Country Guides

Amazing Castles In Europe You Need To Visit

Europe has an abundance of incredible castles that are so well kept you feel like you’ve instantly stepped back a few hundred years in time.

Here are five castles in Europe, they all stand out in their own way, are all very different from each other and are unique for different reasons…

The Most Beautiful Castle – Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Choosing the most beautiful castle in Europe is probably the toughest one as we all have different tastes, and our judgements are all based on so many different things.

While traveling by train in the gorgeous Graubunden area of Switzerland, I saw many beautiful castles perched on top of mountains, but the one that best describes a beautiful castle for me is Neuschwanstein in Germany.

The Neuschwanstein Castle is breathtaking with the beautiful snowy mountain peaks in the background, two lakes and the many spires in different sizes.

Not surprisingly, the Walt Disney castle is said to be inspired by this one, which might be why it to me represents everything a castle should be.

The Prison Castle – Burg Hohenwerfen, Austria

What is today nicknamed the “adventure castle”, wasn’t always such a happy place.

This castle has mainly been used as a prison throughout its long history dating back to 1078, and many historical rulers were held captive here throughout the years.

Many prisoners spent their last days alive in the dungeons of this castle, but today they hold concerts, tours and different kinds of shows in the castle. The most famous shows are the “bird of prey” show and the falconry show.

The Largest Castle – Prague Castle, Czech Republic

Ok, this one is really hard to define, as many castles call themselves the largest based on different terms and measurements, but I won’t get all nerdy about how it’s measured, instead I will just refer to Guinness Book Of Records.

So, according to Guinness, the largest castle in the world is Prague Castle, in the Czech Republic. It dates back to the 9th century and is situated with a beautiful view over the city.

The castle district also houses the beautiful St. Georges Basilica and St Vithus Cathedral, with the most beautiful stained glass windows I’ve seen.

The Most Expensive Castle – Bran Castle, Romania

Many castles in Europe are cultural icons and have a long history, which make them  priceless.

Putting a price tag on some of the castles in Europe like the Windsor castle in England would be unthinkable, nobody would simply be able to afford it.

However, this is not the case with Bran Castle in Romania.

Archduke Dominic von Habsburg, grandson of King Ferdinand of Romania (and also a New York architect), put the castle up for sale in 2007.

The Bran Castle has been the home of many royalties in Romanian history, most importantly, the home of Vlad Dracula III, nicknamed the ”blood thirsty prince” and Vlad The Impaler, the figure of whom the famous vampire Dracula was based.

They expected to sell it for $135 million, which would have made it the most expensive castle in the world. However, nobody bought it, so the castle was instead turned into a museum, which personally I think is a much better idea.