Why don t we live in castles anymore?

By the 1600s, people didn't want to live in cold and damp castles anymore. Kings, queens and noble men wanted to show off how important and rich they were so they built palaces and great houses. Many existing castles were replaced with much grander homes.



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Because castles were places where armies were housed in Feudal times. The US was settled long after the Feudal system had fallen, and couldn't ever have been established in the US. There are a number of huge mansions in the US, and some in Canada (Casa Loma comes to mind, immediately, and Frontenac, in Quebec).

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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 is a reason we have so many well preserved medieval castles still standing today: from spiral staircases built to give those going down the upper hand in battle in case of an attack to the crenelated walls which gave access to archers to shoot at the lower ground, to complex and maze-like moats, walls, and ...

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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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Living in a medieval castle was often uncomfortable and even hazardous, particularly for those who were not part of the nobility or royalty. For example, despite their grandeur and imposing appearance, many castles lacked basic amenities like running water, central heating, and proper ventilation.

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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. This is the largest castle in Wales and the second largest in Britain.

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Browse the gallery below to see some of the most beautiful abandoned castles in the world, including Ballycarbery Castle in Ireland, Caudilla Castle in Spain and Kilchurn Castle in Scotland.

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Nowadays many castles are open to the public as tourist attractions and museums. Balhousie Castle in Perth is a museum which tells the story of the Black Watch Regiment from 1725. Sometimes castles in Scotland are used as the location for concerts and special events.

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While Canada's history never called for the construction of numerous fortified defensives castles or elaborate royal residences, Canada is full of castles. Some Canadian buildings are built entirely in the image of castles while others have features of castles overtly or subtly worked into their architecture.

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Castles and manor houses often smelled damp and musty. To counteract this, herbs and rushes were strewn across the floors.

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In the chamber – the more private rooms of the castle – there were beds with curtains, giving an extra layer of warmth, and these rooms largely had fireplaces. When there were no fireplaces rooms were heated with moveable fire stands.

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There are more than 10,000 medieval castles and their remains in Europe.

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The castlellated form seems to have gone largely out of fashion by the 16th century as the spread of powerful artillery led to the development of squat blockhouse-like forts (see the Military Structures selection guide), although many castles continued in use, mainly as residences, for many centuries.

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Castle Drogo is the last castle to have been built in Britain, between 1911 and 1931, by the renowned architect Edwin Lutyens.

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These Are the 22 Most Enchanting Castles in the World
  • Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany. ...
  • Castel del Monte in Andria, Italy. ...
  • Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, Denmark. ...
  • Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. ...
  • Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...
  • Himeji Castle in Himeji, Japan. ...
  • Vianden Castle in Vianden, Luxembourg.


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Picking a travel destination just got a lot easier with the Visited app. According to Visited, the most popular castle destinations around the globe are: Prague Castle is the most visited castle in the world.

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