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This video provides interesting and little-known facts about castles!
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00:00Hello, distinguished guests, and welcome to the Middle Ages.
00:03We're honored by thy presence.
00:05Sorry for the bumpy ride.
00:07It's not easy traveling in a cart.
00:09But the other two options you had were either riding a horse or simply walking.
00:14Oh well, that's medieval times for you.
00:16No highways around here.
00:19Anyway, I'm Constable Bright, and I'll be your guide through this castle tour.
00:23Now, forget everything you've learned about castles, especially those from princess movies.
00:28Because I have prepared so many jaw-dropping castle secrets for you.
00:33Time to pass through the game.
00:35After you.
00:37I want to begin our tour by correcting a misconception.
00:41Castles have often been confused with palaces or fortresses.
00:44However, unlike both of them, they were built with one specific purpose in mind.
00:49A castle is considered to be a fortified residence of an important person.
00:54On the other hand, palaces were not fortified, and fortresses didn't really serve residential purposes.
01:02European-style castles came into existence around the 9th and 10th centuries.
01:06During this time, you probably wouldn't want to live in Europe since it fell into chaos after the fall of
01:12the empires.
01:13The land was divided between lords, princes, or noble people of any kind.
01:18And now, they have to find a way to control and protect their territories.
01:22So they began building castles.
01:25Much like the pillow fortresses you and your siblings built to protect your corners of the living room back when
01:30you were kids.
01:31But on a larger scale.
01:34However, aside from their original purpose of defending the land, castles also served as centers of administration and symbols of
01:42power.
01:43Precisely, urban castles were used to control the local population in addition to important travel routes.
01:50The earliest castles were actually made of wood.
01:53However, they eventually proved to be not so great for protecting the land.
01:58First of all, they usually relied on one central keep.
02:01Also, they would easily be burnt to the ground.
02:04That is one of the reasons why you can't visit a wooden castle museum today.
02:08As well as the fact that they're probably long rotten.
02:13Wooden castles were later replaced by stone ones as they were more sturdy.
02:17However, they had their disadvantages too.
02:20They were more expensive as well as time-consuming to construct.
02:24If you were swimming in gold and silver, then kudos to you.
02:27But again, you would still have to wait around 10 years for your castle to be completed since the whole
02:34process included the stones being quarried and brought in.
02:38Remember, there were no diggers, cranes, or bulldozers to make things easier.
02:43As you can imagine, the first stone castles were cold, dark, smelly, and damp.
02:48To get rid of at least the smell, they would use sweet-smelling herbs to cover the walls and floors.
02:56Contrary to what representations of castles in popular culture may have led you to believe, earlier castles were not actually
03:03that big.
03:05Many of them consisted of just a single watchtower and had one room or two rooms if the owner was
03:11feeling fancy and had the money.
03:13When it came to building a castle, the location was strategically more important than the design.
03:19These structures would often be built on hard-to-reach places, such as islands, hill forts, or next to the
03:25sea so that they would have some natural protection as well.
03:28Such location choices also allowed the castle's residents to see for miles around them and spot and prepare for any
03:36dangers to come.
03:37So the more the castle was secluded and inaccessible, the better it was.
03:42But those without such natural defenses would be surrounded by ditches or moats for that extra layer of protection.
03:49In such cases, access to the castle would be granted via a drawbridge.
03:55However, in addition to being as secluded as possible, castles would have to be situated near features that were integral
04:02for survival, such as mills, fertile land, or a freshwater source.
04:08Now, let's talk about the gate and the stone outer walls for a while before we head inside.
04:14You might think that the central keep would be the most important part of a castle's structure, but it's actually
04:19the gatehouse that needed to be protected at all costs.
04:22Because it was also the weakest part that provided a straight path into the courtyard.
04:28That's why it would have to be as small as possible to stop any unwanted visitors.
04:33So, those massive gates you see in fantasy movies are actually unrealistic and impractical, since in reality, they would make
04:41the castle harder to defend.
04:44When it comes to the towers you see on every side of the castle walls, an upgrade to the design
04:49proved to be necessary over time.
04:52As it happened, the earlier castles had square towers.
04:55Yet, it was quite easy to destroy them.
04:58One simply would have to dig tunnels under the corners and they would collapse.
05:02That's why castle builders switched to round towers.
05:06It's time for us to take a step inside the keep now, which is the central building inside the castle.
05:12This was where the most important people lived, like the lords and ladies, as well as their guests, representatives, and
05:19sometimes even servants.
05:21The lord and lady would sleep in their chamber, that is, if they were one of the richer nobles to
05:26have more than one room in their castles.
05:28The others, on the other hand, would have to sleep in the great hall, which would also be used as
05:33the dining area.
05:35The funny thing is castles normally didn't have dungeons, at least not in a way you would think.
05:41The word dungeon is actually derived from the French word dungeon, which means a keep.
05:47So, in reality, instead of being a prison, dungeons acted as the last places for the castle inhabitants to take
05:54shelter in case other outer defenses fell in the face of a threat.
05:59I bet your eyes caught the spiral stairs now, right?
06:03They were built that way for safety reasons.
06:06The clockwise direction of the staircase was meant to make it harder for an invader coming up the stairs to
06:11draw their swords.
06:12Since it would be along the interior curve of the wall, this is all considering that their right hand was
06:18their sword hand, of course.
06:21On the other hand, anyone coming down the stairs would have an advantage, because their sword hand would be on
06:27the outside of the wall, and they would have more room to swing.
06:31Ascending clockwise would also mean that the invader would be exposing more of their body in order to get their
06:37sword, hence making it easier for the defender to ward off their swings.
06:41In addition to that, stairs would be designed with uneven steps, some would be taller, and others would be shorter.
06:48This would allow people who were familiar with the castle to move quickly, and cause invaders to stumble and fall.
06:56In case emergency situations escalated, castles had secret entrances and exits as well.
07:02The main concealed door would be called the postern, or the sally port, and would traditionally lie at the base
07:09of the castle's wall.
07:09It would often be small and easy to defend, as well as secured with metal grates.
07:15It held great importance when it came to allowing people to escape, or bring in food and other supplies during
07:21sieges.
07:22You might need to use the bathroom before our tour ends, but sorry to inform you that there are no
07:28toilets around here.
07:30The most toilet-like thing you would get in a castle would be a room with a hole that led
07:35out to the moat surrounding the walls.
07:38These rooms would be called garter robes, and as you can imagine, they would smell terrible.
07:44That is why people would also use them as wardrobes with the idea that the odor would keep insects away
07:50and prevent them from damaging their clothes.
07:53So, I suggest you wait until you're back at your modern home to take care of your business.
07:59Fare thee well, traveler.
08:02The floorboards creak under your feet with every step you take.
08:09There's barely any light in this narrow hallway, as small candles flicker on their sconces on the walls.
08:17The air is cold, damp, and deafeningly silent, safe for the sound of your footsteps and every breath you take.
08:29As you open the door at the end of the hallway, you find yourself in a beautifully decorated room where
08:34there's an old wooden piano, majestic candelabra, and many portraits on each of the walls.
08:42Out of all the paintings you see, there is one that sends shivers down your spine.
08:48The face of this man is long, with piercing, deep-set eyes, long black hair, and a mustache.
08:55He's wearing an imposing crown on his head.
08:59What is it about this man that's so strange and frightening?
09:03Are you sure you want to know?
09:09Welcome to Bran Castle, an architectural jewel hidden in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania.
09:16Or, as you might know it from its more popular name, Dracula's Castle.
09:23Though, by all accounts, Vlad III of Wallachia was indeed quite a special kind of ruler,
09:29not all the things that were attributed to him were actually true.
09:33For example, he never actually lived here in this castle.
09:38But his true legacy was what inspired the British author Bran Stoker to create the now-famous character Dracula in
09:46his book of the same name, published in 1897.
09:50Safe to say, Stoker might have gone a bit overboard with the story, given that he never actually visited Bran
09:56Castle.
09:57Just to be clear, it's Bran Castle with an N, and Bram Stoker with an M.
10:04Odd coincidence, I'm sure.
10:06This building, however, remains to this day a source of intrigue and mystery for tourists.
10:12Coming from all over the world to see intriguing things like a secret passageway that used to be hidden behind
10:19a fireplace.
10:25Speaking of intriguing, Larna Castle in New Zealand has an equally spooky vibe to it.
10:32To say nothing of its architectural beauty.
10:36Legend says that the initial owner, named William Larna, built a 3,000-square-foot ballroom here for his favorite
10:44daughter, Kate, on her 21st birthday.
10:47Visitors here have experienced all sorts of weird phenomena.
10:51So much so, that the building was once even visited by special paranormal investigators.
10:58Some castles have such a frightening atmosphere, they even make it to the big screen.
11:04Like Castle Loma, located in Toronto, Canada.
11:08It is a Gothic-style castle that was featured in at least four Hollywood movies.
11:14Sure, that's partly due to the wonderful architecture there, but there's also years' worth of reported unusual sightings in the
11:21area, which add to the mystery.
11:25Burg Eltz, a castle located in Germany that dates back to 1157, also made our list of enigmatic buildings.
11:34It has only a limited number of rooms that are available for the public.
11:37But, out of all of them, there is one that generates a lot of buzz between tourists.
11:44It is the bedroom of Countess Agnes, who lived here in the 15th century.
11:49Her bed and part of her attire are still on display in the room.
11:53This castle has been used as an important landmark in various video games, because of its particular style, which looks
12:01more like a fortress.
12:03Also in Germany, there's an interesting construction named Frankenstein Castle.
12:09That's right, it's the palace that inspired Mary Shelley's renowned novel of the same name.
12:14And more than that, a lot of Gothic and Romantic literature at the time.
12:19The name comes from the ancient Germanic tribe called the Franks and Stein, which is German for stone, a common
12:27German naming convention.
12:29About an hour north of Prague in the Czech Republic, there is a castle that's interesting, to say the least.
12:37It has no kitchen, no fortifications, and legend says that at the time that it was finished building, nobody wanted
12:44to live there.
12:46That's probably because Hauska Castle is built on top of a very large hole in the ground, which, according to
12:54legend, is bottomless.
12:56Maybe. Who knows?
12:58Japan has a mysterious castle of its own called Himeji Castle that dates all the way back to the year
13:051333.
13:07It's one of the best remaining samples of feudal Japanese architecture, featuring many of its classic staples, like its use
13:15of wood and multiple sliding doors.
13:18The castle is deeply connected to local folklore, specifically to the story of Okiku, a girl that was falsely accused
13:26of losing some valuable dishes and was punished for it,
13:29but now, haunts the castle as a spirit, seeking vengeance.
13:36The Castle of Good Hope, in South Africa, doesn't inspire a lot of hope in its visitors, despite its name.
13:43Maybe because it supposedly features a bell that rings by itself?
13:48Or perhaps because lights there often switch on and off by themselves, too?
13:54I guess we'll never know.
13:57Have you ever heard the Italian legend about a little girl with blue hair?
14:01Then you might have heard about the enticing Montebello Castle, north of Milan.
14:06The story says her mother used to dye her hair with various herbs that gave that particular shade of blue
14:13to her hair.
14:14Because of her looks, she was nicknamed Azzurina, as Azzurro means light blue in Italian.
14:21It is also said that she wasn't allowed to ever leave the castle,
14:26and was always under constant supervision of her parents and castle guards.
14:32Who knows? She might still be there, to this day.
14:36Now, if you're looking to actually stay in one of these chilling castles,
14:40you may want to consider Castle Rezel, located in the city of the same name in Poland.
14:47Since it's now being used as a hotel, it attracts a lot of tourists looking for that magical, regal experience.
14:55Just make sure to book a room as far away from the former dungeons as possible.
15:01Just saying.
15:02This one you've probably already heard of, and maybe even visited,
15:06since it's one of the most famous British landmarks.
15:10The Tower of London.
15:12Because throughout its history, which dates back to the 11th century,
15:16this construction was used for a lot of different things, from royal residencies to prisons,
15:21it is indeed associated with a lot of unusual happenings.
15:26One of the most notable stories is that of the famous Anne Boleyn,
15:30the second wife of Henry VIII,
15:33and mother of Elizabeth I.
15:36A tale of tragedy in the face of political intrigue.
15:41Coningsborough Castle in South Yorkshire is an equally impressive structure,
15:46sporting a beautiful view over South Yorkshire itself.
15:50Don't be fooled by the magnificent sightings, though,
15:53as many visitors have reported getting the feeling of strange gusts of wind blowing by them every now and then.
16:00For all you dog lovers out there, Norway has a castle especially for you.
16:07A Kershys Castle was built around the year 1300,
16:11and its most fascinating story is that of a magical dog named Malkanisi
16:15that was said to have guarded the gates of the castle,
16:19so much so that people could hardly ever approach its grounds.
16:24This next one has to be one of the most beautiful castles in the world,
16:28and you've surely seen it in posters, on TV, and maybe even on Instagram.
16:34Mont Saint-Michel is located on an island off the coast of Normandy,
16:38and was built in the 8th century.
16:41It's not only a masterpiece because of its location and architecture,
16:45but it's also an important symbol of French history.
16:49However, people don't just come here to marvel at its beauty.
16:52They come to find out for themselves about the many strange rumors that is cultivated over the years.
16:59If you want to visit this one, though, it's a bit tricky.
17:03The whole structure is built on a shallow bay that floods with water in the high tide and recedes on
17:10the low.
17:11These tides alternate roughly once every six hours,
17:14so you need to plan your visit carefully if you don't want to end up stranded for hours.
17:20The Slovenian fortress Predjama is not only renowned for its spook factor,
17:26but it's also part of the Guinness Book of Records as the largest cave castle in the world.
17:32It has stood proud in the middle of a 403-foot-high cliff for the past 800 years.
17:39Talk about adding suspense.
17:41Apart from its obviously unique location,
17:44it's also famous for the various secret tunnels that were built to provide safe passage in and out of the
17:50castle.
17:51It's also home to a colony of bats.
17:54You know, lots of people are afraid of them, but they're actually very sweet.
17:59Another one of those places that you can actually book a room in is Dalhousie Castle in Scotland.
18:05It's spooky rooms, walls, and corridors tell the myth of a tragic love story
18:10between a girl named Lady Catherine and a stable boy.
18:15A woeful tale that sounds like it comes straight out of a romance novel.
18:20Despite its reputation, the hotel is quite a popular destination for weddings.
18:24At many of these events, people have reported seeing strange silhouettes in their wedding photos.
18:31But still, it looks like a lovely venue to book an event.
18:34If you don't mind strangers showing up in your pictures, of course.
18:40Art castle is truly fascinating.
18:42Not only are they just beautiful to look at, both inside and out,
18:45but they provide such a timeless glimpse into the history of ages long past.
18:52Of course, with all the rumors of ghosts and hauntings,
18:55it's hard to tell what is true and what isn't.
18:58But I like to think that the prevalence of these rumors
19:02speaks to the very human spirit of curiosity that's inside all of us.
19:07The desire to learn and to explore.
19:10And that, in and of itself, is truly special.
19:14Be sure to stay curious and watch your step.
19:20You
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