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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

by scholars, but it is usually considered to be the "private fortified residence" of a lord ornoble. This is distinct from a fortress, which was not a home, or a fortified town, which

was a public defence. The term has been popularly applied to structures as diverse as hill

forts and country houses.Everyone seems to know that the most luxurious castles are located in Europe. Or,

are they? As we traveled the world we learned that castles exist everywhere. From South

Africa to Louisiana and from New Zealand to Iran, a curious traveler can find a castle injust about every corner in the world.

The oldest castle is being restored in Iran after an earthquake destroyed eighty

percent of its buildings. The newest castle was built during this century on a stretch ofprivate land on the Sinai coast. No matter when these castles were built, most of them are

available to book for special events.Windsor Castle: If you plan to visit England, youll discover that you could spend

months visiting all the castles on this island. However, Windsor Castle is probably themost well known castle in the world, as - together with Buckingham Palace in London

and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh - it is one of the official residences of Englands

Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. This building and its complex haveprovided a home and fortress for royalty for over 900 years. Originally made of wood,

the castle was built for William the Conqueror to guard the approach to London. The site

sits above the River Thames, on the edge of a Saxon hunting ground and one days marchfrom the Tower of London. Visitors can walk around the State Apartments, which are

extensive suites of rooms at the heart of the working palace. Once youre through with

this castle, you can visit some of the top castles in Britain listed at the Travel Channel.Those castles all come highly recommended, but dont forget to visit some of the smallercastles such as the one located in Dolwyddelan, Wales. This castle is a lovely place to

visit along the road from Betws-y-Coed to the western coast and provides a chance to

view Mount Snowden, the highest mountain in Wales.

Castello di Strassoldo di Sopra: This castle is the upper castle, which is located

near the Castello di Strassoldo di Sotto (lower castle), and both castles are located in

northeast Italy. Both castles also are privately owned by the Strassoldo family and havebeen in this family for almost one thousand years. Since theyre privately owned, they

arent open to the public; however, the owners open their halls for two fascinating

exhibits in the spring and fall each year. Additionally, important wedding banquets and

other memorable events are personally organized by the owners. The castles splendidand fully furnished halls can host several hundred people, while the park can be used for

open air buffets and wonderful photos. The owners of the Castello di Sopra have recently

restored a fifteenth-century small house called la Vicinia, which they rent outovernight. This building and the castle are located in the heart of a lovely medieval

village, surrounded by a centuries-old park thats fed by spring waters.

Frankenstein Castle: This castle was the 18th century home of Lord KonradDippel Von Frankenstein. There are many theories about Dippel, including one that he

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sold his soul for eternal life. In reality, Dippel was a highly controversial alchemist in

whose laboratory the color Prussian Blue was discovered. Maybe his enemies tried to

ruin his reputation with the legend about the monster created in his laboratory. VisitFrankenstein Castle during Halloween to get the maximum scare factor, as an elaborate

monster-themed theater show is performed. If this castle isnt enough for you, you can

visit a few other German castles.Bran Castle: This is another castle that the faint of heart might want to avoid!

Commonly known as Draculas Castle, the Bran Castle was originally a stronghold built

by the Knights of Teutonic Order in 1212. The first documentary attestation of the BranCastle is the act issued on 19 November 1377, giving the Saxons of Kronstadt (Brasov)

the privilege to build the Citadel. The building started in 1378 as a defense against Turks

and later became a customs post on the pass between Transylvania and Walachia. From

1920 the castle became a royal residence until the expulsion of the royal family in 1948.Today it functions as a very attractive museum of medieval arts.

Krak des Chevaliers: T.E. Lawrence once described this castle, located in Syria, as

the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world. It is the easternmost

of a chain of five castles intended to secure the Homs Gap, atop a 650-meter-high hillalong the only route from Antioch to Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. This castle and

Beaufort, located in Lebanon as well, were the most important connection castles in theMiddle East and they planed a major role in coastal defense for the Crusaders. In 1142

the castle was given by Raymond, Count of Tripoli, to the Knights Hospitallers, and it

was they who, during the ensuing fifty years, remodeled and developed it as the mostdistinguished work of military architecture of its time. The castle remains one of the most

complete pieces of military architecture dating from this period, and it holds some of the

best preserved Crusader frescoes in the world.

Forbidden City: As the seat of supreme power for over five centuries from 1416 to1911, the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, contains four high towers on the four corners

of the city wall. This is a fort that contains a city, and the walls are approximately one

meter thick. Landscaped gardens and many buildings (whose nearly 10,000 roomscontain furniture and works of art), constitute a priceless testimony to Chinese

civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Imperial Palace of the Qing

Dynasty in Shenyang consists of 114 buildings constructed between 162526 and 1783.It contains an important library and testifies to the foundation of the last dynasty that

ruled China before it expanded its power to the center of the country and moved the

capital to Beijing. This palace then became auxiliary to the Imperial Palace in Beijing.

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