castles of the world

159 Places

Campillo de Dueñas, Spain

Castillo de Zafra

This awesome Spanish castle is so fantastical it was actually used on Game of Thrones.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Castle of Cardona

This ancient Spanish castle sits high upon a hilltop.

serflac

Added by serflac

Gravensteen

This fairytale castle was built as a show of power but was nearly torn down thanks to its history of torture.

daanphoto24

Added by daanphoto24

Les Fonts, Spain

Les Fonts Castle

This imposing modern citadel started out as a home renovation project.

serflac

Added by serflac

Santa Coloma de Cervelló, Spain

Castillo Torre Salvana

The abandoned ruins of a beautiful medieval castle just outside Barcelona.

charliegardiner

Added by charliegardiner

Bassenge, Belgium

Tower of Eben-Ezer

A Belgian self-built tower inspired by the Bible and ancient civilizations.

mrobscurity

Added by mrobscurity

Sintra, Portugal

Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors)

An ancient and majestic fortress that played an integral role in Portugal's road to independence.

AdamTKincaid

Added by AdamTKincaid

Torre de Vallferosa

This medieval fortification has weathered the centuries better than any other structure from its era.

serflac

Added by serflac

Lostwithiel, England

Restormel Castle

The ruins of an 11th-century Norman castle with a rare, perfectly circular shape.

mariellen

Added by mariellen

Alnwick, England

Alnwick Castle

This iconic 1,000-year-old medieval castle is a favorite of the film industry, most notably as the location for Hogwarts in Harry Potter.

Meg

Montségur, France

Château de Montségur

This French castle is said to have once held the Holy Grail but is now a gorgeous mountaintop ruin.

walarok

Added by walarok

Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte

This stunning French estate was so lavish that it landed its original owner in jail for the rest of his life.

haniyarae

Added by haniyarae

Telouet, Morocco

Kasbah Telouet

A mud brick kasbah with a history of lavishness and traitorship.

lewblank

Added by lewblank

Galway, Ireland

Fiddaun Castle

A remarkably intact castle that once was the largest in Ireland.

Shannon Ohaire

Added by Shannon Ohaire

Krak des Chevaliers

Ruins of the Crusaders' headquarters.

stanestane

Added by stanestane

Oravský Podzámok, Slovakia

Orava Castle

The 700-year-old fortress was the site of Count Orlok's castle in "Nosferatu."

Added by foxywellington

Riegersburg, Austria

Riegersburg Castle

A centuries old castle atop a dormant volcano houses museums devoted to both women and witches.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Ricardo Brennand Institute

A Tudor-style castle in Brazil holds one of the world's largest armory collections.

Sofia Perpetua

Added by Sofia Perpetua

Burgruine Gösting (Gösting Castle Ruins)

The shell of a medieval fortress offers commanding views of the area it once protected.

AdamTKincaid

Added by AdamTKincaid

Lichtenstein, Germany

Lichtenstein Castle

A striking 12th-century-style castle built on the edge of a cliff.

Added by TheJaice

Bran Castle

The possible imprisonment of Vlad the Impaler here earned the medieval castle its nickname, "Dracula's Castle."

Lizzy Mae van Son

Added by Lizzy Mae van Son

Umm Salal Muhammed, Qatar

Barzan Towers

These beautiful historic watchtowers were used for both scanning the desert for enemy invaders and observing the celestial world.

Max Cortesi

Added by Max Cortesi

Sudogda, Russia

Muromtzevo Castle

Abandoned castle was once a grand example of Russian privilege, built exclusively to win a frivolous bet between noblemen.

serflac

Added by serflac

sovkhoza im. Lenina, Russia

Castle of Childhood

A magnificent, Disneyesque chateau built for 150 lucky kindergarteners.

lewblank

Added by lewblank

Marseille, France

Château d'If

This historic island prison holds one of the dungeons from the Count of Monte Cristo even though it is a work of fiction.

philoursmars

Added by philoursmars

Tullamore, Ireland

Charleville Castle

An 1814 castle that hosts an exhibit of "explorabilia".

Allison

Added by Allison

Krujë, Albania

Krujë Castle

The elliptical citadel resisted the advance of the mighty Ottomans several times, thanks to the military prowess of the "Dragon of Albania."

Jaszmina Szendrey

Added by Jaszmina Szendrey

Helsingør, Denmark

Kronborg Castle (Elsinore)

Old Danish castle immortalized in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

canuck

Added by canuck

Dronninglund, Denmark

Voergaard Castle

This Danish castle is supposedly haunted by a woman too independent to not be a witch.

smithtessar

Added by smithtessar

Beaufort, Luxembourg

Beaufort Castles

This noble mash-up in eastern Luxembourg is part Medieval, part Renaissance, all castle.

SamM

Valkenburg, Netherlands

Kasteelruine Fluweelengrot

The ruins of this Dutch castle sit atop a labyrinth of once-secret tunnels and passageways, dating back over 900 years.

Rubezahl

Added by Rubezahl

St. Augustine, Florida

Castle Otttis

Two men built this castle on the Florida coast as an artistic “landscape sculpture.”

Tony Dunnell

Added by Tony Dunnell

Newark-on-Trent, England

The Newark Castle Remains

This English medieval castle is where King John died of dysentery.

Dr Alan P Newman

Added by Dr Alan P Newman

Mühltal, Germany

Castle Frankenstein

The birthplace of an eccentric alchemist and possible inspiration for the fictional reanimator of monsters.

Allison

Added by Allison

Beacon, New York

Bannerman's Castle

Collapsing castle on the Hudson river was once the storage site of military surplus business.

anhie

Bishop Castle

The largest self-built castle in the U.S., six decades in the making.

michelle

Added by michelle

Székesfehérvár, Hungary

Bory Castle

Hungarian self-built castle.

Added by mbison

Worcester, Massachusetts

Bancroft Tower

This miniature feudal castle was built on a whim to honor a US Navy pioneer.

Added by alt219

Alcázar of Segovia

One of the most oustanding fortress in Spain and Europe which inspired to Walt Disney to create the castles of Cinderella and White Snow.

Luis Morato

Added by Luis Morato

Frangokastello, Greece

Frangokastello Castle

Every spring, locals see the shadowy figures of a ghost army of slain Greek soldiers descend upon this ruined fort.

ndgreco

Added by ndgreco

Sopron, Hungary

Taródi Vár

"Medieval" castle built in the mid-20th century by one family.

serflac

Added by serflac

Citadelle Laferrière

This iconic fortress was once the crown jewel of Haiti's national defense.

Added by MaudeSwift

Mersin Province, Turkey

Fortress of Kızkalesi

Mediterranean castle on a tiny Turkish island.

serflac

Added by serflac

Castle Itter

German and American troops joined forces to defend this fortress during the strangest battle of World War II.

Added by Byrdmouse

Trakošćan, Croatia

Trakošćan Castle

This Croatian fairytale castle is slowly falling apart thanks to years of neglect.

figleafniki

Added by figleafniki

Castel del Monte

Geometry and mystery come together in an epic show of octagonal masonry.

Luke Cata

Added by Luke Cata

Calascio, Italy

Rocca Calascio

What looks like a link in Gondor's early warning system is actually a centuries-old Italian fortress.

voidbrain

Added by voidbrain

La Zisa

This Arabesque Italian castle was built with a primitive, if ingenious, air-conditioning system.

The F

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