The Famous Castles in Europe

Hello good readers, if you are interested to visit and also interested in the European sundries, it's good if you read the info below.

I will discuss about interest tourism places in European countries, may be useful

1. Burg Hohenwerfen is a castle approximately 40 km south of the Austrian city of Salzburg. The castle is majestically surrounded by the Berchtesgaden Alps and the Tennengebirge mountain range. The fortification is a "sister" of Hohensalzburg Castle both dated from the 11th century. Gebhard, an ally of Pope Gregory VII and antiking Rudolf of Rheinfelden, had three major castles extended to secure the Salzburg archbishopric against the forces of King Henry IV: Hohenwerfen, the Festung Hohensalzburg and Petersberg Castle at Friesach in Carinthia. Nevertheless Gebhard was expelled in 1077 and could not return to Salzburg until 1086, only to die at Hohenwerfen two years later. In the following centuries Hohenwerfen served Salzburg's rulers, the prince-archbishops, not only as a military base but also as a residential and hunting retreat.

2. Het Steen is an historic medieval castle in the old city center of Antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's biggest ports. Built in 1200 – 1225, Het Steen is Antwerp's oldest building. The Dutch word "Steen" means "stone", and is used for "castle" or "fortress", as in the "Gravensteen" in Ghent, Belgium. The castle made it possible to control the access to the Schelde, the river that flows through Antwerp. It was also used as a prison between 1303 and 1827. This was not the noblest time of existence of the Steen Castle. Captivity itself was not punishment – the prison was where you awaited your sentence. Very popular punishment available was; chopping of hands, heads and/or burning and quartering. The prison’s regime was not a very honest one.

3. Český Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Český Krumlov Castle. Old Český Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was given this status along with the historic Prague castle district. Construction of the town and castle began in the late 13th century at a ford in the Vltava River, which was important in trade routes in Bohemia. In 1302 the town and castle were owned by the House of Rosenberg. Emperor Rudolf II bought Krumlov in 1602 and gave it to his natural son Julius d’Austria. Emperor Ferdinand II gave Krumlov to the House of Eggenberg.

4. Frýdlant, sometimes cited also as Frýdlant v Čechách is a town in the Liberec District of the Liberec Region in the Czech Republic. It has approximately 7,500 inhabitants and lies in the historic Bohemia region on the outskirts of the Jizera Mountains. In the 13th century the castle was held by the Ronovci House. It was first mentioned in 1278, whhen the Bohemian king Přemysl Otakar II removed the lordship from the Ronovci and gave it to Rulek of Bieberstein. The nowadays building consists of a Gothic castle with a high tower and a Renaissance chateau. The castle had a museum as early as 1801 and today is one of the most visited in the Czech Republic. The area once belonged to the Lordship of Zawidów (Seidenberg) in Upper Lusatia, held by the Bishops of Meissen.

5. Hluboká nad Vltavou is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, near České Budějovice. This town was a favourite of Charles IV, who often visited when residing in České Budějovice. It is best known for its famous Windsor style chateau. The original royal castle of Přemysl Otakar II from the second half of the 13th century was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century by the Lords of Hradec. It received its present appearance under Count Jan Adam of Schwarzenberg. According to the English Windsor example, architects F. Beer and F. Deworetzky built a Romantic Neo-Gothic chateau, surrounded by a 1.9 square kilometres (0.73 sq mi) English park here in the years 1841 to 1871.

6. Karlštejn Castle (German: Burg Karlstein, Czech: Hrad Karlštejn) is a large Gothic castle founded 1348 AD by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor-elect and King of Bohemia. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well as the Bohemian coronation jewels, holy relics and other royal treasures. Located about 30 km southwest of Prague above the village named Karlštejn, it is one of the most famous and most frequently visited castles in the Czech Republic. In 1422, during the siege of the castle, Hussite attackers used Biological warfare when Prince Sigismund Korybut used catapults to throw dead (but not plague-infected) bodies and 2000 carriage-loads of dung over the walls, apparently managing to spread infection among the defenders.

7. Pernštejn Castle (Czech: hrad Pernštejn) is a castle located on a rock above the village of Nedvědice and the rivers Svratka and Nedvědička, some 40 km northwest of Brno, in the Vysočina Region, Czech Republic. Pernštejn came to be known as the marble castle because of the marble-like stone used to frame the doors and windows. The family branch seated at the castle and adopted the then fashionable name Pernštejn, which is the Czech version probably derived of the German name, Bärenstein – the "Bear Rock". Its history is closly connected to the Lords of Pernštejn (Pernštejnové) and their descendants.

8. Prague Castle (Czech: Pražský hrad) is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept here. Prague Castle is one of the biggest castles in the world (according to Guinness Book of Records the biggest ancient castle) at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. The history of the castle stretches back to the 9th century (870). The first walled building was the church of Our Lady. The Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St. Vitus were founded in the first half of the 10th century. The first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century

9. Egeskov Castle (Danish: Egeskov Slot) is located in the south of the island of Funen, Denmark. The castle is Europe's best preserved Renaissance water castle. The castle is constructed on oaken piles and located in a small lake with a maximum depth of 5 meters (16 ft). Originally, the only access was by means of a drawbridge. According to legend, it took an entire forest of oak trees to build the foundation, hence the name Egeskov (“oak forest”). The castle consists of two long buildings connected by a thick double wall, allowing defenders to abandon one house and continue fighting from the other. The double wall is over one meter thick and contains secret staircases and a well. Defenders were able to attack an enemy's flanks from the two round corner towers. Other medieval defences include artillery ports, scalding holes and arrow slits.

10. Kronborg is situated near the town of Helsingør (immortalised as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet) on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. In this part, the sound is only 4 km wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a fortress at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea. The castle has for centuries been one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list on November 30, 2000. The castle's story dates back to a fortress, Krogen, built in the 1420s by the Danish king, Eric of Pomerania. The king insisted on the payment of sound dues by all ships wishing to enter or leave the Baltic Sea; to help enforce his demands, he built a powerful fortress controlling the sound