Castles

[Michael]

http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/files/u28/CastellCoch-cb14837a.jpg

Article (http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/2163/full)

Good article about apparently common passion for castles. I of course share this passion and have been studying castles for a rather long time - in the kind of detail far beyond most casual studies.

(Right now, I'm heavily involved in figuring out the actual construction cost of castle-building).

Anyway, this article makes one simple error - and it is a very common one...

At their apex stands Krak des Chevaliers, a 12th-century Hospitaller stronghold. Its dramatic location, guarding the gap between Homs and the Mediterranean, the sheer size of its walls and towers, the ingenuity of its concentric design, the warmth of its stone and its vaulted great hall and chapel leave an overwhelming impression of strength and grace. The art historian T. S. R. Boase described it as follows: "As the Parthenon is to Greek temples and Chartres to Gothic cathedrals, so is the Krak des Chevaliers to medieval castles, the supreme example, one of the great buildings of all times."
This kind of crap always annoys me.

See second paragraph of the same article...

The lens through which I redraw the map is that of the castle. Following the historian R. Allen Brown, I define this, loosely, as the fortified residence of a lord and his family, thus excluding hill forts such as Maiden Castle in Dorset or later structures built solely for garrisoning troops, such as Salses, in southern France.

In the second paragraph the author explicitly defines a castle. He then, six paragraphs later describes Krak des Chevaliers as not just "a castle" but essentially the penultimate form of a castle - even though Krak categorically doesn't fit the definition of a castle. :ummm:

Krak des Chevaliers may look like a big castle, but it is nothing more than a fortress.

Anyway, this thread is dedicated to castles. Anything castle-related. Pictures, questions, discussions, whatever. :)

[Michael]

Here is Carew Castle in Wales. Note the impressive splayed plinth and spur-based towers!
http://radio.weblogs.com/0105891/images/myimages/2002/09/15/carew_castle.jpg

Here is Neuschwanstein Castle - built in the late 19th century by Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Supposedly the model for the famous trademark Disney Castle. It is the most remarkable building that actually does look like a swan if veiwed from the correct angle (very hard to get any photos showing this). It of course is stuated on Swan Lake.
http://www.passion-of-bavaria.com/image-files/neuschwanstein-in-fall.jpg

Here is Conwy Castle in Wales. It is one of the first of Edward I's great castles built in North Wales at the tail end of the 13th century. I've never been able to discern if this one is credited to Master James of St. George who was the builder/architect of a half-dozen of Edward's castles in North Wales.
http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/images/various2/conwy_6.jpg

Here is Dover Castle in southeastern England (Kent). It is one of the oldest and largest castles out there and also one of the only ones still in operational use.
http://steventill.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/kent_dover_castle.jpg

[Donkey]

I love castles. Of course, since I've only traveled vertically, I've never been to a real European castle (though lemme tell you, I'll take Machu Picchu any day of the week).

This is the closest thing I've found to a castle here http://koreanholiness.org/zbxe/files/attach/images/7850/640/007/squires_castle_2001.jpg

As you can see, it would probably fit in the grand hall of some of the buildings you posted. It was originally a game keepers house for a (hypothetical) estate that never came to fruition, I believe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squire%27s_Castle

Fun for a picnic, not exactly a historical, or architectural interest for that matter. :lol:

[Greendruid]

In honour of our fearless Herder of Cats. I happen to know this is also one of his favourites...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Mont_Saint-Michel_France.jpg

Mont Saint-Michel in France... and some sheep!

[Donkey]

Is that the one that is an island at some parts of the day?

[Greendruid]

Is that the one that is an island at some parts of the day?

Indeed! The tide makes it alternately accessible and inaccessible. I think there were plans to build a permanent causeway at some point but I'm not even sure if they went through with it.

[Donkey]

I did a 3d puzzle of that once, I think. Fun. Hard.

[Michael]

I love castles. Of course, since I've only traveled vertically, I've never been to a real European castle (though lemme tell you, I'll take Machu Picchu any day of the week).

This is the closest thing I've found to a castle here
<image deleted for quote>

As you can see, it would probably fit in the grand hall of some of the buildings you posted. It was originally a game keepers house for a (hypothetical) estate that never came to fruition, I believe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squire%27s_Castle

Fun for a picnic, not exactly a historical, or architectural interest for that matter. :lol:

Yes, there are lots of those around North America.

Here's one in Toronto called Casa Loma... built in 1918. The guy who built it lost everything in the crash of 1929 and the city ended up owning the property from unpaid taxes. It is a popular tourist trap now - and banquet hall for weddings.
http://www.phototravelpages.com/canada/ontario_photos/casa_loma.jpg

http://z.about.com/d/gocanada/1/0/0/7/-/-/casa_loma.JPG

[Michael]

In honour of our fearless Herder of Cats. I happen to know this is also one of his favourites...

Mont Saint-Michel in France... and some sheep!

Indeed, one of my most favorite buildings in the world. That is the most sacred place to Saint Michael! It is also the most sacred place where the Catholic Church still does 'exorcisms'.

Unfortunately, it is much like Krak in that it is ALWAYS called a castle and yet it isn't one. Mont Saint-Michel is a monastery.

Impressive fucking history to that place - its been attacked dozens of times yet never fell.

Is that the one that is an island at some parts of the day?
Yes, it is a tidal island off the north coast of France (Normandy).

Indeed! The tide makes it alternately accessible and inaccessible. I think there were plans to build a permanent causeway at some point but I'm not even sure if they went through with it.
The causeway for tour buses was built many years ago.

However, the Government of France has been engaged in a massive project to restore Mont Saint Michel to its medieval splendor. They have ordered the destruction of every new building added in the last couple of centuries (little hotels, bars & gift shops mostly). They have also been doing some water-engineering trying to restore the local waterways in order to restore Mont-Saint Michel's status as an island - it has been silted up with salt-marshes.

I believe that 2010 is the completion date for the restorations. :)

[SMadsen]

Not having had the history of countless autonomous mini-states as in Germany or France, we don't have many castles up here in Denmark. Those we have, i.e., castles for fortification and not merely provincial lord manors, are mainly placed strategically along the coastlines.

Here's the local one, the "home" of Hamlet:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/31769875_a5e0a4fd59.jpg

[Michael]

Well, I went searching for pictures of Danish castles and you are right... there seems to be virtually none of the 'true castle' type. :shrug:

Anyway, I did stumble upon a couple of beauties! Here is the angle that Neuschwanstein is shaped like a swan (pearched above Swan Lake in fact!).
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6823/4598774lj5.jpg


Here's another German Castle, home of the Henzollerns...
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6361/800pxburghohenzollern2qy3.jpg


And another fine German castle - Burg Stolzenfels...
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/740/3980524rs5.jpg


And lastly, here is another German castle - Burg Cochem... truly magnificent!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Cochem01.jpg

[Michael]

This isn't a castle, but it is probably the best preserved example of a medieval-walled town anywhere in Europe. Carcassone in southern France.

http://www.naryves.com/pj/france/carcassonne2.jpg

[Michael]

And here's Windsor Castle, the largest and oldest continuously inhabited castle in the world.

This castle is particularly interesting historical artefact because it begins as a classic 'motte and bailey' design that predates the Norman conquest, and has been added to or rennovated in every century since, becoming the sprawling 'mock-medieval' palace-castle that it is now only in the first half of the 19th century. The very walls of this place record the entire evolution of history in England throughout this entire period.

Here is the Long Walk...
http://www.pbase.com/image/41889194.jpg


Here is the royal palace section of the castle - on the left can be seen the original 11th century shell-keep on the motte. The private royal apartments on the right side of the photo. To the top are the formal state apartments.
http://www.pbase.com/image/31263627.jpg


And here is a nice aerial overview of the whole castle...
http://www.everythingtudor.com/main/images/photos/Windsor_castle.JPG

One of my all-time favorite buildings in the world. :thumbsup:

[Donkey]

Here is MY castle. ;)

http://thundafunda.com/33/World-tour/full/Dunvegan%20Castle,%20Isle%20of%20Skye,%20Scotland% 20pictures.jpg

Er... by "my" I mean the Castle of my mom's clan.

[The Drunk Guy]

Dunnottar Castle in Scotland.

http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/images/castle.jpg

http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/images/aerial.jpg

The Keep was built by Sir William Keith, 1st Earl Marischal in the 14th Century. My maternal grandmother was a Keith, so I consider it ancestral land. ;)

[Americano]

An American Castle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearst_Castle

[Americano]

http://images.google.com/images?q=hearst+castle&oe=utf-8&rlz=1R1MOZA_en___US348&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=PirVSruvLJL4sgPA7t3YCg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CC4QsAQwAw&ei=SCrVSvzcMZDQswO67bHFCg&gbv=2

[SMadsen]

This is an American castle:

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/nevada/las-vegas/images/s/excalibur.jpg

:lol:

[Michael]

An American Castle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearst_Castle

Real castles don't have luxurious swimming pools! :D

[Michael]

Here is MY castle. ;)
...
Er... by "my" I mean the Castle of my mom's clan.

Dunnottar Castle in Scotland.
...
The Keep was built by Sir William Keith, 1st Earl Marischal in the 14th Century. My maternal grandmother was a Keith, so I consider it ancestral land. ;)

In keeping with this theme, here is my family's 'ancestral' castle...

http://history.earthsci.carleton.ca/uk/gallery/gallery1/forDisplay/Alnwick%20Castle.JPG

And that would be the seat of an Eorl btw. That's Alnwick Castle in Northumbria. Of course, that would be only one of the several castles belonging to the Eorls of Northumberland. ;)

[Americano]

Real castles don't have luxurious swimming pools! :D

Indoor or outdoor? Hearst, who was not a monk, had both installed.

[Michael]

Indoor or outdoor? Hearst, who was not a monk, had both installed.
Well, traditional castles often did have a moat. That's close, though I doubt if anyone wanted to swim in the moat! ;)

Besides, I think the Disney Castle is true representation of an "American castle". :lol:

[Michael]

Is that the one that is an island at some parts of the day?

Indeed! The tide makes it alternately accessible and inaccessible. I think there were plans to build a permanent causeway at some point but I'm not even sure if they went through with it.

I did a 3d puzzle of that once, I think. Fun. Hard.

Here's the absolute best photo of Mont Saint Michel that shows the island and the causeway. Originally, there was a natural 'low-tide' road to the island that was hidden at high tide. That was replaced in the 19th century by the permanent causeway seen in the picture.

Btw, this is one of my most favorite 'wallpaper' photos for my computer! :)

http://www.theboxband.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/mont-st-michel.JPG

[Malvolio]

http://www.wewelsburg.de/wewelsburg/media/wewels02_neu.jpg

That's the Wewelsburg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wewelsburg).

A Renaissance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance) castle located in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphalia), Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany), in the village of Wewelsburg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wewelsburg_%28village%29) (the same name as the castle) which is a quarter of the city Büren, Westphalia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%BCren,_Westphalia), in district of Paderborn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paderborn) in the Alme Valley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alme_Valley). The castle has the outline of a triangle (aerial photo (http://www.wewelsburg.de/wewelsburg/media/wewels02_neu.jpg)). After 1934 it was used by the SS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS) under Heinrich Himmler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmler) and was to be expanded to the central SS-cult-site.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wewelsburg#cite_note-0) After 1941 plans were developed to enlarge it to the so-called "Center of the World".

Today it is used as a youth-hostel. I stayed there for a couple of nights when I was at school. Especially the "North Tower" was kind of "spooky".

[Michael]

Today it is used as a youth-hostel. I stayed there for a couple of nights when I was at school. Especially the "North Tower" was kind of "spooky".

That's a very nice photo of a rare triangle-shape castle. Only one of that shape in all of the British Isles if I recall correctly.

Though, looking at that photo (and keeping in mind the 'rennaissance' era construction) I notice all kinds of ground level windows. That pretty much defines a building as a nice chateau not a castle. Castles must be defensible!

Either way, its a fine looking building. :)

[Malvolio]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Burg_Eltz_2005.jpg/800px-Burg_Eltz_2005.jpg

Burg Eltz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Eltz)

[Malvolio]

not really a castel either ;) .... the Saalburg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saalburg)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Saalburg_Main_Gate_%28Porta_Praetoria%29.jpg/800px-Saalburg_Main_Gate_%28Porta_Praetoria%29.jpg

The Saalburg is a Roman fort (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_fort) located on the Taunus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taunus) ridge northwest of Bad Homburg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Homburg), Hesse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesse), Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany). It is a Cohort Fort belonging to the Limes Germanicus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limes_Germanicus), the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, located just off the main road roughly halfway between Bad Homburg and Wehrheim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wehrheim) is the most completely reconstructed Roman fort in Germany. Since 2005, as part of the Upper German limes, it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO_World_Heritage) site[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saalburg#cite_note-0). In the modern numbering system for the limes, it is ORL 11.

[Malvolio]

Heidelberg Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg_Castle)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Heidelberg-Schlo%C3%9F.JPG/798px-Heidelberg-Schlo%C3%9F.JPG

[Malvolio]

Nuremberg Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Castle)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/b/ba/Nuernberg-burg-rr.jpg/800px-Nuernberg-burg-rr.jpg

[Malvolio]

Burg Manderscheid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manderscheid,_Bernkastel-Wittlich)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/BurgManderscheid.jpg

[Malvolio]

The Alhambra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra) in Granada, Spain .... truely magnificent.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Alhambra_view.jpg

[Donkey]

I love castles. Of course, since I've only traveled vertically, I've never been to a real European castle (though lemme tell you, I'll take Machu Picchu any day of the week).

This is the closest thing I've found to a castle here http://koreanholiness.org/zbxe/files/attach/images/7850/640/007/squires_castle_2001.jpg

As you can see, it would probably fit in the grand hall of some of the buildings you posted. It was originally a game keepers house for a (hypothetical) estate that never came to fruition, I believe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squire%27s_Castle

Fun for a picnic, not exactly a historical, or architectural interest for that matter. :lol:

I just received a facebook invite for a LARPing session at this location.


Nooooooooooooooooo thank you plz.

[Michael]

I just received a facebook invite for a LARPing session at this location.


Nooooooooooooooooo thank you plz.
:rofl:

I'm intrigued by LARPing when it is the Society for Creative Anachronism, but otherwise, the enterprise strikes me as a bit odd. :shrug:

And this thread deserves a good *bump* anyway! :D

[Margot]

My mother took a class trip to Europe when she was in high school and stayed on Mont Saint-Michel. In typical 80's fashion, the next morning she plugged in her hair dryer- and shorted out the entire island.

There are lots of websites out there dedicated to selling decrepit old castles. Ones in Eastern Europe can be had quite cheap, though, it wouldn't really be that satisfying unless I can post up in Hunyad Castle.

Also, LARPing in a castle sounds fun and also like the premise of a terrible, terrible, wonderful horror movie.

[The Drunk Guy]

Also, LARPing in a castle sounds fun and also like the premise of a terrible, terrible, wonderful horror movie.
Would they be the LARPers or the LARPees?

[Americano]

My mother took a class trip to Europe when she was in high school and stayed on Mont Saint-Michel. In typical 80's fashion, the next morning she plugged in her hair dryer- and shorted out the entire island.

There are lots of websites out there dedicated to selling decrepit old castles. Ones in Eastern Europe can be had quite cheap, though, it wouldn't really be that satisfying unless I can post up in Hunyad Castle.

A beautiful castle.

Installing even rudimentary plumbing in a traditional castle by a private party is a financial challenge. For practical purposes, a decrepit old castle is worth the land it sits on.

Also, LARPing in a castle sounds fun and also like the premise of a terrible, terrible, wonderful horror movie.