European Beautiful Castles IV

Peter Cetera berkata: Like a knight in shining armor, From a long time ago. Just in time I will save the day,
Take you to my CASTLE far away ...
menginspirasi Katon Bagaskara sehingga dia berkata: Kan kujemput dikau Sang Putri, pada saatnya nanti. Berkereta kencana kubawa pergi, 'tuju istana (KASTIL) di sana ku bertahta ...

Semuanya adalah bukti bahwa romantisme kastil selalu menginspirasi orang orang masa kini. Meskipun kenyataannya adalah Gubuk Derita dan Sepiring Berdua ... hehehe. Inilah kastil-kastil Skotlandia, Rumania, Spanyol, Portugal, Slovakia dan lain lain

Castle de Haar (Netherlands)

Kasteel de Haar has been rebuilt and torn down multiple times since its conception in 1391. Hundreds of rooms and dozens of bathrooms are in this castle. The intricate woodwork in the interior of the castle is on par with the great Roman Catholic cathedrals in the same region.

Hoensbroek Castle (Netherlands)

Castle Hoensbroek or Gebrookhoes (Castle Gebrook) (Dutch: Kasteel Hoensbroek) is one of the largest castles in the Netherlands. This imposing watercastle is known as 'the most lordly stronghold between Rhine and Meuse'. The oldest part of the castle, notably the tall round tower, dates from around 1360, when it was built by Herman Hoen, though a predecessor to the castle had already existed in the swamp (or Gebrook) the castle was located in. This so-called motte-and-bailey dated from around 1225. In 1250 a fortified manor was built on the location of the present castle. Because of its important strategical location in the Duchy of Brabant, located along important trading routes to Maastricht, Aachen and Cologne, the castle was expanded in several phases, becoming the largest stronghold between the Meuse and the Rhine rivers.

Muiderslot (Netherlands)

 

The Muiderslot is a castle in the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the river Vecht, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, in Muiden, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It's one of the better known castles in the Netherlands and has been featured in many television shows set in the Middle Ages. The history of the Muiderslot (Castle Muiden, where muiden means rivermouth) begins with Count Floris V who built a stone castle at the mouth of the river back in 1280, when he gained command over an area that used to be part of the See of Utrecht. The River Vecht was the trade route to Utrecht, one of the most important tradetowns of that age. The castle was used to enforce a toll on the traders. It is a relatively small castle, measuring 32 by 35 metres with brick walls well over 1.5 metres thick. A large moat surrounded the castle.

Checiny (Poland)

The town is first mentioned in historical documents from 1275. It obtained its city charter in 1325. The most important sight in the town is the royal castle built in the late 13th or early 14th century on the Castle Hill above the town. It fell into ruin in the 18th century and remains in that state to this day. The town had a Jewish community and it had been the center of the Hasidic Chentshin dynasty,The notable Haredi leader and scholar in Israel, Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman's family originated in Chentshin.

Czocha Castle (Poland)

Czocha Castle is a defensive castle in the village of Stankowice-Sucha, (Gmina Lesna), in Luban County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship (southwestern Poland). The castle is located near the Kwisa river, in what is now the Polish part of Upper Lusatia. It original name probably was Czajkow (a 1329 Latin document calls it Caychow), and until 1945, it was known by the German name Tzschocha. Czocha castle was built on gneiss rock, and its oldest part is the keep, to which housing structures were later added. Czocha castle began as a fortified strong point, on what was the Czech-Lusatian border. Its construction was ordered by Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, and work was completed in 1247. Six years later, the castle was handed over to Konrad von Wallhausen, Bishop of Meissen.

Almourol Castle (Portugal)

 

The Almourol Castle is situated in the small Almourol island, a rocky island, in the middle of the Tagus river (rio Tejo), in Praia do Ribatejo, a parish in Vila Nova de Barquinha, Central Portugal. The castle was a Knights Templar stronghold used during the Reconquista. It is certain that in 1129, when Portuguese troops conquered the land, the castle already existed and was called Almorolan. The site was given to the Knights Templar, who built a settlement between the Mondego and the Tagus rivers. At the time, they were responsible for the defence of the capital, then Coimbra. The castle has been rebuilt, but it is assumed the architectural characteristics remain largely the same today. Through an epigraph, placed on the main gate, we know that the reconstruction ended in 1171, two years after the building of the Castle of Tomar.

Óbidos (Portugal)

Óbidos is a town (vila) of around 3,100 inhabitants and the seat of the municipality (concelho) of the same name, located in the subregion Oeste and district of Leiria, in Portugal. The municipality has an area of 142.17 km² and a population of 10,875 inhabitants (2001). It is bounded in the northeast and east by Caldas da Rainha, in the south by Bombarral, in the southeast by Lourinhã, in the west by Peniche and in the northwest by the Atlantic Ocean. The well-preserved mediaeval look of its streets, squares, walls and its massive castle have turned the picturesque village into a preferred tourist attraction in Portugal. If visiting, it is compulsory to try the local cherry liquor known as ginjinha.

Pena National Palace (Portugal)

The Pena National Palace (Portuguese: Palácio Nacional da Pena) is the oldest palace inspired by European Romanticism. It is located in the civil parish of São Pedro de Penaferrim, municipality of Sintra, Portugal. The palace stands on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area. It is a national monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th century Romanticism in the world. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. It is also used for state occasions by the President of the Portuguese Republic and other government officials. Eschwege, a German amateur architect, was much traveled and likely had knowledge of several castles along the Rhine river.

Bran Castle (Romania)

 

Bran Castle (German: Törzburg; Hungarian: Törcsvár), situated near Bran and in the immediate vicinity of Braşov, is a national monument and landmark in Romania. The fortress is situated on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia, on DN73. Commonly known as "Dracula's Castle" (although it is one among several locations linked to the Dracula legend, including Poienari Castle and Hunyad Castle), it is marketed as the home of the titular character in Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is, however, no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle. There is evidence, however, that Vlad Tepes actually did use the castle during his raids into Transylvania. The castle is now a museum open to tourists, displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie. Tourists can see the interior individually or by a guided tour.

Hunyad Castle (Romania)

 

 

The Hunyad Castle (Romanian: Castelul Huniazilor or Castelul Corvineştilor, Hungarian: Vajdahunyad vára) is a castle in Transylvanian Hunedoara, present-day Romania. Until 1541 it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and after the Principality of Transylvania. The castle is a relic of the Hunyadi dynasty. In the 14th century, the castle was given to John Hunyadi Serb, or Sorb by Sigismund king of Hungary as severance. The castle was restored between 1446 and 1453 by his grandson John Hunyadi. It was built mainly in Gothic style, but has Renaissance architectural elements. It features tall and strong defense towers, an interior yard and a drawbridge.

Peleş Castle (Romania)

Mirip rumah Bobo

Today a historical monument, Peleş Castle (Romanian: Castelul Peleş ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle placed in an idyllic setting in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914; its inauguration was held in 1883. King Carol I of the Romanians (1839–1914), one of the great Romanian kings and conqueror of the National Independence, first visited the region and future site of the castle in 1866, when he fell in love with the rugged but magnificent mountain scenery. So, in 1872, a total of one thousand "pogoane", approx. 1,300 acres (5.3 km2), was purchased by the King and Piatra Arsa region becomes The Royal Domain of Sinaia, destined to be a royal hunting preserve and summer retreat for the monarch.

Braemar Castle (Scotland)

Braemar Castle is situated near the village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the ancestral home and seat of Clan Farquharson and is leased to a local charitable foundation. It is open to the public. From the Late Middle Ages the castle was a stronghold of the Earls of Mar. The first tower of Braemar Castle was constructed in 1628 by John Erskine, 18th Earl of Mar as a hunting lodge and to counter the rising power of the Farquharsons, replacing the older Kindrochit Castle, which was sited nearby as early as the 11th century AD. The siting of the original Kindrochit Castle was based upon the strategic location of this site relative to historic crossings of the Grampian Mounth. An important garrison after 1745 Jacobite uprising, Braemar Castle had been attacked and burned by John Farquharson, the Black Colonel of Inverey in 1689.

Dirleton Castle (Scotland)

Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around 2 miles (3.2 km) west of North Berwick, and around 19 miles (31 km) east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by the end of the 17th century. Begun in around 1240 by John De Vaux, the castle was heavily damaged during the Wars of Scottish Independence, when it was twice taken by the English. In the 14th century, Dirleton was repaired by the Haliburton family, and it was acquired by the Ruthvens in 1505. The Ruthvens were involved in several plots against Mary, Queen of Scots, and King James VI, and eventually forfeited the castle in 1600.

Drum Castle (Scotland)

Drum Castle is a castle near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. For centuries it was the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine. The place-name Drum is derived from Gaelic druim, 'ridge'. The castle and its grounds were granted to William de Irwyn in 1325 by Robert the Bruce, and remained in the possession of Clan Irvine until 1975. William de Irwyn (of the Irvings of Bonshaw clan) was armour bearer/secretary (and neighbor) to King Robert the Bruce. Drum played a role in the Covenanting Rebellion (as did nearby Muchalls Castle) leading to its being attacked and sacked three times. The original 13th century tower of Drum Castle has been suggested as the work of medieval architect Richard Cementarius, who built the Bridge of Don in Old Aberdeen. It is believed to be one of the three oldest tower houses in Scotland (and notably unaltered)

Dunvegan Castle (Scotland)

Dunvegan Castle is a castle a mile and a half to the North of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, situated off the west coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the chiefs of the clan for nearly 800 years. Originally designed to keep people out, it was first opened to visitors in 1933. Since then, the castle is consistently ranked as one of Scotland's premier visitor attractions. Over the years, the castle has been visited by Sir Walter Scott, Dr Johnson, Queen Elizabeth II and the Japanese Emperor Akihito.

Edinburgh Castle (Scotland)

Edinburgh Castle is a castle fortress which dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. As one of the most important fortresses in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle has been involved in many historical conflicts, from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions. From the later 17th century, the castle became a military base, with a large garrison.

Eilean Donan Castle (Scotland)

 

 

Eilean Donan (Scottish Gaelic Eilean Donnáin), is a small island in Loch Duich in the western Highlands of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland by a footbridge and lies about half a mile from the village of Dornie. Eilean Donan (which means simply "island of Donnán") is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in the Dark Ages. The island is dominated by a picturesque castle. The original castle was built in the early 13th century as a defence against the Vikings. By the late 13th century it had become a stronghold of the Mackenzies of Kintail (later the Earls of Seaforth). In 1511, the Macraes, as protectors of the Mackenzies, became the hereditary Constables of the Castle.

Glamis Castle (Scotland)

Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamisin Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public. Glamis Castle was the childhood home of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, best known as the Queen Mother. Her second daughter, Princess Margaret, was born there. Since 1987 an illustration of the castle has featured on the reverse side of ten pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The estate surrounding the castle covers more than 14,000 acres (57 km²) and, in addition to the garden containing lush gardens and walking trails, produces several cash crops including lumber and beef. The two streams run through the estate, one of them the Glamis Burn. An arboretum overlooking Glamis Burn features trees from all over the world, many of them rare and several hundred years old.

Inverness Castle (Scotland)

Inverness Castle sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness, in Inverness, Scotland. The red sand stone structure evident today was built in 1836 by architect William Burn. It is built on the site of an 11th century defensive structure. Today, it houses Inverness Sheriff Court. There has been a castle at this site for many centuries. The castle itself is not open to the public but the grounds are. The castle is said to have been built by Máel Coluim III of Scotland, after he had razed to the ground the castle in which Macbeth of Scotland according to much later tradition, murdered Máel Coluim's father Donnchad I of Scotland, and which stood on a hill around 1 km to the north-east. Scotland held a parliament in the castle to which the northern chieftains were summoned, of whom three were executed for asserting an independent sovereignty.

Bojnice Castle (Slovakia)

Bojnice Castle (Slovak: Bojnický zámok) is a castle in Bojnice, Slovakia. It hosts the single most popular museum in Slovakia and has featured in many movies. He used to dictate them under his beloved linden tree, which is now known as the "Linden tree of King Matthias." After his death the castle became the property of the Zapolya family (see John Zapolya). The Thurzos, the richest family in the northern Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia), acquired the castle in 1528 and undertook its major reconstruction. The former fortress was turned into a Renaissance castle. From 1646 on, the castle's owners were the Palffys, who continued to rebuild the castle.

Orava Castle (Slovakia)

Orava Castle (Hungarian: Árva vára, German: Arwaburg, Slovak: Oravský hrad) is the name of a castle situated on a high rock, which was constructed in the 13th century. It is considered to be one of the most interesting castles in Slovakia. Many scenes of the 1922 film Nosferatu were filmed here, although until recently it was thought to have been shot in Transylvania. The natural rock formation known as "castle cliff" – a limy spur 112 meters (367 ft) high, surrounded by the Orava River and its right tributary stream Racova – has been inhabited since primeval times. During its history a wooden rampart became a strong walled castle of which the first written record dates back to 1267. At that time only the ground floor was built of stone, while the upper floors were made of wood.

Spiš Castle (Slovakia)

The ruins of Spiš Castle (Slovak: Spišský hrad, Hungarian: Szepesi vár, German: Zipser Burg) in eastern Slovakia form one of the largest castle sites in Central Europe. The castle is situated above the town of Spišské Podhradie and the village of Žehra, in the region known as Spiš (Hungarian: Szepes). It was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1993 (together with the adjacent locations of Spišská Kapitula, Spišské Podhradie and Žehra). Spiš Castle was built in the 12th century on the site of an earlier castle. It was the political, administrative, economic and cultural centre of Szepes County of Hungary.

Alcázar of Segovia (Spain)

The Alcázar of Segovia (literally, Segovia Castle) is a stone fortification, located in the old city of Segovia, Spain. Rising out on a rocky crag above the confluence of the rivers Eresma and Clamores near the Guadarrama mountains, it is one of the most distinctive castle-palaces in Spain by virtue of its shape – like the bow of a ship. The Alcázar was originally built as a fortress but has served as a royal palace, a state prison, a Royal Artillery College and a military academy since then. He added the sharp slate spires to reflect the castles of central Europe. In 1587, architect Francisco de Morar completed the main garden and the School of Honor areas of the castle. The Alcázar of Segovia, like many fortifications in Spain, started off as an Arab fort.

Castle of La Mota (Spain)

The Castle of the La Mota or Castillo de La Mota is a reconstructed medieval fortress, located in the town of Medina del Campo, province of Valladolid, Spain. It is so named because of its location on an elevated hill, a mota, from where it dominates the town and surrounding land. The adjacent town came to be surrounded by an expanding series of walls in subsequent years, of which little remains. It has been protected by the state as a site of cultural interest, or Bien de Interés Cultural since 1904.The castle itself was reconstructed in the twentieth century. Reconstruction was mainly pursued by the Falange government of Francisco Franco, who had a nostalgia for structures having links to the Catholic Kings. The castle's main feature is the large outer barbican. The interior castle has a trapezoidal plan, with 4 towers and a square yard.

Loarre Castle (Spain)

 

The complex was built largely during the 11th and 12th centuries, when its position on the frontier between Christian and Muslim lands gave it strategic importance. The first of the two major building programs began ca. 1020, when Sancho el Mayor (r. 1063-94) reconquered the surrounding lands from the Muslims. At least three towers, two of which survive, the Homage tower (Torre del Homenaje) and the "Tower of the Queen" (Torre de la Reina), as well as a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary of Valverde and connecting walls are attributed to this campaign. The Homage tower was built in an isolated position in front of the fortifications, to which it was connected by a wooden bridge. It contained a basement and five floors.

Palacio Real de Olite (Spain)

The Palacio Real (or Castillo) de Olite, fully Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra de Olite, was a palace and castle of the Kings of Navarre, constructed between the 13th and 15th centuries at Olite, northern Spain. The palace, which still stands, was a major seat of the royal court during the reign of Charles III. Originally a castle, in the 13th century it was amplified into a palace, its residential function predominating over its military. The palace's incoherent, but recognisably Gothic, design stems from its slow progress. Neither its construction nor its expansion were single projects taken up by single kings, rather it each monarch did whatever work he felt was necessary. The principal features of the construction, however, were added around the turn of the 15th century under Charles III.

 Coca Castle (Spain)

 

Castle of Coca was built in the 15th century for Archbishop Alonso de Fonseca I. It was considered as one of the best castles in Spain. The castle is a turreted structure of plaster and red brick, surrounded by a deep moat.



Source: Wikipedia & berbagai sumber