Travel

Incredible Castles You Have To Visit Around the World (PHOTOS)

Around the world, castles are some of the most scenic, beautiful sights that exist. Many of these majestic fortresses have famously inspired writers, painters and filmmakers. William Shakespeare used the Kronborg Castle as the setting for his play 'Hamlet' and, according to Lonely Planet, poet Goethe found the stunning, Italian Castello Scaligero so beautiful that he just had to sketch it. Unfortunately for Goethe though, the drawing got him mistaken for a spy and temporarily imprisoned. Meanwhile several other castles are rumored to have inspired Walt Disney’s animated fairy-tale films, including the French Château de Chambord (Beauty and the Beast), the Alcazar of Segovia castle in Spain (Cinderella), and the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany (Sleeping Beauty).

(MORE: 12 Incredible Walled Cities of the World)

Throughout the centuries, castles were built for protection, designed to withstand invading armies. As a result, many were built on high hills, like the Château de Montségur in France and the Slovenian cave castle of Predjama, or at other strategic places, such as along a river estuary. “Castles were planted in the best place to control road and river routes,” Marc Morris, historian and presenter of the UK television series Castle, told weather.com in a previous interview.

Being built to withstand war did help many of these castles survive the test of time and the elements, although not indefinitely without some maintenance. Neuschwanstein castle survived two world wars without destruction, but the harsh climate it has had to endure has started to damage the site, requiring that the foundation area be monitored regularly and that the rock walls routinely secured. Other castles have been harmed by natural disasters, including the Matsumoto Castle in Japan, whose main tower walls were cracked by a 5.4-magnitude earthquake in 2011.

(MORE: Château de Noisy: Ruins of an Abandoned Belgian Castle)

So from Denmark to Syria, England to Japan, here are 50 of the most impressive castles around the world that you need to visit.

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