Neuschwanstein Castle
Royal
palace in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, the most famous of three royal
palaces built for Louis II of Bavaria, sometimes referred to as Mad King
Ludwig, who grew up nearby at Hohenschwangau Castle. And my favourite
and most beautiful of all!
PALACE OF VERSAILLES
The Palace
of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from
1682 until 1790. It was
originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624, by
Louis XIII. It was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. He used it
as a little lodge as a secret refuge for his amorous trysts with the
lovely Louise de la Valliere and built a fairy tale park around it.
Jules Hardouin Mansart, the king’s principal architect, drew the plans
to enlarge what was turning more and more into a palace from A Thousand
and One Nights. The terrace that overlooked the gardens was removed to
make way for the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, the Galarie de Glaces. It
is here from which the king radiated his power and where the destiny of
Europe was decided over a century. The French classical architecture was
complemented by extensive gardens.
CHENONCEAU
Chenonceaux,
small agricultural community in the department of Indre-et-Loire in
northwestern France,18 miles east of Tours. Located on the Cher River.
Chenonceaux is best known as the site of the 16th-century Chateau de
Chenonceaux, which is situated on the north bank of the river.
In 1515 Thomas Bohier, revenue collector for King Francis I, began the
construction of the Chateau de Chenonceaux. Unfinished at the time of
his death, construction of the chateau was completed by Bohier’s wife
and son. In 1535, however, Francis I took the estate in payment of
debts. King Henry II, son of Francis I, gave the chateaux to Diane de
Poitiers, duchesse de Valentinois, who extended the structure by a
bridge across the Cher. Catherine de Medicis, widow of Henry II, forced
Diane de Poitiers to deed the chateaux to her. Catherine de Medicis
constructed the gallery above the bridge and the stables known as the
Batiment-des-Dames. The chateau became her favorite residence, and it
was there that her son Francis II and Mary, Queen of Scots, were married
in 1560.
The Chateau of Chambord
Chambord,
chateau, park, and village in the department of Loire-et-Cher in central
France. The chateau of Chambord was a retreat for French kings,
especially Louis XIV It was under his auspices that French dramatist
Moliere’s Monsieur de Pourceaugnac and Le bourgeois Gentilhomme were
first produced there.
Linderhof
Ludwig II
built this secluded hunting lodge, it was known as the Kings Hut. Ludwig
decided that this will be a New Versailles. It was planned as a modest
villa but had become a splendid Rococo palace in the ornate French
style. Linderhof is the smallest of the three royal castles, and the
only one which was completely finished. (1878).
Tower of London
Castle
building was an essential part of the Norman Conquest; when Duke William
of Normandy invaded England in 1066 his first action after landing was
to build a castle.After his coronation in Westminster Abbey on
Christmas Day 1066, William ordered the construction of a castle in
London for his triumphal entry. nitially the Tower had consisted of a
modest enclosure built into the south-east corner of the Roman City
walls, but by the late 1070s, with the initial completion of the White
Tower, it had become the most fearsome of all. Nothing had been seen
like it in England before. It was built by Norman masons and English
(Anglo-Saxon) labor drafted in from the countryside. It was intended to
protect the river route from Danish attack, but also and more
importantly to dominate the City physically and visually.The White Tower
was protected to the east and south by the old Roman City walls (a full
height fragment can be seen just by Tower Hill underground station),
while the north and west sides were protected by ditches as much as 750m
(25ft) wide and 3.40m (lift) deep and an earthwork with a wooden wall
on top. It is important for us today to remember that the functions of
the Tower from the 1070s until the late 19th century were established by
its Norman founders. The Tower was never primarily intended to protect
London from external invasion, although, of course, it could have done
so if necessary. Nor was it ever intended to be the principal residence
of the kings and queens of England, though many did in fact spend
periods of time there. Its primary function was always to provide a base
for royal power in the City of London and a stronghold to which the
royal family could retreat in times of civil disorder.
Leeds, Kent
Leeds
Castle, acclaimed as the most romantic castle in England, is located in
south-east England, built on two adjacent island in the river Len.Leeds
Castle was originally a manor of the Saxon royal family possibly as
early as the reign of Ethelbert IV ( 856-860). The first castle was an
earthwork enclosure whose wooden palisade was converted to stone and
provided with two towers along the perimeter. This is now vanished.
Traces of arches in a vault thought to be Norman were found at the
beginning of this century. Around 1119 Robert Crevecoeur started to
build a stone castle on the site, establishing his donjon where the
Gloriette now is. Stephen, Count of Blois, and his cousin the Empress
Matilda contested the crown of England. In 1139 Matilda invaded England
with the help of his brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester, who held Leeds
castle, but Kent was loyal to king Stephen and following a short siege
he took control of the castle.The castle came into the possession of
Edward I (1278) . He rebuilt much of the castle as it stood at the
beginning of his reign, and enlarged it, providing an outer stone
curtain round the edge of the larger island, with cylindrical
open-backed flanking towers and a square-plan water-gate on the
south-east. The gatehouse at the south-west, a single tower pierced by
an arched passage was improved.Henry VIII, the most famous of all the
owners of Leeds Castles, expended large sums in enlarging and
beautifying the whole range of buildings. At the same time, he carefully
retained the defenses of the castle for he often had cause to fear
invasion from either France or the Spanish . The king entrusted the work
of alteration to his great friend Sir Henry Guidford.Leeds has been
constantly inhabited and rebuilt since then. Most of the castle today is
the result of the nineteenth-century reconstruction and addition.
Blois
Dominating
the Loire River, the royal castle of Blois is not only one of the most
prestigious Renaissance monuments in France but also a brilliant
illustration of the evolution of the French architecture from the Middle
ages to the 17th century.About the middle of the 10th century, the name
of Thibaud I is recorded Count of Blois, he was the founder of the
family who remained in power until 1230. Blois became the most
important town in the region. The first stone castle was built to
protect the town dates back to that period. An independent bastion
surrounded the castle, and followed the line of the headland on which it
was erected. The numerous medieval remains still exists. The best
preserved medieval tower is situated on a terrace overlooking the
Loire.While the Franco-Anglo was (named the Hundred Years War) raged in
the real, an event took place that determined the future of the county
of Blois, the ancient fortress became a royal castle. At the end of the
14th. century, the county of Blois was sold to Prince Louis of Orleans,
son of the king of France Charles V. He lived in the castle for 25
years attracting a small court of scholars and poets. His grandson,
Louis XII became king of France in 1498 and decided to move to Blois, in
this way, the small town became a royal town and the capital of the
Kingdom.Under Louis XII and Francis I the town of Blois grew
considerably. But after the disaster of Pavia in 1525, Francis I never
returned to Blois and his successors only paid short visits to the town.
According to French and Gothic tradition, the initials and emblems of
the owners of the place are sculptured in the stone: fleur de lis for
the king and ermine spots for the queen, Anne de Bretagne. The
equestrian statue of the king crowns the main entrance of the castle.
The emblem of the king, the salamander, is sculptured eleven times in
high relief on the Francis I facade. The staircase, which was at the
center of the facade before Gaston d”Orleans began to modify the castle
is a masterpiece. When the Italianate straight flights of stairs
appeared in the Loire Valley after the Gothic period, the shape of the
spiral staircase in a protruding octagonal cage was considered rather
ordinary. The staircase, with its three floors of balconies looking on
to the Court of Honor, is perfectly suitable for the display of more and
more sumptuous ceremonies.
Nymphenburg
The
former summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria is located in the west
part of the city in the middle of one of Munich’s most beautiful parks.
Five generations of Wittelsbach rulers were involved in the construction
of this Baroque castle.
The building of Nymphenburg Castle began in the reign of the Elector
Ferdinand Maria: overjoyed by the birth of his son and heir, Max
Emanuel, he had the central section built for his wife in the style of
an Italian villa (Agostino Barelli, 1664-74). In about 1700, Max Emanuel
commissioned Enrico Zuccali and Antonio Viscardi to extend the castle
by adding galleries and pavilions.The central section owes its present
appearance to the efforts of Josef Effner, who in 1715, designed the
pilasters, arched windows and busts that now grace the exterior. A few
years later, the south section of the castle was added to serve as the
court stables. As a counterpart, the orangerie was added to the
north.Central section: Stone Hall (Steinerner Saal; 1755-57) with
ceiling frescoes by J. B. and F Zimmermann (Homage to the Goddess Hora);
the Rococo stucco work is based on designs by Cuvillies.
Mont St. Michael
Le
Mont-Saint-Michel, rocky, cone-shaped islet in northwestern France, in
the Gulf of Saint-Malo, connected by a causeway with the mainland. The
islet, celebrated for its Benedictine abbey, has small houses and shops
on its lowest level. Above these stand the monastic buildings, many of
which date from the 13th century and are considered outstanding examples
of Gothic architecture. The entire islet is crowned by the abbey
church, about 73 m (about 240 ft) above sea level.The first chapel on
this site was founded in 708 by Aubert, Bishop of Avranches , after the
Archangel Michael has appeared to him in a dream. The Archangel Michel
appeared here in the year 708. The Abbey takes the name of Mont saint
Michel. The oratory, consecrated in 709 was served by a community of
canons. It apparently survived the Norman invasions, but the observance
of the rule became very relaxed. In 966 Richard I, Duke of Normandy,
established there the Benedictine monks from St. Wandrille Abbeyunder
the direction of Abbot Maynard, who began the reconstructions of the
church and other buildings. The church was burnt in 922 and rebuilt on a
larger scale by Abbot Hildebert II from 1023, at the time of the
monastic reforms in Normandy carried out by Richard II and William of
Volpiano. Mont Saint-Michel was built in a strong rock that measures 84
meters height. It is pure granite and is so hard that has resisted the
passage of time.Mont Saint Michel was built as a medieval castle. It
has two large towers to defend the entrance to the castle. St. Michael
is a surety for freedom and thus this sanctuary also became a symbol of
the allied landing in Normandy during the Second World War.
