Trakai

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Alleuze

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Shortened history of the castle:

The castle was built in the early 13th century and was one of the outposts of the citadel of Saint-Flour.

During the Hundred Years War, Bernard Garlan seized the Alleuze and spread terror throughout the region. Only gold could manage to dislodge him. To prevent Garlan to give the castle to his successors, the inhabitants of Saint-Flour burned the castle in 1405. But Monseigneur de la Tour, owner of the castle, very unhappy with this behavior, forced the inhabitants of Saint-Flour to rebuild a few months later.

The Huguenots took the castle in 1575 and after the wars of religion, the castle is abandonned.

During the 17th century, the towers were used as prisons by the bishops of Clermont.

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The discovery of the ruin is free. The risk of receiving a stone exists.

Dubrovnik

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Shortened history of the castle:

Lovrijenac is the highest fort of Dubrovnik and certainly the most impressive one. In literature known as the "Gibraltar of Dubrovnik", Lovrijenac rises above 37 meters high rock. The main purpose of its construction was defense, and the main idea was to protect the freedom of Dubrovnik.

There is a stone inscription above the gates leading to the fort, saying: “Non Bene Pro Toto Libertas Venditur Auro” – “Freedom is not on sale, not even for all the treasure on the world”. Still, after 450 years of independence and freedom of Dubrovnik, in 1806 it was overrun by Napoleon’s army and the French flag that rose over Lovrijenac symbolically marked the end of the famous era of the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovacka republika). From that year till today, several governments and social orders changed, whilst Lovrijenac also changed its functions. During the World War II it even served as a prison.

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Roquetaillade

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Opening times and additional information:

Eilean Donan

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Opening times and additional information:

From 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Last admission at 17:00)
Every day from March 17 to November 17 (Open until 09:00 in July and August)

Reception Centre (Reception, cafeteria and toilets)
From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Every day from March 17 to November 17

Castle entrance fees :
- Adults £ 4.95
- Discounts (Students, seniors, researchers...) £ 3.95
- Family (2 adults + 3 children) £ 10.50
- Less than five years FREE
- Group Rate (minimum 12 people) £ 3.80

Bedzin

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Bodiam

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Shortened history of the castle:

Bodiam Castle was constructed in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge (a veteran of the wars with France) after receiving permission from the king. As well as constructing the castle, Sir Edward also built an oversized moat, a mill and millpond that were located next to the river, near the harbour.

During its short history, Bodiam was never to taste the emotions of battle but it was besieged twice. The first was during the War of the Roses and the second being the Civil War when it was assumed that the castle was deliberately ruined. It is in the beginning of the 18th century that the castle began to be widely appreciated as a romantic ruin.

Bodiam Castle was purchased by John Fuller of Brightling, for a princely sum of £3,000 in 1829. It was during this period that its two owners undertook restoring Bodiam Castle.

But the beginning of the 20th century saw the arrival of Lord Curzon, a figure of enormous importance in the history of architectural conservation in Britain. He was the first one to introduce the Act for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments.

When Lord Curzon he first chanced upon Bodiam Castle in 1917 he was so captivated by its presence that he bought the castle with the intention of making it liveable again. His vision never came to fruition and in 1919, he set out on an important restoration project. Lord Curzon drained and excavated the moat, which revealed the original wooden footings of the bridges that led to the castle as well as several small finds, which included bits of armour and cannonballs, now displayed in the museum.

Guadamur

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Shortened history of the castle:


The castle of Guadamur in the Province of Toledo, is distinctive for its elegant stepped profile. Four progressively elevated elements can be noticed: a low outer barrier, the main body with its towers, a second body with projecting turrets, and the principal tower (on one corner).

It was built in the latter fifteenth century by Don Pedro Lopez de Ayala, a member of an illustrious Teledan family and much beloved by John 11 of Castile Philip the Fair and Princess Joanna spent happy days here on their honeymoon . Charles V retired here and to the convent or Sisla to mourn the death of Empress Isabella Cardinal Cisneros also lodged here.

After its days of glory had passed, the castle suffered in the Napoleons wars and the civil disturbances between the Carlists and liberals, but fortunately it was restored to 1887 by a member of an old Catalan family, the count of Asalto.

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Chillon

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Opening hours and information:

The castle is open every day of the year except January 1st and December 25th.

Hours of the castle:

April-September : 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Last entry at 18h)
October & March 9:30 to 6:00 p.m. (Last entry at 17h)
November to February 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Last entry at 16h)

Rates :

Individual visitors CHF 12.00
Children 6-16 years CHF 6.00
Concessions (students, apprentices, retired at age 60, AI, Swiss military, local residence cards, various promotions) on presentation of a warrant or valid card
unguided CHF 10.00

Guided tours for groups : Max. 50 people per guide CHF 80.00

The guided tour is done using a leaflet available in different languages (German, English, Korean, French, Spanish, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Czech) for individual visitors.
Entries must be paid in CHF, EUR or USD. We accept Maestro cards and Postcard and credit cards American Express, Eurocard, JCB and Visa, as well as travelers checks REKA (no bank checks or traveler-checks).

Chateau d'If

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In 1516, Francois the First seizes the strategic importance of this "rock" and orders that on it should stand a fortress. In 1531, the castle, which has three towers and a dungeon, locks the harbor of Marseille.

The Castle of If, impregnable fortress, will never experience assaults nor fights, and will become a prison during the early 17th century.

From 1689, the Protestants are thrown into the fortress where a lot of them perish. Rich prisoners, however, are put to jail in decent conditions: a cell with view on the see, a cook for the meals, cloth changed once a week... Young Mirabeau, jailed six months at the behest of his father, praised the comfort of his cell and the quality of the meals that she served.

In fact, the most famous prisoner is likely to be Jose Custodio Faria, a priest spiritualist who Alexandre Dumas immortalized in his "Count of Monte Cristo". By the way, the hole he dug to escape in the wall of a cell is still visible today.

After hosting the insurgents of 1848 and the Communards of 1871, the fortress lost its purpose of prison and will be open to the public in 1890.


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Suscinio

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Provins

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Olavinlinna

Naples (Castel Nuovo)

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Shortened history of the castle:

The castle was built in 1279 under order of Charles I of Anjou to house courts of the brand new Kingdom of Naples.

Castel Nuovo became soon the nucleus of the historical center of the city, and was often the site of famous events. For example, on December 13, 1294, Pope Celestine V resigned as pope in a hall of the castle.

Under king Robert (reigned from 1309), the castle was enlarged and embellished, becoming a centre of patronage of art. In 1347 Castel Nuovo was sacked by the army of Louis I of Hungary, and had to be heavily restored after the return of queen Joanna I. The new works permitted the queen to resist the Hungarian siege during Louis' second expedition.

Under the Aragonese dynasty, begun by Alfonso V in 1442, the fortress was updated to resist the new artillery. A famous triumphal arch, designed by Francesco Laurana, was added to the main gate to celebrate Alfonso's entrance in Naples.

In a hall of the castle the famous Barons conspiracy against King Ferdinand I, Alfonso's son, occurred. The King had invited the barons for a feast; but, a certain point, he had the garrison close all the hall's doors and all the barons were arrested and later executed.

The Kingdom was annexed to Spain in 1494 and the castle was reduced to a residence for the Spanish kings during their visits in the city.

The last restoration of Castel Nuovo was in 1823.

Opening times and additional information:

Free visit

Foix

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Shortened history of the castle:

Outstanding fortress, the castle of Foix is an imposing and remarkable building. Built just before the year one thousand by a family of Carcassonne, it was until the late Middle Ages a powerful symbol of the Lord of Foix.

In the north, the first square tower, covered with a slate roof in the late nineteenth century, the tower is certainly the oldest of which dates back eleventh and twelfth centuries. The middle tower built during the thirteenth century has been completely remodeled in the fourteenth century. The round tower, later, has a Gothic architecture with large windows illuminating the beautiful vaulted hexagonal plan.

First main fortress of the Lord of Foix, the castle housed a garrison from the late Middle Ages and participated in the defense of the city by its strategic position.

It was used as a prison during the eighteenth century and became a historical Monument in 1840 (while still being used as a prison).

Opening times and additional information:

Adults : € 4.50
Students under 26 years : € 3.80
Children 5 to 12 years : € 2.40
Youth 13 to 18 years : € 3.30
FAMILY PASS Parents 2 Adults 2 Children : € 13.20 (Extra child : € 2.00)

From January 2 to January 31 : Open from January 2 to 10 and weekends
10.30am to 12pm and from 14 to 17.30
Guided tours at 11am, 14.30, 15.30 and 16.30

From February 1 to April 30, 2010 : Open every day
10.30am to 12pm and from 14 to 17.30
Guided tours at 11am, 14.30, 15.30 and 16.30
Closed Tuesdays except holidays

From May 1 to May 31, 2010 : OPEN from 10:30 to 12h and 14h to 17h30 on weekdays
Guided tours at 11am, 14.30, 15.30 and 16.30
Weekends and public holidays from 9.45am to 12am and from 14h to 18h
Guided tours at 10am, 11am, 14:30, 15:45 and 17h

From June 1 to June 30, 2010 : OPENING from 9:45 to 12h and 14h to 18h
Guided tours at 10am, 11am, 14:30, 15:45 and 17h

The 01, 02 and July 3, 2010 : OPENING 9:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Guided tours at 10am, 11h, 12h, 13h in English, 14h, 15h, 16h, 17h, and 17.30

From July 4 to August 20, 2010 : OPENING 9:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Guided tours at 10am, 11h, 12h, 13h (English), 14h, 14h30, 15h, 15h30, 16h, 16h30, 17h and 17h30

From August 21 to August 31, 2010 : OPENING 9:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Guided tours at 10am, 11h, 12h, 13h (English), 14h, 15h, 16h, 17h and 17h30

From September 1 to September 30, 2010 : OPENING from 9:45 to 12h and 14h to 18h
Guided tours at 10am, 11am, 14:30, 15:45 and 17h
Closed first Friday of September

01 OCTOBER 8 November 2010 : OPEN from 10:30 to 12 and 14 to 17.30
Guided tours at 11am, 14.30, 15.30 and 16.30

From November 9 to December 31, 2010 : OPEN from 10:30 to 12 and 14 to 17.30
Guided tours at 11am, 14.30, 15.30 and 16.30
Closed on Tuesday except school holidays, December 25 and January 1, 2011.

Haut Koenigsbourg

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Shortened history of the castle:

The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. Staufenberg, as it was called at the time, sat high above the Alsace plain at an altitude of more than 700 metres. This rocky, promontory site was ideal for observing the main routes in the region, and provided a strategic fall-back point.

The fortress changed its name to Kœnigsbourg (royal castle) in around 1192.

The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Hapsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire. This was the golden period for the Hohkœnigsbourg ("Hoh" meaning… "High"!)

The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century didn't resist to the Swedish artillery during the Thirty Years War, and the Hohkœnigsbourg defences were overrun. Besieged, pillaged then finally burnt to the ground in 1633, the castle was left abandoned for two hundred years.

Its ruins were classified as a historical monument in 1862. Three years later, the castle ruins were purchased by the nearby town of Sélestat. A restoration project was decided and in 1882, the architect Winkler drew up an ambitious reconstruction plan which would never be carried out, as the town did not have the means to fund it.

The Alsace region was annexed to Germany in 1871, and the town of Sélestat simply gave the still majestic ruins of the palace to Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1899.

Wilhelm II, anxious to underline the fact that the Alsace was German territory once more, saw the castle as a symbolic marker for the western limit of his empire. He decided to undertake a complete restoration of the castle. The architect Bodo Ebhardt was entrusted with the restoration project. His approach was one of rigorous scientific principles, considering the level of knowledge at the time: He listed all the archaeological remains found on the site, studied archive documents, analysed the architecture… and when in doubt, referred to examples chosen among structures built around the same time. Restoration work was carried out from 1900 to 1908.

On the signature of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the Haut-Kœnigsbourg was handed back to the French government.

Opening times and additional information:

The castle is open all year round, every day except on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.

January, February, November and December : 9:30 – 12:00 then 13:00 – 16:30
March and October : 9:30 – 17:00
April, May and September : 9:15 – 17:15
June, July and August : 9:15 – 18:00

The castle closes 45 minutes after the ticket office in the evening.

Full rate : 7.50 €
Reduced rate : 5.70 €
Children under 18 : Free of charge
Group rates :
- Tourism professionals and groups of 20 adults or more : 5.70 €
- Schools and extracurricular groups (30 children/group) : 1.50 €
- Disabled visitor groups (5 people or more) : 1.50 €

Free entrance for all visitors on the 1st Sunday of the month from November to March and during the “European Heritage Days” (3rd week-end of September).

Lindisfarne

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Shortened history of the castle:

The border region between England and Scotland has been for centuries what could be called very volatile. Numerous wars raged between the English and the Scots, and the area was the frequent target of Viking raids. The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is separated by a tidal causeway which may only be crossed at low tide. This made it an ideal location for a castle.

By Tudor times a fort with strong fortifications was constructed on Beblowe Crag, between 1570-72. This forms the basis of the present castle. Elizabeth I remodelled the fort, reinforcing it and providing artillery emplacements. When James I became king, he unified the Scottish and English thrones, and the need for the castle declined.

In the 19th century the castle was used as a look-out for coastguards. It became a tourist attraction for architects and antiquarians.

In 1901 the building was purchased by Edward Hudson, owner of Country Life magazine, which published innumerable articles on English country house and rural themes.

Opening times and additional information:

Castle:
13 Feb - 21 Feb : from Monday to Sunday (10am-3pm)
13 Mar - 31 Oct : from Tuesday to Sunday (10am-5pm)
Garden:
Open all year from 10am to 5pm (Closed on Mondays)

Castle is open some weekends in January, November and December (tide dependency), contact castle for details. Email: lindisfarne@nationaltrust.org.uk

Prices:

Adult £6.60
Child £3.30
Family £16.50 (£15)
Garden only: adult £1.50 - child free

The castle is accessed by a steep climb around the rocky base of the hill.