CastlesPalaces (2025)

22/05/2025

Pena Palace, Portugal.

The castle's history started in the Middle Ages when a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena was built on the top of the hill above Sintra.
In 1493, King John II, accompanied by his wife Queen Leonor, made a pilgrimage to the site to fulfill a vow. His successor, King Manuel I, was also very fond of this sanctuary, and ordered the construction of a monastery on this site which was donated to the Order of Saint Jerome. In the 18th century the monastery was severely damaged by lightning. However, it was the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, occurring shortly afterwards, that took the heaviest toll on the monastery, reducing it to ruins. For many decades the ruins remained untouched, but they still astonished young prince Ferdinand. In 1838, as King consort Ferdinand II, he decided to acquire the old monastery, all of the surrounding lands, the nearby Castle of the Moors and a few other estates in the area. King Ferdinand then set out to transform the remains of the monastery into a palace that would serve as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family.
After the death of Ferdinand the palace passed into the possession of his second wife Elisa Hensler, Countess of Edla. The latter then sold the palace to King Luís, who wanted to retrieve it for the royal family, and thereafter the palace was frequently used by the family. In 1889 it was purchased by the Portuguese State, and after the Republican Revolution of 1910 it was classified as a national monument and transformed into a museum.
In 1995, the palace and the rest of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra were classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
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21/05/2025

Löwenburg Castle, Germany

Set in the scenery of the Bergpark above Wilhelmshöhe Palace, the castle of Löwenburg, built between 1793 and 1801, was among the earliest mock-medieval »ruins« of Continental Europe. Landgrave Wilhelm IX (r. 1785–1821, later Elector Wilhelm I) commissioned his court architect, Heinrich Christoph Jussow (1754–1825), to create the building. The castle was intended to serve two purposes: on the one hand it provided the Landgrave with a maison de plaisance, on the other it was designed to represent the historical status of the House of Hesse, which had been in power since the Middle Ages.
Although the structure resembles a semi-ruined knight’s castle from the outside, its interior conforms to the characteristic layout of a Baroque country palace. It also includes, besides the princely apartments, an armoury and a Neo-Gothic chapel. The castle’s patron found his final resting place in the crypt beneath the chapel.
The castle’s artfully ruinous appearance became a sad fact when the keep and other parts of the structure were destroyed during WWII. Construction work is underway to restore the keep, reinforce the existing structure, and re-furnish the rooms with their original furniture and fittings. Once the work is complete, visitors will be able to experience Löwenburg as it looked in the time of Elector Wilhelm I.
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02/08/2024

Monzie Castle, Scotland.

The oldest part of the castle dates from 1634. The main part was completed in 1795 by Robert Paterson, previously clerk of works to the celebrated Robert Adam.
Monzie Castle is a large castellated mansion which incorporates a small early 17th-century L-plan tower house, much extended and remodelled in 1791. It was a property of the Campbells from early times until 1869, when it was sold to the Johnstones of Lathrisk.
In 1908 a serious fire took hold of the castle with only the outside walls remaining. The leading Scottish architect of the day, Sir Robert Lorimer was instructed to restore the castle. His lifelong affinity with traditional Scottish architecture saw him encourage and develop a number of Edinburgh craftsmen and workshops, whose work is on display as part of a harmonious piece of design.
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30/07/2024

Château de Romefort, France

The keep was built between 1180 and 1190.
From 1309 to 1452, it was owned by the Culants. George de Sully acquired it in 1452 but the joint ownership between his children was the prelude to its abandonment. Romefort was then purchased on April 10, 1548 by Pierre de Segondat, general of finance of Guyenne. After his death it was his son-in-law, Jean d’Harambure who became lord of Romefort for the entire domain. He exercises active management and makes various acquisitions to expand the estate. His son Jean d’Harambure, at the head of a considerable fortune thanks to his wife Marie Tallemant, continues this active management. He was killed in Italy during the Battle of the Route in 1640 and it was his brother Henri d’Harambure who succeeded him in his fiefdoms.
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes and its consequences led the descendants of the famous “Borgne”, who remained Protestants, to take refuge in Preuilly-sur-Claise and abandon Romefort. A series of trials followed which only ended after compensation from Jean Samuel, Marquis of Harambure and governor of Poitiers.
Romefort was then in the hands of the Marquis de Belabre until the Revolution which marked the disappearance of the lordship and the division of the land. The castle was then acquired by the Bondy family.
The Château de Romefort was restored between 1872 and 1877 in the “troubadour style” under the direction of Alexandre Arveuf-Fransquin, a student of Questel.
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28/07/2024

Brunnenburg, Italy.

Castel Fontana in italian. Is a 13th-century castle in the province of South Tyrol, in northern Italy.
Schloss Brunnenburg is situated above the city of Merano, on the outskirts of the municipality of Tirol. Originally built circa 1250, the castle was completely restored and updated in the mid-20th century by Boris de Rachewiltz, an Egyptologist, and his wife Mary, daughter of the poet Ezra Pound and violinist Olga Rudge, who have made it their home. Surrounding the castle is the family’s vineyard.
Pound stayed with his daughter and her family at the castle in 1958 after he returned from the United States. He wrote the last 6 of his 116 “cantos” of The Cantos.
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26/07/2024

Saint Agatha’s Tower, Malta

Saint Agatha’s Tower, also known as the Red Tower due to its distinctive color, is a notable historical fortification located in Mellieħa, Malta. It was constructed in 1649 during the rule of the Order of Saint John, specifically under the Grand Mastership of Jean Paul Lascaris-Castellar. The tower was built as part of a network of defensive structures aimed at protecting the Maltese Islands from potential invasions, particularly by the Ottoman Turks and the Barbary pirates.
In the 20th century, the tower fell into disrepair but was eventually restored by Din l-Art Ħelwa, the National Trust of Malta, in the 1990s. Today, Saint Agatha’s Tower is a popular tourist attraction, offering visitors a glimpse into Malta’s rich military history and providing panoramic views of the surrounding area.
Saint Agatha’s Tower stands as a testament to Malta’s historical significance and the island’s enduring legacy of fortification and defense.
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23/08/2023

Hohenwerfen Castle, Austria.

The fortification was built between 1075 and 1078 at the behest of Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg during the Imperial Investiture Controversy, meant as a strategic bulwark atop a 155-metre (509 ft) high rock. In the following centuries Hohenwerfen served Salzburg's rulers, the prince-archbishops, not only as a military base but also as a residence and hunting retreat. The fortress was extended in the 12th century and to a lesser extent again in the 16th century during the German Peasants' War, when in 1525 and 1526 riotous farmers and miners from the south of Salzburg moved towards the city, laying fire and severely damaging the castle.
Alternatively it was used as a state prison and therefore had a somewhat sinister reputation.
In 1931 the fortress, owned by Archduke Eugen of Austria since 1898, was again damaged by a fire and, though largely restored, finally had to be sold to the Salzburg Reichsgau administration in 1938. In World War II, the castle served as a Gauführerschule, a n**i education camp under Gauleiter administration. After the war it was used as a training camp by the Austrian Gendarmerie (rural police) until 1987.
Currently, the bastion functions as a museum. Among the numerous attractions offered by the fortress are guided tours showing its extensive weapons collection, the historical Salzburg Falconry with the falconry museum as well as a fortress tavern.
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21/08/2023

Svojanov Castle, Czech Republic

The Svojanov Castle, which is a partial ruin, is one of the oldest royal castles in this country. It is located in the middle of a deep forest in the beautiful valley of the Křetínka River. Its architecture includes a unique mixture of the gothic and Empire styles. Svojanov Castle was established in 1224 by the Royal Burgrave Svéslav of Bořitov. King Přemysl Otakar II named the castle Fürstenberg. The castle’s main task was to protect the Trstěnice Trade Route. The castle included an internal courtyard protected by up to 8-metre thick fortifications and the similarly thick outer wall of the old palace. The sixty-metre high watchtower served as the last place of refuge for the defenders. After the death of King Přemysl, the castle passed into the ownership of the King’s widow, Kunhuta. The castle was later owned by the Lords of Boskovice, who constructed an ingenious system of late gothic fortifications with seven bastions and a squires’ house. The squires’ house has been preserved in its authentic state. The Lords of Trczka von Leipa built a new renaissance palace decorated with sgraffito on the site of the original fortifications. Nowadays, it is a ruin. The castle’s owners changed frequently. In 1879, the last private owner decorated the palace interiors with late Empire-style paintings. The castle is now owned by the town of Polička. It is used as a venue for cultural events. Visitors can visit the gothic columned hall, an exhibition on the history of the castle, the kitchen, the pantry, the gothic cellars or the torture chamber.
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16/08/2023

Boldogkő Castle, Hungary.

The earliest part of the castle (an old tower surrounded by a fortification) was probably built after the Tartar invasion and was erected either by Ispán Tyba, son of Jaak of the tribe of Tomaj, or by Judge Aba Amadé. When Carl Robert Anjou chased the Aba, the castle came to the Drugeth family, which was loyal to him, and later to Péter Czudar. In the 15th century, it became the property of Serbian princes István and György, and then of the Szapolyai family. In Turkish times, he often changed hands as one of the venues for the intense battles between the emperor and the king. It was acquired by the conquering György Rákóczi in 1666, later it became important several times in the Kuruc times, but even before the Rákóczi War of Independence, in 1701, it was made uninhabitable by the emperors. The ruin was taken possession of by the Jesuits in the 18th century, who used it as a grain warehouse. Later it became the property of the Péchy and then the Zichy family, who, however, no longer lived in the uncomfortable fortress. Despite the bombing of imperial soldiers and the devastating centuries that followed, it is one of our best-preserved medieval castles.
Since 1945 the building complex has been in state ownership. After 2009 several parts of the building were restored with the support of the European Union.
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31/07/2023

Château du Moulin, France.

Built between 1480 and 1501 for Philippe du Moulin, a childhood friend of King Charles VIII and ennobled by him latter. Moulin had saved the king’s life during the Battle of Fornoue in 1495.
This stately home is the work of the architect of the Jacques de Persigny court. Built with orange and black bricks, on a rectangular plan surrounded by moats, its appearance as a medieval fortified castle was more intended to mark the new rank of its owner than to provide a defensive function. The courtyard was once completely enclosed and surrounded by high walls.
Nowadays, there remains the châtelet framing the entrance, the dungeon, the curtain wall and one of the towers which was raised under Louis XIII. Well maintained, it is still inhabited. Its visit allows to discover some well furnished rooms. The vegetable garden was redesigned in the 20th century with plots of decreasing size, to give the illusion of greater depth; the Strawberry Conservatory has settled there.
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30/07/2023

Château d’Aubiry, France

French industrialist Pierre Bardou-Job became wealthy selling rolling paper and decided to have a château built for each of his three children, all designed by the Danish architect Viggo Dorph-Petersen. The Château d’Aubiry was for his son Justin and was built from 1893 to 1904. Pierre Bardou-Job himself never saw it, as he died suddenly in 1892 just before the start of the construction.
The Château d’Aubiry was used as a filming location in 1960 for the movie L’eau a la bouche by French director Jacques Doniol-Valcroze. It has been protected as an official French historical monument since 2006, and was offered for sale in 2011 with an asking price of 21 million Euros.
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26/07/2023

Beersel Castle, Belgium

A fortified residence at the site was attested as early as 1292. In 1300, however, Godefroid of Hellebeke, the first known Seigneur of Beersel, received permission from Jean II, Duke of Brabant, to build a fortification on the present site near his residence.
Beersel Castle was rebuilt from 1357 with a circular enceinte. It had three large and one small tower. During the 14th century, ownership of the castle passed to the Seigneurs of Wittem (Witthem).
The military obsolescence of the castle meant that Beersel became a private residence in the 16th century, losing its military function.
In 1796, the castle became unoccupied and began to deteriorate. In 1818, a cotton factory was created at the site. The property passed through a series of Belgian noble families over the following years and fell into ruin. The French poet and writer Victor Hugo visited in 1877 and wrote a verse about the castle.
In 1928, the derelict castle was donated by the House of Merode to an association known as the League of Friends of Beersel Castle. A significant period of restoration began in 1928 and concluded in 1939, which restored the three towers and some of the ramparts to their post-1617 appearance. The castle was added to the list of scheduled historical monuments in 1934. Since 1948, it has been the property of the Royal Association of Historic Residences and Gardens in Belgium, which has leased it to the municipal authorities of Beersel.
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