2. 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!

3. AIRTHREY CASTLE SCOTLAND BUILT 1791

4. ALCAZAR CASTLE SEGOVIA SPAIN STARTED IN 12 th CENTURY

5. AMBOISE CASTLE LOIRE VALLEY-FRANCE STARTED IN 15 th CENTURY

6. ARAGONESE CASTLE ISCHIA ITALY STARTED IN 1438

7. ARUNDEL CASTLE NORFOLK ENGLAND STARTED IN 11 th CENTURY

8. BAMBURGH CASTLE NORTHUMBERLAND ENGLAND STARTED 6 th CENTURY

9. BERWICK CASTLE ENGLAND 12 th CENTURY

10. BLED CASTLE SLOVENIA STARTED 1004

11. CHAMBORD CASTLE LOIRE FRANCE 13 th CENTURY

12. BODIAM CASTLE SCOTLAND STARTED IN 12 th CENTURY

13. BONAGUIL CASTLE GARONNE FRANCE STARTED IN 1250

14. BOJNICE CASTLE CROATIA 12 tH CENTURY

15. BRAN (DRACULA) CASTLE ROMANIA STARTED 1212

16. BRETESCHE CASTLE FRANCE 15 tH CENTURY

17. BUNRATTY CASTLE IRELAND STARTED IN 1425

18. CAERNARFON CASTLE WALES STARTED IN 1283

19. CARDIFF CASTLE WALES 12 th CENTURY

20. CAWDORL CASTLE SCOTLAND 14tH CENTURY

21. CHAMBORD CASTLE LOIRE FRANCE 16 th CENTURY

22. CHANTILLY CASTLE PARIS SUBURBS FRANCE 1719

23. CHAMONT CASTLE LOIRE FRANCE 15 th CENTURY

24. CHENONCEAU CASTLE LOIRE FRANCE STARTED IN 1430

25. CHILLON CASTLE SWITZERLAND STARTED 9 th CENTURY

26. CLIFDEN CASTLE IRELAND BUILT IN 1812

27. COCHEM CASTLE GERMANY 1354

28. COMTAL CASTLE CARCASSONNE FRANCE STARTED IN 1130

29. DE HAAR CASTLE NETHERLANDS 14 th CENTURY

30. DOBROVIN CASTLE SCOTLAND STARTED 15 th CENTURY

31. DUNGUAIRE CASTLE IRELAND 1520

32. MY TYPE OF VACATION!YOUR TYPE OF VACATION? GET UP AND GO VISIT SOME PLACE! Presentation by Dan Calistrat dcalistrat@aol.com Pictures from Internet End of part 1of 3