Castles....

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Château de Suscinio, France....

The Château de Suscinio or de Susinio is a Breton castle, built in the late Middle Ages, to be the residence of the Dukes of Brittany. It is located in the commune of Sarzeau in the département of Morbihan, near the coast of the Atlantic ocean. The spectacular site comprises the moated castle, a ruined chapel, a dovecote, and a few ruined outbuildings.

Designed to be a place of leisure, between the seaside and a forest full of game for hunting, the castle's first logis seigneurial dates from the beginning of the 13th century.

The castle was fortified and enlarged, at the end of the 14th century, when the heirs of the duchy had to fight to keep their assets, after the castle was taken by Bertrand du Guesclin, the infamous Constable of France. John V and John VI constructed a new seigniorial residence block with a large, new corner tower known as the Tour Neuve. A casemate was added at the end of the 15th century to protect artillery pieces.

Credit: kevin_bobby

 

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Looks like they allow fishing.

 

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Borrekens Castle.

Lies in the forest just north-east of the town of Vorselaar, in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish region in Belgium. It's also known as Vorselaer Castle.
Borrekens Castle was built around 1270 by a member of the Van Rotselaar family who were stewards of the Dukes of Brabant. They built this square water castle in a swampy area, close to the road Antwerp-Turnhout which was probably a part of the trade route to Cologne in Germany. It is built out of white Vilvoorde sandstone.
The castle stayed in the hands of the Van Rotselaar family until the beginning of the 16th century. Ownership then transferred to a Cornelis van Bergen and later to the Arensberg and Proost families.
During the 17th century the castle was rebuilt by the Proost family. This caused financial difficulties for this family so they sold the castle to Phillipe Lodewijk de Pret, ex-mayor of Antwerp.
His daughter married Karel-Philips van de Werve. His family rebuilt the castle in the second half of the 19th century and gave it its present neo-gothic appearance.
In 1898 the De Borrekens family became owner of the castle through marriage. They gave their name to the castle and still own it.

Credit: rbn_creatography

 

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Tilleghem Castle....

A castle near the city of Bruges, in the Sint-Michiels district. The original castle dates back to the 13th century. Not much is known about the history of the castle, except that it has been sold lots of times.
Today Tillegem castle is the result of the creative conversion of a medieval moated castle into a 19th-century style building. Architect Jean-Baptiste de Bethune led the rebuilding in the Gothic Revival style in command of Baron Eugène Charles de Penerada, the last owner of the castle. His family lived in the castle until 1980 then and it was sold to the Province of West Flanders who uses it now as office rooms and for meetings events. The surrounding forest of Tillegembos is now also a province domain and is open to the public.

Credit: to.blerone_photo

 

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Sooneck Castle....

Is a castle in the upper middle valley of the Rhine, located near the village of Niederheimbach between Bingen and Bacharach. Since 2002, it has been part of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The residential areas of the castle are furnished predominantly with items in the neo-gothic and Biedermeier styles, while the interiors are enriched by paintings owned by the Hohenzollern family.
Was constructed as early as the 11th century and takes its name from nearby Soon Forest. It was built, along with Burg Reichenstein, Burg Heimburg and Burg Vauzburg for the purpose of protecting the area around Niederheimbach, which was owned by the abbey of Cornelimunster.
Apart from King William visiting the castle in 1863 and 1875, it was never used as a hunting lodge as originally intended by the royal family. Eventually, the castle passed to state ownership in 1918. Nearly three decades later after World War II, Burg Sooneck was placed under the control of the Administration of the Castles of the State of Rheinland-Palatinate who still manage upkeep of the castle to this day.

Credit: iyzaidan

 

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Burg Katzenstein, or Katzenstein Castle, is a medieval fortress located in the Swabian Jura of Germany.

One notable story is related to the castle's construction. Legend has it that Katzenstein Castle was built by two brothers who were in love with the same woman. To determine who would win her hand in marriage, they decided to build two castles side by side, and the one who finished first would marry the woman. One brother built Burg Katzenstein, and the other built a neighboring castle, Burg Spielberg.

As the story goes, Burg Katzenstein was completed first, and the victorious brother won the heart of the woman. However, the defeated brother, instead of harboring resentment, is said to have attended the wedding feast and offered his congratulations. The two brothers then supposedly lived in harmony, each ruling over his own castle.

While this story is likely more myth than historical fact, it adds a romantic and intriguing layer to the history of Burg Katzenstein. The castle itself has undergone various renovations and changes throughout the centuries, and today it stands as a well-preserved example of medieval architecture, inviting visitors to explore its towers, courtyards, and historical charm.

Credit: sfphoto.castles

 

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Beersel Castle (Dutch: Kasteel van Beersel, French: Château de Beersel) is a medieval castle located in Beersel, Flemish Brabant, Belgium. Originating in 1300 under the auspices of the Duchy of Brabant, the water castle's present configuration dates to 1357. It was twice sacked and was subject to significant restorations in 1491 and 1617. Its present condition owes much to a major restoration in 1928–39. Built largely of brick, a rare material for such buildings at the time, around a circular enceinte, its major feature is its three large towers. Today, it is open to the public and is considered one of Belgium's best-preserved castles.

Credit: tonysasaflorence

 

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Montegiove Castle, dating back to the 13th century, started as a strategic fortress in Umbria, Italy. Over time, it changed hands among noble families. In the 16th century, the Atti family renovated the castle, turning it into a cultural hub during the Renaissance. The castle continued to be a residence for various noble families, evolving with each owner. Today, it stands restored, hosting cultural events and serving as a testament to the region's historical transitions.

Credit: makc_177

 

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Raglan Castle is a late medieval castle located just north of the village of Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. The modern castle dates from between the 15th and early 17th centuries, when the successive ruling families of the Herberts and the Somersets created a luxurious, fortified castle, complete with a large hexagonal keep, known as the Great Tower or the Yellow Tower of Gwent. Surrounded by parkland, water gardens and terraces, the castle was considered by contemporaries to be the equal of any other in England or Wales.During the First English Civil War, Raglan was occupied by a Royalist garrison on behalf of Charles I but was taken by Parliamentarian forces in 1646 and its walls slighted, or deliberately put beyond military use. After the Stuart Restoration in 1660, the Somersets declined to restore it and it became first a source of local building materials, then a romantic ruin. It is now a tourist attraction.

Credit: imageswithadam

 

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Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle is a former Ruthenian-Lithuanian castle and a second in three parts glaze fortress erected on the site of the castle, located in the historic city of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine, in the historic region of Podolia in the western part of the country .it It was the first time in 1374 in a document of Prince George Koriatovicha he possessed at the time of Podolia. Archaeological research indicates that there was a castle in the tenth and thirteenth centuries the fortress consisted of the historic center of Kamianets-Podilskyi fortified by King Casimir IV Jagiello, the Old Castle rebuilt by King Sigismund I the Old and Stephen Bathory, and the Castle new founded by King Sigismund III Vasa and Władysław IV Vasa, and until the second partition of Poland in 1793 was one of the strongest fortresses of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland.
The castle was built on top of a peninsula carved by Smotrych winding river, forming a natural defense system for the castle and the Kamianets-Podilskyi's Old City; a bridge over the river is the only entrance to the castle.
The name of the castle is attributed to the root Kamin ', from the Slavic word for stone.

Photo: dikhtenko.v

 

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[Gnomey]

Good shots!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Took my kids to see their first castle today. Burg Lichtenstein near Reutlingen, Germany.