Castles!- Large Photos

[DonaCatalina]

I'm running a little slow this morning, but now we're up and going to France,
Château de Saint-Loup to be exact. One of France's finest castles from Louis XIII's time, is the Chateau de Saint-Loup. It is Located in the most southern part of the Loire Valley in the region of Poitou-Charentes,  between the cities of Parthenay and Thouars, offering visitors a wide range of activities.   The 15th century tower keep is a major landmark of Poitou,  and a jewel of France's  classical architectural heritage.

[brier patch charlie]

I feel so much better now. Thanks!

[DonaCatalina]

Kidwelly Castle is one of the finest castles in South-West Wales, it remains remarkably intact. Dominating a long disputed region, the strong and splendid castle developed during more than three centuries of Anglo-Norman/Welsh warfare: a chronicle in stone of medieval fortress technology. With its walls within walls fortifications Kidwelly looks today as an outstanding examples of late 13th century castle design.

The Half-moon outer towered walls circuit on the Norman earthwork, inside the first stone stronghold with its four round towers, on the right the South Gatehouse.
Kidwelly was established on the estuary of the river Gwendraeth in 1106 by Roger, bishop of Salisbury, the justiciar of England, within a short time of the Norman conquest, to defend the road to west Wales. Its half moon shape stems from the original 12th century Norman timber castle, of the motte-and-baley type, defended on one side by the river and on the other by a deep crescent shaped ditch. At the end of 13th century one of Edward I's baron's, Henry Earl of Lancaster, raised  within this a rectangular stone stronghold with round corner towers, perhaps echoing castles he had seen on Crusade.

[Jack Daw at Work]

Using the life size figurines in restored castles is becoming more popular.
Some of them are pretty morbid.

What do ya'll think?

I went back to Scotland for the Worldwide Gathering of Clan MacIntyre last July 2008.  We went to Dunvegan Castle, which is the home of the MacLeod clan Chief on the Isle of Skye.  Anyway, the castle still has a very small ancient dungeon chamber near what used to be the kitchen.  You can't go into the dungeon, but you can look down into it from the floor above through a grate.  There are some life-sized dummy prisoners to see down below with piped in moans and groans.  I thought it was VERY funny, but a lady came by and seemed completely disgusted by it.

[Jack Daw at Work]

The featured castle for May 10 is;

Doune
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/doune/dounecastle/
Castle Doune may look strangely familiar to fans of Monty Python's Holy Grail.

I've been to this castle!  You know, it is where some of the scenes in Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed. 

[DonaCatalina]

Kasteel Van Horst is a half ruined Flemish Castle set on the edge of a lake, 6km south of Aarschot, Belgium. The origins of the castle are unclear. A 'Castellum Rode' is mentioned in this area in 1100, but the name Horst does not appear until 1268. Like most late medieval castle built in a plain, Horst castle was constructed as an irregular polygon surrounded by a wide moat. Reconstruction efforts up until the 17th century have left the castle with a more Renaissance look.

[DonaCatalina]

Castillo de Priego de Cordoba is a ruin of an, originally Moorish, castle (since 2006 under restoration) having been a fortified city of the Moors (with the Hispano-Arabic name Baguh) which was captured by the Christians under Ferdinand III in 1225, lost again in 1327, and finally retaken in 1340 by Alfonso XI.

[DonaCatalina]

Castelo di Aghinolfo which is above the county of Montignoso about three kilometers from the center of Massa lying northwest of the Tuscany region. The stately and majestic castle can also be accessed from Pratovecchio, which is two kilometers from the southwest direction. The castle was documented in the year 753 A.D., as a gift from the famous Longobard royal king Astlofo to his brother-in-law, the Abbot founder of the Abbey of Nonantola. The castle was named Aghinolfo after its royal origins and its powerful place as a refuge and a fortress in Montignoso.




undergoing restoration





original well/cistern

[DonaCatalina]

Kilkenny Castle in Kilkenny, Ireland, was the seat of the Butler family. Formerly the family name was FitzWalter. The castle was sold to the local Castle Restoration Committee in the middle of the 20th century for £50. Shortly afterward it was handed over to the State, and has since been refurbished and is open to visitors. The present castle is located on a prominent vantage point at a bend in the River Nore. This strategic site was where the local kings, the O'Carrolls (840 AD), O'Dunphys and Fitzpatricks, had their castle(s) before the Norman invasion. Richard de Clare (also known as Strongbow) built the first Norman tower on the site in 1172. Twenty years later, de Clare's son-in-law, William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, built the first stone castle on the site, of which three towers still remain. The entrance was through the (now missing) east wall. Various other features of the original castle have also been excavated, including original stone buttressing and a garderobe.

[DonaCatalina]

Today we are going to the Luxembourg Ardennes to visit Chateau de Boursheid. Bourscheid castle is situated on a isolated promontory, accessible only from the north-west, 150 meters above the level of the river Sure and 370 meters above sea level, Even today the ruins testify to an impressive fortification covering a surface of 12.000 square meters (151 meters long, 53 meters wide) and surrounded by a massive ring wall with 11 watchtowers. Shortly after the year 1350 the construction of the extensive circular wall was started. It was finished in 1384.
Map 49° 55? 0? N, 6° 4? 0? E

[DonaCatalina]

Anyone object to a trip to Scotland? No? well, on to Castle Dundonald.
Dundonald Castle is situated on a hill overlooking the village of Dundonald, between Kilmarnock and Troon in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Dundonald Castle is a fortified tower house built for Robert II on his accession to the throne of Scotland in 1371 and it was used as a royal residence by the early Stewart kings for the next 150 years.
The present castle stands on land where evidence suggest there used to be a hill fort. It is thought that a mixture of large timber built round houses and straight-sided structures occupy the interior. A timber laced stone rampart defines and defends the hill fort. The timber lacing caught fire and burnt with such intensity that the surrounding stonework melted, or vitrified. This firing happened about 1000 AD and seems to mark the end of the hill-fort's existence.

[DonaCatalina]

Something different for today, we are going to the Ukraine. Kamianets-Podilsky was first mentioned in 1062 as a town of the Kievan Rus' state. In 1241, it was destroyed by the Mongol Tatar invaders. In 1352, it was annexed by the Polish King Casimir III, and became the capital of Podole Voivodship and the seat of local civil and military administration. The ancient castle was reconstructed and substantially expanded by the Polish kings to defend Poland from the southwest against Ottoman and Tatar invasions. - map 48° 41? 0? N, 26° 35? 0? E

[DonaCatalina]

Castillo de Coracerais in the viilage of San Martín de Valdeiglesias in Spain. The castle was built by Álvaro de Luna, favorite advisor and constable to Juan II (1406-1454). After having remained in a state of total abandonment for two centuries, the Castillo de la Coracera was bought and restored by the Barón de Sacro Lirio, a strange character who died within the confines of the fortress under mysterious circumstances.

[Peddlin]

That is so beautiful! Thank you.

[Jack Daw at Work]

I love to look over these castles.  Keep 'em coming!