.the princess portal.

I think many Princesses dream of living in, or at least visiting beautiful castles. The very image of these buildings evokes romantic notions of eras past, knights and nobles, banquets and balls, tapestries and tourneys, I think it must have been amazing experience to live in one of these grand estates. Today I present to you some of the most beautiful and famous Castles in Europe, I hope you will enjoy looking at pictures and reading the histories of these magnificent palaces and towers. Some day I would like to visit all of them!

Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein was actually built fairly recently, as castles go, with construction beginning in 1869. It was the dream and creation of King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1864 - 1886) who was a fascinating Monarch, eccentric, romantic and reclusive, he built this Fairy-tale castle in the mountains as a private residence where he could live as a real King, even while his real powers were being taken away from him. You can read more about the Swan King here. The castle is an amazing feat of architecture, perched on the edge of a mountain it has some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe.

Château de Chenonceau
Sometimes called the ‘Château de Femmes’, Chenonceau is famous for the many powerful ladies who inhabited it at some time and added their own improvements to the small but charming Château. These included Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de’ Medici, Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont and Gabrielle d’Estrées. It is unusual in that it is partially constructed to bridge the river Cher, the river itself flowing beneath the castle’s supporting arches. It is also famed for its beautiful gardens.

Mont Saint-Michel
Rising out of a tidal bay on a lone rocky island is the Mont Saint-Michel, like an image from some high fantasy tale it evokes the imagination to images of Knights errant and pious monks on pilgrimage to this isolated place. Mont Saint-Michel was founded on the construction of a Monastery in the 8th century, it has withheld against invasion, been used as a prison and is now a world heritage site.

Leeds Castle
A classic looking castle with an intriguing history it has housed royalty and nobility since 1119. I find it particularly interesting for its links to several important Queens and Princesses. It was at one stage the Royal Palace is King Edward I his queen, Eleanor of Castile. Henry VIII gave the castle to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon and Queen Elizabeth I was imprisoned there before she was crowned. The Castle itself is quite impressive, built on two adjacent islands on the river Len it boasts beautiful gardens, a large maze and even an aviary!

Konopiště
Although not as large and impressive as some of the other castles listed here, Konopiště in the Czech Republic is a personal favourite of mine. It was originally built as a fortress to protect the town of Benesov but has since been reconstructed several times in to the beautiful golden hued castle it is today. It forms part of a very tragic story as the last residence of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (of descendant of the same family of Marie Antoinette) and his wife the Countess Sophie. It was the assasination of the Austrian heir that became one of the events that led up to World War 1. You can read more about his life here. I was very happy to see this Castle appear in the movie The Illusionist, which I watched recently.