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

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

Mysore Palace

We just learned about the Pena Palace.

Another famous castle is Mysore Palace, in Karnataka India in 1912 AD.

There are actually seven palaces in Mysore, but the biggest one is called Mysore Palace.

The special way the building looks is called Indo-Saracenic, which means it mixes together different construction styles, like Hindu, Mughal, Rajput and Gothic.
It is three stories high and has a 145 foot high tower.

There are three main entrances to the palace, and also many secret tunnels going between the palaces.
On top of one of the buildings is a statue of the Hindu Goddess Gajalakshmi that stands for wealth and fortune.





(from: wikipedia - mysore palace)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Coahuila

Pena Palace

We just learned about the Potala Palace.

Another famous castle is Pena Palace, built in 1838 in Sintra, Portugal.

The palace started out in the 1400s as a chapel built on a hill after someone believed they saw the Virgin Mary.

Later on it was turned into a monastery for monks to live in.
In the 1700s the monastery was struck by lightning, and also destroyed by an earthquake.

After that Prince Ferdinand of Portugal took all the land and had the castle built for the royal family to stay there.





(from: wikipedia - pena palace)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sinaloa

Potala Palace

We just learned about the Forbidden City.

Another famous palace is the Potala Palace, built in 1645 AD in Tibet.

This palace is 1,300 feet by 1,150 feet wide, and the palace goes 980 feet high where it is built on top of a big hill called "Marpo Ri" which means Red Hill.
It has over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues.

The spiritual ruler of Tibet is known as the Dalai Lama, and for about 300 years the Dalai Lamas lived in this palace, until there was a war.
Now it is a museum where people can visit and go inside.

The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, which some people believe is a hidden magical mountain somewhere in India.

The main part of the palace is called the "Red Palace" where the main halls and shrines are where the Dalia Lama lived.



(from: wikipedia - potala palace)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Baja California

Forbidden City

We just learned about Westminster in Great Britain where the palace is.

Another famous palace is the Forbidden City built in 1420 AD in Beijing China.

The Forbidden City was the home of Chinese emperors and their families for almost 500 years.
It has 980 buildings with over 8,000 rooms, and covers over 180 acres of land.

It took 14 years to build, and more than a million workers.
Forbidden City is inside a larger walled city called Imperial City, which is inside a larger city called Inner City, and just south of Inner City is Outer City.

It has a 26 foot high wall around the city, with a 171 foott wide moat that is 20 feet deep.
There are towers at each of the corners of the rectangular city, and gates on each of the walls.
Inside are almost 20 different large palaces, with the biggest one being the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

All of the palaces have very nice names like Palace of Universal Happiness, and the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

The palace had some tough times during wars, but now it is taken care of by the museum owners of China.







(from: wikipedia - forbidden city)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tamaulipas

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