – according to Allied intelligence reports - six 155mm guns, artillery which could hit positions several miles away. With thick concrete casements and underground bunkers, protected cable runs, an equally protected spotting post on the cliff and a network of trenches, the position was amongst the strongest ever built by the Nazis in the west.

[DonaCatalina]

Built originally as a wooden fortress named Oreshek (also Orekhov) ("Nutlet") by Grand Prince Yury of Moscow (in his capacity as Prince of Novgorod) on behalf of the Novgorod Republic in 1323, it guarded the northern approaches to Novgorod and access to the Baltic Sea. The fortress is situated on Orekhovets Island, whose name, refers to nuts in Swedish and (Pähkinäsaari, "Nut Island") in Finnish and Russian.
After a series of conflicts, a peace treaty, was signed at Oreshek on August 12, 1323 between Sweden and Grand Prince Yury and the Novgorod Republic which was the first agreement on the border between Eastern and Western Christianity, running through present-day Finland. A modern stone monument to the north of the Church of St. John in the fortress commemorates the treaty .
Inside the fortressTwenty-five years later, King Magnus Eriksson attacked and briefly took the fortress during his crusade in the region (1348-1352). It was largely ruined by the time the Novgorodians retook the fortress in 1351. The fortress was rebuilt in stone in 1352 by Archbishop Vasilii Kalika of Novgorod (1330-1352), who, according to the Novgorod First Chronicle, was sent by the Novgorodians after several Russian and Lithuanian princes ignored the city's pleas to help them rebuild and defend the fort. [4] The remnants of the walls of 1352 were excavated in 1969 and can be seen just north of the Church of St. John in the center of the present fortress.

[DonaCatalina]

Appleby Castle is in the town of Appleby, Cumbria overlooking the River Eden (grid reference NY685200). It consists of a 12th century castle keep which is known as Caesar's tower, and a mansion house. The castle was founded by Ranulf le Meschin at the beginning of the 12th century. In about 1170 the square stone keep known as Caesar's Tower was built. The castle was in Royal hands when the Scottish King, William the Lion, invaded the Eden Valley in 1174. The constable of the castle surrendered without a fight.
In 1203 the castle was granted to Richard de Vipont by King John. In 1269 it came into the possession of Roger de Clifford and it remained in the ownership of the Clifford family for nearly 400 years. In the mid 17th century, Lady Anne Clifford made the castle her home and she was responsible for the restoration of the castle. On her death the castle passed to the Earls of Thanet. They were responsible for converting the hall block into a classical mansion house. The upper parts of Caesar's tower were altered in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The north wall of house and the west part of north wing with the round tower date from the 13th century. The eastern part of the house was built in 1454. The house was partly dismantled in 1648 and was restored by Lady Anne Clifford in 1651–53. The house was largely rebuilt in 1686 and the north-west wing was added in 1695. In the 19th century it was again restored and sash windows were inserted.

[DonaCatalina]

The Burg Griffen is a castle on a 130m/427ft-high limestone mountain above the town of Griffen in the Austrian state of Carinthia.
Map coordinates 46.705278, 14.7275
The castle was built between 1124 and 1146 by order of Bishop Otto of Bamberg. In a 1160 deed, Emperor Friedrich I mentioned Grivena as a Bamberg property.
In 1292 the Carinthian nobleman Count Ulrich von Heunburg with support of Archbishop Konrad IV of Salzburg occupied the fort in an uprising against Albert of Habsburg, the son of King Rudolph I of Germany and Duke Meinhard II. However Ulrich was abandoned by his allies and one year later had to leave the castle. In 1759 Bishop Adam Friedrich sold the Bamberg estates in Carinthia to Maria Theresa of Austria and the castle was incorporated into the Carinthian duchy.
About 1520 a large reconstruction of the castle took place as a protection against the threat posed by the Ottoman forces with a base amounted of about 4000 m², though the Turks never laid siege to Griffen. In 1659 a flash impact destroyed one of the towers and the decay of the castle began. In 1768 a last religious service took place and about 1840 the roofs were torn. In 2000 the preservation of the castle began. A steep footpath leads up the mountain to the ruins.

[DonaCatalina]

Ballygally Castle is a castle in the village of Ballygally, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located approximately three miles north of Larne. The castle overlooks the sea at the head of Ballygally Bay. The castle is the only 17th century building still used as a residence in Northern Ireland, and is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in the province. The castle was built in 1625 by James Shaw, of Scotland, who had come to the area and rented the land from the Earl of Antrim for £24 a year. It was built in the style of a French chateau with high walls, steep roof, dormer windows and corner turrets. The walls are five feet thick with loopholes for muskets. An open stream ran through the outer hall to provide water in case of siege. The castle did come under attack, from the Irish garrison at Glenarm, several times during the rebellion of 1641 but each assault was unsuccessful. The castle was owned by the Shaw family until it passed into the hands of William Shaw in 1799. He sold the estate for £15,400. In the 1950s the castle was bought by the carpet tycoon Cyril Lord and was extended and renovated. It is now owned and run by the Hastings Hotels Group.
The castle is reputed to host a number of ghosts, the most active of which is the former resident, Lady Isobel Shaw, who amuses herself by knocking at the doors of different rooms and then suddenly disappearing. When she was alive, Isobel was locked in her room and starved by her husband. She leapt to her death from a window. Madame Nixon is another ghost who lived in the hotel in the 19th century. She can be heard walking around the hotel in her silk dress.

[DonaCatalina]

The Chateau d'Antoing,in Belgium, has remained in the ownership of a single family ever since the 12th century. 19th century renovations were overseen by the architect Viollet-le-Duc, who also supervised the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.
There is an extensive rampart wall around the central keep.

[DonaCatalina]

Dragsholm Castle (Danish: Dragsholm Slot) is a fortification and noble residence near Hørve in Odsherred on the Danish island of Zealand. Construction was started by the Bishop of Roskilde in the late 12th century.

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots, met his end here, as a prisoner of King Frederick II of Denmark.
The castle is noted popularly for the number of ghosts claimed to haunt it, including Boswell's horse and the White Lady.

[DonaCatalina]

The Château de Mehun-sur-Yèvre is a castle in the town of Mehun-sur-Yèvre in the départment of Cher, France.
The existence of a fortification at the site of Mehun-sur-Yèvre dates from antiquity. The major remains are of the early 13th century and the later 14th century. The present standing ruins date from a castle founded under the Courtenays after 1209. This fortress was transformed into a princely residence by John, Duke of Berry in 1367. Largely ruined in the 18th century the castle represented an excellent example of late Gothic architecture and early Renaissance architecture. Charles VII of France, died in the castle July 22, 1461.
The ornate medieval wooden superstructures atop some towers have long since disappeared, leaving only stone fireplaces to testify to their existence.

[DonaCatalina]

Castillo de Alfajarín is 18 kilometres from Zaragoza, Spain. Take the N-232 road for 5 kilometres followed by the N-II. You can also take the A-2 motorway and get off at junction 1.
The remains of the castle overlook the town. Of Arabic origins, the castle was associated with the Cornel family in the 13th century.

[DonaCatalina]

Kasteel Almelo is near the center of the town also named Almelo in the Netherlands. An independent barony belonging to the van Rechteren family, Almelo was acquired through marriage (1350) by the lords of Heeckeren, who also gained the countship of Limburg in 1711. A branch of the family still holds the seat and the Huis te Almelo castle (1662–64). The only vestige of the medieval structure is the moat surrounding two separate islands.