Edinburgh Castle

We just learned about the castle Cité de Carcassonne.

Another famous castle is Edinburgh Castle, built around 1100 AD in Scotland.

This castle is believed to be one of the most attacked ever in the world, with over 26 battles where people tried to take over the castle.
It is built on top of an extinct volcano, called Castle Rock.
There are other buildings in the castle area, like a chapel, barracks and even a royal palace.




(from: wikipedia - edinburgh castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Manitoba

Cité de Carcassonne

We just learned about the Leeds Castle.

Another famous castle is the Cité de Carcassonne, built around 300 AD in Carcassonne, Aude, France.

This castle is actually a fortress with a wall that goes around a whole city.
The wall is almost two miles long, and there are 52 towers going around it, with a moat and a drawbridge at the gate.

The first parts of the wall and castle were built around 300 AD, and more walls and towers were built up through the years.



(from: wikipedia - carcassonne)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alberta

Leeds Castle

We just learned about the Veste Coburg castle.

Another famous castle is Leeds Castle, built in 1086 in Kent, England.

Many famous kings and queens have lived there or stayed there, like Edward I, Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Eleanor of Castile and Anne of Bohemia.

There is a sundial in this castle that has a matching one in Belvoir, Virginia, America.
In the garden there is a maze made out of 2,400 trees.






(from: wikipedia - leeds castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: British Columbia

Veste Coburg

We just learned about the Castel del Monte.

Another famous castle is Veste Coburg built in Coburg Germany around 1000 AD.

This castle was built up on a hill, and was added onto over and over again through the years as it became a more important place.

In the 1506 a man named Martin Luther had some different ideas about the way people should go to church and study their Bible.
This made some people very upset and they wanted to put him in jail, so he went into hiding at this castle for a while, and worked on writing the Bible in the German language, which had never been done before.

This castle stayed strong for some very big battles, and one time the people inside lasted for five months while people outside tried to fight them.

It is one of the biggest castles in Germany, at over 375,000 square feet of space inside!



(from: wikipedia - veste coburg)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Quebec

Castel del Monte

We just learned about the Schwerin Castle.

Another famous castle is Castel del Monte in Andria Apulia Italy, built in 1240 by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, .

This castle is very different because it is octagon shaped, with eight sides and eight towers.
Some people believe there used to be a large curtain wall going around the outside of the castle.
The castle wall is 82 feet high, and the sides of the octagon are 54 feet wide.

It is a little different that there is no moat and no drawbridge.
There are only 2 entrances, one fancy one in the front, and a simple one in the back for servants.
It is very famous in Italy, and is on the one cent Italian Euro coin.





(from: wikipedia - castel del monte, apulia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ontario

Schwerin Castle

We just learned about Caerlaverock Castle in Scotland.

Another famous castle is Schwerin Castle in Schwerin Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Germany, built in 973 AD. Germany.

As different rulers came and went in Germany, this castle was taken over by different people and used for things like military forts, schools, museums or palaces for royal people.

It is now where the state's parliament meets and works.

The castle has over 650 rooms, and is on an island in the middle of Lake Schwerin.

There is a legend of a good ghost named Petermännchen living in the castle, that sneaks around and unlocks doors at night, and will also scare away thieves or intruders.
Stories say that if soldiers guarding the castle fall asleep at night, the ghost will make noises to wake them up!






(from: wikipedia - schwerin palace)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Canadian Provinces

Caerlaverock Castle

We just learned about the Bodiam Castle.

Another famous castle is Caerlaverock Castle built in Scotland, in the late 1200s AD.

This castle is right on the border of England and Scotland, so it was part of many wars between the two countries for hundreds of years.

Because of it's high walls and towers, and moat protecting it, this castle was able to hold off entire armies with less than a hundred people inside defending it.




(from: wikipedia - caerlaverock castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Southern Appalachian Mountains

Bodiam Castle

We just learned about the Balmoral Castle.

Another famous castle is Bodiam Castle in Sussex England, built in 1385 AD.

In the old days of England, if you were the oldest son in the family, you were the one who got all the money and lands from your parents.
Second or third sons, or any daughters didn't really get anything, and had to work harder to make their own way.

Sir Edward Dalyngrigge was a son of a royal person, but not the first born son so he had to go get a job.
He spent some time as a knight, and he also worked as part of a "Free Company" which was a group of soldiers who would work for money. Sometimes these people are also called mercenaries.

After working as a soldier for a long time and saving up his money, he married a woman who owned a bunch of land, and together they built this big castle on the land surrounded by a big moat of water.

The castle towers are three stories tall, and they have a big courtyard in the middle.
There is only the one entrance on a bridge, and inside the castle there are places for guards to sit and shoot arrows out of little holes at anyone trying to attack the castle.




(from: wikipedia - bodiam castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Central Appalachain Mountains

Balmoral Castle

We just learned about the castle Alcazar of Segovia.

Another famous castle is Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire Scotland, built in 1856.

There were old castles in this spot going hundreds of years back, all the way to 1390, but they were all torn down over and over to build bigger and better castles.

In the 1800s, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert wanted to live there, so they had it built up to be bigger and fancier.
On one side of the castle is an 80 foot tower, the inside of the castle is about 480,000 square feet, and the castle grounds cover more than 50,000 acres.

When Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria had a pyramid built for him as a tomb to be laid in.

The granddaughter of Queen Victoria named Victoria Eugenie was born in this castle, and she would go on to be the queen of Spain in 1906.

There is also a picture of this castle on the back of £100 money from the Royal Bank of Scotland.





(from: wikipedia - balmoral castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Northern Appalachian Mountains

Alcázar of Segovia

We just learned about Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.

Another famous castle is Alcázar of Segovia.

This castle has been built and rebuilt in parts over hundreds of years by different people, from the Romans to the Spaniards.

It's been used as a fortress, a royal palace, a prison and military school.
Now it is a museum for people to come visit and look at.

In 1474, Queen Isabella I was crowned as queen in this castle.

In the room called the Hall of Kings, there are 52 sculptures of the different kings that ruled over the land for hundreds of years.






(from: wikipedia - alcázar of segovia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ozarks

Neuschwanstein Castle

We just learned about all 31 Mexico states and Mexico city!.

Let's learn about some of the awesome castles all over the world.

One of the most famous castles in the world is Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria Germany, built in the late 1800s.

This castle was started by the king of Bavaria named Ludwig II.
Ludwig was fascinated by art, music and buildings, and so he decided to build an amazing castle.

When Ludwig II was growing up, there were two castles next to each other with a river in between, but they had mostly fallen apart.
After he became king at age 18, he spent most of his money for about 20 years paying hundreds of workers to make this castle.
It is over 213 feet tall, and has over 65,000 square feet of space on the inside.

The Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland was made to look like the Neuschwanstein Castle.

During World War II, the Nazis had stolen a lot of famous artwork from other countries, and they were using this castle to store thousands of paintings, sculptures and other works of art.
Toward the end of the war when the Nazis were losing, the Nazis made a plan to blow up the whole castle and destroy all the artwork.
Luckily the Allied forces showed up before they were able to destroy it, and they saved the castle and all the artwork.





(from: wikipedia - neuschwanstein castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: U.S. Interior Highlands