Showing posts with label Castles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Castles. Show all posts

Monday, March 4, 2019

Frankenstein Castle


We just learned about the Cairo Citadel.

Another famous castle is Frankenstein Castle built around 1252 AD near Darmstadt Germany.

In German, the word stein means "stone" and the Franks were a group of people who lived in Germany.
So Frankenstein castle means "stone of the Franks".

In the year 1818, a writer named Mary Shelley wrote the famous book about Frankenstein's Monster, and many people think that she visited the castle and got ideas for her book from the area.

Near the castle there are many scary stories about ghosts, witches and fairies living in the forest.
There is one special water fountain that stories say witches use to stay young, and there is another place with rocks that are so magnetic compasses do not work there.
Another story is that a man lived there long ago who studied chemicals and human bodies and was almost like the Doctor who made Frankenstein.

All of these stories together bring a lot of people to this castle to visit and see if any of the stories are true, but most people believe they are just stories used to scare little kids.

Either way, it really is called Frankenstein castle!






(from: wikipedia - frankenstein castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Aguascalientes

Monday, February 25, 2019

Cairo Citadel


We just learned about the Castillo de Colomares.

Another famous castle is the Cairo Citadel, built in 1176 in Cairo, Egypt.

It was built by Salah al-Din (Saladin) during the wars known as the Crusades.

The wall and castle were built in the cities of Cairo and Fustat, and near the Nile so that they could try and control that part of the country from invaders.

To get water to the Citadel, they built a 280 foot well in the castle, called the Well of Joseph, that is still there today.

This well has a spiral staircase of 300 stairs going all the way down to the well.

Later on they built a bunch of water wheels that helped bring the water up to the citadel and then the water would go on things called acqueduct which were like ramps that helped bring water from one place to another.




(from: wikipedia - cairo citadel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Quintana Roo

Monday, February 18, 2019

Castillo de Colomares


We just learned about the Chillon Castle.

Another famous castle is Castillo de Colomares, in Benalmádena, Spain in 1987 by an American doctor named Dr Esteban Martín Martín.

This is actually a monument, not really a castle.
It was built to honor the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.

At a size of 1,500 square meters it is the largest monument to Christopher Columbus, but it also has a tiny church inside that is only 1.96 square meters.

It was made in a way to try and look like some of the different building and castle styles from when Columbus made his journey.
There are also parts of the monument shaped like a boat, for the trip he made across the ocean.






(from: wikipedia - castillo de colomares)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Zacatecas

Monday, February 11, 2019

Chillon Castle


We just learned about the Kilkenny Castle.

Another famous castle is the Chillon Castle, built in Veytaux Switzerland in 1005 AD.

It is built on a small island, right on the edge of Lake Geneva.

When it was first made, it was built to defend some of the valleys and roads in the area, but later on was used as a prison for some famous people.

The prince's castle in the Disney movie The Little Mermaid was made to look like this castle.





(from: wikipedia - chillon castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Durango

Monday, February 4, 2019

Kilkenny Castle


We just learned about Conwy Castle.

Another famous castle is Kilkenny Castle, built in 1195 AD in Kilkenny Ireland.

This castle was built right on the River Nore, and also right next to some very important roads.

Many royal people lived in this castle for a long time.






(from: wikipedia - kilkenny castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Morelos

Monday, January 28, 2019

Conwy Castle


We just learned about the Château de Chambord.

Another ancient castle is Conwy Castle in Wales, built around 1283.

This castle was used as by king Richard II for a while during a war, and survived many battles.

It is built right up against the shore of the River Conwy, and there was an old secret entrance that went down to the water where people could sneak in and out or get food and other supplies.

It has eight large towers, two main areas called the inner and outer wards, and two small areas for protection called barbicans.

A barbican is like a wall or gateway with small towers that was used to help defend the castle.





(from: wikipedia - conwy castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Queretaro

Monday, January 21, 2019

Château de Chambord


We just learned about the Royal Palace of Madrid.

Another famous palace is the Château de Chambord, built in 1547 in Chambord, France.

It was built as a hunting lodge for King Francis I, but he hardly ever stayed there.

There are four main towers around the outside, and a keep on the inside with four more towers.
The walls have many more towers going up, so looking at it from the side you can see eleven towers!
It is surrounded by a moat.
There is a very fancy double spiral staircase inside, that has one set of spiral stairs going up, and then another set going down, and they don't run into each other!

During the French Revolution in 1792, people did not like the rich or famous anymore, so they sold off all of the furniture inside, and tore down the wall panels and the flooring.

It was later used as a hospital, as storage for paintings from the Louvre during the war.
During World War II an American bomber airplane crash landed right on the lawn in front of the palace!

In the 1950s people worked to clean it up, and it is now a museum and place for people to go visit.






(from: wikipedia - château de chambord)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Yucatan

Monday, January 14, 2019

Royal Palace of Madrid


We just learned about the castle Castillo do Coca.

Another famous castle is the Royal Palace of Madrid, in Madrid Spain, built in 1735.

This palace is the home of the King and Queen of Spain.
It has 3,418 rooms, and is over a million square feet!

There are famous paintings in the palace by artists like Caravaggio and Goya, and a set of very fancy violins called Stradavarius.

Outside the palace are two large plazas called the Plaza de la Armería, and Plaza de Oriente, where there are large gardens and statues of kings.

On two other sides are the Campo del Moro Gardens, and the Sabatini Gardens.
These are larger gardens with wide open walking areas or pools.

There is also a Royal Library, Royal Pharmacy, and Royal Armory where you can go see all of the old swords and armor from the past.








(from: wikipedia - royal palace of madrid)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tabasco

Monday, January 7, 2019

Castillo de Coca


We just learned about the Alhambra.

Another famous castle is Castillo de Coca, built in 1493 in Coca, Segovia, Spain.

This castle is special because it has a type of brick work called Mudejar.

There were people living in Spain that were from another country with very different styles.
Mudejar means "allowed to stay", and it was used for people that were from another country but were allowed to stay in Spain.
While they stayed there, some of the types of castles they made back home were made in Spain just like the Castillo de Coca.

The castle has a moat and a keep, and an outside wall around the main castle.
Inside the central keep is a 82 foot tower, and walkways around the top of the walls with all sorts of defenses for the people inside to use if they were being attacked from below.





(from: wikipedia - castillo de coca)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: San Luis Potosi

Monday, December 31, 2018

Alhambra


We just learned about the Summer Palace.

Another famous castle is the Alhambra, built in 889 AD in Granada Spain.

This is the famous castle where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella met Christopher Columbus and sent him on his way to go on his trip to find America.

Poets from long ago called it a "pearl set in emeralds".
It has mountains all around it, with wildflowers and flowers around it.
The forest nearby has nightingale birds that sing at night, and many fountains around so the sounds are very relaxing.






(from: wikipedia - alhambra)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sonora

Monday, December 24, 2018

Summer Palace


We just learned about the Mysore Palace.

Another famous palace is the Summer Palace, built around 1500 AD in Beijing China.

It was built little by little over hundreds of years as different buildings and islands were added, and it is now over 1 square mile.

There are three islands on the land, that were built to be like three magical mountains in the East sea.
With all of the gates, halls, towers, boats and bridges, there are over 40 different buildings to see in the palace.

All of them have special names for special reasons, like the Dragon Bridge built to honor the story of the Dragon King.
Some other nice names are The Garden of Harmonious Pleasures, the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, and the Pavilion of Precious Cloud.






(from: wikipedia - summer palace)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hidalgo