Castles were originally built for defence. The protection of a noble, and very rich family were also created to suppress the locals and stop any possible uprising. Rather than be examples of terror they now have a romantic appeal to us. Some castles are even a lot younger than you think! It’s what inspires people like Poole Architects uxarchitects.co.uk/ to do what they do. Here are some of the world’s best.
- Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany. Rising out of the rock is this blue and white stone beauty. You’ll probably know it as the home of Baron Bomburst in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It was actually the home of a “mad” Bavarian King and was only built in the nineteenth century. It inspired Walt Diseny fairytale castle.
- Bran Castle in Romania. You may have guessed that this is the castle of the infamous Count Dracula. It’s what Bram Stoker used as the home for the nefarious vampire. Vlad III, who Stoker based the character on never set foot in the place and it’s been a residence of the Hapsburgs since the 1700s when it was modernised.
- Penrhyn Castle. Looking like the kind of thing Edward 1 would have put up to keep the rebellious Welsh in line, it’s actually a Victorian model castle built by a sugar magnate who grew rich on slate mining.
- Alhambra in Spain. Once, when Spain was the scene of dramatic struggles between the Roman Catholics and Muslim settlers from Morrocco the country was spilt between the cultures. Never truly at peace, Alhmabra is full of Islamic art that, when it was captured, proved to be so impressive it wasn’t destroyed.
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