Prague Castle

We just learned about Kronborg Castle.

Another ancient castle is Prague Castle, built around 870 AD in Prague.

This is the largest ancient castle in the world, taking up about 750,000 square feet.
It was the home for the kings of the land of Bohemia, the Roman emperors, and presidents of the country of Czechoslovakia.
The Bohemian crown jewels are in this castle inside a hidden room.

In 1618, a war started because of something called "defenestration" which means throwing someone out the window.
Some angry mobs came around and tried to throw some rulers out of a window 70 feet high, but the people lived, and other people fought back and started a war.

The castle complex is made up of many buildings, like 4 churches, 4 palaces, 9 gardens, several schools and houses, fountains, statues and even a vineyard for growing grapes to be made into wine.





(from: wikipedia - prague castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Northwest Territories

Kronborg Castle

We just learned about the ancient castle of Mehrangarh.

Another famous castle is Kronborg Castle, built in the 1420s in Denmark.

This castle is right by a straight of water called the Øresund, that is one of the only ways to get to the Baltic Sea from the ocean.
Long ago people took ships through there to go trade with countries like Sweden, Finland or Poland.
The king of Denmark put a castle there so that he could charge people money to go through the Øresund, or else he would use his army in the castle to attack them.

There are many famous things in the castle, like a room full of tapestries, which are big carpets that are like story books with words and pictures.
Long ago there was a legend of a great warrior in Denmark called Holger Danske, who sleeps in the castle until he is needed again. There is a big statue of him in the castle, showing him sleeping.





(from: wikipedia - kronborg)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Prince Edward Island

Mehrangarh

We just learned about the Blarney Castle.

Another famous castle is Mehrangarh, also called Mehran Fort, built around 1460 AD in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

This castle is built up over 400 feet above the city of Jodhpur, and there are large walls around it.
It was a military fort that survived many battles, and there are marks on the walls from many cannonballs that were fired at the fort.

Inside the walls are several palaces with very fancy carvings and courtyards, and there is a winding road that leads to the fort from the city.
Some of the palaces are the Moti Mahal Pearl Palace, Phool Mahal Flower Palace, Sheesha Mahal Mirror Palace, and the Sileh Khana and Daulat Khana.
There are also museums with old palanquins which were seats for kings to sit on and be carried on by people, and howdahs, which were seats for kings to sit on and be carried by elephants.

The castle has seven gates that were built for seven battles that the ruler at the time called Maharaja Man Singh had won.





(from: wikipedia - mehrangarh)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Newfoundland and Labrador

Blarney Castle

We just learned about Bran Castle.

Another famous castle is Blarney Castle in Blarney Ireland, built in 1210 AD, and then rebuilt in 1446 by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty after it had been destroyed.

This castle is probably most famous for being the home of the "Blarney Stone", which is a rock made out of limestone built into the castle by a machicolation

A machicolation is a hole in the floor by the top of the castle where people could drop things like big rocks down on people trying to invade the castle.

The Blarney stone is at one of these machicolations, so there is a gap between where the top walkway of the castle is, and where the Blarney Stone is.

There are many legends about where the Blarney Stone came from, with some saying it was a gift from an old goddess, and some saying it was a part of a very important stone used in ceremonies to crown the king of Sctoland.

Nobody really knows for sure where it came from, but there is a legend that if you kiss the Blarney Stone you will get the gift of speaking Blarney, which means to be funny and smart and get people to believe whatever you say.

To kiss the Blarney Stone, you have to have someone hold on to you, and you lay on your back leaning way out over the hole and then kiss the stone!
It used to be very dangerous to try this, but now they have some safety rails up to help people not fall.
Kissing the Blarney Stone is so famous that Sherlock Holmes wrote a mystery story about a man who fell off the castle while trying to kiss it!




(from: wikipedia - blarney castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: New Brunswick

Bran Castle

We just learned about the Malbork Castle.

Another famous castle is Bran Castle, built in 1300s in Romania.

This castle is sometimes called "Dracula's Castle" because the famous ruler Vlad Țepeș stayed in this castle a few times.

The book Dracula by Bram Stoker is just a made up story, but the writer Bram Stoker used the real person Vlad Țepeș (also known as Vlad the Impaler) as part of his book and made up a story about him being the vampire Dracula.

Vlad was a real person and Dracula was a fake story, but since Vlad stayed in Bran Castle they like to tell stories about this castle!



(from: wikipedia - bran castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nova Scotia

Malbork Castle

We just learned about Edinburgh Castle.

Another famous castle is Malbork Castle, built around 1300 AD in Malbork, Poland.

This is the largest castle in the world, with a land area of over 52 acres!

Long ago the castle was one of the palaces where the royal family would stay.
Because of all the wars Poland was involved in, the castle has been owned by a few different countries.

During World War II there was a lot of damage on the castle.
After Poland took the castle back they have fixed it up, and it is now a museum for people to come visit.


(from: wikipedia - malbork castle)


(from: wikipedia - malbork castle)


(from: wikipedia - malbork castle)


(from: wikipedia - malbork castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Saskatchewan

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