Castle Expert's top ten MEDIEVAL CASTLES
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- Опубліковано 7 тра 2024
- Here are my favourite 10 medieval castles!
Corfe castle
Chateau Gaillard
Krak des Chevalier
Hochosterwits Castle
Chateau de Pierrefonds
Castle Ewloe
Chateau de Puilaurens
Hermitage Castle
Karlstejn Castle
Bodiam Castle
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Thanks for all the videos Shad. I read your book, Shadow fo the Conqueror over Christmas, once I finished it I picked it up to read it again. It's even better the second time around!
8:13 w
South Germany is definitely the land of Shads dreams, a couple of km away from me, there are 4 castles in sight, two of them still standing completely.
One of them has quite a tragic story. A Nobles son imprisoned his older brother and let him rot in the dungeon, then took control over the castle, later regretted it and threw himself from the tower.
Neckarsteinach? At least this smal town has 4 castles.
Sounds like some dark souls lore
@@princeps8980 the Bottwartaal and it’s surrounding villages. There is Wunnenstein ( only a ruin ), Lichtenberg, which is the one I was talking about, Beilstein, and the castle ruin above the town of Steinheim. ( although there are only some foundation stones there, you can’t see any ruins, nothing left of the castle. )
@@jimnoel3025 indeed xD
I think Europe as a whole would be Shad dreams come true. Even in Poland, country not very known for its castles, I am able reach something like 6-7 casles in 1 hour of travel radius (I live in Warsaw, city situated in of the poorest regions of Poland since its inception)
You might be interested in Czech castle "Kost". It's very unique because it's actually not on a hill but in a valley but even Jan Žižka failed to capture it and that dude really knew his stuff. Another cool castle (sadly in ruines) is "Trosky" Two towers on two really high rocks connected by walls. Another really cool one is "Pernštejn". Just look at the photos. But honestly Czech Republic is filled with cool castles.
I concur! Based on his list, Shad would LOVE those, especially Trosky and Pernštejn!
Also in former Bohemia ;) you can find Hrad Bezdez. On the peak of one of two hills on a plain. Perfect location. Also multilayered. Once through the first gate, you have to go almost all the way around, under constant attack from the wall, until you get to the "devils tower", were you access the courtyard.
I believe I could be taken only once, when it was defended by only a handful of men.
Oh my dear, do not even mention castles like Zvíkov or Rábí. And if I can recommend something from your slovakien brothers Spiš, multi ward castle with massive Keep.
there is a castle or church on every hill there lol
@@sleazy1drache what's the winking for? Bohemia is, and literally always has been, a part of Czechia. Meaning all the castles mentioned here are indeed Czech.
This should be a monthly series by country, it would be really educational and interesting for the sake of potential visiting.
Would love this idea
Yes, people have commented Spain is its' own lesson, Eastern Europe has many, and there were no Italian castles here, although Shad does have a video about Bologna.
Ewloe Castle is pronounced yew-low. After having climbed all over castles like Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and Rhuddlan while growing up, what struck me about Ewloe is how different it felt seeing it for the first time. The others are imposing structures on the horizon, demanding you gawk at them, but when my dad took my sisters and I there he didn’t tell us we were going to see a castle - simply parked up in a nondescript car park and took us into the woods, the surprise I felt at happening upon the ruins was unlike anything I’d felt before or since, and despite it being far smaller and less imposing than the other castles I’ve visited in North Wales it is firmly one of my favourites.
Yea I lived about 15 minutes from Ewloe castle. It’s a really weird castle really. It is overlooked by high ground making it very vulnerable and is very small considering the amount of work that went into it. Which makes it more interesting to me.
I was honestly a bit suprised that either Caernarfon Castle or Harlech castle were not included Caernarfon in its hayday was beautiful still is now but still an immensely powerful symbol and castle Harlech well men of Harlech wasn’t written for no reason that castle survived a 7 year siege
All of the Conwy Pembroke Caernarfon Harlech Tenby Monmouth Chepstow Chester were not just impressive castles designed to withstand sieges but they were symbols of power they were not just their to prevent the Welsh capturing strategic locations but were also there to overawe the locals and let them know who the dominant power in the area was
Calais castle could also have an honourable mention as it was probably the last medieval castle to serve a military purpose when the Rifle Brigade used it in WW2 as the main part of their defence of Calais during the withdrawal to Dunkirk the units holding it held until they ran out of ammunition and food which bought a lot of time for men on the beaches at Dunkirk because the Germans believed the large port at Calais was much more important than the fairly small harbour at Dunkirk as an evacuation site and the defence of Calais castle and port meant that the British could withdraw 1000s of more troops from France
Ewloe in its native tongue is Ewlo, Ewloe is the anglicised spelling and the mistake some make in pronouncing it is assuming that ewloe is the native spelling and so they try and pronounce it the way a Welsh person would say that word, ie the oe diphthong in Welsh is pronounced oy as in boy whereas oe in English is like oe in toe and the English oe is how the Welsh would pronounce the o at the end of ewlo.
So the lo/loe part is easy, it’s just pronounced like low in English.
The Ew is the tricky one because in Welsh this diphthong (in Welsh w is sometimes a vowel sometimes a consonant) is pronounced ee-oo but you have to say is fast and when you do, to an untrained ear it sounds like you/yew/yoo etc, so often for the sake of ease, that’s how people say it, think Ewan McGregor and the Ew sound of Ewan and just add that to Low and that’s how you pronounce Ewloe, You-low.
I am so glad Karlštejn made your list!
Second that 🇨🇿❤️
it's funny. I grew up in a village in southern Germany, that has a "Karlstein". It is a memorial stone (several tons heavy), that was placed in a contested peace of land. It was named so, because the duke of the land (named Karl, obviously) peacefully solved the conflict. So pretty much the opposite, of what you need a castle for 😆😋
One interesting fact about Karlštejn: We do not know how it originally looked like in 14th century. The walls stayed the same over the centuries but the current roof design is somewhat neo-gothic and was done between 1887 and 1905. The original gothic roofs were likely a bit less germanic in style. Oldest painting of the castle is from 1720 and it shows renesance roofs from 1590s.
Yeah man, I love German castle design!
its called Karlstein
As an Austrian loving Hochosterwitz Castle, i'm glad it made it on the list! Cheers
Same. As a bonus, it´s always interesting to hear the pronunciation
Bist leicht aus Klagenfurt?
Visited it on my birthday during my visit to Austria in 2019.
I enjoyed the stroll up through the numerous gates, I could not imagine trying to storm those in a siege however.
As far as i remember of the guided tour a few years ago it was never conquered. (Everybody who walked up throught the gates and read the description of how each gate was to be defended would not be surprised)*
I think just for how it looks when approaching Hochosterwitz had to make the list (Even though it wasn't covered in the video. Maybe no good pictures for it) as it looks like the Hill (it would not count as mountain here in austria ;-) )
is the only real elevation around in the area.
The other castle with i like to refer to people for looks when approaching it from afar in austria is the "Riegersburg".
Only 7 gates i think, compared to the 14 of Hochosterwitz but it's bigger and more luxurious inside.
*there was one guard captain they had (around 1334) who was around 225cm tall (7ft 4 1/2) his armour is on display there.
And according to one story when someone tried to besiege them at the first gate, he walked down, opened the gate and showed himself to the oppponents and said "i am the shortest guy in here!" And they packed their stuff and left.
a picture of his armour next to that of "normal heights back then": marjorie-wiki.de/wiki/Datei:Burg_Hochosterwitz_R%C3%BCstungen_crop.jpg
@@nirfz It was never stormed, but once it was taken by betrayal, IIRC.
You might see some of the Spanish Castles, their archiquecture, and the historical context are amazing, the state of conservation of most of them are incredible.
That can make an amazing video to expand this one.
Also the varriety of their style is something to behold. It's a very interesting gradient of the more traditionally Western European (French) castles all the way to classic Arabic/Moorish in southern Andalusia. You can almost map the rate of the Reconquista by that gradient.
My Polish heart broke when you didn't mention Malbork (yes, I know it was build by a Germans, but sssh...). Thanks to many renovations, it looks spectacular. That red brick makes to look so unique!
Recently I also visited castle called Krzyżtopór (Cross-Axe) and it became one of my favourites. It's a palazzo in fortezza and the architect had an interesting idea when designing it - the number of each elements symbolises a part of a year. 4 towers symbolise 4 seasons, 12 chambers for each month, 52 rooms for each week and 365 windows for each day
Visited Poland for the first time last week and Malbork was first on our list. Was an amazing sight to see 😁
Are there any plans to restore the cathedral?
He really should have put it on the list, because it being built with bricks is what makes it so outstanding.
I was about to comment the same thing! It is remarkable because it is the largest castle in the world measured by land area, although I have to admit, the castles made of stone are much prettier, so it kind of makes sense it didn't make it into top 10.
Ordensburg Marienburg is indeed an awesome castle. (Who cares who built it. Krak des Chevalier is also awesome, so what if it was built by europeans, it is where it is.)
Shad, being from Czechia, thank you for including Karlštejn Castle in you list! It's a part of our national heritige and it made my day seeing it in your video!
It sucks to be from a country without castles...
@@Tar.o Can relate bro. It feels like a snow lover living in Mauritania.
Je super vidět ho v Shadově videu :-)
@@petergecse3550 Well, Charles IV. was a Roman Emperor but also the King of Bohemia. He had many titles. He was however Czech/Bohemian from his mother's side (his father was Luxemburg) and he made Bohemia the centre of his Empire. So I think he had a lot in common with Czechs. And the fact that Bohemia was at that time a part of larger empire doesn't mean that we didn't have any cultural or other "identity".
@@FiladelP59 Charles the IV, King of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Emperor, had a long and successful reign
Wow, all of these castles are very very beautiful!!
As a Slovak I feel like I should contribute, we have many castles but my all-time favorite is Orava. Trenčín is also very beautiful and I believe both were film sets. I also want to add: Spiš Castle is famous not only for having the largest grounds, but also because it's never fallen while under attack! I remember reading a book to research and that was a fact they listed (I'm pretty sure). There are castles all over the world with cool stories and these are the ones from my family's homeland :)
Fun fact! The castle Strečno near the city Martin was the set for the final confrontation in the movie Dragonheart! And I have a funny story along with it. When I visited, my family hung back after the tour, and we got locked in! My sister was the only one who could fit through the iron gate and she ran down to get help. It's was a very... Immersive experience XD
What does Orava mean in your language? I'm curios because in finnish it means squirrel.
@@Raakarapu it does not mean anything specific. Region Orava was apparently named after river Orava and river Orava meaned something like swift river in old slavic languages but i am not 100% sure.
@@Raakarapu I asked my mom and she couldn't think of anything besides just being a name. The Orava region stretches a bit into Poland where it's spelled Orawa. But that's so cool! In Slovak, squirrel is "veverička" so nothing similar at all XD
Actually my mom thought a bit further and it might be tied to Moravia. We say "Morava" which is quite similar. I don't know off the top of my head how old Orava Castle is but it is one of the best preserved.
Haha, that's awesome! XD
It would be great to see your favourite castles per country. For France you could even tackle the Britanny and Occitan regions separately. Same with Spain: Catalonia and Granada have very different styles to the northern Galicia, Asturias and Basque Country. It would be so cool to see your take on how castles adapt to different biomes (Mediterranean castles can only dream with moats, especially in summer) and how they evolve over time. In Portugal, there are several castles that I'm sure you'd love, such as Marvão, Óbidos and Évoramonte (this one being so unique). Oh and Elvas! It is a perfect castle example for the time of cannon warfare!
Cheers from Portugal!
might throw in belgium :D
@@TheChill001 For sure! I know mostly western mediterranean castles, so any area I know little about is a very welcome addition. 🥰
Obidos is beautiful
In Italy castles with moats are not super common as castles are more frequently on elevated positions where in many cases a moat is not even possible, or can only be "dry", never meant to be filled with water. But when castles were built on flat terrain (this usually means no more suitable elevated positions were available nearby, therefore in the plains, almost limited to Po valley, and in fact most of the examples can be found here) many had a moat. In many cases Castles and Fortresses in the Po valley had moats full of water, althoug in many cases they are no longer full of water today, but it's not a seasonal thing, it's mostly a choice for practicality, like avoiding insects proliferation, excessive humidity etc.
The ones still having a "wet" moat, have it full all year round. some examples like Rocca Sanvitale in Fontanellato (PR), Pagazzano(BG), Estense castle in Ferrara, SanGiorgio castle in Mantua, Paderna(PC), Padernello(BS), Peschiera Borromeo(MI), Torre de Picenardi(CR)(although the original castle has been heavily transformed into a neoclassic palace), Montagnana(PD)(strictly speaking a fortified town, not exactly a castle), CastelFranco(PD) (despite the name a fortified town), Cittadella(PD)(another fortified town).
And talking about fortified towns let's not forget about the city of Mantua, protected by no less than 3 lakes, with the remaining side protected by marsh fiels(now dried), with only narrow landbridges between the 3 lakes and marshfields. There is also another remarkable example: the city of Crema(CR). If you look for the 1620 map of Crema by Francesco Tansini you can see that it used to have 2 concentric layers of "wet" moats, not something you can see in many places.
There are also examples where the fortification is so close to a body of water that the moat does not need water to be provided to it, for example the Scaligero castle in Sirmione(BS) is surrounded by a moat full of water on 3 sides...on the 4th there is Lake Garda that is free to flow through the moat(and inside the castle too because there is a fortified water "yard"), although not full of water anymore Lazise(VR) used to be similar, Riva del Garda(TN) still is "wet" as Peschiera del Garda(VR) although the fortifications are no longer medieval because of extensive upgrades in modern times. Castel Toblino (TN) that is surrounded by the eponimous lake on 3 sides and cut from the main land by a "wet" moat.
Many other fortifications used to have a manmade wet moat but are now emptied: Sforzesco Castle in Milan, Soncino(CR), Colleoni's castle in Malpaga(BG), Roccabianca(PR), Pandino(BG), Albani a Urgnano(BG), Barbò a Pumenengo(BG)..
Not mediterranean enough? ok. What about the Old and New Fortresses in Livorno, where the water in the moats is directly provided by the mediterranean sea?
There are also forts and castles where I'm not sure we can say there is a moat or not... for example Le Castella(KR), a 15th century fortress occupying a small island separated by mainland by 50-70m wide channel and conected by a narrow landbridge. and a similar situation can be found also in Paphos (Cyprus), in Kaštel Gomilica(croatia) or the fortifications of Nin(Croatia), in the venetian castle in Methoni(Greece), in the old venetian fortress in Corfu(Greece), the venetian fortifications of: Zara(Croatia), of Cattaro(Montenegro), of Famagosta(Cyprus), of Candia(Cyprus), of Candia(now Heraklion in Crete), also the ones in Ceuta (Spanish exclave in north Africa, mirroring Gibraltar), .. and in all these the water in the moat is straight from the mediterranean sea itself, you can't be more mediterranean than that.
@@matteohetzy7599 Fugghedaboudit, he's a Brit making videos with Brit viewers in mind. He's not going to talk about stuff or places unfamiliar to them. I'm surprised he even took the time to mention a Czech castle.
Chad, have a look at Spanish castles, I'm sure a few would be on the list. Many of them are a merge between a Moorish Alcazars and Cristian Castles. I would recommend to start looking at the Alcazar de Segovia, Alcazar de Toledo and The Alhambra (one of the most beautiful palaces and fortresses in the world).
The Spanish castles really are another level, I am British descent and want to root for them but the Spaniards and Moors set a whole new standard for the castle.
19 MOST INCREDIBLE Castles and Fortresses of Medieval Spain ua-cam.com/video/z4x58eEIuIo/v-deo.html
Dude great add!!!
In spain; 20.000 medieval castells. More 10.000 in use.
I was shocked too. When people think of castles they think England and Scotland mostly, but Spain has some of the roughest, fortress-like castles.
One of my favorites simply for the history is Bran Castle. It wasn't the only castle that Vlad had, to my understanding, but it's still a beauty. And while it's not a castle, I also love the look of Guaita Fortress in San Marino.
Actually, Bran was never Dracula's castle, he just spent some time in its dungeons. His castle was Poenari castle, which was mostly destroyed some time ago when an earthquake had the structure slip down the cliffs; recently, they've started renovating it.
@@bib4eto656 Yep, people really don't know much about the real Dracula.
Yeah, as people said, Bran belonged to Hungary at the time and I'm not sure on the history but I don't think it looked like that in the Middle Ages. Bran was basically just the border post with Wallachia. Vlad Tepes' main castles were in Targoviste and Bucharest, both kind of in ruin. He did build a beautiful small castle in the mountains, Poenari. He ruled for only a few years and was mostly at war so he didn't have time to build bigger. Poenari has been renovated but I don't think they plan on also rebuilding the towers.
So anyway, Bran is just a lot of marketing by smart people. I would recommend Corvin Castle, that is perfectly preserved as it was in 15th century.
Really nothing about the Malbork Castle? It is the largest castle in the world measured by land area. You should definetely come to visit it in Poland :)
Agreed. If Netflix had some common sense, they would’ve shot the Witcher there ( but why bother with Eastern Europe when you can just make it about modern day California ).
People don't like bricks for some reason
Went there a few years ago and it was honestly amazing to see so much was still standing.
It could be largest and best in the world, but who cares? Its in "eastern" europe.
Doesn't mean it's also a great fortress.
I know it’s technically not a castle, although there is a castle in it, but visiting Carcassonne was one of the high points of my life as a lifelong medieval enthusiast.
Did you visit the other Cathar settlements? Perypertuese (I believe) is a sight to behold, the wall on the side you walk up is like the bow of a ship. It is mind-blowing how it was built and where.
@@DidMyGrandfatherMakeThis didn’t get a chance to actually stop, but I drove beside them. I’ll definitely go back there with my motorcycle once and take the time to fully enjoy it.
I’ve been to Carcassonne and Pilaurens last sommer and both were amazing.
But a medieval city still mostly intact with not one but two walls around it?! that was insane.
It was super hot that day but I still took like 3 laps around the whole thing just to admire it.
@@LE-ml1oc actually Carcassonne was heavily renovated during the 19th century by Eugene Violet-le-Duc, the same architect who renovated Pierrefonds, although his renovation of Carcassonne is far more accurate to what it looked like during the medieval period. Pierrefonds was requested to be built as a realistic fantasy castle.
@@LE-ml1oc yeah, when you stand by the foot of those walls and just stare up and to the sides and you feel tiny but what a sight.
I like castles. I knew only Japanese castles, but I learned that there are many wonderful castles in foreign countries. thank you
japanese “castles”
19 MOST INCREDIBLE Castles and Fortresses of Medieval Spain ua-cam.com/video/z4x58eEIuIo/v-deo.html
@@peenplays4219 incel
Finally one of these videos. I know nothing about castles but think they are neat anyways. So seeing Shad describe them with passion makes me want to go see them in person.
So glad to see another castle video! The funnier stuff you've been doing lately is great, but I've been missing the more serious analysis videos that attracted me to your channel in the first place. This is a gem!
As a Welshman I feel proud to see Ewloe up there although I would like to see your opinions on the many castles we have, like Cardiff (Caerdydd) Caerphilly Castle, Caernarfon Castle or even Raglan castle or possibly Ogmore Castle as its a fairly small one in more of a ruin shape. I think the issue with these was that they were built very quickly in order to suppress the locals so not all of them will be the best looking.
Don’t forget Beaumaris. That’s an interesting one because they never even finished it
I've seen both Cardiff and Caerphilly as well as Kidwelly (can be seen in the opening shot of Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and Pembroke... It's hard to choose my favourite of those. I'm 'leaning' towards Caerphilly. 😆
Harlech? Conwy Castle and its walls? There are castles of all types in Wales. 600 or so I believe. There are even other small castles like Ewloe, like Caergwrle, Dolbadarn, or Dolwyddelan, or Cricieth. Fflint, Rhuddlan, Pembroke are impressive as well.
I once challenged myself to visit 10 castles in a year, so I had a 1 week holiday in Wales.
@@martinhughes2549 Tenby as well the position right at the top of a cliff face makes it a very imposing position to storm
Monmouth castle should be mentioned as well Being the birthplace of a king of England
You also have small but important castles as well like Crickhowell Brecon and many others
Corfe Castle is the closest medieval ruin to me so definitely glad to see it on the list! There’s a massive amount of Iron Age and other ancient castles and fortifications nearby but only the earthworks survive
Quite a few in devon, but often they were added on to in later centuries, i love corfe castle...
Since I was young, I've loved castles. I've studied them a bit, and I recognized many of the terms used. This was really cool Shad!
Breathtaking! Thank you for sharing your love of castles with us. I have always been fascinated by castles and your channel has really blessed me.
I’ve visited Corfe Castle in England, and you’re right, it is absolutely beautiful. So is the gorgeous historic village below. Wonderful place to visit.
My most favourite castle is definitely Kokorin (Kokořín) castle in central Bohemia. It is pretty small, but still a formidable defensive structure, and oh my god, so beautiful and romantic.
Im really happy to see chateau pierrefonds here, its a massive castle and it looks amazing. I got to see the castle by chance cuz we were originally going to see versailles but we weren’t allowed to drive there, so i looked fir a cool castle nearby and found this one. I didnt even notice at the start but its actually the castle they use in a really really fun series called merlin, which i was watching at the time. This castle doesn’t get enough recognition in my opinion.
Incredible video, i'm glad to see Karlštejn on the list! I recommend looking at Gjirokaster castle in Albania, the thing had an aqueduct attached to it for water and it's enormous.
I found Chateau Gaillard basically by accident looking for random sights to see while driving from Paris to Normandy last October, and was totally blown away by it. The site is amazing, the remaining structures impressive, and the view breathtaking. I was blown away, but even so I didn't expect to see it pop up here. Awesome Shad!
I visited Hrad Karlštejn nearly a quarter century ago. It is a visit forever etched into my memory in a most pleasant way.
I wholeheartedly applaud you for including that beautiful place on your list! 😊
Bodium is a wonderful place to visit. I am still astonished how much of it is still accessible to the public, despite being a ruin! Also, you might get to see roosting bats if you are lucky and quite (we only saw one...) So glad it topped the list, as much as anything because if you ask a kid to draw a castle, they will almost always draw something that looks almost exactly like Bodium, unless they happen to live near another castle they know well.
Add to all that a WWII bunker on the grounds, a steam railway just outside, a top cafe, and lots of very friendly ducks and fish... just delightful!
I really love to see that the castle videos are returning. The castle videos are honestly my favorite subject on this channel.
A video in the classic Shadiversity style! I love it, I've missed it, I want more of it! Also, a great list; I could look at those castles for hours (but unfortunately don't have the time to nerd out to that extent).
So happy to see a Castle Video again.
Fun fact, the first video I saw was your breakdown of Gran Soren in Dragons Dogma and was actually the reason I subscribed.
I stayed for the memes and Fantasy Rearmed, but there is something fascinating about architecture that pulls me in when it's broken down and analyzed. Love it Shad.
Please do a top 25/50 Castles video! Would love to see that.
So many more great castles out there that could feature in a wider ranging and longer video. :)
As a French I feel honored to see so many french castles in this ranking.
Anyways, thank you for bringing us joy, amazement and CASTLE !!
he forgot your best - Mont Saint-Michel
@@The_Zilli Agreed, it is simply beautiful and has never been captured. But technically it's more a fortified city than a castle, so I totally understand not having it in this video.
@@lucasmoreau fair point, then he should be doing one for fortified cities as well. I would be curious to see what else is out there.
le plus beau à part Pierrefonds est Carcassonne, suivant mon avis
@@grifyn882 Qui entre aussi dans la catégorie des villes fortifiées
Great that you included Hochosterwitz. It´s by far my favourite castle.
As a child we went to Kärnten every year for holiday and I made my parents to visit the castle every time
Hey Shad… Corfe castle is awesome. I went there in 2013 and was blown away. I also went to another awesome castle in Ireland called Dunluce Castle. It’s a real GOT style castle with a cave running completely under the castle below the cliffs and into the sea…
Czech republic is filled with great castles. I spent a lot of my childhood visiting many of them with my sister and parents. Might be why I can appreciate them so much. This vid has some real gems.
Watching you for many years, I enjoy this content some of the most. Perhaps you could do a video or a series of what most castles were like by time period, as you've mentioned the medieval period is so vast that breaking it into 200 year chunks or so might give people a better understanding of what was in use at which times as well as the most basic vs the most extravagant within those time frames. Thank you for the good work
I used to delivery to Bodiam castle, getting there early in the morning and seeing the mist rolling of the moat/lake was always beautiful
Memories of me playing Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader back in the early 2000's... was pretty enthusiastic about this, trying to build historical castle in game, and the game was pretty good at it. Loved it, still play it from time to time.
No machicolations though, only crenelated walls :(
Wood needed.
@@RagPlaysGames Our cows are struck down by a strange malady, m'lord
Im not much of a connoisseur of castles but for me there are only 2 castles in my head when i think about them, Neuschanstein castle (most fantasy castle ive seen) and Malbork castle (as its located in my country). Also Ty Shad for showing those castles. Also2 I remember that in France there was a castle being built using old techniques I wonder what happened with the construction.
It's still built, this research project takes a long time. I can only imagine it will serve as a museum.
On the topic of Neuschwanstein, that is a modern mock creation of the 19th century. It's only three years older than the Eiffeltower (when you count from the end of construction).
Neuschwanstein is not medieval
@@Enyavar1 Well that is correct but it was build by a King atleast.
what a fantastic video! Its amazing how complex and advanced the archetaexture in the medieval period was. My favorites from this video were Karlstejn and Hochosterwits
Very good pronounciation from an english native speaker! :D
Hochosttervitz was the first castle that came to my mind when I saw the title of your video, and I am so glad you already included it
5:00 after you first mentioned hochosterwitz in one of your videos i wanted to go there. and looking it up i saw, that it is very close to where an online friend of mine lives. so i took my gf and we visited her and the castle 😁
it is really impressive walking through all the gatehouses
From the first time I saw this castle, I was thinking "This is one where you take a look at and say to yourself: Forget the siege, I am spent just looking at it.
This video is amazing. It's short, informative and inspiring. And about castles - wich makes it even better.
A great video to wow castle newbies and get them into the topic. One on my favourite videos of this channel
Malbork castle is my personal favorite. The innovation that went into the castle blows my mind. I also love the brick colouration.
Chateau de Pierrefonds is one of the most beautiful and menacing castles i have seen.
So grand and high but taking seemingly little space.
One of the coolest castles in terms of history that I know of is Pontefract Castle in England, which I actually wrote an article on not too long ago. It's been called the most feared castle in England, and it was the site of several royal deaths/executions, and got bombarded with about 1400 cannonballs during the English Civil War. It's mostly in ruins now, but the dungeon is still intact below ground and even has the names of prisoners scratched on the walls in some places.
It also had an extremely rare Spanish style tower attached to the main castle only by a narrow strip of wall... when the Civil War sieges took place, it was pretty completely leveled by cannonfire.
The castle was also captured by a group of royalist soldiers disguised as bed changers bringing in fresh mattresses, so that's cool, I guess!
Wow thank you for the recommendation! I live about an hour and half's drive from Pontefract so I'll be sure to go.
@@racheljames7 Awesome, hope you enjoy! Keep a look out for the older parts of the walls... I believe some of them date all the way to back to the time of the Normans.
@@TheMadPoetHimself Just pipping back to say, we went on tuesday. It was absolutely brilliant. I loved it. I couldn't believe that's where Catherine Howard and Culpepper began their affair! It was so much fun. Thank you for recommending it.
@@racheljames7 No problem! Glad you enjoyed it!
This is the kind of Shad content I love the most! These castles are all so gorgeous. I feel ashamed that I am European and haven't seen none of these, or any other famous castles in real life. (except Trakoscan Castle and Kamerlengo Castle here in Croatia but they are not this impressive). One day!!! 🥰
Krak des Chevaliers was a place I long dreamed of visiting and I was lucky enough to go there in 1999. For a small fee, one of the guys who worked in the castle took me and my friend down a "secret" stairway that descends below the soldiers' accommodation in one of the towers and leads directly to the outside. Kerak castle in Jordan, although less well preserved, is also hugely impressive. Rajasthan in India also has any number of spectacular fortifications.
I can remember my history teacher showing us slides of his trip to the Levant to see the Crusader castles in about 1992 he showed us in 2017 as part of our crusades course. Had his wife as a measuring stick in all his photos to show just how huge some of the positions at Karak de Chevaliers was one position on a spur he had her stand at the bottom of the spur and my god she was but a speck in comparison to the wall and the mountainside.
@@wargey3431 It occupies a very dominant position guarding the route inland from the coastal plain, with another castle in sight across the valley, and Syria was an amazing place to visit back before things turned ugly.
Shad, your castles videos are my favorite! Keep them coming dude.
These are all so magnificent! I just find these buildings so awe inspiring and motivating to build something amazing like that myself one day.
One of my favorites is Osaka Castle. Talk about location! It is built on top of a mountain with near perfectly smooth walls that recede into the hillside making it virtually impregnable. And it was/is also the longest standing castle in japanese history.
More of this... YES more of this! I would say this is my favourite channel video from the last couple of years.
Massively agree with you about Bodium. Its just around the corner from me and I've visited many times. When I think "Medieval castle" Bodium castle is the picture that appears in my mind.
Shad, if you need some Scandinavian castle inspiration.
Try taking a look at the castle Hammershus on the Danish island Bornholm. Though most of the outer walls are gone by now, it still covers a very large area, has an impressive location, and it a fine example of a multiple ward castle.
My favourite "Monastery Castle" would have to be the French *Mont-Saint-Michel* .
Love that place.
is that the one that gets isolated for half a year or something due to tides? I can see why you love it. It's like straight out a fantasy novel.
@@Yarblocosifilitico Yeap, a small tidal island commune that gets cut off at high tides.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont-Saint-Michel
Yeah, Mont Saint Michel is truly breathtaking, I've been there, and the fact that it's a tidal island is so awesome. Good luck laying siege to it from land, when it can be resupplied from the sea. Good luck draining the moat by diverting the river or filling it with rubble when the "moat" is the sea. Good luck blockading it from the sea when it can be resupplied from land. To take it, you would have to control both the land and the sea, and still, your only true option would be to try to starve it
Also known as Minas Tirith!
nice top ten, very good examples of different castles.
I have been to Hochosterwitz and to Hermitage Castle and am happy to see them in this top ten.
I also visited Caerlaverock Castle in Scotland which is much like Bodiam.
Love your Videos Shad 👍
Thank you for all that wholesome and awesome information, which are always included in your video!
You should look up Caerphilly Castle. It's kinda like what would happen if you took Bodiam Castle and kept building onto it to make it even more defensible. It is a great example of using multiple layers of moats as defenses.
Long time ago. My dad's flat cap blew off on the bridge. We could see it floating around the moat. Best day out ever. Monster of a castle.
Pretty sure if he knows about Ewloe he'll already know about Caerphilly. You are right in your statement but Bodiam although very picturesque, was never meant to be an impregnable fortress. The raised land around it meant basically any attacker would have lots of joy firing into it. Not to mention being able to lay siege and it not being large enough to be self sufficient in terms of growing their own supplies.
Raglan is probably a closer example of an elegantly fortified home but one that could actually be defended.
I’m glad he didn’t include Caerphilly Castle, his pronunciation of other castles hurt my hears, and he would definitely not pronounce Caerphilly correctly.
I love your fictional castle reviews. I was curious what your thoughts were on the castle from Castlevania Lords of Shadow, or the Hyrule Castle from Zelda Twilight Princess?
Breath of the wild's castle seems like the more interesting option, with the gatehouses and the functionnal keeps (from the non destroyed parts at least). There seems to be also two sets of hallways: the big ones that are decorated and linking the major rooms (dining hall, library...) and the small ones making shortcuts from the guards' rooms so they can easily get to any spot in the castle. We don't have the full floor plans but I do think that there is a lot to discuss, even if only the exteriors and remparts.
@@Kwizii I just started breath of the wild, and haven't seen the castle yet. But by the way your describing it, you're probably right, that breath of the wild would be a better choice.
Never been to a castle myself, but I was glad to see my personal favorite, Bodiam Castle take the #1 spot! Cool video!
I love Corfe Castle. I drive past it every summer on the way to Swanage for my holidays and I always envy the people who live in the village beside it. They get to wake up with that majestic thing towering over them every morning, that must be amazing.
Man I appreciate the pick of castle Ewlo, my favorite castle is Caerlaverock castle so it's neat to see small castles get recognized
@Shad Caerphilly castle is still one of the most awesome ones, and the first of the "Concentric rings" style in the UK (with multiple layers of moats / walls). I still have a load of pictures from my 2-day visit there, if you want them! (The pic you used once of the crossbowman looking through the slots in some hoardings was from there). Also got some of the iron fixings for tapestry / wall covers in the main hall area.
Loved this video! Great to see all the differences in design and how one isn’t necessarily worse than another. Would love to see a top ten castles per nation. Also hoping you would start with Scotland 🏴
Hey Shad, Karlštejn, while surely epic, is now nothing like it was during medieval times. Its current look is a consequence of puristic reconstruction at the end of 19. century. You can find drawings and also some very old photos of it before the reconstruction.
As a Czech castle lover, i'd suggest to take a look at castles Loket, Střekov, Kost, Křivoklát, Pernštejn and my favourite, Zvíkov. All of them are more accurate to their medieval looks.
Being from Spain I would like to see a dedicated video on Spanish castles. We have a bunch of castles, specially in southern Spain (Andalucia) due to the Reconquista. It just seems like you talk a lot about central and northern European castles but we also have many. With their unique styles; southern european Christian style castles, Moorish style castles and some that are a mix.
How about Osaka castle? Or Edo castle? The later chapters of Lone Wolf and Cub have really cool stories playing inside of Edo castle. About the poisoner and the ninjas who supply Yagyuu Retsudo with food and information during his imprisonment there. Or Windsor castle? It was so big that they held a tournament INSIDE on the castle grounds! And Salzburg castle is pretty cool, too. As is the one in Prague! The two castle books by Stephen Biesty are fantastic!
Japanese castles are different, we call them castles by convention but I feel it's like translating a daimyo as a duke or a count. Not exactly the same thing, even if it fills the same purpose.
That being said, videos about japanese castles would be cool, I just think it's better not to mix European castles and other types of castle too much. Dedicated videos about each types is better.
He's only including European castles, if Shad wanted to include Japanese castles he should make a list dedicated solely to Japanese castles. The title of the video also has "MEDIEVAL" in it, which is a denomination that only (or mostly) applies to Europe.
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Shad talks Castles! At last, a return to the reason I started following this channel.
This is an excellent video Shad. Thank you for sharing it. I was unaware of half of the castles you included. I would like to mention that I am surprised that you didn't include Beaumaris Castle in this top ten list.
I walk to ewloe all the time, it's certainly a reward at the end of the walk up the hill
keep in mind that the Chateau de Pierrefonds was not only restored, but almost redesigned by Violet Le Duc, notoriously so in fact. What we see and know of the castle today, is likely not at all like the original, and is an "invention" of the 19th century
5:22 Ah one of my favourite castles, Stokesay Castle, getting a cameo! Stokesay is an amazing location and one of my "I fancy a day out somewhere" places to go.
One of my other absolute favourites is Hurst Castle on the south coast on England. Built by Henry VIII, saw use in WWII. Even had a ship named after it. It's amazing, unique place with so much history.
I live about 30 minutes from Corfe Castle. Never expected to see if on a list like this. Given me a new appreciation for it.
I'll always promote Caerphilly Castle where I get chance 😂. 2nd biggest in the UK, an enormous moat, gate houses, a great hall, draw bridge and a tower that leans at 10 degrees (a greater lean than the Tower Of Pisa). Was so lucky to have it on my doorstep as kid
Another punt for Caerphilly too
You should totally look into Chepstow castle, it is really cool imo.
The reason I believe it’s a fantastic castle is due to the massive cliff it sits next to. The castle likely had a crane that could lift supplies all the way from the bottom of the cliff where there is a wide river that large coats could sail in to the top. There’s a spot where the crane would have been but I’m not sure. The doorway leads to a cellar.
There are three wards, there being an additional castle at the back called the Montgomery tower built by the famous knight. He also built Pembroke castle which is also very cool.
The walls facing the massive cliff have less defences and the rear ward has no wall at all (or at least a small one, I couldn’t tell because it was a ruin) which gives a spectacular view of the river wye. There is a drawbridge and ditch in two the wards. There’s one left at the Montgomery tower.
The castle also has two massive towers at the front that was as good as a keep.
There’s too much to write about tbh.
Harlech had something similar a bay protected by the castle with a postern onto a small sand inlet where men and supplies could be landed and walked up to the castle sadly the coast now is a lot futher from the castle than it once was (when it was built it was basically directly on a cliff) hence how it survived its 7 year siege
Bodiam will always have a soft spot in my heart. That view from the bridge was the cover image to the old Interplay game "Castles." I was only in elementary school at the time (and was pretty terrible at the game) but it was my introduction to the historical side of medieval history. Very iconic image.
Thanks for all the great content Shad!
Hi Shad absolutely love your choices. Did you consider Tintagel in Cornwall? Although in ruins it's said to have been king Arthur's castle! Another one is Arundel castle in my home town in Sussex, it's still an impressive functional castle and home to the Duke of Norfolk that you can visit and there is a medieval show and joust every summer.
Tintagel was meant to be Uther Pendragon's (Arthur's father) castle...
Alternative title: Shad manages to anger the Poles, Spaniards, Portuguese, Lithuanians, Irish, Italians, Greeks, Slovenians, and Slovakians at the same time.
I live right next to Pontefract Castle. There's not much left, but from the paintings, it was a very impressive and important castle. It really got me into castles in general.
Thanks for letting me know about Castell Ewlo (Ewole castle). I don't know how I haven't heard of that one before as I have been to pretty much all the castles here in North Wales and this one is about 30 minutes drive from me. Then again this is Wales and we have castles literally everywhere. I have 5 in 10 minutes walking distance from my house.
I would fancy if you visited German castles and make vlog type content. I think it would be fun to watch. PS.: Burghausen has a renaissance fair in March 23. just saying ;-D.
I think he might have to dedicate a whole year to this tour..
@@N9O only the SHADMAN can pull that of! ;-D
personally I think Mont Saint Michel is great due to the fact of it being a tidal island.
Stellar! I would deeply appreciate to view your extended selection of castles curated by the age they were build in. I'm now looking into more castles.
I love your videos, especially your castle videos. Thanks for another great one.
Corfe castle reminds me of DA: Inquisition’s Skyhold. The layout is quite similar if not the same.
I'm curious what do you think of Malbork castle. If i'm correct it's the largest brickbuilt castle on earth. It also couldn't be sieged. Poland had to purchase malbork from teutinic order
It was nearly on the list, I love Malbork Castle
@@shadiversity will there be an episode on malbork or at least the honorable mentions of castles that didn't make to this list
Very cool to see Krak des Chevalier make the list. That castle dominates the surrounding landscape and the more austere design is very aesthetic for the region.
So glad that Karlstejn made it on your list. Hope to see you in Czech Republic someday.
Did you see the Malbork Castle? it's huge!
It was nearly on the list, I love Malbork Castle
Marienburg…
@@ColHoganGer90 no
@@ColHoganGer90 not for over 400 years, when we rescued it from teutonic knights.
I wonder if would you be interested in rating the castle sieges, or at least the 'castles' themselves, in Bannerlord? Unless you already have, of course, and I just haven't paid attention enough to your upload schedule. They even come with murder holes in many cases, but no MACHICULATIONS for the most part, sadly.
Edit; Another sad part about the sieges is that the direction of attack is very one-way directional. Which is what you want for a castle, but not being able to encircle a castle in the game is still a bummer when they're clearly situated in a place where you'd normally be able to encircle the location, even if there's only one clear point of where you'd want to attack.
Love to see a Czech castle in your top 10, Shad, and so high on the list too.
Sending love from the Czech Republic.
I live about half an hour away from Castle Ewloe, as a through-and-through castle nerd I'm really lucky to have so many castles within easy visiting distance but I'm particularly happy to see little Ewloe up there with the big boys on this list!
fun fact: Karlštejn has one of the deepest wells of any castle . . . one of the tower has a well that all the way down to the river below
it is also one of the most famous castles in my home state . . and has plenty of folklore written about it
Very good that you mentioned this! As real sieges were more about surrounding the place and waiting for the defenders to die than storming the walls Hollywood-style, doesn't matter how fancy and strong they looked otherwise, getting water was a basic issue for hilltop castles. The Well Tower of Karlštejn is definitely pretty cool. One of my other fav examples is the Buda Castle of Hungary, where it was impossible to dig a well through the hill, so first they had an extensive barbican system down to the riverside to defend guys carrying water, then, beginning of the 14th century, they built a proper pump system, operated by dozens of men, to get water from nearby springs. But I'm pretty sure, if we would dig deeper into this subject, we could find other awesome solutions beside Karlštejn and Buda around Europe.
Being from Canada, seeing actual medieval castles is kinda hard. That being said, I went to Germany and Austria 10 years ago and was lucky enough to visit 2 medieval castles: Hohensalzburg in Salzburg, Austria and Kaiserburg in Nuremberg. The one in Salzburg is actually a museum! It felt so awesome to explore and take in the AMAZING views from the towers as the castle is literally on a massive stony hill overlooking Salzburg and the Alps. Wish I was back in Europe, it's bloody freezing in Quebec, Canada at the moment with temperatures reaching -45c with windchill factor
The Kaiserburg in Nürnberg also is a museum btw. But I found the museum to just not thaaat impressive.
Would also be a good example of a castle that relied more on the outer fortifications and itself not beeing that impressive, like Hochosterwits here on the list. It is on the highest peak of the city and the city has in parts massive(!) walls (still to this days most of it is still there). Iirc it was never taken, away from WW2, but taking a castle with planes and tanks is kinda cheating, right? ;)
Yeah it's so easy to go to a castle here. All it takes is a 5-15 minute bike ride in either direction to find a full standing castle or at least it's ruins.
I think we in germany have the most castles in the world if I'm not mistaken (Google says over 20.000)
German people don't appreciate it though since there's almost too many and you don't even notice them anymore. You see like at least 3 of them on the way to the next town
@Skyl3t0n Exactly!
@Guano Oh yeah, I know that. I went in the castle's jails. Something awfully eerie about walking in dark, skinny torchlit corridors 😅
I was so stocked when Bodium was first. I used to live near there and absolutely loved visiting it as a kid.
So happy to see another castle video! You should review the new Lego castle and how realistic it would be!
For me, it's Theed Palace.