Sedan

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Shortened history of the castle:

A first castle was built in 1424 by the lordship Guillaume de Braquemont. This triangular castle was in the following years largely expanded and strengthened by his descendants.

By 1549, the small principality of Sedan had made its way through fierce battles in the surroundings by its ideal location: halfway between the French Kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire.

But exactly one century later, one of the princes of Sedan was involved in a conspiracy and, to save his head, gave Sedan to the French. After that date, the castle remained a military bastion but quite unused because of its too central position in the country.

The castle of Sedan is today considered as the biggest european castle with a surface of 35.000sqm².

Opening times and additionnal information:

- Opening times
From September to June: 10am-12am & 1.30pm-5pm
July & August: 10am-6pm
Castle closed on 25th of December and 1st of January

- Prices
Adults: 7,50 Eur
Children & Students: 6,50 Eur
Family Ticket (2 adults and minimum 3 children): 26 Eur

- Anecdote: in 1962, the Town Council had to decide what to do with this castl which was falling into ruins (the French army was gone since the 1930s but still the owner). The city bought it for for one symbolic Franc (former French money) and voted, by one vote, not to destroy it...

Warkworth

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Shortened history of the castle:

Warkworth Castle was built in a loop of the River Coquet. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the mid 12th century by Earl Henry of Northumberland, son of David I, King of Scots. The castle is most famously associated with the Percy family, who acquired the castle in 1332.

The Percy family were one of the most powerful in the country, controlling much of Northern England. Despite having a major castle nearby at Alnwick, they frequently resided at Warkworth and made big improvements to the castle, most notably with the addition of the great keep in the late 14th century.

The sixth Percy earl, Henry, on his death in 1537, left the castle and all his possessions to Henry VIII. Subsequent attempts to reinstate a Percy brought misfortune on the castle as the catholic Percy's came into conflict with the protestant Queen Elizabeth.

The castle was subsequently allowed to fall into decay.

Opening times and additionnal information:

Castle is open from October to March from 10am to 4pm, and from April to September from 10am to 5pm.

Entrance fees:
Adults: £4.80
Children: £2.90
Concessions: £4.30 (students, disabled...)
Family Ticket: £12.50

There is a free audio tour of this impressive fortress, don't miss it!

Ortucchio

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Shortened history of the castle:

This castle was built in 1465 by Antonio Piccolomini on the remains of previous fortifications, from which a large quadrangular tower remains. It is formed by a quadrangular enclosure with four cylindrical towers (one destroyed) on powerful, inclined bases.

Until the 19th century, Ortucchio Castle was completely surrounded by the waters of the Fucino Lake and was accessible only by waterways.

Opening times and additionnal information:

Hochosterwitz

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Shortened history of the castle:

The castle is first evoked in a popular tale of the siege of the castle by the troops of Margarete Maultasch, Countess of Tyrol from 1335 to 1363. According to this legend, Margarete Maultasch invaded the duchy and encircled the castle. Months passed and impossible for her troops to conqueer the site. Her forces finally withdrew when the garrison of Hochosterwitz slaughtered its very last ox, filled it with corn and threw it over the wall, pretending it still had so many provisions in stock that they could be used as projectiles.

In the 15th century, Georg of Osterwitz, the castle owner, was captured in a Turkish invasion and died in 1476 in prison without leaving descendants. The castle tehn fell into the hands of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg.

Over the next thirty years the castle was badly damaged by numerous Turkish campaigns. On 5 October 1509, Emperor Maximilian I handed the castle as a pledge to Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, then Bishop of Gurk.

In 1571, Baron George Khevenhüller acquired the citadel by purchase. He then greatly fortified the site to resist to the threat of Turkish invasions, building an armoury and 14 gates from 1570-1586. Such massive fortification is considered unique in citadel construction.

Since the 16th century, no major changes have been made to Hochosterwitz.

A 1:25 miniature scale model of Hochosterwitz Castle is located in Minimundus, a popular tourist attraction in Klagenfurt.

Opening times and additionnal information:

- Opening times (the castle interior is private but walking around is allowed and free)
April & October: 9am-5pm
From May to September: 9am-6pm
You cannot drive up to Hochosterwitz, so park your car, put on your sturdy shoes, and start your hike. It will take you about half an hour to walk to the castle.

- Email: info@burg-hochosterwitz.com

- Anecdote: Ascending the hill, you will find a succession of 14 gates designed by the most famous castle-fortification architect of the Middle Ages. Thanks to his skill, the castle was never conquered. Each gate has its own unique brand of protection—one has holes through which hot oil was poured upon the invader, another has a moat, another a drawbridge, another hidden spikes, another fire-torch slots, and so on. If the enemy was clever enough to conquer one gate, he was sure to be defeated before the final entrance.

Druyes

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Shortened history of the castle:

Built in the twelfth century by the Counts of Nevers, the castle of Druyes is part of the first generation of the so-called Philippians castles, built during the reign of Philip Augustus with a simple plan, circular towers that offered a better defense at lower cost.

It became in the 1750's the fortress Peter II of Courtenay, emperor of Constantinople, and then of his daughter Matilda, countess of Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnerre.

The castle was then abandoned by the Counts of Nevers, and completely lost its military use, while slowly falling apart.

He escaped from demolition during the French Revolution but it was not until the second half of the twentieth century that the inhabitants of Druyes and local associations started to care about this monument of regional history.

Opening times and additionnal information:

- Individual visits

April, May, June & September : all Weekends from 3pm to 6pm
Julet and August : everyday from 3pm to 6pm

Prices: Adults = 4 euros, Children = 2.50 Euros (8 to 16 years), Free up to 8 years

- Group visits

The Castle of Druyes is open to groups every day all year round by reservation.

Guided tour of Castle and Village (duration 2 hours). Prices : Adults = 5 Euros,

Guided tour of the Castle (duration 1 hour). Prices : Adults = 4 euros, Scholars = 2.50 Euros

Phone : +33 (0) 3 86 41 51 71
E-mail : les-amis-du-chateau@wanadoo.fr

Peñafiel

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Shortened history of the castle:

Peñafiel Castle, which is 210 meters long and 33 meters wide, stands on a hill from which you can see the Duraton and Botijas valleys. The keep, which is over 30 meters high, is crowned by eight towers and flanked by two courtyards.

The first known reference on a fortress dates back to 943. It is then mentioned as falling within the possessions of the Count of Castile 944 to 945.

In 983, the castle was seized by the caliph hadjib Cordovan Hisham II.

In the thirteenth century the king of Castile and Leon, Ferdinand III, establishes the señorío of Peñafiel, to be bequeathed to his son, Alphonse X.

In 1456, Henry IV of Castile took the fortress which was falling appart and built the fortress that you can see today.

Classified to the status of national monument in 1917, now owned by the mayor of Peñafiel, the Penafiel Castle houses the headquarters of the Foundation-Provincial Wine Museum Valladolid.


Opening times and additional information:

October to March : from Tuesday to Sunday (from 11.30am to 2pm & from 4pm to 7pm)
April to September : from Tuesday to Sunday (from 11am to 2.30pm & from 4.30pm to 8.30pm)

Closed: Mondays, 1st and 6th of January 6 & 24, 25th and 31st of December.

Prices:
Museum and Castle: 6 €
Palace tour: € 3
Tasting: € 9
Admission free for children under 12 years

Email : museodelvino@dip-valladolid.es
Tel. : +34 983881199

Alarcon

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Shortened history of the castle:

This 8th Century medieval castle, perfectly preserved, is located on a promontory looking down over the fertile plain of the river Jucar.

Steeped in history, this medieval castle has seen many sieges and revolts. It was founded by the Muslims in the 8th century and was then captured by King Alfonso VIII in the 12th century. It has been home to the Marquises de Villena and later, the home of the famous writer Don Juan Manuel.

From the battlements, the keep and the main tower "Torre del Homenaje" there is an interesting view of the triple defensive walls echoing back to the past. However, the main defence of the castle was its location. It was protected from assault because it is perched on the edge of a ravine with the river Jucar forming a natural moat on three sides as it flows down the ravine.

Opening times and additional information:

The castle is today a 4 star hotel and visits aren't allowed if you're not a customer. Such a pity !

Bonifacio

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Shortened history of the castle:

It is built on a strategic site to effecticiently protect the city from sea attacks. The castle was built with four major construction campaigns. The castle was erected in 1492 under the authority of the Genoa. In 1553, the arrival of Sampiero and French troops led by Marshal de Thermes, work is being done to expand the citadel. Several buildings are destroyed in order to increase the defensive aspect of the city, including the church of Sainte-Croix, the first cathedral of the city of Genoa. In 1559, "The Great", Jacopo di Palearo Morco, an Italian engineer, strengthened the fortifications and separated the citadel from the rest of the city. Hexagonal, it will be given six massive bastions. Finally, in 1789, after the annexation of Corsica to France, the ditches are flushed to clean the premises.

Two other aspects a re remarkable on this site. First-of-all, the man-carved stairway of 187 steps, built according to the legend by the soldiers of the King of Aragon in just one night for the siege of Bonifacio in 1420. And second-of-all, the parapets, immense medieval fortifications of the city, which remain as they were several centuries ago, offering a splendid view on the sea.

Opening hours and additionnal information:

The citadel is open to public, without any fee.

Combourg

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Shortened history of the castle:

The castle stands on a small hill next to Lac Tranquille (Lake Tranquil) and archives show that a first castle was built exactly on this spot around 1025 by Archbishop Guinguené.

The castle consists of four large, powerful buildings of dressed granite, with crenellations and machicolations, enclosing a rectangular courtyard. In each corner of this massive fortress is a round tower, also with crenellations and machicolations, with conical roofs.

In 1761, the Chateaubriand family acquired the property and it was the childhood home of François-René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848).

The writer François-René de Chateaubriand spoke in his diarys of the ghosts which apparently haunt the castle of Combourg. He said local residents suggested "that a count of Combourg with a wooden leg dead since tree centuries came back at some times" . It is reported haunting the stairs of the castle and sometimes accompanied by a black cat. And indeed, during the restoration of the castle in 1876, workers discovered walled up in a room ... a momified cat (a rural tradition in the Middle Ages was to wall cats in the foundation of all new construction, to avert bad luck).

Privately-owned, the Combourg castle is listed as a historical monument since 1966.


Opening times and additionnal information:

April, May, June, September and October :
from 10am to 12pm & from 2pm to 6pm
Visits of 45min at 2pm and 5pm

July and August:
from 9.30am to 12.30pm & from 2pm to 6pm
Visits of 45min at 10.30am, 11.15am, 2pm and 5.30pm

Castle is open everyday except saturdays.

Telephone number for reservations : +33 2 99 73 22 95

Lutsk

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Shortened history of the castle:

According to historical chronicles, there were two castles in medieval Lutsk. Unfortunately, the second one, the Okolnyi Castle, was completely destroyed in the 14th century.

The 28 meter-high Entrance Tower of Lutsk Castle was where the idea of a united Europe was voiced for the first time, as incredible as it may seem. And it happened in 1429: European monarchs from 15 states were invited to Lutsk. The Holy Roman (and German) Emperor Sigismund, Danish King Eric IV, Polish monarch Władysław II Jagiełło, the Grand Masters of the Teutonic and Livonian orders, a legate of Pope Martin V, Vasili II, Grand Prince of Moscow, an ambassador of the Byzantine Emperor Palaeologus and other high and mighty leaders responded to this invitation. In total more than 15,000 guests came, while the population of Lutsk itself was only about 5,000 residents! A series of very important questions were raised at this “summit”, such as forming a coalition against the growing power of the Ottoman Empire (groundwork of the modern European Union!) or even equal rights for Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Imagine the cost to organize such a summit: records show that seven hundred barrels of beer and honey drinks were consumed daily! It seems that in the Middle Ages the term ‘diet’ was completely unknown.

And a last anecdote: it is the only castle in Ukraine seen by nearly every Ukrainian, thanks to the fact that they hold its picture in their hand with every 200 hryvnas bill.

Opening times and additionnal information:

The castle is open daily from 10am to 7pm.

Entrance ticket:
- adults 4 hryvnas
- children and students 2 hryvnas

Sigmundskron

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Shortened history of the castle:

The first time the castle was mentionned dates back to 945, which makes it one of the oldest castles of southern Europe.

In the end of the fifteenth century, the Prince of Tyrol, Duke Sigismund the Rich, bought the castle, renamed it Sigmundskron Castle and developed it to withstand firearms. The castle stood for several decades as a major defensive point of Tyrol before falling suddenly into disrepair, due to financial difficulties.

At the end of the 18th century the castle belonged to the Count Wolkenstein, then in the 19th to the counts of Sarnthein and from then until 1994 to the counts of Toggenburg. In 1996 the castle passed into the possession of the Province of Bolzano. In the spring of 2003, after much controversy, Reinhold Messner was given a licence for his long-planned mountain museum.

Opening times and additionnal information:

Museum and castle open from Tuesday to Sunday (10 am – 6pm)
Open from the 1st sunday in March until the last sunday in November

Châteaugay

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Shortened history of the castle :

The castle of Chateaugay stands above the village of the same name. It was erected in 1381 by Pierre de Giac, chancellor of the King of France Charles VII, on the ruins of the castle Vigosche. It was enlarged in the sixteenth century by Laqueuille before being sold as national property during the Revolution.

The keep is the only remaining building of the fourteenth century castle, and has never been restored since then.

On the ground floor of the keep, the Chateaugay Wine (a typical product from Auvergne which was loved by Henri IV) can be tasted and bought.

Opening hours and additionnal information:

Open from mid-June to mid-September everyday from 2pm to 7pm.
Open on reservations the rest of the year.
Free entrance (tip only)

E-mail : mairie@chateaugay.fr

Lavardin

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Shortened history of the castle :

The remains of the Château de Lavardin stand on a rocky promontory, above the village of Lavardin and the Loir.

The first castle, built by Solomon de Lavardin, dates to the beginning of the 11th century, and must have consisted of a wooden keep on a motte, protecting a manor house on the summit of the promontory.

Then, from the 12th to the 15th century, the castle was rebuilt completely, entirely out of stone this time. It was composed of four enclosures surrounding a quadrangular keep, the whole built on three rock platforms excavated in the Middle Ages to increase height.

Of the first enclosure there remains a large gatehouse or "châtelet", with several embrasures for cannons (about 1400).

With a height of 26 meters, the keep dominates the village and the valley.

Opening times and additionnal information :

There is free access to the site. The castle is almost inside the village.

Kyrenia

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Shortened history of the castle :

Kyrenia Castle is a spectacular site. The castle dates back to Byzantine times and has served several civilisations : the Byzantines, Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans, and the British.

Richard the Lion Heart first referred to Kyrenia castle in 1191 when he conquered Cyprus on his way to the crusades.

The castle features huge round towers at its corners that the Venetians built in 1540 to strengthen the castle against artillery.

The view from the castle across Kyrenia harbour is amazing, just what the defending Venetians needed to check for the threatening Ottoman invasion. The irony is, when the Ottoman invasion finally came in 1571, the Venetians gave up without a fight.

Kyrenia Castle also houses the Shipwreck Museum, home to one of the most remarkable marine archaeological treasures in the world. In 300BC, a trading vessel, uploaded with millstones and amphorae (large jars) of wine from Kos and Rhodes set sail for Cyprus. The ship was caught in a storm, and was wrecked outside Kyrenia harbour. The remains of the ship sat on the sea bed covered in sand for 2300 years until 1965, when the remains of what was then the oldest recovered ship in the world began to be recovered. The 47ft long hull is preserved in a specially controlled environment in the Museum, along with wine jars, some utensils used by the crew, and 9000 almonds, which were part of the crew’s rations.

Busséol

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Shortened history of the castle :

The castle was built in 1170 on what was left of a gallo-roman castrum of the 2nd century after the death of J.-C. The name of Busséol comes from the word "buteol" in latin which means "bird of prey", or eyrie in our case. The castle lies at more than 700m in altitude.

The castle kept it's gallo-roman military architectural style which enabled him to successfully resist to the attacks and assaults of Philippe Auguste in 1215, of the Black Prince (Hundred Years War) and of the Duke of La Rochefoucauld (League Wars in 1595).

An extraordinay garden was built in the twelfth century on the top level, atop a the orck on which the castle stands on. It is called the Crusaders' Garden and is invisible from the outside. In this garden you can find a wide range of flowers of Mediterranean origin and it was classified as "Exceptionnal Garden" by the Institute of Parks and Gardens of France.

Opening times and additionnal information :

- 15th of June to 15th of September: from 10am to 12pm and from 2.30pm to 6.30pm
- 16th of september to 14th of June: from 2.30 to 5.30 ONLY on Sundays and Days Off.

The castle is private property.

La Hunaudaye

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Shortened history of the castle:

The castle of La Hunaudaye was built in 1220 by Olivier Tournemine.

The castle is unfortunately destroyed in 1341 during the Successors War in Brittany. At the end of the War the Tournemine Family rebuilds the castle, taking into account the latest military innovations.

At the end of the 15th century, the Tournemine Family was a very important one in Brittany and received in 1487 the title of Barony of La Hunaudaye. But all this power was gained through terror and massacres. One tale even said that the castle was a place no one wanted to approach and that the few who did were never seen again.

The decline of the castle began in the beginning of the 17th century: the Tournemine Family disapears, and lands and estates are sold.

During the French Revolution, the castle was burned and in the 19th century, it is used as a stone quarry. The French State, in emergency, buys it in 1930.

Opening times and additionnal information:

From the 1st of April to mid-June : everyday except saturday from 2.30pm to 6pm
From mid-June to mid-september : everyday from 10.30am to 6.30pm
From mid-September to end of October : everyday except saturday from 2.30pm to 6pm
Open during Easter and Toussaint vacations from 2.30 to 6pm

Ticket prices
adults : 5.00 €
reduced : 3.50 €
children (less than 6 years old) : free

Trécesson

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Shortened history of the castle :

The Trécesson family exists since the thirteenth century and some documentary evidence dates the construction of this castle back in the late fourteenth century.

It is much more likely that a previous building has been completely transformed in the fifteenth century, when Trécesson heiress, around 1440, married one of the most famous ducal officers of his generation, Eon de Carne, treasurer and head of the wardrobe of Duke John V.

One of the legends which haunts the castle is the legend of the "Trécesson Bride". In the eighteenth century, a bride would have been buried alive the morning of her wedding. Who were the murderers? Her own brothers! Two boys, disappointed by their sister's future union. Witnessing the scene, a poacher escaped and ran to tell the horror to his wife. She told him: "Go and tell the lord!". Once discovered, the girl was still alive but a few seconds after, her eyes closed forever. Her veil and her bouquet was long exposed to the castle chapel. And the bridegroom, insulted by everyone for not having taken care of his future wife, was sent into the Army.

Additionnal information and opening times :

The castle is private, sometimes open in July and August for visits (3Eur per person)