Castles!- Large Photos

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop castle in the Province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy.

Faith has played a key role in the Abruzzo. St Benedict, the founder of Western monasticism, was born nearby. St Francis of Assisi was active in the region and it is haunted by the memory of Celestine V, who was called from an Abruzzo monastery he founded to become Pope but abdicated after a few months. It is a region of magnificent Romanesque churches. One of the most rewarding is in the tiny village of Bominaco. It is a perfectly preserved medieval structure with an adjoining chapel whose walls are covered by fascinating affreschi painted over several centuries. Distinctive crosses and symbols suggest it was once influenced by the warrior-monks, the Knights Templar, who were later suppressed by the Vatican.

[DonaCatalina]

Castellum Belveer in the area of Mevaseret Zion, Israel.
Map coordinates 31.795734, 35.143903
Built by Crusaders on the ruins of a Roman fortress, The Arabs called it al-Qastal, pronouncing the "t." The Jews called it "Hacastel".

[DonaCatalina]

Aizu Wakamatsu Castle, also known as Tsuruga Castle, is a traditional castle in northern Japan.
Map coordinates 37.487778, 139.929722
The castle was constructed by Ashina Naomori in 1384, and was originally named Kurokawa Castle.

[DonaCatalina]

Castle Fraser is the most elaborate Z-plan castle in Scotland.
Map coordinates 57.203, -2.460556
Originally known as Muchall-in-Mar, construction of the elaborate, five-storey Z-plan castle was begun in 1575 by the 6th Laird of Fraser, Michael Fraser, on the basis of an earlier tower.

[DonaCatalina]

Fyvie Castle is a castle in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Map coordinates 57.4433, -2.3949
The earliest parts of Fyvie Castle date from the 13th century - some sources claim it was built in 1211 by William the Lion.
Already in the records in 1296, Fyvie was at one time held by Robert the Bruce as a hunting lodge and later passed into the hands of the Gordon family. Several ghosts are claimed to remain in residence.

[dbaldock]

Looks like they may have had the same Architect as Glamis Castle.      

[DonaCatalina]

Montreal is a Crusader castle located in modern town of Shoubak in Jordan.
map coordinates 30.531389, 35.560833
The castle was built in 1115 by Baldwin I of Jerusalem during his expedition to the area (during which he captured Aqaba on the Red Sea in 1116). Originally called 'Krak de Montreal' or 'Mons Regalis', it was named in honour of the king's own contribution to its construction (Mont Royal).

[DonaCatalina]

Embute Castle ruins are located in Embute, Latvia.
Map coordinates 58.505198, 21.81823
Emb?te Castle was built in the middle of the thirteenth century as residence for the Bishop of Courland. It came in the hands of the Livonian Order for a short period, but in the end of the thirteenth century it again belonged to the bishop.

[DonaCatalina]

Sidon Sea Castle is a castle in Sidon, Lebanon.
Map coordinates 33.567119, 35.371055
It was built by the Crusaders in 1228 A.D. on a small island connected to the mainland by a causeway. In the outer walls Roman columns were used as horizontal reinforcements, a feature often seen in fortifications built on or near former Roman sites.

[DonaCatalina]

Murzuq Castle is a fortification in a town of the same name in south west Libya.
Map coordinates 25.915217, 13.910662
In 1310 the castle was built and the town prospered for six hundred years. It was occupied by the Ottomans in 1578 and served as the capital of Fezzan off and on.

[DonaCatalina]

The Vilnius Castle Complex is a group of structures in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Map coordinates 54.687, 25.29
The oldest part of the castle was built in the 10th century. The complex consisted of three castles: the Upper, the Lower, and the Crooked (Lithuanian: Kreivoji pilis). The Crooked Castle was burned down by the Teutonic Knights in 1390 and was never rebuilt; but they did not succeed in taking the entire complex.

[DonaCatalina]

Ansembourg Castle probably started out as a tower house before the 15th century. The Castle in its current configuration was built in the 17th century, the mixed construction being distintive.
Map coordinates 49.700363, 6.047253

[DonaCatalina]

Castillo de Montefrio is in a town of the same name in Granada, Spain.
Map coordinates 37.321765, -4.013191
It is a Moorish castle crafted from the year 1352, when there appeared in Granada Abu-Abdullah Jusuf, who had it built on land that it considered strategic for the defense of its borders.

[DonaCatalina]

The Borg Ewsum in Middelstum, in the Netherlands, dates from at least 1472 and has for centuries been owned and occupied by the family of Ewsum.
Map coordinates 53.353611, 6.646389
In 1863 the building was demolished except for the moat and the keep, which is unique because of its round shape.

[DonaCatalina]

Chojnik is a castle located above the town of Sobieszow, in southwestern Poland.
map coordinates 50.833690, 15.643846
The castle of Chojnik was originally erected by the order of Duke Bolko I the Strict in 1292 at the site of a former hunting lodge built by his father Boles?aw II the Bald.