I just got an email with some spectacular images of scenery around the world. Among them was a view of Hohenwerfen Castle that I have turned into my computer “wallpaper.”
There are some other amazing castles views at Top 10 Most Beautiful Castles With Breathtaking Scenery that are equally stunning.
The only such place I have ever seen in real life is Casa Loma in Toronto when I was a kid.
Do you have a favorite castle picture?
Not specific pictures, no, but any pictures of Neuschwanstein Castle is guaranteed to please. I am also partial to Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott’s fanciful Victorian-medieval estate.
Around the end of each year, if I pass a display of calendars in a mall or bookstore, I like to look to see if there’s a Castles calendar. They always have a picture of Neuschwanstein, usually on the cover.
Also no specific pictures, but I have a particular fondness for Carcassonne, which, to me, looks exactly like what a castle should look like.
Not promoting it but I have a whole entry in my blog about great castle pictures. My favorite is Mont St Michel because it’s named after me-- if I was 5 or 6 hundred years old.
Cool! Nice pictures!
Not a promotion, but a relevant site: http://www.topcastles.com/
Yeah, I expected to see Neuschwanstein as #1 on the list. In addition to making it onto every castle calendar ever, it’s probably also the #1 subject of jigsaw puzzles.
Also not surprised to see Mt. St. Michel. Which is also a really effective castle. I’m surprised there aren’t more castles built on tidal islands: It makes invasion a lot harder, without significantly hindering peacetime access.
A few that I’ve seen:
Sao Jorge in Lisbon.
Belem Tower, just outside of Lisbon, on the Tejo River.
Guimaraes Castle in Portugal.
Sintra Castle in Sintra, Portugal
The Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali. While technically a church, it’s construction would seem to indicate that it was also designed to fend off enemies.
The Alhambra, built as both a palace and fortress.
Castle of Guadamur, Toledo, Spain
8th century Moorish Castle in Sintra, Portugal
Amazing! Which is your favorite?
I hope y’all won’t laugh but one of the first “wallpapers” I had on my first PC (1986?) was something very much like this one.
I hope the other one I had is still on the web somewhere. It was a drawing as opposed to a photo, but it had all the ingredients that fascinate me about spooky castles.
Another one I like, in that same vein, is the real life “Dracula’s Castle” which I’m sure I have seen on the internet recently. It has to have been among these. 
Thanks for the great replies!
Oh wait! How could I have forgotten the castle of my mother’s birthplace, El Morro. One day I’ll visit it since it can be reached without a passport. Not too many castles can be visited without one.
Spectacular! Made me think of San Simeon or Cà d’Zan which, I do think I read somewhere, was the basis for the castle of Citizen Kane in the movie.
Speaking of movies, do any of you remember the “Evil Scientist…Boo” bit from Primus “Welcome To This World” featuring Bugs Bunny and Gossamer and maybe the original toon? I was in grade school at the time!
Im quite partial to this one!
And another picture of Edinburgh Castle from the other side
Here’s a piece of artwork that’s beckoning me to make it my wallpaper: No name on the link but as close as I have found to that old one from the 1980s.
Here’s a List of castles in the United States. Any if them near you, or ones you may have visited?
And here’s another list: Castles of the United States with more Tennessee places listed than at the first link.
Seen all the ones in NYC but never considered any of them real castles. Not far where I live on Long Island is this old school, St. Paul’s, that was slated for demolition(!) 7 years ago but was rescued (thank gooodness) and is now a recreation center. I drove by it daily on my way to work. Is this not Hogwarts on Long Island?
The grounds around it are now soccer, baseball and other playing fields. It boggles my mind that this was going to be torn down.
My mother in law lives near Conwy Castle (my own photo) in North Wales. There are a lot of castles up there, many in a good state of repair.
Huh, they do list Franklin Castle, which I grew up within walking distance of, and still pass by on a regular basis. For the past few decades, it’s been passing from owner to owner on a regular basis, as a long line of people try to make it somehow profitable. What the place really needs is someone rich and eccentric enough to actually make it their home.
For something completely different, here are some castles in Japan that I’ve taken pictures of.
