Words Dolores O’Donoghue
Folklore and fairy-tales allow us to explore to the furthest reaches of our imaginations with some of the most romantic and delightful stories ever told. However, at the core of these wonderful stories there is always a touch of reality, whether it is in the moral of the story or the trials and triumphs of the characters or the majestic castles with dreamy towers, lofty spires and high walls.
Throughout the Middle Ages, European nobility constructed enormous, ostentatious fortified structures all over the continent. For approximately 900 years, the rich and paranoid built castles as places to provide them with protection, as homes for high living and as a base to raid their neighbours. Travel back in time and discover some of these unique and magnificent castles with wonderful stories about their kings, queens, wars and nations.
Eltz Castle
Wierschem, Germany
Tucked into the hills above the Moselle River, Eltz Castle is one of the most romantic medieval castles in Germany. It was built to protect trade routes in the twelfth century. It was originally split into three parts and occupied by three branches of the same family. In 1815 the whole castle came into the possession of one branch of the family, whose descendants still live in private quarters within the castle; other sections are open to the public.
The current owner is Dr Karl Graf zu Eltz, whose family has owned the castle for over eight and a half centuries. Noted for its treasury of money, the castle is awash with gold, silver and porcelain artefacts fit for nobility. From1965 to 1992, an engraving of Eltz Castle was used on the German 500 Deutschmark note.
Pena Palace
Sintra, Portugal
The palace started as a pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages when a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena was built. In 1503, King Manuel I constructed a monastery on the site; it was donated to the Order of Saint Jerome. The monastery fell into ruin following the earthquake of 1755.
The present-day palace was commissioned in 1838 by King Consort Ferdinand II, who set about restoring the ruins and converting it into a new summer residence for the royal family. A German amateur architect named Von Eschwege created a fascinating mixture of revival styles, with neo-Manueline, Oriental, Renaissance and even Egyptian motifs.
The last queen of Portugal, Queen Amélia, spent her last night at the palace before leaving the country in exile. In 1910 it became a national museum.
Le Mont Saint-Michel
Normandy, France
Not actually a castle, but nonetheless a location where romance and magic abound. An enchanting island topped by a gravity-defying medieval monastery, Le Mont-Saint-Michel has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries. The iconic abbey is also the starting point for the Mont Saint-Michel Way route on the Camino de Santiago. The original site was founded by an Irish hermit, but it was in the eighth century that the gothic-style Benedictine abbey was built. During the Reformation the abbey was closed and converted into a prison, and all religious practices were banned. Influential figures, including Victor Hugo, launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. The prison was closed in 1863 and the mount declared a historic monument in 1874. In 1966, friars and sisters from Les Fraternités Monastiques de Jérusalem moved back to the island. Approximately 2.5 million people visit annually.
Bojnice Castle
Bojnice, Slovakia
Bojnice Castle dates back to 1113. The original fortress was wooden with thick walls and a moat, but it was gradually rebuilt in stone. In the fifteenth century it was owned by King Matthias Corvinus; in the sixteenth century it be-came the seat of local nobility and underwent major reconstruction to become a Renaissance castle.
It then came into the ownership of the Pálffys, a Hungarian noble family. Count Ján Pálffy (1829–1908), the last noble owner of the castle, renovated it in the style of the French castles of the Loire valley. After his death, his heirs sold it to Czech entrepreneur Jan Antonín Baťa, but shortly afterwards it was confiscated by the Czechoslovak government. BojniceCastle is now part of the Slovak National Museum.
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