The old castle was built on the place of today’s castle in Pierrefonds already in the 12th century. This great military strength has undergone a number of refurbishment over the centuries as well as its owner changed frequently. In March 1617, during the troubled reign of King Louis XIII, the castle was conquered by troops of the Chief minister Cardinal Richelieu. He decided to demolish a castle. However thanks to a huge range of construction, the work of destruction was not completed. The roofs have been destroyed and the walls were devastated by the canons.

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Pierrefonds Castle then remained as a ruin for the next two centuries. Napoleon I bought the wreck in 1810 for just 3,000 francs. In the 19th century began a period of fashion traditions of medieval knights. The ruins of Pierrefonds Castle were captured between 1834 and 1866 by the French painter Corot in his paintings.

The future French emperor Napoleon III visited the castle in 1850. Later, as emperor, asked the architect Viollet-le-Duc in 1857 to carry out reconstruction of the castle. The project grew and later they wanted to build a royal residence here. Viollet-le-Duc built it much under the influence of his ideas about the Middle Ages. The fort was changed to the castle. Yet as a builder proved very good knowledge of military fortifications of 14th century.

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Helmond Castle is everything you expect from a visit to the typical medieval castle. All archaeological treasures, replicas, guns, tools, pictures, paintings and other historical items that you can see here, will give you the opportunity to have a concrete idea of ​​life at the Castle Helmond. In combination with the view of this picturesque castle, your visit gets an unforgettable experience.

Helmond Castle has a square floor plan, in the corners there are rounded towers and is completely surrounded by the moat. There are other similar castles in the Netherlands, for example Ammersoyen Castle, Muiden Castle and partially preserved Radboud Castle. Helmond Castle’s walls are only 1.3 meters wide, therefore the castle has originally a double moat. This kept cannons during a possible attack at a safe distance from the castle.

Helmond Castle also serves as a museum, which is located in the basement of the castle. You will find here something about the history of the castle and the city of Helmond and art gallery.

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Helmond Castle was built around 1420 by the family Van Berlaer to replace their former castle. This, originally wooden fort, was already built in 1350 and its remains were found during the excavation about 250 m southwest of the castle. In 1549 Helmond Castle was strongly damaged by fire. During The Eighty Years’ War the castle was on the side of Spain. The castle was under siege several times in its history, in 1581 even by the government troops. Although the city of Helmond was conquered, Helmond Castle was not, so the army had to leave the town.

In 1587 the soldiers came back again, but the castle remained unconquered again. Thus, despite the thin walls, Helmond Castle was very well situated from a military point of view. In 1602, however, luck turned. The castle was besieged by the government troops under the command of Prince Maurits. He used six cannons. All 45 soldiers at the castle was forced to surrender. All those sieges caused many damages. In 1603 the castle was conquered again, this time by the soldiers of the Walen.

This happened during the reign of the family Van Cortenbach who were not much interested in the Castle Helmond, mostly because its members lived on their sites in the southern Netherlands (today Belgium). Therefore, in the 18th century, they sold the Castle Helmond to the lower nobles of Utrecht. He renovated and re-arranged the castle and his heirs lived here until 1920, when it was sold to the city council. They established a city hall here. Since 1982 Helmond Castle does not serve as the town hall anymore, but still hosts weddings and other festive ceremonies.

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It was back in the 12th century when the Bojnice Castle was first constructed. Back then it was nothing more than a wooden fort. However, within the next century, the wood would be replaced by stone. And in 1302 the first private owner, Máté Csák, with take control of the castle after it was given to him by none other than King Ladislaus V of Hungary. A century later it would be reverted back to King Matthias Corvinus later bequeathed to his illegitimate son.

Bojnice castle, Slovakia by Krondol

After the death of King Matthias the castle and all of the lands were sold to the Zapolya before finally falling under control of the wealthy Thurzos family back in 1528. It was under the control of the Thurzos family that Bojnice Castle, as well as many castles throughout Slovakia were reconstructed for the very first time. However, the current reincarnation of this picturesque castle can only be accredited to John Palffy, who completely reconstructed the castle back at the end of the 19th century.

Inspired by the beautiful castles of France, John Palffy undertook the passionate reconstruction of the Bojnice Castle. Every single aspect of the reconstruction was overseen by John and by 1908, when the construction was finally completed, the Bojnice Castle became one of the most beautiful castles in all of Slovakia; possibly the world. Over the centuries, the Bojnice Castle has been the inspiration of countless storybooks and fairytales.

Castle Bojnice, Slovakia by Pufacz

John Palffy’s heirs fought over control of the castle and much of its contents, and as a result much of the historic works that were once contained within the walls of the castle, were either destroyed or sold off. The property and all the surrounding land was then transferred to Ján Baťa in 1939 before being confiscated by the government of Czechoslovakia back in 1945.

It was while the Castle was under Czechoslovakia control back in 1950, that much of the castle was destroyed as a result of a huge fire. It was then that it was decided that the Bojnice Castle was to be restored to its previous glory and turned into a museum which was specialized in housing and presenting documents and other collections of the region.

On account of its beautiful and charming design, it is often considered to be a true fairytale castle. As a result it has been featured in countless movies over the last couple of decades and is also home to the annual Castle Fairytale Festival as well as the International Festival of Ghosts and Spirits. Today more than a quarter of 1 million people visit the Bojnice Castle every single year.

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Orava Castle, Slovakia by Wojsyl

The Castle itself was constructed at the site were an old wooden fort had once stood during the Mongol invasion. The old Fort unfortunately did not survive the invasion, and soon after was replaced with the Orava Castle, which stands today. And while the Castle has undergone a number of reconstructions throughout the centuries, the most extensive reconstruction occurred back in 1611.

Unfortunately, as the centuries went on the Castle eventually fell into disrepair until the early 1800s when it was burnt to the ground completely. However, thanks to the extensive efforts of the government as well as locals, another major reconstruction effort began shortly after the end of World War II.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects about the Orava Castle is that of the entrance to the Castle. There are three levels of the Castle, which includes lower, central as well as upper parts. As a result, anyone who enters the Castle will have to walk through a tunnel under which the Castle’s dungeon can clearly be seen beneath. The highest part is on a steep rocky limestone cliff 112 m above the Orava river. Middle part consists of medieval buildings – Corvinus Palace and the Palace of Ján from Dubová village. The lower castle is particularly Thurzo Palace and the castle church where some members of Thurzo family are buried, the older tower and terrace. On this terrace there was a summer theatre for several years.

Today the Castle itself serves as a Museum to not just the Castle, but also to the archaeology of the region, the history of the settlements along the Orava River as well as the nation. There are countless exhibits that can be found throughout the Castle including a regular theatre and street performers. One of the most interesting aspects about visiting the Orava Castle is that it is open in the night-time to allow visitors to have a truly enchanted experience.

The basic admission is €5 – €6 and often include also the fencing duel or several music concerts from the previous periods. If you are planning your trip to Slovakia, do not forget to visit Orava castle, you will be surprised how nice it is.

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