Ruined Castle

SLIGHTLY more than 275 metres above Bad Soden are the ruins of Stolzenberg Castle.

It was probably first built in the 1000s to control trade along the Via Regia (Royal Road), which connected the Rhineland with Silesia.

The castle was badly damaged in the mid-13th century by "inimicos ecclesie" (enemies of the Church), who were not specifically identified but are thought to be a group of excommunicated nobles behind a series of attacks on Church property in the area.

William of Holland, the papal candidate to be King of the Romans (ie uncrowned Holy Roman Emperor, often rendered as King of the Germans), gave the abbot of nearby Fulda Abbey permission to rebuild the castle in 1252.

It later fell into disrepair, and was rendered useless as a defensive stronghold during the Knights' Revolt of 1522-3.

Note how high the entrance is on the keep, which is more-or-less the only part of castle to have survived

View of Bad Soden old town from the top of the keep

Information board about life in the castle

How Stolzenberg Castle may have looked in its heyday

Several Careful Owners

DURING a visit to North Macedonia I was able to walk the 12 miles or so around Lake Ohrid from my hotel near Kalishta monastery to a castle named after Bulgarian Tsar Samuel.

He ruled from 997 to 1014, much of his reign taken up with warfare against the Byzantine Empire.

Samuel moved the Bulgarian capital to the town of Ohrid, building what is now known as Samuel's Fortress on the site of previous fortifications believed to date back to Phillip II of Macedon, ie some 1,300+ years earlier.

Approaching through Ohrid's Muslim quarter

Outside the walls

Imposing tower

Inside the castle, parts of which have been reconstructed

Another inside view, with Lake Ohrid in the background

Looking through the battlements

Many views help the imagination run riot

Even on a cloudy day, the area is beautiful

Ohrid changed hands many times over the centuries, the city's conquerors including Byzantines, Normans, Serbs, Albanians and Turks.

But the castle does not seem to have had an equally exciting history, at least as far as I can discover.

Castles Of North Cyprus (3)

THE highest Crusader castle in Cyprus is Buffavento, which stands at 970 metres above sea level and is sited between the castles of Kantara to the east and St Hilarion to the west.

Its name derives from Italian, and roughly means Defies The Winds, a title whose significance becomes apparent as soon as one starts climbing the approximately 600 steps to the top.

It is a long way up from where the coach dropped me

There is a false moment of elation on reaching the outer gate, but the steepest part of the climb is still to be tackled.

Buffavento's outer gate

View from the outer gate

A last burst of steps takes one to the top, from which there are even more-spectacular views.

Nearing the peak

Overlooking lower parts of the castle

Lingering snow at the top

Looking to the Turkish coast

Parts of the castle, which may date back to the 1000s or earlier, are quite well-preserved

Signals were sent along the narrow Kyrenia mountain range by smoke and large mirrors during the day, and by fire at night

As with Kantara and St Hilarion castles, Buffavento's watchtower-role against Muslim attacks fell into disuse when Venice took over the island and switched to a coastal defensive system.

Castles Of North Cyprus (2)

KANTARA Castle is 600 metres above sea level, overlooking the Cilician coast of what is now Turkey on one side, and an extensive agricultural plain on the other.

Kantara Castle stands in splendid isolation

Historians are unsure as to when it was built, but it probably began as a watch tower in Byzantine times, possibly after Muslim conquerors were expelled in 965.

It was captured by Richard the Lionheart in 1191 and was later expanded by the French house of Lusignan.

Earlier rule by the Knights Templar was ended by a popular revolt, and this may have caused subsequent rulers to expand Kantara's fortifications

After Venice bought the island in 1489, Kantara was declared militarily obsolete and finally abandoned in 1525.

Obsolete, but still impressive

The climb to the top is worth it for the views alone, as well as the chance to look at medieval architecture up close.

Not much danger of being hit when shooting from this arrowslit, but not much of a field-of-fire either

The Turkish coast can just be made out in the centre-right distance

Looking inland to the south

Looking from the seaside village of Kaplica to Kantara Castle in the centre background

Castles Of North Cyprus

DURING a visit to Cyprus last week I was able to visit the three castles that dominate the Kyrenia mountain range in the north of the island.

Perhaps most famous is St Hilarion Castle, which lies 725 metres above sea level.

Lofty stronghold ... St Hilarion Castle

The peak was apparently originally the home of an obscure hermit - not to be confused with Hilarion the Great - who fled persecution in the Holy Land.

A Byzantine monastery and church were built in the 900s, followed by a watch tower designed to give advance warning of Muslim raids.

I see no ships

It was later expanded into a major fortification, the first known reference to which is from the late 1000s.

Subsequent rulers included French Lusignan Crusader kings, who used the castle as a summer retreat from the heat of the plains.

Climbing to the top - this view is roughly halfway up - makes for a decent workout

The castle included cisterns, and quarters for animals as well as the garrison.

How life may have looked

Cyprus was later ruled by the Venetians, who abandoned the heights in favour of a defensive strategy based on guarding the coasts.

Kite shield with Lusignan lions rampant

Walking down from St Hilarion Castle is less exhausting but at times a lot trickier than walking up to it.

Taking the long view - part of the upper castle walls can just be seen between two rocky peaks

(to be continued)

Vaduz Castle

I MENTIONED yesterday about happily passing time staring at Vaduz Castle in Liechtenstein.

Actually I see it almost every day, or at least a representation of it, as I have on my sitting-room wall a painting of the castle by my father.

The original castle was built in the 1100s, but later became an inn before being bought by the Liechtenstein family in 1712 as part of purchasing the county of Vaduz.

Seven years later the county and the adjoining lordship of Schellenberg, which had also been bought by the family, were combined to form a single political unit, more precisely a principality, which was then named Liechtenstein.

This gave the family enhanced status within the Holy Roman Empire, which was apparently the sole point of buying the land in the first place.

Indeed it is said no head of the family bothered to set foot in the principality for more than 100 years, preferring instead to live at Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria.

Nowadays the Liechtensteins' principal residence is Vaduz Castle, from where the head of the family is head of state with powers that were increased after a referendum in 2003.

An attempt to remove the prince's veto power over legislation was rejected by 76% of voters in a 2012 referendum.

Castle Fever

I DO not know what it is about castles, but for some reason I always feel better after seeing one.
When I used to visit Liechtenstein annually to play in a chess tournament and walk in the mountains, I would almost always ensure each day's walk went past a castle on a hill overlooking the capital Vaduz.
It is owned by the Liechtenstein royal family and is not open to the public, but I would happily sit on a nearby wooden fence and spend 10 minutes or so just looking at it.
Today I visited Hamleys in Regent Street for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown began.
I did not come close to buying anything, but I was pleased to see this:

Little things ...

Newcastle (Bridgend)

ASK people how many Newcastles there are in Britain, and I guess many would answer two, citing the football-mad one in Tyne & Wear and the market town in Staffordshire, namely Newcastle-under-Lyme.
But the Newcastle electoral ward in Bridgend, South Wales, is a reminder that "Newcastle" was a common if unimaginative name for military buildings all over the British Isles.
The ward is named after a Norman castle, which apparently began in 1106 as a ringwork, ie an earthen/wooden ditch-and-bank on a hill overlooking Bridgend, a town that developed around a ford on the River Ogmore.
It is believed the current ruins date back to the late 1100s, when a more permanent stone castle was built, possibly on the orders of Henry II.

Newcastle ruins, Bridgend

Looking through the main gate

Not much survives of the internal structure, which is probably why entry is free. But I found the site to be quite atmospheric, perhaps because of its very basic nature.

Looking back from inside the castle, with the parish church of St Illtyd in the background