The 25 Coolest Castles

Before you can ask what makes a castle cool, you need to know exactly what makes a castle, a castle. Most were built in the Middle Ages by European ballers in order to defend themselves, their wealth, and really, the continuing of their family lineages. And yes, they were also defending their countries, too.

No one castle should have all that power, but in all honesty, many of them did just what they were intended to do. Over the years, some became pimped out weekend houses or museums, but the real definition is still based in a kind of fortification built for defense—using moats, curtain walls, drawbridges, and elevation on islands, hills, and caves.

No, Hogwarts is not on the list, but yes, Coca-Cola rented out one of these and turned it into Hogwarts for a day. No, a castle is not the same thing as a palace, but yes, we have done a list of those, too.

Imagine yourself on some real luxurious lord or noble type sh*t and take this journey through The 25 Coolest Castles.

The Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, England was built in the 14th century by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge. It passed through several generations of the Dalyngrigge family and the Lewknor family, until becoming ultimately owned by the National Trust in 1925. It is known for protecting its inhabitants and can now be visited by the public.

The medieval Pembroke Castle in Pembroke, West Wales was built in 1093 by Roger of Montgomery. It sits on a rocky promontory on the River Cleddau. In 1189, the Earl Marshal decided to convert the castle from earth and wood into stone. It had many sieges up until the 15th and 16 centuries but was later abandoned entirely.

The Alcalá de Guadaíra Castle in Seville, Spain was built in 1244. While it was originally a royal prison, it later became a church and still contains remnants of images of the Virgin Mary.

The Bamburgh Castle in Bamburgh, Northumberland, England was built in 547 on a basalt outcrop. It has been destroyed, rebuilt, and renamed many times throughout the centuries, and now as a museum it hosts original artillery and weaponry from the first and second World Wars.

The Kyrenia Castle was built in the 7th century BC in Kyrenia, Greece. It now hosts the popular Shipwreck Museum and was also featured in Assassins Creed: Bloodlines as a playable area.

The Hohensalzburg Castle in Salzburg, Austria was built in 1077 by the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. One of the largest medieval castles in Europe, it sits atop a hill and housed its archbishops on the top floor for protection.

The Prague Castle, first built in the 9th century and continuously added on to, is the biggest castle in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records (it's 570 metres in length and an average of about 130 metres wide). Through its various owners and occupants over the centuries, it is said to represent every architectural style of the last millenium.

The Trakai Island Castle in Trakai, Lithuania, was built in the 14th century. Its bricks follow a French style of building, and it adapted a more Renaissance style of architecture during the rule of Sigismund Augustus. It was rebuilt after WWII in its 15th century style and is now a popular site for tourists.

The Löwenburg Castle or Lion Castle in Wilhelmshöhe Berg Park, Germany, was built in the 18th century by Wilhelm IX. Its architecture represents the revival of Gothic architecture in Germany, and it was intentionally built as an artificial medieval ruin. Much of it was destroyed by Royal Air Forces during WWII, and it is still being rebuilt.

The 13-acre medieval Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England, was built in the 14th century and passed through the British royal family. Its 15th century St. George's Chapel is considered "one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic." The entire acreage includes a fortification, palace, and small town, which overall champions Georgian, Victorian, and Gothic styles of architecture. Since over five hundred live and work in the castle, it is the largest inhabited castle in the world.

The Matsumoto Castle in the Nagano Prefecture of Matsumoot, Japan, was officially completed in the 16th century. Unlike castles on hilltops or on islands, it's a specific type of flatland castle called a Hirashiro, which means that its defenses were its moats, walls, and gatehouses.

The Malbork Castle, also known as the Marienburg Castle is the largest brick building in Europe and the largest castle in the world by surface area. Built in Prussia by the Teutonic Knights in 1406, it's a classic example of a Medieval fortress, and has been undergoing renovations since 1962.

The Ksiaz Castle in Silesia, Poland was built in 1263 and re-built in 1288. It has a long history of being passed down through various families and generations, until it was ultimately occupied by the Red army in 1945, at which point all artifacts were destroyed or stolen.

The medieval Bojnice Castle in Bojnice, Slovakia, was built in the 12th century and has Romantic, Gothic, and Renaissance elements. It hosts thousands of visitors a year for the International Festival of Ghosts and Spirits, the Summer Music Festival, the Bojnice zoo, and one of the oldest documented trees in Slovenia, the King Matej Linden Tree (700 years old).

The Castillo de Coca is located on a hill in the town of Coca in Sevilla, Spain. It was built in the 15th century in Gothic/Moorish style and has a large moat. Its owners have changed a lot throughout history, but it's currently owned by the Ministry of Agriculture and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1954.

The 19th century Neuschwanstein Castle is a Romanesque Revival structure on a hill in southwestern Bavaria, Germany. Commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and an homage to Richard Wagner, it became open to the public in 1886 when he died.

The Lismore Castle is in the town of Lismore in County Waterford, Ireland. It was originally built in the 7th century as a monastery but was rebuilt in the mid-19th century in a Gothic style. It's been owned by the Cavendish family since 1753 and has had famous guests from Fred Astaire to John F. Kennedy.

The Spiš Castle in eastern Slovakia was built in the 12th century in place of another castle. While it was originally built in a Romanesque style, it later adapted Romanesque-Gothic style through a three nave basilica. It's one of the largest castles in central Europe and now houses a museum.

The Eilean Donan Castle is located on an island off of Loch Duich, Scotland. It was built in the 13th century, destroyed in the 18th century, and rebuilt in the 20th century. Its strongest defensive features are its large curtain-wall and tower house, that once protected it from enemies before it was ultimately destroyed. Once inhabited by the Clan Macrae, it's now one of forty Kintail National Scenic Areas in Scotland.

The Leeds Castle in the southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England was built in 1119. It was built on islands formed by the River Len, and at one point around 1278 was the favorite home of King Edward I. While it has a deep history of being passed through English royalty and undergoing attacks, it interestingly held a 1978 meeting between the Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Ibrahim Karmel, Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, and Cyrus Vance of the USA and the 2004 Northern Ireland peace talks held by Tony Blair. Over 560,000 people visited the castle in 2010.

The Gothic-Renaissance Hunyad Castle in Hunedoara, Romania, was built in 1307 by King Charles I of Hungary. It has both Gothic and Renaissance elements. People believe that spirits haunt the castle because of the following story: Turkish prisoners were promised freedom if they could successfully dig a well and reach water. They dug for 30 feet, and created the well, yet they weren't granted liberty. There is an inscription on the wall of the castle yard that supposedly reads, "You have water, but not soul."

The Predjama Castle in Slovenia was built in 1274. It was built in a Gothic style during the Renaissance in the mouth of a cave. It notably survived many attacks while Knight Erazem Lueger lived in it during the 15th century, due to its build high above the arched stone wall. You may recognize it from the 1986 film Armour of God starring Jackie Chan.

The triangular Caerlaverock Castle, built in the 13th century, is located in south-west Scotland. It was owned by the Maxwell family for four centuries and continuously renovated throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. Its large moat protected it from attacks by the English. Its design is said to have been "the most ambitious early classical domestic architecture in Scotland."

Besides being a tidal island and commune in Normandy, France, the Mont Saint-Michel is a castle unlike any other. Its seclusion is one part of this, but its history of being a strategic holding fortification since the 8th century AD is a larger part of it. Even if only 41 people occupy the island, the castle receives approximately 3,000,000 visitors each year.

The brick-built tudor Herstmonceux Castle in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England was built in 1441 and is one of the oldest significant brick buildings in England. It's still in use, containing the Queen's International Study Centre and the Royal Greenwich Observatory, while also hosting England's Medieval Festival each August. In 2002, Coca-Cola rented the castle for a Harry Potter-themed sweepstakes, turned it into Hogwarts, and invited sweepstakes winners to roam around it for a day.