Top 35 Fairytale Castles

Christmas Competition: 3rd Place. Congratulations to Mathilda for this excellent list – she has won the third prize of a $25 iTunes music card.

According to Wikipedia, “A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a building which serves as a residence of a medieaval monarch or noble and commands a specific territory.” I have chosen to use my own criteria for inclusion in this list, that being, if I were a princess in a fairytale, would I want to live there? As such, interior condition was not taken into consideration, exterior setting was very important, and any past gory history was ignored. I only included one per country so there are scores of equally beautiful castles which had to be excluded. (I did make an exception to the one per country rule for England, as I really, really want to live in one of the two shown.)

1. Baku’s Wedding Palace Azerbaijan

2. Schloss Anif Austria

3. Mir Castle Belarus

4. Gravensteen Belgium

5. Summer Palace China

6. Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca Cuba

7. Hluboka Nad Vltavou Czech Republic

8. Kronborg Castle Denmark

9. Leeds Castle England

10. Warwick Castle England

11. Fasilides Castle Ethiopia

12. Olavinlinna Finland

13. Chateau D’Usse France

14. Neuschwanstein Castle Germany

15. Eszterháza Palace Hungary

16. Khas Mahal India

17. Falak-ol-aflak Castle Iran

18. Kilkenny Castle Ireland

19. Bardi Castle Italy

20. Himeji Castle Japan

21. Petra Jordan

22. Vaduz Castle Lichtenstein

23. Muiderslot The Netherlands

24. Malbork Castle Poland

25. Belem Tower Portugal

26. Hunedoara Castle Romania

27. Kazan Kremlin Russia

28. Eilean Donan Castle Scotland

29. Alcazar of Segovia Spain

30. Orebro Castle Sweden

31. Chillon Castle Switzerland

32. Krak Des Chevaliers Syria

33. Rumelihisar? Turkey

34. Kamianets Ukraine

35. Boldt Castle United States