Great Castles Of Europe

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Château de Hautefort
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Château de Hautefort
The Château de Hautefort is a French château and gardens located in the town of Hautefort in the Dordogne. The castle originally was a medieval fortress that was reconstructed in the 17th century, and embellished with a Garden à la française. In 1853, the landscape architect, Count of Choulot, redid the gardens, adding a landscape garden, geometric flower gardens, topiary gardens imitating the domes of the château, and a long tunnel of greenery. Next to the formal gardens is a hill with an Italian garden with winding shaded paths. Notable trees in the park include a Magnolia grandiflora and a Cedar of Lebanon. The gardens are listed by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the Ministry of Culture of France as one of the Notable Gardens of France.

 

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Glamis Castle
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Glamis Castle
Near Glamis, Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom

Glamis Castle

Glamis Castle
Coordinates

56.6203°N 3.0024°W
Type agcs
Site information
Open to
the public Yes
Condition Preserved
Site history
Materials Stone
Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis /ˈɡlɑːmz/ in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public.

Glamis Castle has been the home of the Lyon family since the 14th century, though the present building dates largely from the 17th century. Glamis was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, wife of King George VI. Their second daughter, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, was born there.

The castle is protected as a category A listed building,[1] and the grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.[2]

 

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Leeds Castle
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Leeds Castle
Near Maidstone

Leeds Castle
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Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds.

A castle has existed on the site since 1119, the first being a simple stone stronghold constructed by Robert de Crevecoeur which served as a military post in the time of Norman intrusions into England. In the 13th century it came into the hands of King Edward I, for whom it became a favourite residence; in the 16th century, Henry VIII used it as a dwelling for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

The present castle dates mostly from the 19th century. It has been open to the public since 1976.

 

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Predjama Castle: The Castle in a Cave that Housed a Slovenian Robin Hood

5 February, 2018 - 14:02 dhwty
Predjama Castle: The Castle in a Cave that Housed a Slovenian Robin Hood

• Read Later

Once home to the Slovenian Robin Hood, Predjama Castle is a site rich in history. It is built into the mouth of a cave high up on a cliff and has a commanding view over the landscape. That position would have certainly helped a famed Slovenian knight when the army of the Holy Roman Emperor came knocking.

Predjama Castle is a castle situated to the northwest of the town of Postojna, in the traditional Slovenian region of Inner Carniola. This castle, which is located in the southwestern part of the country, is notable, amongst other things, for its position at the mouth of a cave halfway up a 123 meter (403 ft.) high cliff. Predjama Castle’s best-known resident was Erazem Lueger, a knight and well-known robber baron who is sometimes compared to Robin Hood.




Castle in Front of a Cave
Predjama’s Slovenian name, Predjamski grad , may be translated into English as ‘Castle in front of the cave’, which is an apt description of this defensive structure. The construction of the original Predjama Castle began in either the 12th or 13th century. The castle was built in the Gothic style, which was flourishing in Europe during that time. The entire castle was not built in one go, but in phases during the years that followed. The earliest reference to Predjama Castle is dated to 1274, and was referred to by its German name, ‘Luegg’.

• Modern Comfort and Traditional Opulence, The Perfect Combination in Peleș Castle
• Eilean Donan Castle: Idyllic Scottish Setting Carries a Dark History
• Female Phantoms of Stirling Castle: Ghostly Encounters with a Handmaiden and Her Queen

 

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Château de Pierrefonds


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Site history
Château de Pierrefonds
Part of Pierrefonds, Oise
Pierrefonds, Oise, France
Château de Pierrefonds in September 2004
Type	Medieval castle
Built	c. 1393-1407
Built by	Louis I de Valois, Duke of Orléans
Events	Hundred Years War

The Château de Pierrefonds (French pronunciation: [ʃɑto də pjɛʁfɔ̃]) is a castle situated in the commune of Pierrefonds in the Oise département (Picardy) of France.[1] It is on the southeast edge of the Forest of Compiègne, northeast of Paris, between Villers-Cotterêts and Compiègne.
The Château de Pierrefonds includes most of the characteristics of defensive military architecture from the Middle Ages, though it underwent a major restoration in the 19th century.

 

[Dalia]

CHÂTEAU DU PIN,Jura, France

Garden of the Pine Castle
Historic monument garden and remarkable garden.

It is composed of 18 different levels: its set of basins, its topiary art UNIQUE IN EUROPE, its vegetable garden and its collection of old vegetables, a wide variety of roses of delphinium and of plants, more than a hundred yew in a garden of fairy tale,the orangery and its citrus collections...

-Classified site and historic monument

-Garden in the Loire Valley, UNESCO World Heritage Site

-Remarkable garden label

-1st prize of the French horticultural society

Jardin du château du pin - Beaux jardins et Potagers

 

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Castel Sant' Angelo, Rome:

 

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Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, France

The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 kilometres (34 mi) southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne département of France.

Constructed from 1658 to 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, Marquis de Belle Île, Viscount of Melun and Vaux, the superintendent of finances of Louis XIV, the château was an influential work of architecture in mid-17th-century Europe. At Vaux-le-Vicomte, the architect Louis Le Vau, the landscape architect André le Nôtre, and the painter-decorator Charles Le Brun worked together on a large-scale project for the first time. Their collaboration marked the beginning of the "Louis XIV style" combining architecture, interior design and landscape design. The garden's pronounced visual axis is an example of this style.[1]

Once a small château between the royal residences of Vincennes and Fontainebleau, the estate of Vaux-le-Vicomte was purchased in 1641 by Nicolas Fouquet, an ambitious 26-year-old member of the Parlement of Paris. Fouquet was an avid patron of the arts, attracting many artists with his generosity.

When Fouquet became King Louis XIV's superintendant of finances in 1657, he commissioned Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre to renovate his estate and garden to match his grand ambition. Fouquet’s artistic and cultivated personality subsequently brought out the best in the three.[2]

To secure the necessary grounds for the elaborate plans for Vaux-le-Vicomte’s garden and castle, Fouquet purchased and demolished three villages. The displaced villagers were then employed in the upkeep and maintenance of the gardens. It was said to have employed 18 thousand workers and cost as much as 16 million livres.[3]

The château and its patron became for a short time a focus for fine feasts, literature and arts. The poet Jean de La Fontaine and the playwright Molière were among the artists close to Fouquet. At the inauguration of Vaux-le-Vicomte, a Molière play was performed, along with a dinner event organized by François Vatel and an impressive firework show.[4]

Links

Vaux-le-Vicomte - Wikipedia
Day trip from Paris to Vaux le Vicomte
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte - Vaux le Vicomte

Many of those beautiful chateaux have fallen into neglect and disrepair.

Fortunately some of them are being bought up, and lovingly restored to their former glory.

 

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Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, France

The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 kilometres (34 mi) southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne département of France.

Constructed from 1658 to 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, Marquis de Belle Île, Viscount of Melun and Vaux, the superintendent of finances of Louis XIV, the château was an influential work of architecture in mid-17th-century Europe. At Vaux-le-Vicomte, the architect Louis Le Vau, the landscape architect André le Nôtre, and the painter-decorator Charles Le Brun worked together on a large-scale project for the first time. Their collaboration marked the beginning of the "Louis XIV style" combining architecture, interior design and landscape design. The garden's pronounced visual axis is an example of this style.[1]

Once a small château between the royal residences of Vincennes and Fontainebleau, the estate of Vaux-le-Vicomte was purchased in 1641 by Nicolas Fouquet, an ambitious 26-year-old member of the Parlement of Paris. Fouquet was an avid patron of the arts, attracting many artists with his generosity.

When Fouquet became King Louis XIV's superintendant of finances in 1657, he commissioned Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre to renovate his estate and garden to match his grand ambition. Fouquet’s artistic and cultivated personality subsequently brought out the best in the three.[2]

To secure the necessary grounds for the elaborate plans for Vaux-le-Vicomte’s garden and castle, Fouquet purchased and demolished three villages. The displaced villagers were then employed in the upkeep and maintenance of the gardens. It was said to have employed 18 thousand workers and cost as much as 16 million livres.[3]

The château and its patron became for a short time a focus for fine feasts, literature and arts. The poet Jean de La Fontaine and the playwright Molière were among the artists close to Fouquet. At the inauguration of Vaux-le-Vicomte, a Molière play was performed, along with a dinner event organized by François Vatel and an impressive firework show.[4]

Links

Vaux-le-Vicomte - Wikipedia
Day trip from Paris to Vaux le Vicomte
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte - Vaux le Vicomte

Many of those beautiful chateaux have fallen into neglect and disrepair.

Fortunately some of them are being bought up, and lovingly restored to their former glory.

Socialism has been the baine of any aristocracy.
You wouldn't have these great buildings without the rich.

 

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Never fails to take one’s breath away.

Windsor Castle.

 

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I think this is the greatest castle of them all.

I give you Doune Castle, as seen in Monty Python & The Holy Grail"

 

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Trakai Island Castle (Lithuanian: Trakų salos pilis) is an island castle located in Trakai, Lithuania, on an island in Lake Galvė. The construction of the stone castle was begun in the 14th century by Kęstutis, and around 1409 major works were completed by his son Vytautas the Great, who died in this castle in 1430. Trakai was one of the main centers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the castle held great strategic importance. The castle was rebuilt in the 1950s - 1960s by Lithuanian initiative, although, it had received resistance from soviet authorities. The Trakai History Museum was established after the reconstruction. [1]

Trakai Island Castle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Hohenwerfen Castle (German: Festung Hohenwerfen, lit. 'Hohenwerfen Fortress') is a medieval rock castle, situated on a 623-metre (2,044 ft)[1] precipice overlooking the Austrian market town of Werfen in the Salzach valley, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Salzburg. The fortress is surrounded by the Berchtesgaden Alps and the adjacent Tennen Mountains. Hohenwerfen is a "sister" of Hohensalzburg Fortress, both built by the Archbishops of Salzburg in the 11th century.

Hohenwerfen Castle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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The Eagle’s Nest today – a legacy of recent history

The eagle's nest became a legend in the postwar period, and apparently its use as a visual motif in popular US war films and series.

www.kehlsteinhaus.de

 

[francoHFW]

Fantastic gardens and canals there. A chateau is a great place for a picnic exclamation point and we took a Citroen 2CV there lol. In 1971.