Vianden

Castles: mirrors into the past…

Castles: places full of history and countless stories to tell. Stories of power, war, siege, love, hate, and influence.

Like mirrors into the past, they offer us a glance into medieval life.

Every time we enter a castle it is like making a step back through a century in which we can admire the aristocratic life, the beauty of every portrait, the priceless antiques, and medieval art. With gardens beautifully preserved to represent their origins that also surprise us in shapes and beauty.

After so many years, the sophistication of castles design is evident. They might look different depending on where they are and when they were built, but all castles are wonders of construction. The real beauty is how they were built—stone, sweat, mortar, and muscle combined to form a structure that seems to last forever…

Massive walls, projecting towers, heavily fortified entrance are just some of the impressive features of castles. They are complex buildings designed to fulfill so many functions:  to be defensive, a home, a palace, a treasury, a courthouse, and for plenty other reasons.

When we think of a castle, our mind is automatically thinking of royalty. Indeed, many of them were built for royal families, but plenty were also built for nobles, wealthy families, or government officials. Castles that still stand today are very often relics from hundreds of years ago. Many became ruins due to lack of funding to rebuild and keep up appearances, but many have been restored to their former glory and now are UNESCO World Heritage and major tourist attractions, luring millions of visitors from all over the world, especially us as we are big fans of castles. We manage to visit approximately 40 of them until now, and many are still in our agenda.

Author: Nicoleta Galea

Castles: mirrors into the past...Adrian GALEA
011

Leave a Reply