Castles and palaces around the world are structures of grandeur, might and beauty.

From the flamboyance of Germany’s fairy tale-Neuschwanstein Castle to the gothic, Dracula-inspiring Bran Castle, perched high in the craggy peaks of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains; Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, previously home to samurai warriors to Ireland’s Blarney Castle, where ‘the gift of the gab’ will be granted to any who kiss its stone, the world’s castles and palaces are steeped in history and stories to tell.

Travel writer and journalist Gilly Pickup shares these stories, providing a tour of 50 of the world’s greatest castles and palaces, filled with humour, interesting facts and tips on how best to visit them.

Text in English & German. In the area along the Weser, there was a great deal of building activity between the Reformation and the Thirty Years War which was helped along by economic prosperity. Little affected later by war or modernisation, high quality Renaissance castles, aristocratic estates, town halls and civic architecture have survived here in exceptional density. This facet of Central European Renaissance architecture started to be appreciated in the early 20th century. This led to the concept of the Weser Renaissance, oriented above all towards formal and regional history, and still popular today, like a kind of brand. The present volume offers a representative selection of the region's castles and palaces for the first time, dealing with both princely residences and seats of the nobility. Architecture and court culture are placed in a European context that goes beyond older approaches based on the stylistic history and shows that forms demonstrating princely prestige have qualities in common well outside the region. Michael Bischoff's introductory text provides an overview of Renaissance architecture in the Weser area. Uwe Albrecht and Julian Jachmann explain the terminology and function of princely architecture. Heiner Borggrefe analyses early Renaissance architectural ornamentation, G Ulrich Grossmann covers the topic after the mid-16th century. Thomas Fusenig writes on the arts and sciences at the courts. Rolf Schoenlau discusses aspects of building materials in terms of economic history. Hillert Ibbeken deals with the sandstone that is most frequently used from a geological point of view. The descriptive catalogue is by Katja Schoene and Michael Bischoff.

Romanticised as ruins, treated as relics of forgotten military campaigns or as mere lessons in architectural history, the castles of England and Wales have too rarely been examined as places in which real people lived. Fresh both in style and approach and richly illustrated, Michael Thompson's book aims now to redress the balance. Examining the rise of the castle from its European origins in the tenth century to c.1400, the author devotes particular attention to the domestic accommodation - colourfully adorned but often cold and claustrophobic - that castles offered their aristocratic inhabitants. The book closes with the castle at its zenith, reviewing the extravagant outburst of self-conscious construction that took place in the fourteenth century as display and appearance came for the first time to play as important a part as function in determining building design.

Explore Culzean Castle with this book! Culzean Castle on the Ayrshire coast is the most visited property of the National Trust for Scotland. This lavishly illustrated book tells the whole history of the castle. Michael Moss has carried out extensive research, drawing on estate records, original plans and family correspondence to create a major new history of the castle and a fascinating account of the running of a Scottish country estate. With new pictures, many of them in colour, and an accessible style, this is essential reading for anyone interested in Scottish history and Scottish architecture. Built in the late sixteenth century above a network of caves, the castle became a centre for smuggling during the eighteenth century. Sir Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassillis, went on an extended grand tour in the 1750s and returned full of ideas as to how to improve his vast estates and home. His brother and heir commissioned Robert Adam to create his masterpiece and became bankrupt as a result. The estate was rescued when wealthy American cousins inherited it in 1792. Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa, completed the house and lavished money on the property. Key Features: *Major new account of Culzean's history, going back four hundred years. *Beautifully produced and lavishly illustrated, with many new pictures. *Includes easy-to-read story of the family, plus family tree. *Essential reading for anyone interested in Scottish history and Adam architecture.

An introduction to the castles of Wales, this is also a detailed guide to 70 of them for the historical tourist. The main guide is made up of entries on medieval castles that include notes on access, OS-grid references, history and building details.

3-vol. CASTLES: Their Construction and History, Sidney Toy. Concise, scholarly survey traces castle development from ancient roots. Nearly 200 photographs and drawings illustrate moats, keeps, baileys, many other features. Caernarvon, Dover castles, Hadrian's Wall, Tower of London, dozens more. 199 black-and-white illustrations. Preface. Index. Footnotes.

In this stunning, full-colour book, John Kinross explores the fascinating history behind the castles of Herefordshire, Shropshire and the Welsh border. Areas characterised by their rural beauty and agricultural charm, it is no surprise that they are home to such extraordinary relics. From the majestic Goodrich Castle, which is situated on the River Wye and boasts one of the most intact sets of medieval domestic buildings surviving today, to the red sandstone fort at Shrewsbury, protected by the River Severn, each site tells a different tale. The castles of Herefordshire and Shropshire form the background of this book, but the Marcher Court, based at Ludlow Castle, controlled all legal affairs in the area of the Southern Marches. In the north the northern court was based at Chester Castle until being moved to Rhuddlan when the Welsh ceased to cause rebellions. Thus Cheshire castles are included plus the mighty Welsh castles like Chirk and Chepstow. For interest the many moated manors, used especially during the Civil War, are also included, where there are still some remains to be seen. Beautifully illustrated and extremely informative, Castles of the Marches is a must-read that brings the past to life.

A reissue of the classic guide to the origins, purpose and identity of the great castles of England and Wales, built after the arrival of the Normans. Castle studies have been shaped and defined over the past half-century by the work of R. Allen Brown. His classic English Castles, renamed here to acknowledge its definitive approach to the subject, has never been superseded by other more recent studies, and is still the foundation study of the English, and Welsh, castles built between the Norman Conquest and the mid 1500s. As the subject evolved, so too did this book, and for the most recent edition a considerable amount of French comparative material was added, though it remains essentially a study of English castles. For Allen Brown, castles were fortified residences (or residential fortresses), and developed, from European precursors, to support political and social realities as the Norman and Angevin kings secured their realm. Once these political ends had been largely met, the castle and castle-building entered a period of decline, and domesticand military interests went in opposite directions. This book, with numerous photographs and plans, remains the outstanding guide to the origins, purpose and identity of the great castles of England and Wales. R. ALLEN BROWN was also the author of The Normans, The Norman Conquest of England and The Normans and the Norman Conquest and founder of the annual Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies.

An innovative examination of heritage politics in Japan, showing how castles have been used to re-invent and recapture competing versions of the pre-imperial past and project possibilities for Japan's future. Oleg Benesch and Ran Zwigenberg argue that Japan's modern transformations can be traced through its castles. They examine how castle preservation and reconstruction campaigns served as symbolic ways to assert particular views of the past and were crucial in the making of an idealized premodern history. Castles have been used to craft identities, to create and erase memories, and to symbolically join tradition and modernity. Until 1945, they served as physical and symbolic links between the modern military and the nation's premodern martial heritage. After 1945, castles were cleansed of military elements and transformed into public cultural spaces that celebrated both modernity and the pre-imperial past. What were once signs of military power have become symbols of Japan's idealized peaceful past.

Danish Medieval Castles is the first comprehensive overview in English of the castles and fortifications that are known from medieval Denmark. The book tells the story of who built the castles, when they did so, and why this happened. Over the past decades several castle buildings and earthworks have been examined, a few new archaeological sites have been found, and old excavations have been reopened. All of this has resulted in new knowledge. The book also describes everyday life in Dansish castles in the Middle Ages, and examines the historic importance of the castles in times of peace and turbulence.

Carmarthen Castle was one of the largest castles in medieval Wales. It was also one of the most important, in its role as a centre of government and as a Crown possession in a region dominated by Welsh lands and Marcher lordships. Largely demolished during the seventeenth century, it was subsequently redeveloped, first as a prison and later as the local authority headquarters. Yet the surviving remains, and their situation, are still impressive. The situation changed with a major programme of archaeological and research work, from 1993 to 2006, which is described in this book. The history of the castle, its impact on the region and on Wales as a whole are also examined: we see the officials and other occupants of the castle, their activities and how they interacted with their environment. Excavations at the castle, and the artefacts recovered, are described along with its remaining archaeological potential. This book puts Carmarthen Castle back at the heart of the history of medieval Wales, and in its proper place in castle studies and architectural history, the whole study combining to make a major contribution to the history of one of Wales's great towns.

Whether ruined or opulent, castles have the power to fire the imagination. For almost a millennium, they have studded the Irish countryside. The concept of using building methods to protect territory was introduced from overseas in the twelfth century, when the Irish term caislean began to appear in manuscripts. By the sixteenth century, Ireland had become the most castellated country in Europe. In this latest book, Tarquin Blake takes us on a breathtaking tour of Anglo-Norman fortresses, medieval towers, fortified houses and the neo-Gothic piles of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The castles - including lesser-known gems like Fiddaun Castle in County Galway as well as luxury hotels such as Ashford Castle in County Mayo - are captured in atmospheric photos and brought to life through the true stories of the families whose adventures, struggles and ambitions are reflected in the fortified residences they constructed. By pairing the castles' romantic appearances with in-depth tales of siege, intrigue, conflict and capture, Blake reveals our rich past and startling architectural legacy. Exploring Ireland's Castles is sure to delight any history buff or armchair traveller.

Kent has an impressive collection of castles, over 60 including the scanty ruins and earthwork remains of now vanished castles, as well as the more celebrated castles, such as Leeds, Rochester and Dover. Because of their picturesque and dramatic appearance they have often been the subject of antique prints and early photographs and in Castles of Kent Through Time author John Guy draws on his extensive collection of historical images of Kent castles, to produce an illustrated history through the ages, charting the castles’ changing fortunes over the decades. Many are now ruined, when once they were homes and fortresses. Others, like Allington, have been transformed from ruins back into habitable and very comfortable homes, while others, such as Dover, have been in continuous military use right across the centuries from the Iron Age through to the Second World War. Just a few, like Westenhanger, which once was a completely overgrown ruin, have since been rescued and brought back into use. This fascinating selection of old and new images of the castles of Kent, showing how castles, which are often perceived as static elements of the historic landscape, are, in fact, ever changing. will be essential reading for all those who are interested in the history of the county.

The history of the West Country has left a rich legacy of castles and other fortifications throughout its landscape, built wherever power and wealth needed to be displayed, strategic points controlled or territory and local populations defended. In this book author Andrew Powell-Thomas explores the castles built over the centuries in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. Many of them defend the region’s towns and cities, while others are dotted along the strategically important coastline or are set in more remote areas. The earliest hill forts date back to prehistory, and some still stand in all their glory, such as Pendennis Castle in Falmouth. Others have been carefully preserved or restored to other uses; some such as Corfe Castle in Dorset are picturesque ruins, and others such as Bridgwater Castle in Somerset no longer exist. This fascinating portrait of the castles and other fortifications of the West Country will interest all those who know the area, as well as those wish to know more about the history of its castles and fortified structures.

'Neil Oliver writes beautifully - letting us see ourselves in a new light.' - Professor Alice Roberts 'Oliver is an evocative storyteller, vividly bringing his tales to life' BBC History Magazine ......................................................................................................................................................................... For longer than recorded history there have been tales of spirits and of places where our hackles rise and our skin turns cold. Bestselling historian Neil Oliver travels the British Isles on a deliciously spine-chilling tour that spans several centuries and explores more than 20 sites - castles, vicarages and towers, lonely shorelines and forgotten battlefields - to unpick their stories.. Oliver invokes his family's history alongside that of kings and queens past as he probes why our emotions and senses are heightened in certain locations where the separation between dimensions seems gossamer thin. Our landscape is riven with these places, creaking from the weight of the secrets they hold, the echoes of tragedy and dark deeds . From Inverness to Devon, Co Dublin to Norfolk, Hauntings casts an enjoyably eerie glow with stories that, told generation after generation, are inextricable from place - and considers why they matter.

Military Architecture after the Introduction of Firearms. Specialized and systematic dictionary.

Sussex is a fascinating county, saturated with history, legends and mysteries. Everywhere there are remains of these stories: a curious relic preserved in a church, an unusual grave outside, some ruinous building down the road, or a bizarre artefact in the local museum. Author Christopher Horlock has been travelling around Sussex for many years, photographing these remains and researching the stories behind them. Myths, legends and folklore further enrich the tales and reveal the mindset of Sussex people of the past. Ruins, Remains and Relics: Sussex delves into the unusual, the offbeat and the decidedly quirky, ranging from a ruined castle to a simple, single spoon. This fascinating exploration of the history, legends and stories of Sussex will interest all those who know the county well in addition to those who wish to know more about its history.

Learn all about knights and castles in this spooky history-themed instalment of DK Books' new educational fiction series for children aged 7 to 9 years old. Meet the Secret Explorers - a band of brainiac kids from all around the world, here to take young readers on a series of fact-filled fictional adventures! Each with their own specialty, from outer space to dinosaurs, these young globetrotters will teach kids that learning can be fun, encouraging them to become experts in something they love. In this fun, fact-filled children's book, Kiki the engineering explorer and Gustavo the history expert get caught up in a spooky time travel mystery when a ghostly figure shows up at a medieval castle and terrifies the crowds! This epic adventure is packed with: -Fun facts and illustrations about exciting prehistoric animals -Simple and informative diagrams telling kids all they need to know about castles and knights -Quizzes, mission notes, and a glossary of words with definitions With a gripping narrative that keeps kids engaged, The Secret Explorers and the Haunted Castle by SJ King is the perfect gift for children who are into all things history. It's written for children aged 7-9 years, with lots of information about medieval knights, castles and ghosts, to give them an exciting introduction into the world of history. At the end of this fictional book, you'll find "Kiki's Mission Notes" which is a summary of all the scientific facts and discoveries made throughout the story. With fun illustrations, quizzes, and a vocabulary list, the educational value of this book is outstanding and great for a classroom read! Never miss a mission! A total of nine different books, The Secret Explorer series is both educational and imaginative, combining exciting stories with real-life facts. Embark on another space mission adventure in The Secret Explorers and the Comet Collision. Travel back in time to save a dinosaur egg from destruction in The Secret Explorers and the Jurassic Rescue. Take part in a volcano rescue in The Secret Explorers and the Smoking Volcano. Then travel to the arctic for a rescue mission in Secret Explorers and the Missing Scientist. Whatever your preferred topic, there's a mission waiting for you!

A compendium of 28 beautiful, historical Scottish Castles for local and visitor alikeScotland: A land with rich history, wild landscapes and some of the most beautiful castles on Earth. There have been over 2000 castles in scottish history; some have been preserved in superb condition, some lie in picturesque ruin and others have been resigned to historical records.Discover the story of the well-trodden fortress of Edinburgh Castle, uncover the beautiful remoteness of Eileen Donan and learn all about Castle Urquhart, on the banks of Loch Ness. These are the sites of feuds, the homes of royalty and the locations of great battles.This Pitkin guide takes the reader on a tour of 28 of Scotland's most magnificent castles. Revised for 2019, it makes a perfect addition to the literature for any visitor to the country.

Journey across the world and throughout history to discover the world's best and most unusual castles, and learn about their features, from the tallest turrets to the dingiest dungeons. Find out how castles have changed over time and what happened to the people who lived in them. A glimpse into the history of different castles around the world, the dramatic battles to conquer them, and the weapons that defended and defeated them. Travel through time and venture into the wonderful world of castles, from the extravagant chateaux of France, to the impenetrable fortresses of Japan. Find out why castles were built and witness some of the most famous sieges in history. Trek across the world to visit castles perched on perilous clifftops and exotic islands. Meet the medieval rulers who built the grandest castles and forts, and the modern tycoons who splashed out money trying to replicate them. Discover why the spiral staircases in castles always turned clockwise, and why their toilets always smelled so bad! And learn about the great lengths that prisoners would go to in order to escape... This children's book takes you on an immersive adventure to a collection of castles each beautifully illustrated at a particular moment in history. See the world's best castles from a range of viewpoints, whether you are standing next to samurai warriors waiting to attack, or castle jesters entertaining the king. Castle is a fact-packed, modern look at a classic topic.

Essential reading for the student of twentieth century fortification. Beautifully produced, well written, well illustrated and above all, the ideal reference book for its subject. Fortress Study Group This combined history and guide to the Maginot Line is essential reading and reference for anyone interested in fortifications, especially those of the 20th century and Second World War. Military Times This is a useful piece of work, combining a detailed history and a guide to the line. My own mental image for the line turned out to owe rather more to French wartime propaganda than to reality. This was a valuable read. historyofwar.org The Maginot Line, the complex system of strongpoints constructed between the world wars by the French to protect against attack from Germany, is one of the most famous, extensive and controversial defensive schemes in all military history. It stretched from Belgium to Switzerland, and from Switzerland to the Mediterranean, and it represented the most advanced and ambitious system of static defences of its time.Much of this historic line with its fortresses, artillery positions, tank traps, blockhouses, concrete bunkers has survived and can be visited today. This invaluable handbook, which has been written and compiled by the experts in the field, is a guide to the history of the line and its major sites.

Wales, a small country, is littered with the relics of war - Iron Age forts, Roman ruins, medieval castles and the coastal forts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The biggest construction of fortifications in Wales took place during the reign of Edward I. They were not only built to deter an invader, but to control the frequent Welsh uprisings. The next wave of constructions occurred during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when a number of forts and gun emplacements were built, mostly in South Wales, to deter a seaborne invasion. The twentieth century introduced a new mode of defence, especially during the two world wars, in the form of pillboxes, tank traps and gun emplacements. The various airfields constructed were the most visible form of defence and could be regarded as the castles of the period. This book looks at how Welsh castles protected Wales to make it what it is today.