Castles & Palaces
In my journeys, I have had the opportunity to see many castles and palaces throughout the Isles and Europe. When we hear castle, visions often come to mind of King Arthur's Camelot, C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia Cair Paravel, Winterfell from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire or even Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. They were a mixture of functioning structures often with residents or sometimes a military detachment, restored castles for tourists and partial and ruined castles sometimes amounting to no more than a pile of stones. Many of them have appeared in movies and TV series and many are even haunted.
Here I present them in the order that I first encountered them. This list in no way comes close to exhausting the total number of castles and palaces.
C astles
Castles began to appear in Europe in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Prior to this, most fortifications tended to be hill forts built in the manner of the Romans. Initially rising in Italy and Spain, they were generally constructed from timber or mud bricks. In the 11th century, growth in castles increased, partly caused by skirmishes between local city states and also by the incursion of the Moors into Spain. During the Crusades from the late 11th through the late 12th centuries, Crusaders brought back many innovations from the Middle East. The majority of 13th century European castles were created by Military Orders of Knights Hospitaller, Knights Templar, and Teutonic Knights. By the 17th century, the creation of new castles declined sharply. However, many stayed in use by aristocratic families and military. A brief interest in castle construction returned in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Early castles in the British Isles were encouraged by the Vikings who regularly raided the Isles from the 780s.
With the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, castles began to spring up throughout England and Wales and then into Scotland. Royal castles were employed to control key towns while Baronial castles were used by Norman lords to control their estates. With the Norman invasion of Ireland by Henry II in the late 12th century, castles began to be built there.
Earliest castles were built in the Motte and Bailey model. The Motte was a hill, often man made, on which a fort was built. Below the Motte was a walled courtyard, the Bailey, surrounded by a ditch and palisade, a wooden defensive wall.
As castles became more sophisticated, the Motte evolved to a stone Keep and the Bailey wall also became stone. The stone wall included towers from which archers could command the surrounding bare ground. The Stone Keep castle was often encompassed by a water Moat complete with a drawbridge and Barbican, a tower gateway.
The ultimate version of the castle is the Concentric Castle. This is basically a Stone Keep with an additional outer wall complete with towers and a second, or outer, Bailey between the walls. The important buildings were contained within the inner Bailey. The outer wall might include a Barbican and surrounded by a Moat.
Another type of castle is the Tower Castle. It consists mainly of a fortified Tower, with no Bailey and often without a surrounding wall. While it may look like nothing more than a fortified house, it often contains crenellations on the top and arrow loops for archers. They can be either round (drum tower) or rectangular.
P alaces
A Castle is built mainly for protection and safety and are made from tough materials like stone and brick. Often drafty and with little natural light, they were not the primary dwelling of those with means. Palaces are more elaborate and extravagant, often designed by an architect.
It is a grand residence with windows and light and is meant to display the wealth of the owner. Although palaces are large residences and may have walls around them, they do not have high curtain walls and were not designed for military purposes.
Compared to Palaces, Castles are rather modern developments. One of the earliest known palaces was the Assyrian Palace of Nimrud built in the 9th century BC. And there were the palaces of Bronze Age Greece at Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos. The Palace of Domitian were the palaces that were the homes of the Roman Emperors from the late 1st to the 5th centuries AD. The best known "modern" palaces include the French Palace of Versailles and Buckingham Palace in London.
Among the palaces I have visited, two fall in the list of the five most valuable palaces in the World. The Palace of Versailles in France is second on the list with an estimated value varying from $40B to $50B. Buckingham Palace in London, England, is fifth with estimated to be worth from $4B to $7B. The number one palace on the list is the Forbidden City in China at about $70B.
Here I present them in the order that I first encountered them. This list in no way comes close to exhausting the total number of castles and palaces.
Castles began to appear in Europe in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Prior to this, most fortifications tended to be hill forts built in the manner of the Romans. Initially rising in Italy and Spain, they were generally constructed from timber or mud bricks. In the 11th century, growth in castles increased, partly caused by skirmishes between local city states and also by the incursion of the Moors into Spain. During the Crusades from the late 11th through the late 12th centuries, Crusaders brought back many innovations from the Middle East. The majority of 13th century European castles were created by Military Orders of Knights Hospitaller, Knights Templar, and Teutonic Knights. By the 17th century, the creation of new castles declined sharply. However, many stayed in use by aristocratic families and military. A brief interest in castle construction returned in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
| Country Castles | Country Castles | Country Castles |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan 16 | Ghana 14 | Netherlands 1200 |
| Albania 38 | Greece 800 | New Zealand 2 |
| Argentina 1 | Guernsey 36 | North Macedonia 76 |
| Armenia 293 | Hungary 103 | Norway 153 |
| Austria 40 | Iran 482 | Pakistan 66 |
| Azerbaijan 106 | Iraq 9 | Poland 354 |
| Belarus 29 | Ireland 30000 | Portugal 282 |
| Belgium 3000 | Isle of Man 6 | Romania 310 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina 60 | Israel 8 | Russia 63 |
| Brazil 22 | Italy 45000 | Saudi Arabia 19 |
| Bulgaria 34 | Japan 264 | Serbia 54 |
| Canada 69 | Jersey 36 | Slovakia 134 |
| China 27 | Jordan 14 | Slovenia 59 |
| Croatia 115 | Kenya 2 | South Africa 5 |
| Cuba 4 | Latvia 37 | Spain |
| Cyprus 18 | Lebanon 18 | Sri Lanka 40 |
| Czech Republic 2000 | Libya 3 | Sweden 224 |
| Denmark 167 | Liechtenstein 5 | Switzerland 500 |
| Dominican Republic 1 | Lithuania 17 | Syria 43 |
| Egypt 37 | Luxembourg 65 | Turkey 95 |
| Estonia 43 | Malta 3 | Ukraine 55 |
| Ethiopia 3 | Mexico 5 | United Kingdom 4000 |
| Finland 22 | Moldova 1 | United States 303 |
| France 40000 | Mongolia 5 | Venezuela 6 |
| Germany 25000 | Namibia 4 | Yemen 5 |
| Data From https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/castles-by-country | ||
Early castles in the British Isles were encouraged by the Vikings who regularly raided the Isles from the 780s.
With the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, castles began to spring up throughout England and Wales and then into Scotland. Royal castles were employed to control key towns while Baronial castles were used by Norman lords to control their estates. With the Norman invasion of Ireland by Henry II in the late 12th century, castles began to be built there.
Earliest castles were built in the Motte and Bailey model. The Motte was a hill, often man made, on which a fort was built. Below the Motte was a walled courtyard, the Bailey, surrounded by a ditch and palisade, a wooden defensive wall.
As castles became more sophisticated, the Motte evolved to a stone Keep and the Bailey wall also became stone. The stone wall included towers from which archers could command the surrounding bare ground. The Stone Keep castle was often encompassed by a water Moat complete with a drawbridge and Barbican, a tower gateway.
The ultimate version of the castle is the Concentric Castle. This is basically a Stone Keep with an additional outer wall complete with towers and a second, or outer, Bailey between the walls. The important buildings were contained within the inner Bailey. The outer wall might include a Barbican and surrounded by a Moat.
Another type of castle is the Tower Castle. It consists mainly of a fortified Tower, with no Bailey and often without a surrounding wall. While it may look like nothing more than a fortified house, it often contains crenellations on the top and arrow loops for archers. They can be either round (drum tower) or rectangular.
A Castle is built mainly for protection and safety and are made from tough materials like stone and brick. Often drafty and with little natural light, they were not the primary dwelling of those with means. Palaces are more elaborate and extravagant, often designed by an architect.
It is a grand residence with windows and light and is meant to display the wealth of the owner. Although palaces are large residences and may have walls around them, they do not have high curtain walls and were not designed for military purposes.
Compared to Palaces, Castles are rather modern developments. One of the earliest known palaces was the Assyrian Palace of Nimrud built in the 9th century BC. And there were the palaces of Bronze Age Greece at Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos. The Palace of Domitian were the palaces that were the homes of the Roman Emperors from the late 1st to the 5th centuries AD. The best known "modern" palaces include the French Palace of Versailles and Buckingham Palace in London.
Among the palaces I have visited, two fall in the list of the five most valuable palaces in the World. The Palace of Versailles in France is second on the list with an estimated value varying from $40B to $50B. Buckingham Palace in London, England, is fifth with estimated to be worth from $4B to $7B. The number one palace on the list is the Forbidden City in China at about $70B.
| Country Palaces | Country Palaces | Country Palaces | Country Palaces | Country Palaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan 3 | Chile 3 | Indonesia 99 | Morocco 24 | Singapore 6 |
| Albania 1 | China 29 | Iran 31 | Nepal 39 | Slovakia 60 |
| Algeria 1 | Colombia 3 | Iraq 4 | New Zealand 3 | Spain 19 |
| Armenia 29 | Croatia 32 | Italy 897 | Nigeria 6 | Sri Lanka 2 |
| Australia 11 | Denmark 9 | Japan 21 | Oman 7 | Sweden 14 |
| Austria 6 | Egypt 76 | Jordan 1 | Pakistan 21 | Syria 19 |
| Azerbaijan 64 | Estonia 2 | Korea 29 | Paraguay 3 | Thailand 40 |
| Bangladesh 15 | Ethiopia 1 | Kuwait 7 | Peru 7 | Tonga 1 |
| Belarus 11 | Finland 1 | Laos 3 | Philippines 12 | Tunisia 1 |
| Belgium 15 | France 71 | Latvia 15 | Poland 76 | Turkey 21 |
| Bolivia 1 | Georgia 6 | Lebanon 18 | Portugal 75 | Turkmenistan 2 |
| Brazil 63 | Germany 191 | Lithuania 10 | Qatar 11 | Ukraine 34 |
| Brunei 10 | Ghana 4 | Luxembourg 1 | Romania 40 | United Kingdom 70 |
| Bulgaria 28 | Greece 12 | Malaysia 97 | Russia 55 | United States 47 |
| Burundi 1 | Haiti 1 | Mexico 18 | Rwanda 1 | Venezuela 1 |
| Cambodia 4 | Hungary 3 | Monaco 2 | Saudi Arabia 6 | Vietnam 6 |
| Canada 12 | India 204 | Mongolia 4 | Serbia 57 | |
| Data From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_palaces | ||||
| Click a specific Castle, Palace or Country | ||
|---|---|---|
| English & Welsh | Doune Castle | Carrickfergus Castle |
| Another Damn Castle | Duart Castle | Dunguaire Castle |
| Arundel Castle | Dundonald Castle | Dunluce Castle |
| Blenheim Palace | Dunrobin Castle | Glenarm Castle |
| Buckingham Palace | Edinburgh Castle | Kilkenny Castle |
| Caldicot Castle | Eilean Donan Castle | Kylemore Abbey |
| Sudeley Castle | Floors Castle | Malahide Castle |
| Tower of London | Glamis Castle | O'Brien's Tower |
| Scottish | Lochmaben Castle | Powerscourt Estate |
| Abbotsford | Scone Palace | The Rock of Cashel |
| Blackness Castle | Stirling Castle | Yet Another Damn Castle |
| Blair Castle | Turnberry Castle | European |
| Castle Caerlaverock | Urquhart Castle | Chateau de La Roche-Guyon |
| Castle of Mey | Irish | Chateau Gaillard |
| Castle Stalker | Another Damn Castle | Fortezza Medicea |
| Corgarff Castle | Blarney Castle | Palace of Versailles |
| Crathes Castle | Bunratty Castle | |
To English & Welsh Castles & Palaces