Back in September, we did an article about an Eureka Springs, Arkansas castle. Now, we venture out into the rest of the world to view foreign castles and their surrounding towns.
Many people may think of castles as being primarily European fixtures, but as you will see, many other non-European countries like Canada, Japan, South Korea, and even India have their own versions of castles that are sure to amaze and astound. Read on to learn more!
Photo: http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/world-s-prettiest-castle-towns.html
Castle Town Name: Carcassonne
Castle Name: La Cité
Location: Southwestern France, an hour’s car drive away from the Mediterranean Sea
Founded: Fifth century A.D.
Notable Information: Known for its classical French cuisine with a modern flair and its neoclassical Musée des Beaux Arts, home to artwork by artists like Courbet, Chardin, and Ingres.
Photo: http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/world-s-prettiest-castle-towns.html
Castle Town Name: Jaisalmer
Castle Name: Jaisalmer Fort
Location: India, around 470 miles west of Delhi, in the Great Thar Desert of western Rajasthan
Founded: 1156, by Rajput warriors and Jain merchants
Notable Information: The world’s only continuously occupied fort town, Jaisalmer Fort was constructed 25 stories off the Great Thar Desert’s floor and features 99 yellow bentonite sandstone bastions. The town around the fort can be identified by its temples and mansions with colorfully dyed walls and lace-like carvings.
Photo: http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/world-s-prettiest-castle-towns.html
Castle Town Name: Rhodes
Castle Name: Palace of the Grand Masters
Location: Greece, in the middle of the “crossroads between the Middle East, Europe, and Africa”
Founded: Fourteenth century, by knights from the Crusades
Notable Information: The town’s architecture features Islamic, European, and Greek influences, as well as solid limestone and sandstone walls. The past Turkish occupation is reflected in buildings like “a candy-striped mosque, a Byzantine museum, and a Muslim library”.
Photo: http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/world-s-prettiest-castle-towns.html
Castle Town Name: Naganeupseong (nagan “safe and pleasant”; seong “castle”)
Castle Name: Nakpung-ru Castle
Location: South Korea, in a valley close to the southwestern city of Suncheon
Founded: 1397, and its 30-odd thatched-roof adobe houses are still inhabited by a couple hundred people
Notable Information: The 3-square-mile Nakpung-ru Castle is comprised of “elaborate pagoda-type buildings, surrounded by thick stone walls” and features a changing-of-the-guard ceremony at its entrance almost every weekend, as well as its Namdo food festival that attracts around 200,000 every October.
Photo: http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/world-s-prettiest-castle-towns.html
Castle Town Name: Segovia
Castle Name: Alcázar Castle
Location: Spain
Founded: Fourteenth century (the castle, however, was recreated in the 1800s after a fire)
Notable Information: Alcázar Castle may have been the inspiration for Disneyland’s Cinderella Castle. This castle features elaborate murals, a deep moat, and a drawbridge that connects it to Segovia. Modeled after towns of the Middle Ages, the walled Segovia houses a “well-preserved Roman aqueduct with 166 graceful arches,” as well as the well-known Vera Cruz church, “consecrated in 1208 by the Knights of Templar to house a relic of the True Cross”.
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Stephanie Huskey is the resident real estate blogger for Movoto and thinks her favorite piece of castle novelty real estate has to be La Cité in France. (Although the Cinderella castle in Spain’s a close second!) Interested in getting her advice on your blog? She’s currently seeking guest blogging opportunities so she can share her knowledge with new communities! You can find her over here at Elance.com.
