E uropean Castles had their origins dating back to around A.D. 900 to 1000 and played a great role in the then military system of feudalism. During the Middle Ages, Europe was a vastly divided continent to that which we have come to know today. She was made up of many tiny feudal states and local conflicts between neighboring states were common. Castles were first built for defense against attacking armies of war torn feudal Europe and were necessary to help protect the villages and their lords. As Europe grew and the states merged or were conquered, the castle was built as a place of government over the local populace. By 1500, castles became much less important in Europe. Cannons were invented, so it was easy to invade, capture and destroy a castle. The date indicated on the slides is when the construction was started. Many changes and additions were done during the years. There is some confusion between the difference between a castle and a palace. A castle formed the center of a county and was also its defense. In times of war people could seek refuge at the castle. It was also the dwelling of the lord of that particular county. A palace is a very luxurious home for wealthy people, built by anybody who had money enough to build and maintain it and had nothing to do with defense. Some palaces are wrongly named castles. For instance the Peles Castle from Romania is really a summer palace. The selection of the pictures for this presentation is far from complete. There are many more hundreds of castles in Europe that are not shown. The castles are shown in alphabetical order. To avoid boredom, by seeing too many pictures at one time, the presentation is divided in three parts. Enjoy!
AIRTHREY CASTLE SCOTLAND BUILT 1791
ALCAZAR CASTLE SEGOVIA SPAIN STARTED IN 12 th CENTURY
AMBOISE CASTLE LOIRE VALLEY-FRANCE STARTED IN 15 th CENTURY
ARAGONESE CASTLE ISCHIA ITALY STARTED IN 1438
ARUNDEL CASTLE NORFOLK ENGLAND STARTED IN 11 th CENTURY
BAMBURGH CASTLE NORTHUMBERLAND ENGLAND STARTED 6 th CENTURY
BERWICK CASTLE ENGLAND 12 th CENTURY
BLED CASTLE SLOVENIA STARTED 1004
CHAMBORD CASTLE LOIRE FRANCE 13 th CENTURY
BODIAM CASTLE SCOTLAND STARTED IN 12 th CENTURY
BONAGUIL CASTLE GARONNE FRANCE STARTED IN 1250
BOJNICE CASTLE CROATIA 12 tH CENTURY
BRAN (DRACULA) CASTLE ROMANIA STARTED 1212
BRETESCHE CASTLE FRANCE 15 tH CENTURY
BUNRATTY CASTLE IRELAND STARTED IN 1425
CAERNARFON CASTLE WALES STARTED IN 1283
CARDIFF CASTLE WALES 12 th CENTURY
CAWDORL CASTLE SCOTLAND 14tH CENTURY
CHAMBORD CASTLE LOIRE FRANCE 16 th CENTURY
CHANTILLY CASTLE PARIS SUBURBS FRANCE 1719
CHAMONT CASTLE LOIRE FRANCE 15 th CENTURY
CHENONCEAU CASTLE LOIRE FRANCE STARTED IN 1430
CHILLON CASTLE SWITZERLAND STARTED 9 th CENTURY
CLIFDEN CASTLE IRELAND BUILT IN 1812
COCHEM CASTLE GERMANY 1354
COMTAL CASTLE CARCASSONNE FRANCE STARTED IN 1130
DE HAAR CASTLE NETHERLANDS 14 th CENTURY
DOBROVIN CASTLE SCOTLAND STARTED 15 th CENTURY
DUNGUAIRE CASTLE IRELAND 1520
MY TYPE OF VACATION!YOUR TYPE OF VACATION? GET UP AND GO VISIT SOME PLACE! Presentation by Dan Calistrat Pictures from Internet End of part 1of 3