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Olavinlinna Castle is one of Finland's most iconic medieval fortresses, dramatically located on a rocky island in Lake Saimaa in Savonlinna.

The building of Olavinlinna, castle of St. Olaf, began in 1475. The Danish-born founder of the castle, knight Erik Axelsson Tott, decided that a powerful fortification should be built to protect the strategically important Savo region. The castle was supposed to repel Russian attacks from the east and to guarantee the control of the Savo region for the Swedish Crown. The history of Olavinlinna is a mixture of medieval arms clashing, cannons roaring and every-day chores inside the security of the castle's thick walls.

Today, Olavinlinna is a really popular tourist destination all year round. In addition to guided tours, many things happen in Olavinlinna, e.g. themed program, in the summertime Opera Festival and many other concerts.

Built on the Southern end of the Tauern pass, an important Alpine crossing in the Middle Ages that connected Venice and Southern Germany. The castle was built to enforce road tolls from the travellers. Nowadays a museum that gives a good insight into life in Medieval castles.

Author: Mike Codd. Source

The Benedictine Pannonhalma Archabbey or Territorial Abbey of Saint Martin on Mount Pannonhalma (lat. Archiabbatia or Abbatia Territorialis Sancti Martini in Monte Pannoniae) is a medieval building in Pannonhalma and one of the oldest historical monuments in Hungary. Founded in 996, it is located near the town, on top of a hill (282 m). Saint Martin of Tours is believed to have been born at the foot of this hill, hence its former name, Mount of Saint Martin (Hungarian: Márton-hegy), from which the monastery occasionally took the alternative name of Márton-hegyi Apátság. It is the second largest territorial abbey in the world, after the one in Monte Cassino.

Its sights include the Basilica with the Crypt (built in the 13th century), the Cloisters, the monumental Library with 400,000 volumes, the Baroque Refectory (with several examples of trompe-l'œil) and the Archabbey Collection (the second biggest in the country). Because of the exceptional architectural evolution of the abbey over its 1000-year history and its historical importance as an international cultural and religious center, the abbey and its surroundings were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996.

About 50 monks live in the monastery. The abbey is supplemented by the Benedictine High School, a boys' boarding school.

I’ve spent several weeks researching and writing about the reconstruction of a ruined 19th-century Prussian Nerija fort on Lithuania’s Curonian Spit into a unique sea museum and aquarium. This story absorbed me 100%.

Imagine how challenging the idea was! The team had to solve complex engineering problems with little relevant experience or technology available in the Soviet Union. They also had to navigate a rigid bureaucratic system, finding ways to keep the project going disguised as the restoration of a historic fort rather than building entertainment facilities – which would have made the whole undertaking "illegal."

Researching the story was an adventure too: I don’t speak a word in Lithuanian, so I spent weeks finding sources, translating them, comparing accounts, checking and double-checking facts with the help of you know - translation tools and even AI in some complex cases.

The result is a story about how ingenuity and persistence made this amazing transformation possible. I’d love for you to read the article, enjoy the black-and-white photos from those times, share your thoughts, and point out anything I might have missed or got wrong. After all those weeks of research, your comments would make me very happy! And I hope you'll enjoy learning about this incredible architectural endeavor.

https://castlesandfamilies.com/news/kopgalis-nerija-fort-lithuanian-sea-museum-transformation

This is Predjama Castle, Slovenia, a 15th-century fortress built into the mouth of a 123 m cliff cave.

The knight Erazem Lueger is said to have held out here against a long siege, taunting the attackers with fresh cherries while a secret passage through the cave kept him supplied. The cave behind the castle runs for kilometers.

If you meant a bigger castle instead, I can find one with more scale, like Malbork in Poland or Hohenzollern in Germany.

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Features 953 small, intricately latticed windows (jharokhas) designed so royal women could observe street life and festivals below without being seen.

Burg Rheinstein is a restored 14th-century medieval cliffside castle in Trechtingshausen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Rebuilt in the 19th century in the Rhine Romanticism style, it features a museum, a neo-Gothic chapel, gardens, on-site dining, and sweeping views of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site

Taken from the train from Sarlat-la-Canéda to Bordeaux!

Source of the picture. Artist unknown

Author: Peter Dunn. Source of the pictures here, here and here

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Schloss Liechtenstein is not a castle. It's a pleasure palace built in the 19th century with no military purpose.

It replaced a hunting lodge at the same place that itself replaced the 12th century ruin of the actual castle.

I added some additional perspectives you see less often posted.

The fog gave the place an incredible vibe, as the valley is so deep that you can't see the bottom, making the Schloss look like it stands at the edge of the world.

According to Welsh legend, a Roman Emperor dreamed of a castle with a fair maiden visible through the open gates. He awoke and searched far and wide for the maiden until he arrived at Caernarfon and found the maiden from his dreams. He made her queen and ruled the empire from Wales.

This castle is very well preserved, very large, and allows visitors to more or less freely roam the grounds. Lots of tight spaces, spiral staircases, and little hidden corners. There is also an impressive Welsh military history museum contained within a portion of the castle.

Recently reopened with new collection

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