A castle (from Latin: castellum) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence - though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace.
Castles
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1Dragon's Castle (Ruins), Borinka
The Dragon's Castle also, Castle Snake, Snake Castle is a castle ruins on the hill above the valley Uboc of Stupava (Borinka) stream at an altitude of 370 m above sea level.
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1Dregely Castle (Ruins)
Dregely Castle is a 13th-century hilltop castle in Nograd County, Hungary. It is in ruins, but being restored. Dregely Castle.
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6Drevohostice Chateau
Drevohostice Chateau. The chateau was built in the 16th century, adaptations were made in the 2nd half of the 17th and early 19th centuries.
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10Drinov Castle (Chateau)
Drinov Castle (Chateau). The main attraction of Drinov is the castle with its distinctive towers with bevelled edges. In 18th century chateau acquired its present form.
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5Dubno Castle
Dubno Castle was founded in 1492 by Prince Konstantin Ostrogski on a promontory overlooking the Ikva River not far from the ancient Ruthenian fort of Dubno, Volhynia.
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10Durham Castle
Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been wholly occupied since 1840 by University College, Durham. It is open to the general public to visit, but only through guided tours, since it is in use as a working building and is home to over 100 students.
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10Eger Castle (Castle of Eger)
The Castle of Eger is a castle in Eger, Hungary. Historically, it is known for repelling the Turkish attack in 1552 during the Siege of Eger.
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2Ehrenfels Castle, Hessen
Ehrenfels Castle (German: Burg Ehrenfels) is a ruined castle above the Rhine Gorge near the town of Rudesheim am Rhein in Hesse, Germany.
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10Esztergom Castle
The first to build a palace with a church on the Castle Hill of Esztergom, well after the Romans, was Grand Prince Geza. Esztergom Castle.
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5Fagaras Citadel
Built in 1310, Fagaras citadel was transformed in the first half of the 17th century from a military fortress back into a lordly citadel.
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3Filakovo Castle (Ruins)
Built on volcanic rock, Filakovo Castle and the town beneath it are located near the border between Slovakia and Hungary.
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1Foldvar Castle (Ruins), Uppony
Foldvar Castle (Ruins), Uppony near village Uppony in Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen county, Hungary.
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7Fortified Castle (Ruins), Trojca
Fortified Castle Ruins in Trojca village in the administrative district of Gmina Ustrzyki Dolne, within Bieszczady County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland.
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5Fragments of Old Walls, Lviv High Castle
Fragments of Old Walls, Lviv High Castle. Today you’ll see fragments of old walls on your way to the lookout point atop High Castle (Vysokyi Zamok).
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1Fuzerko Castle (Ruins)
Fuzerko Castle is a castle ruins near village, Bukkzserc in Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen county, Hungary. The southern border of Bukki Nemzeti Park.
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1Garden and Castle Grosskuhnau
Completed in 1780, neo-classical Castle Grosskuhnau is situated at the edge of Lake Grosskuhnau, about 4km west of Dessau-Rosslau. Visitors are free to roam the delightful gardens, which include vineyards and partially restored fruit plantations. The palace currently houses the administrative offices of Cultural Foundation Dessau-Worlitz and is not open to the public.
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3Glanzenberg, Town Monument Reserve, Old Town, Banska Stiavnica
The protective zone of the Town Monument Reserve - Glanzenberg - the Old Town: The fortified premises with the central tower building (from the 12th century) and protecting the mining district (the veins of Spitaler and Bieber), at the turn of the 13th century rebuilt into an extensive castle.
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6Gutenberg Castle
Gutenberg Castle is a preserved castle in the town of Balzers, Liechtenstein, the centre of the municipality of Balzers. Gutenberg is one of the five castles of the principality and one of two that have survived preserved until the present day.
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10Gymes Castle (Ruins)
Above the village Jelenec in the Tribec Mts. in west of Slovakia, at the height of 514 m there are ruins of the originally Gothic Gymes Castle, built in the second half of the 13th century on the site of an older fort.
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1Gyongyospata Castle (Ruins)
Castle Ruins near village Gyongyospata, Hungary. Gyongyospata Castle (Ruins).
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10Hainburg Castle, Hainburg an der Donau
The Hainburg Castle stands at the Schlossberg Hill (291 meters above the sea level). Emperor Henry III commissioned the erection of a fortress on the Castle Hill (Schlossberg) in 1050.
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1Hajnacka Castle (Ruins)
Hajnacka castle was built in the Gothic style against the Mongol invasion in the mid 1200s. Later, in the mid 15th century, the construction was finished.
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8Halbturn Castle
Halbturn Castle was built between 1701 and 1711 by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt as a hunting lodge for Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor.
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1Hanigovce (Hanigovsky) Castle (Ruins)
Hanigovsky Castle 13th century ruins (New Castle) of the village Hanigovce in Sabinov District in the Presov Region of north-eastern Slovakia.
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8Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a medieval fortification, constructed atop a spur of rock close to the Irish Sea. It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at the substantial cost of £8,190. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an important part in several wars, withstanding the siege of Madog ap Llywelyn between 1294–95, but falling to Owain Glyndwr in 1404.
