10 Enchanting Castles Around the World You Have To Visit!
One of the biggest tourist attractions of any trip is the local castles. Most of us, especially the girls, have once dreamt of being kings or princesses at some royal court. Thus, we flock in droves to the most famous of them. But there are more castles out there than The Tower of London or Windsor. Here are the stories of 10 new amazing castles you probably never thought of visiting but will surely want to after this article:
10. Buda Castle, Hungary
Revealingthe undeniable beauty of the castle stands its enormous role in the arts. It includes, but is not limited to the Hungarian National Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Budapest History Museum, the latter having remains and reconstructions of the old castle. Most interesting fact: This castle really wants to stay in place! The first construction, ruined by the Ottoman domination, gave way to a Baroque-style palace. This was in turn destroyed by siege, and once again had to be rebuilt. Today’s castle is at least the third attempt, and let’s hope this one will stand.
9. Orava Castle, Slovakia
Built originally in the Romanesque and Gothic style, burnt down and rebuilt as a Renaissance and Neo-Gothic castle, the structure nowadays pieces together parts of all its ages in a beautiful architectural mosaic. So beautiful, in fact, that it was used as part of the movie Nosferatu, playing on the queerness of the region as seen by foreigners. This is also enhanced by the many night shows or theatre representations that take place there, enhancing the castle’s popularity. Most interesting fact: The wonderful landscape that Orava Castle provides is made even more spectacular by the fact that it is perched on a rocky outcrop, so as to be better defended in case of invasion.
8. Bran Castle, Romania
You can stay in awe from the very beginning in what regards this superb castle. The beginning as in, its very construction, because it has only taken 5 years to rise off the ground. 5 years! I know houses that took longer to be built. And also like a house, it has an interesting history of being used as a mortgage. In 1500, King Wladyshaw of the Maygar swore he would give the castle to Brasov, the neighboring city if he couldn’t pay his debts… And so it happened, the castle becoming city property for about 4 centuries. Most interesting fact: Bran is considered the ‘Dracula Castle’, as Vlad the Impaler, the one history character that is most frequently likened to Dracula lived there.
7. Neuschwanstein, Germany
Its very name meaning ‘New Swan Stone’, after one of Wagner’s opera characters, the whole castle built by King Ludwig II was originally dedicated to the great composer. However, the artist never once stepped foot inside, and the king himself, who has commissioned the castle only for personal use, only slept 11 nights there. By the way, you think personal use means small dimensions for a king? Think again. The castle can host up to 6000 visitors a day. Most interesting fact: Neuschwanstein’s design inspired the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. If you want to see the original, this is the castle for you.
6. Prague Castle, Czech Republic
Founded in the year 880, Prague Castle is of enormous historical importance to the Czech Republic, and brings the region the honor of having the largest castle complex in the world, according to Guinness! Most interesting fact: A fairly horrifying history provides the most interesting aspect of Prague Castle. There is a window on the third floor from which people, deemed enemies of the state, were thrown out. It is true that they all somehow survived the 70 feet fall, but having the castle because of which the term ‘defenestration’ was penned is not very quieting. Hopefully, the fact that this started a whole war made people realize it was not a very good practice and have given it up since.
5. Holyrood Palace, Scotland
A Scottish Buckingham of sorts, Holyrood is the official residence of the British monarch and has housed Scottish Kings and Queens ever since the 16th century. However, unless there is some royalty in residence, the castle is open to visiting. Originally an abbey, the name translates roughly into ‘Holy Cross’, ‘rood’ being an old form of ‘rod’, or ‘pole’. Seeing the English appreciation of the church, Holyrood Palace, or by its official name, The Palace of Holyroodhouse, is bound to be breathtaking. Most interesting fact: Holyrood Palace has a quite famous resident ghost. Agnes Sampson was accused of witchcraft in 1591, probably tortured, as the practice used to go, stripped naked and executed. It is said that you might encounter the still-naked ghost if you dare roam the halls of Holyrood.
4. Castello di Sant’ Angelo, Italy
Legend has it that the very Archangel Saint Michael has come to Rome and sheathed his sword to signify the end of the plague in 590. This is why a gigantic angel statue sits on top of the unusually round construction near the Vatican that is Castle Sant’ Angelo. It has served as papal residence and prison, sometimes even both at the same time. The castle was made famous for its extensive use in Dan Brown’s bestseller ‘Angels&Demons’, which also reveals its most interesting fact: the castle contains what used to be a secret passage to the Vatican that the Pope used when in danger. Now, the passage is probably much more popular than the castle itself. You’d say having a giant angel on the roof keeps you popular.
3. The Alhambra, Spain
Being of great importance to the history of Spain, Alhambra was a key element in conflicts between Muladis (Muslims) and Arabs and often appears in history books. Another place it holds however is one of honor in architecture books. Alhambra is considered an architectonic wonder and has originally been built as a palace of heaven, or one to resemble it closely. In fact, the walls are covered in geometric patterns of mosaic from the sacred books. Most interesting fact: The name of the place means ‘the red one’. This seems to refer to the color of the stone, but it comes in fact from the red clay in the vicinity. The walls were originally brilliantly white!
2. Mont Saint-Michel, France
O.K., maybe this castle is well-enough-known, but it is important to make sure of that. Initially a wonderful gothic abbey, Mont Saint-Michel is one of the first monuments to become a UNESCO world heritage site, and it has preserved itself wonderfully. So much so, in fact, that the surrounding medieval city has inhabitants to this day! Most interesting fact: most castles make do with a moat. Mont Saint-Michel thought of surrounding itself with a whole river! It is built on a small granite outcrop that is virtually unreachable until low tide.
1. Alnwick Castle, England
The second biggest inhabited castle in England, after Windsor, this castle stands tall in curiosities. It features expositions on the Dukes of Northumberland's passion for archeology, the museum inside housing frescoes from Pompeii, relics from Ancient Egypt, Romano-British objects and so many more. There’s a tie for the Most interesting fact: You can either choose the fact that it is very photogenic, featuring in many films, the most popular of which was Harry Potter itself! Or you could go visit the poison garden – 26 acres of plants so poisonous and hallucinogenic that most of them have to be grown inside cages. Wizards and poison, somebody minds his Halloween very attentively.