Castles!- Large Photos

[DonaCatalina]

Gilau Castle is in the town of Gilau, in the county of Cluj , Transylvania , Romania.
map coordinates 46.756784, 23.382387
The castle in Gilau, also referred to as Banffy, dated the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, was a possession of the Diocese of Alba Iulia.

[DonaCatalina]

Ragnit Castle is in the town of Neman, the administrative center of Nemansky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia.
map coordinates 55.039170, 22.029906
In 1277 , the original wooden fortress Ragnit owned by the Prussians, was burned by the troops of the Teutonic Order. Landmeyster Meinhard von Kverfurt built the brick and stone castle 1289, which originally called Landeshutte. In 1326 it was renamed Ragnit.

[DonaCatalina]

Soko Grad also known as Sokolac, is a medieval city and fortress located 2 km east of the spa town of Sokobanja, Serbia.
map coordinates 43.634974, 21.892845

The fortress was founded in the 6th century during the reign of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. In 1172, it was occupied by Stefan Nemanja and became part of the medieval Serbian state.


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[DonaCatalina]

Soko Grad is also a town and medieval fortification near Gracanica, Ljubovija, western Serbia.
map coordinates 44.270929, 19.429986
The fortress is dated to pre-Ottoman medieval Serbia first recorded in 1476, as a fort of Dizdar Sokol Kemal. But archeological research indicates it was built on the remains of a Roman fortress. More recently, it has been altered into a shrine associated with the monastery below.

[DonaCatalina]

Mestsky Hrad in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, literally means town castle.
map coordinates 48.736723, 19.146648
Town castle was built in the mid-thirteenth century alongside the existing mining settlement that preceded the establishment of the city. Modern usage has led to dismanting most of the curtain walls. But there are still bits to be seen.

[DonaCatalina]

Castillo de Peracense is a castle in Peracense, Aragon, northern Spain.
map coordinates 40.637, -1.4805
The location was occupied since the late Bronze Age, and was later reused during the Moorish domination of Spain, in the 10th and 11th centuries. The Moorish castle was enlarged and renewed in the 14th century.

[DonaCatalina]

Castillo de Olmillos de Sasamon is located in the town of Olmillos de Sasamon, Castillo y Leon, Spain.
map coordinates 42.396944 , -4.036389 
It has been traditionally known as the Cartagena Castle, having mostly belonged to this family. Probably the original castle was built in the 13th century when Alfonso X gave it to his wife, Queen Violante. In 1440, Pedro de Cartagena purchased this estate from Diego Gomez de Sandoval, who had been given the property by King John II. Pedro de Cartagena belonged to a Jewish family of Aragonese origin, the Levi, who after his conversion to Christianity changed his name in honor of the Virgin Mary, to Santa Maria de Cartagena.

[DonaCatalina]

Aarwangen Castle is in the municipality of Aarwangen of the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
map coordinates 47.245763, 7.763627
The lords of Aarwangen were first mentioned between 1194 and 1212 as a Ministerialis (unfree knights in the service of a feudal overlord) family in service to the Kyburgs. Around 1300 they built the tower of Aarwangen Castle along the banks of the Aar river.

[DonaCatalina]

Builth Castle is today an abandoned site just outside Builth Wells, Powys, Wales.
map coordinates 52.14919, -3.39855
Construction started in May 1277, by Edward I, and continued until August 1282, when the castle was left unfinished for lack of money. It replaced an earlier Anglo-Norman fortification (a Motte and Bailey) built by the Marcher baron Philip de Braose, who claimed the area as a Marcher lordship.

[DonaCatalina]

At 500 meters, the Citadelle de Sisteron sits on the side of a mountain overlooking the town of Sisteron, France.
map coordinates 44.199113, 5.943501
Succesive layers of fortifications lie beneath the current structure. The Gaelic oppidum of Voconces, was succeeded by the Roman Castrum of Segustero, which in turn gave way to the Medieval Castle of Sisteron built in 1209. Construction continued to enlarge the castle through 1860.

[DonaCatalina]

Chenies Manor House is located at Chenies, Buckinghamshire, England.
map coordinates 51.674428, -0.532966
The Cheyne family were granted the manorial rights in 1180. The current house was built around 1460 by Sir John Cheyne as a fortified manor house. Additions were made to the house in 1526 by John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, and in 1560 it was restyled by Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford. The only visible part of the castle is now a single crenallated tower to which a brick entraceway has been added.

[DonaCatalina]

Keila Ordulinnus is a ruined castle in the town of Keila in Harju County in north-western Estonia.
map coordinates 59.304104, 24.437563
Originally called Kegelite, the castle was built by the Teutonic Order in the early 1400's and eventually was owned by the Livonian Order. The 17th century manor house nearby now houses a museum.






I had to sneak in this photo of the nearby church which was probably built by the Order.

[Merlin the Elder]

That last photo especially...Soooo beautiful!

[DonaCatalina]

Burg Hainburg is located in Hainburg an der Donau, Austria.
map coordinates 48.142592, 16.948125
Emperor Henry III began construction of the castle on the site already known as castle hill. The first settlement was at least the Celts back on the brown mountain. However, there is evidence of an earlier settlement by the urnfield culture or Hallstatt period due to the strategic location.

[DonaCatalina]

Burg Kaja is a castle in Lower Austria, Austria.
map coordinates 48.826667, 15.888056
Kaja was the ancestral castle of the lords of Chiowe. It appears to have evolved into a castle through the 10th and 11th centuries. The castle's first mention in records is 1196 Herzog Friedrich I was here with 30 nobles and 24 knights as witnesses to several charters.