But now, having been bombarded with shells, set on fire and left to rot, these castles are looking a little worse for wear.
This fascinating series of photographs includes UK ruins such as Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, Crichton Castle in Scotland and Kinbane Castle in County Antrim.
And European edifices such as Xixona Castle in Alicante and Birkenfels Castle in Alsace.
They may not be looking so grand today, but they're still utterly intriguing - time-capsule buildings that offer glimpses into by-gone ages.
Scroll down and behold the haunting pictures.
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2 comments:
Knock 'em all down and put in mixed use affordable housing.
Obviously, the writer doesn't know much about castles, their history, or the history of the people that had them built for them, and lived in them. The were not good people. They were the wealthy .01 percenters of Europe during the feudal ages. They owned everything, and I mean everything, including the castles, the land, and everything the serfs produced off of that land. The castles had to double as palaces and fortresses to keep the oppressed masses from killing them. Maybe some of you remember a history lesson about the Palace at Versailles, where Marie Antoinette's head was cut of by the oppressed masses ("let them eat cake," she said, when the French country people were starving while the King and his wife lived in decadent opulence). The French Royalty forgot to have walls built around the French castle.
Although southern plantations in our country are beautiful, they are from the time of slavery, and built with slave labor. Castles are no different. They are not "proud symbols of strength," rather they are a sign of excessive wealth, and the wealthy's attempt to keep it all for themselves.
I've been to Europe. I've lived in Europe. I've seen too many castles to even count. They are everywhere in the countryside; a dime a dozen. After you realize how many there are, they are not interesting anymore. They are just old, really old, run down mansions for the super rich from a long time ago. Occasionally, you can find one that is maintained for the tourists to see, but most of today's super rich people cannot afford the upkeep on a 1000 year old castle, and all the ones I visited were cold, impossible to heat, musty, and made out of stone and rocks. Even today's wealthy don't want to live in one.
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