What makes a castle a palace?

Palaces are only palaces if they are exceptionally lavish and built with the intention of being a home. So you can't call any old building a palace just because royalty decides to live there for a while; it had to have been built for that purpose. So that's your answer.



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A palace is a grand residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palatium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Imperial residences.

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While kings and queens certainly took up residence in palaces as well as castles, nonmilitary royals might also have lived in (or still live in) palaces. Bishops and ministers could live in castles to showcase the power of their immense riches rather than their nonexistent military power.

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(Shown here is Bodium Castle, England.) The term 'palace' comes from Rome's Palatine Hill, where the rich and famous built their sumptuous homes in Roman times. So when we're wondering what's the difference between a castle and a palace, the most important difference is that a palace is not fortified.

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'Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu on the Island of Oahu is the only royal palace in the United States and is an enduring symbol of Hawaiian independence. It was the official residence and capitol of the last ruling monarchs of the Kingdom of Hawai'i - King Kalakaua and his sister Queen Lili'uokalani.

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Scholars usually consider a castle to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a mansion, palace and villa, whose main purpose was exclusively for pleasance and are not primarily fortresses but may be fortified.

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Bowman's Castle, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, built in 1789, the oldest Gothic Revival castle in the United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bull Run Castle, Aldie, Virginia, hand-built from 1980 to 1999 by the owner, John Roswell Miller, and his family.

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A portcullis is a latticed grille or gate made of wood, metal or a combination of the two. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege.

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A battlement is the upper walled part of a castle or fortress.

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Castles weren't always cold and dark places to live. But, in reality, the great hall of castle had a large open hearth to provide heat and light (at least until the late 12th century) and later it had wall fireplace. The hall would also have had tapestries which would have insulated the room against too much cold.

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Castles weren't always cold and dark places to live. But, in reality, the great hall of castle had a large open hearth to provide heat and light (at least until the late 12th century) and later it had wall fireplace. The hall would also have had tapestries which would have insulated the room against too much cold.

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