Westminster

We just learned about the Moritzburg Castle.

Another famous palace is the group of them in an area called Westminster.
This is a city within London, England that has the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.

These are all very famous places, that are just down the street from each other.

The Palace of Westminster is where the people meet that make all the laws for the United Kingdom, called Parliament.
It is on the north side of the River Thames, and was built some time around 1000 AD.
There are three large towers, and the one called Elizabeth tower has a big clock in it with a 13 ton bell called "Big Ben" that gongs for the time changes.



(from: wikipedia - palace of westminster)

Buckingham Palace is home of the royal family of the United Kingdom, like kings and queens.
It was built in 1703 AD, and has 775, art galleries and large fancy gardens.
Queen Elizabeth lives there and meets other world leaders like American presidents there.
The palace is also known for its guards who wear red coats and have big fuzzy hats.




(from: wikipedia - buckingham palace)

The two large churches are also right on the street, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.

(from: wikipedia - westminster abbey)

(from: wikipedia - westminster cathedral)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Guerrero

Moritzburg Castle

We just learned about the Catherine Palace.

Another famous castle is Moritzburg Castle built around 1542 in Saxony Germany.

It has four round towers and is built on an island.

This castle is in the middle of a forest area, so there are a lot of hunting trophies like a room full of deer antlers.




(from: wikipedia - moritzburg castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chihuahua

Catherine Palace

We just learned about the Predjama Castle.

Another famous castle is the Catherine Palace built in 1717 in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia.

This was a palace where the Tsars of Russia lived in the summer time.

The palace is so fancy, with 100 kilograms of gold used on the outside of the building.
There is a room called the Amber Room with gold leaf and amber decorations all over it.
Another room is called the Great Hall, which is over 1,000 square meters, and there are 15 chandeliers with almost 700 lights on them on the ceiling.





(from: wikipedia - catherine palace)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Oaxaca

Predjama Castle

We just learned about Bellver Castle.

Another famous castle is Predjama Castle, built around 1200 AD in Slovenia.

This castle was built right into the mouth of a cave, so that it could be very strong against attacks.

Most of the castle is in front of the cave, but some of back walls of the castle are built right into the rock, and they are connected to the entrance to go back into the cave.

The people who created the castle even made secret cave exits that they could use to try and sneak food in and out when the castle was under attack.

Down underneath the castle are four more levels built into the caves!
It is one of the longest caves in Slovenia.






(from: wikipedia - predjama castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Michoacan

Bellver Castle

We just learned about the Palace of Versailles.

Another famous castle is Bellver Castle, bult in 1311 on the Island of Majorca in Spain.

This was built long ago for King James II of Majorca, and it is a special castle because it is shaped like a circle!
The outside of the castle is a circle, the inside is a circle, and all of the towers are circles.
It is the only circular castle in Spain!

For a long time it was the home of the Kings of the land, but later was turned into a prison.
Now it is a museum and a place for tourists to come look at.





(from: wikipedia - bellver castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nuevo León

Palace of Versailles

We just learned about the Chateau de Chantilly.

Another famous castle is the Palace of Versailles, built around 1600 AD.

This was the home of the leaders of France for 100 years until 1789, and is now a museum.

It has many famous rooms inside, like the Hall of Mirrors, the Royal Opera, the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, small Hameau and the famous gardens.

It is the second most visited place in France, just after Louvre.







(from: wikipedia - palace of versailles)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chiapas

Château de Chantilly

We just learned about Peleș Castle.

Another famous castle is the Château de Chantilly, in Chantilly France, built in 1358, and rebuilt a few times through 1882.

This Château has a very large library with thousands of books in it, and a large art museum called the Musée Condé which has many paintings by famous artists like Raphael.

There is also a horse racing track on the property that is still used.
One of the princes who owned this Château believed that some day when he died he would come back as a horse, so he had very fancy stables and race tracks to live in when he did.






(from: wikipedia - château de chantilly)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Guanajuato

Peleș Castle

We just learned about the Citadel of Qaitbay.

Another famous castle is Peleș Castle, built in 1914 in Romania.

This castle is actually more like a palace, and was hundreds of years after some other castles.
It has over 34,000 square feet of living space with over 170 rooms like libraries, offices and art galleries, and 30 bathrooms!

There is an armory there with over 4,000 weapons, and the art gallery has about 2,000 works of art.

One very different thing about this castle is that many different workers from all over europe came to help build it.
Different countries had people with different talents, so the Italian people were there to do the brick and stone work, and the Germans were there as carpenters.




(from: wikipedia - peleș castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Puebla

Citadel of Qaitbay

We just learned about the Windsor Castle.

Another ancient castle is the Citadel of Qaitbay, built in 1477 AD, in Alexandria, Egypt.

This castle was built in the same place as the Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world before it was destroyed around 100 years before this castle was built.

It is on the north side of Egypt, right on the Mediterranean Sea where it was a strong place to defend Egypt against any ships that might be coming to attack.

It is now a maritime museum, which is a kind of museum for ships and other seaside things.




(from: wikipedia - citadel of qaitbay)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jalisco

Windsor Castle

We just learned about the Hohensalzburg Fortress.

Another famous castle is Windsor Castle, built around 1000 AD in Windsor, Berkshire, England.

Unlike a lot of other castles, this one has been lived in for a very long time by the royal family of England, like the King or Queen.

It covers over 10 acres, and has different areas called "wards" that have apartments or even a church called St. George's Chapel.

The queen of England still lives there on most weekends, and the royal family uses the castle as a place to have parties and do business.





(from: wikipedia - windsor castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Veracruz

Hohensalzburg Fortress

We just learned about Spiš Castle.

Another famous ancient castle is Hohensalzburg Fortress, built around 1000 AD in Salzburg, Austria.

This castle is over 800 feet long and about 500 feet wide, and up over 1,600 feet high on top of a tall hill.

It ws used as a home for some powerful political people, and as a prison during wars.

Inside the castle are many rooms and a courtyard.
One of the rooms has a huge musical organ with more than 200 pipes, called the Salzburg Bull.

One of the fanciest rooms is called the Golden Chamber, which has golden decorations all over it.





(from: wikipedia - hohensalzburg fortress)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mexico City

Spiš Castle

We just learned about the Buda Castle.

Another ancient castle is Spiš Castle, built around 1100 AD in Slovakia, and it over 400,000 square feet.

This castle was owned by the kings of Hungary, and then later was passed on to different families before it was taken over by the state of Slovakia.

At one time in the past the family that owned it abandoned it to move to the nearby village because they said it was not very comfortable.

A little while later there was a big fire and a lot of the castle was destroyed for over almost two hundred years.
The castle has now been fixed up and has a museum inside showing many things from the history of the castle.





(from: wikipedia - spiš castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: State of Mexico