Why are so many castles in ruins?

Most of the ruined castles were not damaged in battle. Many were “slighted”, partially demolished by government forces, to spoil them as fortifications that could be used by rebels. Others were simply abandoned in favour of more comfortable manor houses.



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Many UK castles, like Scarborough above, were deliberately ruined during the civil war to prevent them from ever being used again to challenge parliament. Re-building them was forbidden for the same reason.

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Why are there so many castles in Scotland? Castles were mainly used as the homes of clan leaders and used for defence purposes. This is why there are so many scattered around the country. They were valuable to hold on to power and protect the local communities.

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Scotland has been home to more castles than anywhere else in the UK, with there being around 1,800 castles that have previously, or still do stand today.

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Germany. The country with the most castles is Germany! It's thought that Germany has around 25,000 castles within its borders.

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The Czech Republic has the highest castle-density in the world. Get your fix of medieval charm with more than 2,000 around the country to Czech out.

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Which UK castle reigns as the oldest? We delved into our research to discover that Pevensey Castle in east Sussex steals the title as the oldest castle in the UK. Built in the year 280CE, it is a medieval castle and former Roman Saxon Shore fort.

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This is a little known fact; Wales has more castles per square mile than any other country in Europe. Wales's history has left a landscape scattered with Iron Age hill forts, Roman ruins and castles from Medieval Welsh princes and English kings.

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Why did they stop building castles? Castles were great defences against the enemy. However, when gunpowder was invented the castles stopped being an effective form of defence. By the end of the 1300s gunpowder was widely in use.

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Henry VIII, after denouncing the Pope and splitting off from the Catholic Church, took the opportunity to take over and plunder hundreds of churches, abbeys and monasteries. Most of the seized land was sold to Henry's supporters, while the buildings were abandoned and left to fall into ruin.

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These were often used as a means of escape or as a way to move around the castle undetected. The secret passages could be used as an escape route in case of a siege or an invasion, or as a way to move around the castle without being seen by enemies.

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The oldest castle in the world that we currently know about is the Aleppo Citadel in Aleppo, Syria. It was constructed sometime around 3000 BCE!

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As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible.

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Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and has been the family home of British kings and queens for almost 1,000 years. It is an official residence of Her Majesty The Queen and is still very much a working royal palace today, home to around 150 people.

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There are more than 30,000 castles and ruins left in Ireland today, most dating from the 12th to 16th centuries. Visiting a few (or many) of them will allow you to learn about Irish history right from the source.

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The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork (Polish: Zamek w Malborku; German: Ordensburg Marienburg) is a 13th-century Teutonic castle and fortress located in the town of Malbork, Poland. It is the largest castle in the world measured by land area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The Welsh princes built castles of their own to defend their land from invasion and to protect important routeways. The earliest castles built by Welsh princes were like those of the Norman invaders in design, and were also of earth and timber.

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Wales. While Germany may have the most amount of castles, Wales is the country with the most castles per square mile. Despite its small size, Wales had over 600 castles. Today over 400 castles still stand and are waiting to be explored by visitors.

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