In 12th century, Crusaders began their travels to Middle East in name of god, encountered a differing style of castle to that which they had become accustomed to. One of most popular style of castles encountered had curtain walls with mural towers: palisades but with towers along its length from which to fire on attackers. This developed into concentric walls, giving besieging army multiple obstacles to overcome just to get into castle. The tower keep sometimes became part of wall in this type of fortification.

The advent of gunpowder and development in weaponry, i.e. muskets and cannon from 13th to 15th century, saw rapid decline in importance of building castles for defence, and yet again, another change in design. Castles had to be built with thicker and thicker walls. Eventually, evolution caught up. Not being able to keep abreast of technological advancements in fire power of era, defensive capability of these great castles was severely diminished, causing them to become obsolete.

In 18th and 19th century British castles were built for very different reasons. The Aristocracy, who were nostalgic for past, had most wonderful and splendid castles built for their pleasure. The most passionate of these builders was (Mad King) Ludwig of Bavaria in 19th century and his fairytale castle - Neuschwanstein.

I hope you enjoyed The Evolution of British Castle – A Short History

Do you want to find out about more of histories that lie behind some of Europe’s most picturesque, mysterious and notorious castles? Unravelling legends and myths behind some of their most celebrated and not so renowned castles in a voyage of discovery and adventure…!

Then pay a visit to my website at Guide to Castles of Europe.

There you will discover history and myths of some of Europe’s most famous castles: Windsor Castle, TheTower of London, Dracula’s Castle and Blarney Castle (the home of Blarney stone) to name a few.

I look forward to sharing in your experiences and discoveries that you have made from your journeys around Europe, visiting her many picturesque and unique Castles. Send me a message with your tales and I will post them on my website, so that world can discover these hidden treasures too.

Best wishes and have a great day!

Stuart Bazga www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com © 2005 by guide-to-castles-of-europe.com. All rights reserved.

A Guide to Castles of Europe was born from childhood dreams and aspirations. It is my hope to educate and stimulate you into exploring these castles for youselves.