The Alcázar of Segovia (literally “Segovia Castle”) is a stone fortification, located in the old city of Segovia, Spain. It is one of the most distinctive castle-palaces in Spain by virtue of its shape - like the bow of a ship. The Alcázar was originally built as a fortress but has served as a royal palace, a state prison, a Royal Artillery College and a military academy since then.
Created By Cuellar
Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th century Bavarian castle. Located in Germany, near Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria, the castle was built by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner, the King’s inspiring muse.
Created By Oefe
Schloss Moritzburg is a Baroque Germanic castle in the small town of Moritzburg in the German state of Saxony. It is located close to the city of Dresden. It was built from 1542–1546 as a hunting lodge for Duke Moritz of Saxony.
Photo by Jmbgermany
SEE MORE OF THESE EUROPEAN CASTLES HERE
Castles Built by People Clueless About Castles:
“I was not a builder, I had never handled a mason’s trowel, I was not a sculptor. The chisel was unknown to me; not to mention architecture, a field in which I remained totally ignorant.”
- Postman Cheval
Tarodi Var, Sopron, Hungary
Curious Expeditions recently posted on Tarodi Var, a self built castle in the Hungarian countryside. Yet Tarodi Var is not alone. Scattered throughout the world, there are a small handful of castles made by non-architects, constructed without a team of workers, and with very little money.
All the castles presented below were built by a single person, with occasional help from family members or friends. Raised rock by rock from the ground, these castles are the result of unfaltering vision, pure will, and a lifetime effort to make literal the phrase “a man’s home is his castle.”
Without further ado, Curious Expeditions presents the 15 best self built castles in the world.
1. Facteur Cheval’s Perfect Palace, Hauterives, Southern France
Perhaps the most famous of these feats of outsider architecture is the Palais Ideal. Facteur Ferdinand Cheval was “an uneducated, unskilled mailman who was moved to build the palace of his childhood imagination after stumbling across one beautiful stone in the road.” “From that moment,” he says in a letter from 1897, “I did not sleep day or night.”
La Palais Ideal, Hauterives, Southern France
“Cheval told no one about his plan fearing they would think he had lost his mind. For 15 years Cheval was a mailman by day and an architect by night, building his palace of stones and intricately carved concrete with little available light and no assistance.”
Started in 1879 and finished in 1912, it took over 10,000 days, 93,000 hours, and 33 years of toil. The palace shows a mix of inspirations including the Bible, Neuschwanstein, a Hindu sanctuary, and a sandcastle. Cheval wanted to be buried in his palace, and when French authorities forbade it, he built himself a magnificent vault in the local cemetery at the age of 80.
SEE MORE OF THESE CRAZY CASTLES HERE
World’s Coolest Castles:
Edinburgh Castle
Scotland knows how to build a castle. Up on a hill. When I think “Castle” I think of the Edinburgh Castle, up on a spooky hill, with lightning striking, and the kids from Scooby-Doo solving a mystery.
Below: At Edinburgh Castle, they fire a cannon every day at 1 PM to remind people that cannons are fun.
Ashford Castle
This castle looks awesome. It’s from the 13th century. In case you can’t imagine the 13th century, those were the times when they didn’t even have text messaging. To send a text message they needed to send some dude with a bugle (i.e. ringtone), then he’d read the king’s proclamation off a piece of parchment.
Below: See how cool this castle looks on the lake in Ireland? Now it’s not so cool because it’s a super luxury hotel. Though it WOULD be cool if every night one of the most obnoxious guests was beheaded.
October 21st, 2007 at 6:27 am
This casttles are amazigns.
October 21st, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I like these castles. I want one. any of these would do. I also would like a tribouchet, yes, one tribouchet and 25 castles!
October 21st, 2007 at 1:56 pm
You should add this castle to the list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_del_Monte_%28Apulia%29
it is one of the most enigmatic pieces of castle architecture in the world.
October 21st, 2007 at 3:08 pm
I can’t believe you have not included Caerphilly castle, arguably the largest in Europe and certainly one of the most beautiful. In fact, there are NO castles mentioned here from Wales despite Wales having the highest density of castles of any country in Europe. Shame.
October 21st, 2007 at 4:38 pm
26 Impresionantes castillos del mundo (ING)…
Información e imágenes de 26 castillos impresionantes del mundo. Alguno español. En inglés….
October 21st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Lovely castles, really beautiful photography. Was a joy to look at
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:07 am
nice colection ! I went to Peles Castle fron Sinaia, Romania . It’s pretty cool !
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:17 am
mmm veo mucho trucaje fotográfico sobre todo el cielo… pero muy bonitos los castillos a ver si algún día me compro uno ;P
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:37 am
Greats pictures!
But, you forgot the Alhambra Palace, in Granada, Spain.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:46 am
Hi!!,
and what about Warwick Castle in England, it is amazing!! http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:02 am
What about the Palace of Versailles?
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:05 am
I would add: Castello do Mouros, Sintra (Portugal)
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:31 am
Great shots!
Beautiful collection!
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:18 am
Where is Edimburg’s castle. So nice and so important
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:57 am
There’s too much kitsch here. The castle of Beynac for example, or of Castelnaud
in France, many castlers in Great Britain….I miss them on this collection
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:01 am
You must add the Da Pena Castle of Sintra, Portugal.
Congratulations for the recopilation.
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:22 am
Very nice, very very nice places. I would visit them all if I had the opurtunity :), enspecially Bodiam Castle (this is my favorite castle in the world) and Eilean Donan Castle.
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Gorgeous edifices! I’d go to anyone of them!
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:12 pm
I’d live in any one of them!
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Great brilliant post, I like the really old castles, can imagine what it must of been like to live in them in like the 1300’s.
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:45 pm
and what about the castle of St Michael??? this castel is fantastic!! It’s a castel for the day and a island because of the movements of the sea http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagen:France-Mont-Saint-Michel-1900_bordercropped.jpg And I miss the Carcassonne’s castle too It a little less espectacular than St Michel is but it is so nice!!! http://web.augsburg.edu/~adamo/history/history_abroad_index_files/Carcassonne.jpg
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:46 pm
There are a lot more around the world to be added in an unended list. Anyway, being portuguese I,m glad to see Almourol Castel in the list. one other one from Portugal that I think that could be on a “world beautiful castels” list, Palácio da Pena in Sintra (Pena Palace): Here is an image of it:
http://www.novaera-alvorecer.net/castelo_pena.JPG
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:42 am
And where is Spissky Hrad in Slovakia, dating back to Roman times, and dominating Eastern Slovakia?
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:55 am
Fantastic i would love to visit every single one of them!
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Beautiful !
There is also a beautiful castle in Germany, Schwerin !
October 24th, 2007 at 12:16 am
I was surprised to find de Gravensteen castle in my hometown of Gent, Belgium among the most famous castles in the world!
October 24th, 2007 at 10:58 am
You have gotta see Castles in Rajasthan in India. You’ll forget all the above castles.
Lay bets any one ?
October 28th, 2007 at 8:04 am
oh my god.. i wana one of this castle only one. just one…
waaaaw.. i hope to viset some of these castl… w live in it.one week wiyh my boyfriend,and w’ll have great time..
November 1st, 2007 at 11:26 am
Shame we have no castles in Canada….
This is a great list, bravo for sharing!
November 3rd, 2007 at 12:28 pm
wow… extra
November 3rd, 2007 at 6:43 pm
[…] Clique aqui e veja se não estou exagerando. […]
November 4th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Is ”WOW” sufficient enough ?
November 4th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I’ve been to Eilean Donan castle!! It was beautiful, especially when it’s lit up at night. They have spotlights on it and it looks spectacular against the dark night sky.
November 9th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I’m surprised you included Craigdarroch Castle, but didn’t include Casa Loma, arguably the more famous Canadian castle.
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Loma
November 10th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Re: Dr. Blindsy - there are castles in Canada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_Canada
There are also two castles very close to the Canadian border in the St. Lawrence river. Look up Boldt Castle and Singer Castle.
November 10th, 2007 at 10:35 am
you forgot baddest castle of ‘em all.
November 10th, 2007 at 10:36 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers
November 10th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
how about tha Bran Castle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_Castle
http://www.dds-winner.com/transilvania/bran.jpg
http://www.romanianvoice.com/images/images/Ro018_Brn.jpg
November 10th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Chateau de Chambord is really a tasteless, windy and very unpleasant place, completely over the top. Imagine this was built as a hunting lodge……
November 10th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
I liked the one from Canada at the end, but you should check out the Paine Art Center and the Oshkosh Public Museum (both considered American castles and they are right across the street from one another). Sorry that I can’t go into more detail as to the original history on the two.
November 11th, 2007 at 2:04 am
This is from only a very small part of the world.
Some of the greatest palaces of the world in India are missing.
Lake palace udaipur, in the middle of a lake
November 12th, 2007 at 3:51 am
simply superb!!!!!!
November 12th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Edinburgh Castle?! Surely deserves a spot on any list…
November 13th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Neuschwanstein Castle is absolutly amazing inside aswell.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:12 am
I cannot believe you didn’t include Prague Castle in The Czech Republic.
November 24th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Holy shit. Who gives a fuck that he didn’t include every god damn castle that *you* think is important? He didn’t say “This is the most inclusive, end-all fucking list of castles ever created.” Did he? Oh, he didn’t? Ok.
November 29th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Castles always speak to the imagination of many… too bad they are expensive to keep… would love to live in one! Cheers for sharing!
November 29th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
What about Turkish castles and mansions?? There are quite a few..
December 1st, 2007 at 10:51 am
BEAUTIFUL!Add this one too, if you can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Eltz. I saw a piece on this castle on Rick Steeves, this castle has a website and a very interesting story and it is VERY TALL!!
December 2nd, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Great pictures. Ignore the idiots who are critical of what is not there. I have many favorites of my own that are not here, but I am very pleased to see your list, some of which I have not seen before.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:41 am
All the castle is simply amazing, it’s a manifestation of God’s gift to mankind with regards to art.
December 5th, 2007 at 7:45 am
always love castle. thanks
December 7th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Great collection and good work to get them in one place for us..thanks
December 9th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
What about Palacio da Pena in Sintra, Portugal?? That´s a romantic place!!
December 28th, 2007 at 8:03 am
Comment no. 4 above is absolutely right, there are more outstanding castles in Wales than anywhere in Europe. If you want to really visit the castles to end all castles go to Lebanon and Syria, for example Krak des Chevaliers. Sorry, missing the point, this site is designed for North Americans who dont know anything about castles and are too afraid to visit the Middle East anyway. There, that should stir you-all up. Have fun.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Just one non-european castle?
The Lakshmi Palace is beautiful. If you can ever get a snap of that put up…
January 1st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Too many so said castles are simples villas…and castles were found everywhere in the world except in Italy, where are famous and beutiful castles, like Castel S. Angelo in Rome, Caste del Monte, built by Emperor Frederick II in Puglia, Castello di Miramare, built by Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, in Trieste, Castle of Duino, near Trieste, where German poet Rainer Maria Rilke composed his “Duinese Elegies”, Castle of Valentino in Turin, Castle of the Sforza family in Milan and many others, very old and often masterpieces of architecture
January 4th, 2008 at 1:44 am
everyone is complaining about other castles not mentioned but rmbr this post is NOT titled the ONLY 26 amazing castles in the world! so settle down! the castles shown are beautiful and yes there are many many other fabulous manors around the world not featured but this was not a contest!
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:34 am
Great collection ! Castles are present worldwide, with so many different styles and purposes.
It’s an endless and very interesting theme that reflects history and architecture.
Denis
January 29th, 2008 at 10:26 am
fuck it!
February 4th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Iliked this castles, I hope visist this sites in the future, maby ne, becouse I’mmexican without money, sorry for my coments
February 20th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Wow so many castles so little time. I personally think Salzburg castle is the most impressive so far. Another good list of castles is here: http://www.worldreviewer.com/experiences/castle/