8 OTHERWORLDLY CASTLES, FROM TRANSYLVANIA TO MONT SAINT-MICHEL

BY DEMIE KIM

The world’s first castles originated in medieval Europe as fortified residences intended to protect the nobility from armed insurrection, or attacks of other kinds. By the early 16th century, however, as weaponry grew more advanced, ushering in a new generation of powerful cannons capable of blasting through walls, castles were less effective in performing this defensive function. Instead, they became status symbols, announcing a noble family’s power and prestige. Sometimes they were repurposed as government centers, courts, or prisons. In times of warfare, they might be used as military encampments.

Today, many such edifices have been turned into museums and historic landmarks, and continue to enchant as relics of a bygone age. Below, we highlight eight awe-inspiring castles around the world—so spectacular that they inspired those found in Walt Disney animations and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Stripped of his powers in the Austro-Prussian War, in 1866, King Ludwig II of Bavaria sought a place to retreat from his lost kingdom and bask in myth and fantasy. So, in 1868, he conceived the idea for a castle on a jagged hill overlooking the village of Hohenschwangau. He wrote to his friend, the composer Richard Wagner, that he was building a castle “in the authentic style of the old German knights’ castles.” Prototypically romantic with its dramatic spires and ornate interior, the castle has been rumored to be the inspiration for several Disney versions—including the Cinderella castle in the 1950 animated film and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland, which opened in 1955.

Eilean Donan, Scotland. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Eilean Donan is located on a tidal island in the Scottish Highlands at the intersection of three sea lochs, and likely takes its name from a 6th-century saint who was martyred on a nearby island. Though the waterfront fortress resembles the archetype of a medieval castle, the buildings that stand today are actually the result of a complete reconstruction in the early 20th century. The original castle was completely demolished during a Jacobite uprising in the early 18th century………………………

Bran Castle, Romania. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

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