Which country builds the most beautiful castles?

[Ülev]

Photos?

https://www.theapricity.com/forum/sh...United-Kingdom

[frankhammer]

The English castles look like the impressive fortifications they should be. The German and French look more like fortified palaces (some just plain palaces).

Although I'm sure there are many I'm unaware of throughout the continent.

[Div1]

Spain, to shake things up a bit

[frankhammer]

Spain, to shake things up a bit

Some impressive fortifications, indeed.

[Roy]

France, Germany. Poland & Romania has some cool ones.

[renaissance12]

What is it a Castle ?

[Ülev]

What is it a Castle ?

Castle Party, like in Bolków (Hain, Bolkenhain)

https://castleparty.com/

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolkoburg

[♥ Lily ♥]

English, Scottish, and Welsh castles were built for the purposes of being practical and functional defence fortresses.... rather than being built for ornamental purposes....complete with thick walls, drawbridges, moats, dungeons, portcullises, slitted windows and groofed roofs... designed for bows and arrows during battles, trapdoors for enemies, etc. They have a lot of legendary and interesting history behind them where fierce battles took place, etc.

My favourite English castle is Warwick Castle near the River Avon.


And Bodiam Castle (which was one of the castles which I visited during a school trip there with my Church of England primary school.) It's a fascinating place inside.




The 1000 year old Tower of London is also officially classified as a castle and it's a historic defence fortress. Beefeaters give tourists daily guides around the site. I've visited inside the massive place and it's absolutely full of delicious tales of ghosts, horror, legends... and also it's the scene of many bloodcurdling and gruesome tortures and executions.

The Tower is said to be haunted by many ghosts... including the ghosts of the two prince boys who were locked inside the Tower by their evil uncle after their father (the King) had died... and his sons were too young to succeed the throne, so their uncle (the dead King's brother) became the King until the boys were old enough to succeed him as the next in line to the throne ... but he wanted his nephews dead so that he could continue to remain as the King. Their young skeletons were later discovered underneath a staircase a few hundred years later and the skeletons were subsequently moved and buried inside Westminster Abbey, (a very historic place where English monarchs are baptised and wedded and buried.)



Anyone who was taken to be held as a captive inside 'The Tower' knew that their fate was doomed.

You can visit inside the prisons and dungeons inside the Tower.












It's where Kings and Queens were taken for many centuries and held within the dungeons inside the Tower of London... before being publicly beheaded and executed outside of the Tower.... such as Lady Jane Grey (a 15 year old Protestant Queen of England for 9 days who was executed 6 months later at the Tower upon the orders of the extremely unpopular Catholic 'Bloody Mary' Queen who signed Lady Jane's death warrant.)


Two of Henry VIII's numerous wives.... including Anne Boleyn (the mother of Queen Elizabeth I) were executed at the Tower of London... William Wallace was briefly held at the Tower too before his gruesome execution. Other people (commoners) were tortured inside the London Dugeons (another popular tourist attraction here, not far from the Tower of London, where tortures are renacted for the crowds inside.)

Legend has it that if the famous ravens ever fly away from the Tower of London - the monarch shall fall.

Lots of tourists vist The Tower of London each year and like to see the UK Crown Jewels on display. Only one person is allowed to handle the Crown Jewels and they must be transported via a secret journey and carried in an unmarked box.





A funny and charismatic Yeoman Warder (popularly known as 'Beefeaters') guiding tourists about the history behind the Tower of London... which was built by William the Conqueror.

4:40 Traitors gate... traders gate. 5:48 'Mel Gibson should've been brought through these gates for his poor portayal of William Wallace in Braveheart...'


French castles were designed to be more ostentatious and ornamental.

I think the French castles of the Loire Valley and Bavarian castles in Germany are the most ornamental and beautiful.

Neuschwanstein Castle (Bavaria, Germany) is a like a fairytale magical castle. It's the most beautiful castle that I've ever seen. My mother has visited this castle and she loved it.




A French château (castle) in the Loire Valley.... very elegant and ornamental.

[KMack]

They all look awesome! Here is a fake castle water tower in the USA.

[Cristiano viejo]

I think France and Germany built palaces rather than castles.