Craigievar Castle

I hate realizing on Tuesday that tomorrow is Wednesday. But it almost always happens that way. It was late in the afternoon, almost 4:00 to be exact. My sister, Kae, would be coming home soon, and probably would be wanting her computer. I was hurriedly typing in the password to her computer and I thought, "Scotland!" I haven't done a post on a castle in Scotland! And I love Scotland! This had to be remedied. Soon. Now.

(So, whatchya think?)

Craigievar Castle is located six miles south of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was owned by Clan Sempill. An excellent example of the original Scottish Baronial architecture, the great seven-storey castle was completed in 1626 by the Aberdonian merchant William Forbes, ancestor to the "Forbes-Sempill family" and brother of the Bishop of Aberdeen. Forbes purchased the partially completed structure from the impoverished Mortimer family in the year 1610.


Forbes family resided here for 350 years until 1963, when the property was gifted to the National Trust for Scotland.



The castle originally had more defensive elements including a walled courtyard with four round towers; only one of the round towers remains today. In the arched door to that round tower are preserved the carved initials of Sir Thomas Forbes, William Forbes' son. There was also a massive iron yett or gate covering the entrance door.



You can read more about the place at:
http://www.aboutaberdeen.com/craigievarcastle.php

So, I find it a truly lovely castle, though, a wee bit Fairytale for me to like it 100%. But I do think it is wonderful.



Math latha. Scottish, good day.

Chateau de Foix

I know, the chateau thing was from August. But recently on By Castle and River, I did a couple of posts of the Pyrenees Mountains, so I thought that it would be cool to do a post on a castle in that aria. Now there are several, so I'll just do the first one that I found.



The Château de Foix is located in the town of Foix in the French département of Ariège. It was built on an older 7th century fortification, but the present building was built in 1000. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.


You can read more about it at:

http://www.ariege.com/chateaudefoix/info.html



Well, it is actually a very interesting place, but my brain feels like it is turning into fuzzy mush, and I really can't concentrate, lousy excuse, I know. But it is just one of those days that I would rather spend reading about Marvel Comics characters (You never new, did you.) or anything but castles.


Besides, I've got pictures. And pictures are, almost, always better than words. And also...




El castels es tant fortz qu’el mezis se defent. “The castle is so strong it can defend itself”

Need more be said?


I didn't think so.

God daeg.

Lichtenstein Castle

The castles in Germany that I have seen pictures of are mostly, not all, but mostly, either to plain or to disneyprincess, i.e., I've never been too nuts about any of them. Lichtenstein Castle in no exception. It is disneyprincess, but I like it fairly well despite that.


Lichtenstein ("light colored stone") Castle is located in the Swabian Alb, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. There has been a castle on this site since 1200. The first was destroyed in 1311 during the Reichskriegs war and again by the city-state of Reutlingen in 1381. It was not rebuilt and fell into ruin.


King Frederick I of Württemberg built a hunting lodge there in 1802. By 1837 the land was owned by the king's nephew, Duke Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg. Now, Wilhelm was inspired by the fairytale novel Lichtenstein, written by Wilhelm Hauff, to rebuild the castle in 1840-1842. The Neo-Gothic castle was created by the architect Carl Alexander Heideloff.

Today the castle is still owned by the Dukes of Urach, but is open to visitors. The castle contains a large collection of historic weapons and armor.


I rather like the way the little castle seems to have just been carved out of the crag on which it sits. The lower rooms of the castle actually were carved directly into the rock, but the rest weren't. The tower was built more recently than the rest of the castle. I think it looks like it doesn't really match.

It does look like a lovely place, though, and I should like very much to see it.