Welcome to Castle Collection
This site provides information about European castles, including their history, current state,
whether you can visit them, and more. Pictures will be added if we have them available. We
welcome information submitted by the users of Castle Collection. Updates are planned regularly.
A brief introduction to European castles
There are thousands of castles spread all over Europe. Most of them are not the type of castles
you can
find in the US and Canada, they have been standing proudly for over 500 years. The conservation
of European heritage is very important to the European public, and millions of tourists each year
enjoy looking at these great structures of times gone by. We no longer build castles and buildings
like they used to. In modern times houses only last 50 years or so, in comparison, the builings
before the 19th century were build to last and withstand the test of time for centuries. What
exactly attracts those millions of people to European castles? There are several reasons : People
love the history of these places. Another reason is that they can't find medieval castles in their
own country. Others are impressed by the strong structures that so many gave their lifes for to
protect. Artists and movies frequently use castles as their subject. As you can see, there is
a wide interest in European castles covering many age groups.
France alone hosts thousands of castles, some huge city fortifications (such as Carcassonne), others eleborate country retreats for the rich and (in)famous of the 16th century (Chambord). Many
of France's castles remain in excellent condition and allow you to really get a good feel of what life
was like hundreds of years ago. Visit the Bordeaux wine chateaux and enjoy the pretty sights, and
of course the delicious wine produced there.
If you love stately homes
and medieval castles then you should not ignore England and Wales.
These two countries feature many impressive Gothic and Norman structures with interesting histories. Whether you are after one of the English royal families' opulent homes or a 11th
century keep, England and Wales welcome you.
Advanced travel links between European states allows you to see many different castles on your
journey through Europe. You can view the Moors castles of Portugal, the Norman keeps of England,
and the stately Renaissance chateaux of France all in one trip if you wish to.
We wish you a great time.