Portsmouth, England,UK

Portsmouth's Southsea Castle is now a tourist attraction. Fortunately, the fortification has a lieutenant in charge of marketing: a lighthouse (dressed like a jailbird). These are two landscape features that most people will go out of their way to visit: castles and lighthouses. What will you go out of your way to visit? [2011]

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague Castle began with its first walled building, the Church of the Virgin Mary, in 870 a.d. Around the church evolved the fortified castle, which now serves as the seat of the Czech government. It may be the largest ancient castle in the world. The old kings of Bohemia would be proud (even though their lineage has been overthrown). [1994]

Växjö, Sweden

When the international border between Sweden and Denmark was here, Kronoberg Castle was necessary for Sweden to guard its frontier. Lots of resources went into fortification, expansion, and upkeep. When the international border was moved to the Øresund, Växjö lost its strategic significance and the castle declined. Today, only ruins remain. [1984]

THE BACKSTORY ~ Posted on the 11^th Anniversary of Geographically Yours, 4 August 2021: From my travel log on the two days a friend and I spent in Växjö, Sweden, in the summer of 1984. “We headed inland and got off at Alvesta, then caught another train to Växjö. In Växjö we stopped at an outdoor museum (closed), saw a windmill, and a few folk barns, stopped to see the cathedral, and fortunately bought a few things for supper at the grocery store. Växjö was dead though. It was Saturday afternoon and almost everything was closed.”

The next day we rented an Opal Corsa for a single day and drove out into the countryside from which so many Swedish immigrants to the United States had come. My friend was a descendent of one of those immigrant families. “We  drove back to Växjö, after eating in the car, on a very rural road that wound its way through the woods and among the lakes of Kronoberg. It rained the whole day and prevented a lot of picture taking. In Växjö we rushed to the Emigrant House Museum, which is undergoing considerable expansion. It was located next to the Smaland Museum where they have some buildings moved in from around Sweden. Nobody in the museum knew anything about the outbuildings and didn’t have anything in writing about them either. The Emigrant House Museum was very nice. It had both English and Swedish descriptions which made it more meaningful for us."

“One more stop we made before returning to the hostel. We went to see the ruins of Kronoburg castle, the best castle we have yet seen. It is situated on a point of land which juts into Helgasjön Lake. The ruins were restored with a few bricks to support the arches and a few new stairways made of wood.  The castle is open to the weather, however. The only contrived aspect was the wooden stage and simple benches which were set up in the central courtyard and some passageways that were blocked off. We had the whole castle to ourselves. The castle is on the site  of a medieval bishop’s castles (Bishop of Växjö). The present castle was built in Gustavus Vasa’s time and was added to in the 1550s.” The next morning, we boarded the train to Stockholm. D.J.Z.

Castletown, Isle of Man

Castle Rushen is one of the most authentic medieval castles in Europe. What's not surprising is that it anchors the old capital of the Isle of Man, once an independent kingdom. What is surprising is that this happens to be the 4000th post on Geographically Yours. At a picture-a-day, that takes you back to the summer of 2010 when Geographically Yours began. [2011]

Birgu, Malta

Malta's Castrum Maris's innards go back to the 13th century. Those innards, however, were expanded into a complete fortress to protect the harbor. Quite a harbor it is, too, and quite a shame to waste such a capacious anchorage on a small island. Such a grand harbor really deserves a continent to back it up. [2009]

Sinaia, Romania

 
Peleş castle is part of Romania's cultural patrimony. In other words, it is a foundation of Romanian identity because it represents the best of the country's culture. It was built as Romania was winning independence from the Ottomans; it was restored and opened to the public after Romania threw off its communist rulers in 1989. [2014]

Dublin, Ireland

 
Castles: Europe has thousands upon thousands. Dublin Castle is just one of them. How many castles does America have? None, or, also thousands? It may depend on how you define castle. Does it have to be residential? defensive? super-sized? visually commanding? medieval? Does it have to be called a castle? [2004]

Nidzica, Poland

Nidzica is one of hundreds of castles that still dot the Polish landscape. Don't we all wish we lived in a castle right now? Self-sufficient and cut off from the outside world. Just like it was in the 14th century when this castle was built. Or, maybe not. [2004]

Moorish Castle Estate, Gibraltar

You know what's coming when you see a building crane on the horizon: Progress! That means more reaching for the sky. If you are Gibraltar, you can't go horizontal, so you go vertical. The downside: Any vertical development changes the viewshed. What elements of the landscape suffer most? Remnants of the past, such as this Moorish castle. [2015]

Edinburgh, Scotland

Beware the Ides of March! It's a day of metaphorical darkness, and has been since 44 B.C., when Julius Caesar was assassinated. What followed was the establishment of the Roman Empire and its expansion onward to Scotland. That didn't settle well with the indigenous Celts who fought the Romans and, then, from this castle, the English. [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

The state's official name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Edinburgh is located in Scotland, which is one of three countries that comprise the island of Great Britain. Scotland was a kingdom of its own before 1707 when the Acts of Union created a United Kingdom. In the late 1990s, Scotland reconstituted its own parliament. [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

There is a city here because there is a castle here. There is a castle here because there is a high point here. There is a high point here because there is a plug of volcanic rock here. That volcanic plug was formed 350 million years ago, which means that the stage was set for Edinburgh's birth in the Carboniferous Period. [2017]

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Dutch people head to the polls today. The country has always been solidly undergirded by shared bonds of nationhood and a commitment to liberal democracy. Now, issues of minority rights and the role of the European Union could potentially send it reeling. At least they have a king as head of state, and this is where he lives when he comes to Amsterdam. [2015]

Lisbon, Portugal

A castle has dominated the mouth of the Tagus River since Roman times, but the fortification seen here dates from the era of Portugal's post-Reconquista king Fernando I. The medieval period was an era when the map of power (political geography) was tightly coupled with the contours of the land (physical geography). [2009]

Brenner Pass, Italy

In the Tyrolean Alps, castles were built on high promontories to surveil passage, charge tolls, and assure order. Cutting through the Alps was the Brenner Pass. It was a natural passageway between two complementary climate regions, one subtropical with its winter growing season and one temperate with its summer growing season. Trade ensued. [1984]

Bran, Romania

Rising above the town of Bran is Romania's most well-known habitation: Dracula's Castle. Power was exercised from the precipice here. This border fortress commanded the trade route between Transylvania and Wallachia. Want to buy it? It's now for sale, but you will have to outbid the Romanian government, which sees it as a heritage resource. [2014]

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

The cows are Brown Swiss, but the country is not Switzerland. It's Liechtenstein: Swiss in every detail except polity. The castle on the hill is the seat of princely power: Hans Adam II rules from a perch where he can see most of the country (just a slight exaggeration). [1984]

London, England, UK

Buckingham Palace, perhaps. Yes, it was from here that Her Majesty was airlifted to the London Olympics opening ceremonies, making a dramatic entrance from the sky: all under the watchful supervision of 007 and the watchful anticipation of a stadium full of  'eyes of wonder.' [2009]

Toledo, Castile-LaMancha, Spain

Although Toledo's fortress, the Alcazar, goes back to Roman times, this incarnation dates from the 1500s when Spain was at the peak of its imperial glory and Toledo was the imperial capital. The Alcazar was once the palace precinct, but now it's a museum. And, there goes another bus load of tourists heading into a time warp. [2009]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

Four Norman castles remain in Wales. One is Castell Caerdydd. Here is the keep and bailey on the motte, which would have been surrounded by a moat and palisade. Understand? Not until you master the vocabulary, including the geographic nomenclature and a bit of Welsh! To all: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! [2005]