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10 Stories Far Ahead of Their Time
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More About UsReal-Life Marvels: 10 People with Incredible Abilities
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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