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Castles In Namur (province)
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; from a ''pleasance'' which was a walled-in residence for nobility, but not adequately fortified; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Use of the term has varied over time and has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th-20th century homes built to resemble castles. Over the approximately 900 years when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcázar Of Segovia
The Alcázar of Segovia ("Segovia Castle") is a medieval castle located in the city of Segovia, in Castile and León, Spain. Rising out on a rocky crag at the western end of the old town, above the confluence of rivers Eresma and Clamores at the bottom of Sierra de Guadarrama, it is one of the most distinctive castle-palaces in Spain by virtue of its shape– like the bow of a ship. The alcázar was originally built around the eleventh century by the Almoravid dynasty to serve as a fortress and has subsequently served as a royal palace for twenty-two monarchs, a state prison, a Royal Artillery College, and a military academy. The Old Town of Segovia, including the alcázar, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Today, it is used as a museum and a military archives building since its declaration as a National Archive by a Royal Decree in 1998. History The Alcázar of Segovia, like many fortifications in Spain, started off as a Roman ''castrum'', [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
