5 Most Fascinating facts about castles in the world

• Mont Saint-Michel: a Medieval Castle on a Small Island

 

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Mont St Michel France is situated on a quasi-island on the Normandy coast, near Brittany, which at high tide is almost entirely separated from the mainland. Only a narrow causeway, constructed in the 1880s preserves a link to the coast. Beware: the tide comes in quickly - many tourists have drowned attempting to cross the sandy bay. Unlike other castles in France, which began as defensive structures or pleasure palaces, Mont St Michel had its beginnings as a monastery. Today, the Castle attracts over four million visitors a year, far more than most castles in France and has been featured in numerous movies, cartoons, and even videogames.

• Predjamski Castle: Integrated in a Cave

Every castle in the world is unique in some way, no two are the same, but this one --even though it's rather small and humble compared to some-- is probably the only one in the world who is integrated in a cave, precisely the second largest cave system in Slovenia. Its name, Predjamski Grad, literally means "Castle in Front of the Cave."

The castle wasn't built in one go; first written records exist from 13th century, though the first part (left wing) was probably built in the first half of 12th century. Middle part was added in renaissance, and the right wing was build around 1570. Some things were added and changed later, but since 1990 renovation work is in progress, restoring it to the original 16th century .

• Prague Castle: World's Largest Ancient Castle

One of the biggest castles in the world, and according to Guinness Book of Records, the biggest ancient castle, Prague Castle is about 570 meters in length and an average of 130 meters wide. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here, and it was the place where the Czech kings, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their .

• Löwenburg Castle: The Disneyland of the 18th century

Within the Wilhelmshöhe Hill Park which sits on one end of the city of Kassel, there stands what appears to be a medieval castle. However, the Löwenburg or "Lion's Castle" was ordered to be built by the Landgrave Wilhelm IX from Hessen Kassel (1743 -1821), the Walt Disney of his era, over a period of eight years between 1793 and 1801 as a romantic ruin. It was carefully designed by his royal court building inspector Heinrich Christoph Jussow who had gone to England specifically to study romantic English ruins and draw up a plan for the Landgrave's garden folly. Today scholars regard Löwenburg Castle ruins as one of the most significant buildings of its genre, in addition to being one of the first major neo-Gothic buildings in .

• Palacio da Pena: Oldest Palace inspired by European Romanticism

The oldest palace inspired by European Romanticism, the Pena National Palace in Portugal stands on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon. First built in the 15th century as a palace, it was later reconstructed and donated to the church as a monastery. An earthquake in 1755 ruined most of it, until Prince Fernando acquired it in 1838 rebuilt it. The style of the palace is an eclectic combination of the original and subsequent styles, plus Romantic, Bavarian, and Moorish architecture, plus an English .

source : (matt & isabel)