Oana Stanculescu Ilie

About castles!
Castle (from Latin castellum) is a defensive structure associated with the Middle Ages, found in Europe and the Middle East. The precise meaning of "castle" is debated b scholars, but it is usuall considered to be the "private fortified residence" of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a fortress, which was not a home, or a fortified town, which was a public defence. The term has been popularl applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and countr houses. Ever one seems to !now that the most lu"urious castles are located in Europe. #r, are the $ As we traveled the world we learned that castles e"ist ever where. %rom &outh Africa to Louisiana and from 'ew (ealand to )ran, a curious traveler can find a castle in *ust about ever corner in the world. The oldest castle is being restored in )ran after an earth+ua!e destro ed eight percent of its buildings. The newest castle was built during this centur on a stretch of private land on the &inai coast. 'o matter when these castles were built, most of them are available to boo! for special events. Windsor Castle, )f ou plan to visit England, ou-ll discover that ou could spend months visiting all the castles on this island. .owever, /indsor 0astle is probabl the most well !nown castle in the world, as 1 together with 2uc!ingham 3alace in London and .ol rood 3alace in Edinburgh 1 it is one of the official residences of England-s 4ueen and the largest occupied castle in the world. This building and its comple" have provided a home and fortress for ro alt for over 566 ears. #riginall made of wood, the castle was built for /illiam the 0on+ueror to guard the approach to London. The site sits above the 7iver Thames, on the edge of a &a"on hunting ground and one da -s march from the Tower of London. 8isitors can wal! around the &tate Apartments, which are e"tensive suites of rooms at the heart of the wor!ing palace. #nce ou-re through with this castle, ou can visit some of the top castles in 2ritain listed at the Travel 0hannel. Those castles all come highl recommended, but don-t forget to visit some of the smaller castles such as the one located in 9olw ddelan, /ales. This castle is a lovel place to visit along the road from 2etws1 10oed to the western coast and provides a chance to view Mount &nowden, the highest mountain in /ales. Castello di Strassoldo di Sopra, This castle is the :upper- castle, which is located near the 0astello di &trassoldo di &otto (;lower; castle), and both castles are located in northeast )tal . 2oth castles also are privatel owned b the &trassoldo famil and have been in this famil for almost one thousand ears. &ince the -re privatel owned, the aren-t open to the public< however, the owners open their halls for two fascinating e"hibits in the spring and fall each ear. Additionall , important wedding ban+uets and other memorable events are personall organi=ed b the owners. The castle-s splendid and full furnished halls can host several hundred people, while the par! can be used for open air buffets and wonderful photos. The owners of the 0astello di &opra have recentl restored a fifteenth1centur small house called >la 8icinia,; which the rent out overnight. This building and the castle are located in the heart of a lovel medieval village, surrounded b a centuries1old par! that-s fed b spring waters. Frankenstein Castle, This castle was the ?@th centur home of Lord Aonrad 9ippel 8on %ran!enstein. There are man theories about 9ippel, including one that he

sold his soul for eternal life. )n realit , 9ippel was a highl controversial alchemist in whose laborator the color 3russian 2lue was discovered. Ma be his enemies tried to ruin his reputation with the legend about the monster created in his laborator . 8isit %ran!enstein 0astle during .alloween to get the ma"imum scare factor, as an elaborate monster1themed theater show is performed. )f this castle isn-t enough for ou, ou can visit a few other Berman castles. Bran Castle, This is another castle that the faint of heart might want to avoidC 0ommonl !nown as 9racula-s 0astle, the 2ran 0astle was originall a stronghold built b the Anights of Teutonic #rder in ?D?D. The first documentar attestation of the 2ran 0astle is the act issued on ?5 'ovember ?EFF, giving the &a"ons of Aronstadt (2rasov) the privilege to build the 0itadel. The building started in ?EF@ as a defense against Tur!s and later became a customs post on the pass between Trans lvania and /alachia. %rom ?5D6 the castle became a ro al residence until the e"pulsion of the ro al famil in ?5G@. Toda it functions as a ver attractive museum of medieval arts. Krak des Chevaliers, T.E. Lawrence once described this castle, located in & ria, as >the best preserved and most wholl admirable castle in the world.; )t is the easternmost of a chain of five castles intended to secure the .oms Bap, atop a HI61meter1high hill along the onl route from Antioch to 2eirut and the Mediterranean &ea. This castle and 2eaufort, located in Lebanon as well, were the most important connection castles in the Middle East and the planed a ma*or role in coastal defense for the 0rusaders. )n ??GD the castle was given b 7a mond, 0ount of Tripoli, to the Anights .ospitallers, and it was the who, during the ensuing fift ears, remodeled and developed it as the most distinguished wor! of militar architecture of its time. The castle remains one of the most complete pieces of militar architecture dating from this period, and it holds some of the best preserved 0rusader frescoes in the world. Forbidden City, As the seat of supreme power for over five centuries from ?G?H to ?5??, the %orbidden 0it in 2ei*ing, 0hina, contains four high towers on the four corners of the cit wall. This is a fort that contains a cit , and the walls are appro"imatel one meter thic!. Landscaped gardens and man buildings (whose nearl ?6,666 rooms contain furniture and wor!s of art), constitute a priceless testimon to 0hinese civili=ation during the Ming and 4ing d nasties. The )mperial 3alace of the 4ing 9 nast in &hen ang consists of ??G buildings constructed between ?HDIJDH and ?F@E. )t contains an important librar and testifies to the foundation of the last d nast that ruled 0hina before it e"panded its power to the center of the countr and moved the capital to 2ei*ing. This palace then became au"iliar to the )mperial 3alace in 2ei*ing.