Some castles were built to impress—these were built where the cliffs do half the defending! Explore 10 incredible fortresses perched on rocks, carved into mountains, and hidden beside caves, each with a fascinating story and jaw-dropping views. Which one would you dare to visit?
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0:00 - Why Castles Were Built on Cliffs
1:29 - Bled Castle and Sumela Monastery
4:22 - Segovia and Mehrangarh Fortresses
7:41 - Rocca Calascio and Guaita Tower
10:13 - Dramatic Cliff Castles in Europe
13:34 - Uchisar and Predjama: Fortresses in Rock
16:19 - How the Landscape Became a Defense
Subscribe to Noel Polo TV for more amazing places around the world.
Comment and tell us which castle you liked most!
#Castles #History #Travel #Architecture #AmazingPlaces
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@noelpolotv
0:00 - Why Castles Were Built on Cliffs
1:29 - Bled Castle and Sumela Monastery
4:22 - Segovia and Mehrangarh Fortresses
7:41 - Rocca Calascio and Guaita Tower
10:13 - Dramatic Cliff Castles in Europe
13:34 - Uchisar and Predjama: Fortresses in Rock
16:19 - How the Landscape Became a Defense
Category
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TravelTranscript
00:00There are castles that were built to impress and awe those who see them, while others were made to be
00:06strong and difficult to penetrate.
00:08But there are some that were built in places so hard to reach that they seem to be part of
00:13the landscape itself.
00:15There are forts clinging to steep rocks, towers on the edge of cliffs, palaces and structures, defensive buildings built on
00:23high mountains,
00:24on cliffs that are almost impossible to reach, or on massive rock formations that dominate the entire area.
00:31In many cases, comfort was not the main reason why these castles were built.
00:36What they were looking for were high places, control and protection.
00:42And the harder they are to reach, the harder they are to conquer.
00:46That's why there were people who built fortresses in places where even bringing materials there was already a huge challenge.
00:55Living there was uncomfortable, and attacking these places was almost an impossible task.
01:02In this video, we will learn about 10 of the most impossible castles and fortresses built on cliffs in different
01:10parts of the world.
01:12Places where history comes together, mastery in construction, and breathtaking views in one place.
01:19But before we start, if you are new to our channel, please click the subscribe button, and also the notification
01:25bell, so you will always be updated with our new videos.
01:30Bloodcastle, Slovenia.
01:31There are views that seem like they were made just for a movie.
01:35One of these is Bloodcastle.
01:38Imagine a lake with clear turquoise water surrounded by the Julian Alps.
01:42In the middle of the lake, there is a small island with a church.
01:49And about 130 meters above the water, you can see a medieval castle standing on the edge of a steep
01:55cliff.
01:58Leadcastle is considered the oldest castle in Slovenia.
02:01There are records about it from 1011, when Emperor Henry II granted the place to the bishops of Brixen as
02:09a reward for their political support.
02:11But most likely at that time, there was only a simple Romanesque-style tower standing on top of the rock.
02:17What we see today is the result of many centuries of construction, fires, earthquakes, and renovations.
02:24The location of the castle is no accident.
02:27From this high vantage point, it's easy to see any movement in the valley even from several kilometers away before
02:34the enemy arrives.
02:35In other words, it's a very high lookout post with a magnificent view.
02:40Sumela Monastery, Türkiye.
02:43The Sumela Monastery is not a castle in the true sense of the word, but in appearance, it resembles some
02:50royal castles more than an ordinary monastery.
02:53It stands right on the edge of the cliffs of Altander Valley, in the province of Trabzon in Türkiye, at
03:00an altitude of about 1,200 meters above sea level.
03:04When viewed from a distance, it doesn't look like it was simply built on the mountain.
03:08It's as if it's embedded right into the side of the rock.
03:11It has a narrow facade, several floors of rooms, and a church carved into the rock.
03:17The entire monastery is almost hanging over a landscape full of forests and often shrouded in mist.
03:24Its origin is commonly associated with the 4th century, around the year 385.
03:31According to tradition, it was founded by two Greek monks, Barnabas and Sophronius.
03:38Over time, what began as a small place of worship grew into a large complex with chapels, monks' quarters, a
03:47library, a kitchen, a guest house, a holy spring, and an aqueduct attached to the side of the cliff.
03:56The center of the place is the church.
03:59There are caves decorated with frescoes or old paintings on the walls, whose former beauty can still be seen today.
04:07Building the monastery in such a place meant embracing a life far from other people as a means of protection.
04:15It is difficult to reach, the weather is harsh, and the rock itself serves as a natural defense.
04:22Alcazar of Segovia
04:25Spain
04:25The Alcazar of Segovia stands at the edge of a cliff where two rivers meet.
04:31Three of its sides are surrounded by land that drops off almost vertically.
04:36The castle has an elongated shape and has towers at both ends with bluish-gray roofs made of slate.
04:42When viewed from the sky, it looks like the bow of a ship stranded in the middle of the Castilian
04:48plain.
04:49Even before the castle was built, this place was already being used.
04:53The Romans built a fort here, and in the foundations of the current building,
04:59large stones similar to those used in the Roman aqueduct of Segovia were found.
05:05What we see today began to take shape in the 11th century when it became the residence of the kings
05:12of Castile.
05:13For three centuries, each new king continued to expand it.
05:20All those changes over time gave the castle its unique appearance.
05:24Many important events took place within its walls.
05:30In 1474, Isabella I of Castile left the Alcazar to be proclaimed queen at the Church of San Miguel.
05:39Philip II was also married here to his fourth wife, Anna of Austria.
05:45Marengar Fort, India in 1459, the leader Rao Jodha decided that he needed a new capital.
05:53He did not want it in a flat area.
05:56He wanted it to be on a high place.
05:59He chose a rocky hill about 125 meters high, overlooking a large part of the Thar Desert.
06:08In that place, there was a hermit who was meditating.
06:13According to a legend, Rao Jodha drove him away to build the fort,
06:17and before leaving, the hermit supposedly cursed the place.
06:23This is where the new city began to be built.
06:26The city that grew at the foot of the hill was later called Jodha.
06:31On top of that rock, over the next five centuries,
06:35Marengar Fort was built, one of the largest and most famous forts in India.
06:42Its walls reach up to 36 meters high,
06:46while in some parts they are about 21 meters thick.
06:50The walls did not follow a regular shape.
06:54Instead, they followed the contours of the hill itself,
06:58as if the stones naturally grew upwards.
07:01When the writer Rudyard Kipling saw this,
07:04he described it as if it were made by giants.
07:08It has seven large gates,
07:11and some of them still have names that are used to this day.
07:16You can also see on some of them the marks left by cannons during ancient battles and sieges.
07:22Inside its walls,
07:23you will see a unique combination of strong military defenses
07:27and very detailed architecture.
07:29There are palaces with golden ceilings,
07:32carvings on sandstone so fine they look like fabric or lace,
07:36and the Shishma Hall,
07:38a hall decorated with thousands of mirrors.
07:41Rocca Calascio, Italy
07:43Rocca Calascio was not built to look comfortable or luxurious.
07:48It doesn't have a grand hall,
07:50sprawling gardens or decorations fit for a palace.
07:53It's a small and simple fortress built for the basic needs of defense.
07:59It stands at an altitude of about 1,460 meters
08:04in the Apennine Mountains within the Grand Sasso y Monte de la Laga National Park.
08:11Its main purpose was to keep watch,
08:14send messages,
08:15and fight from one of the highest places in Abruzzo.
08:19Its origins may date back to the 10th century,
08:23when it began as a simple tower used for keeping watch.
08:29Later on, walls and four-round towers were added around the main building.
08:33This created the small and compact form that now seems to stand alone under the sky.
08:40The white stone, strong winds, and sparse vegetation around it
08:45further emphasized that this was once a place that served as a boundary and a watch post.
08:52It really doesn't look like a castle built for living in.
08:56It was built not for comfortable living, but to observe the world from a high place.
09:02The interesting part is that it became famous when it was already a ruin.
09:08Guaita Tower, San Marino
09:10San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world,
09:14and perhaps also one of the few countries that can be recognized by its three main towers.
09:20The Guaita is the oldest of the three towers.
09:24It was built in the 10th century right on the rock of Mount Titano,
09:28without the usual foundation.
09:29It has a five-sided shape that was specifically adapted to the shape of the cliff itself.
09:36In the local language, the word Guaita means to guard,
09:40and that has been its main purpose for almost a thousand years,
09:44guarding and controlling the lands around San Marino,
09:48the oldest existing republic in the world.
09:52For several centuries, some of its rooms were also used as a prison.
09:57Its use as a prison continued until 1970.
10:02Today, the three towers can be seen on the flag and coat of arms of San Marino.
10:07There is also a stone walkway that connects the Guaita to the second tower called the Sesta.
10:13Donotar Castle
10:14United Kingdom on the northeastern coast of Scotland,
10:18about three kilometers from the village of Stonehaven,
10:21there is a rocky piece of land jutting out into the North Sea.
10:25Almost all sides of it are surrounded by steep cliffs.
10:29The only way to get there is a narrow path that first goes down before going up again.
10:36In this place stands Donotar Castle,
10:39whose origins go back to at least the 14th century.
10:43One of the most well-known events in the history of the castle happened in 1651.
10:49Oliver Cromwell's army arrived with the aim of conquering Scotland.
10:54The castle withstood an eight-month siege,
10:57but by then, the important jewels of the Scottish crown were no longer there.
11:02Before Cromwell's army arrived,
11:04a group of women secretly managed to take the jewels out of the castle.
11:09They hid them and took them out of the castle without being noticed by the enemy soldiers.
11:15Cromwell never got the jewels.
11:18Today, these are kept in Edinburgh Castle.
11:22In the early 18th century, the castle was confiscated and gradually dismantled.
11:28It remained this way until 1925, when partial restoration began.
11:34What we see now are just ruins.
11:38But even in these ruins, the castle still has a strikingly cohesive appearance,
11:42as if it refuses to completely disappear from history.
11:46Lechtenstein Castle, Germany.
11:49In 1826, a German writer named Wilhelm Hauf published a novel about knights set in the mountains of Swabia.
11:58Its title was Lechtenstein.
12:01The book described a medieval castle standing on top of a cliff overlooking the Eckes River Valley.
12:10At that time, the site was little more than the ruins of an old castle that had long been abandoned
12:16since the 14th century.
12:18The novel became successful and was read by a local nobleman, Wilhelm, Duke of Urak.
12:26He was greatly impressed by the story, so he decided to do something unusual.
12:31He would have the castle described in the novel built.
12:34Between 1940 and 1842, the castle we see today was built on the foundations of an ancient fortress
12:43that was destroyed during a medieval war.
12:46It has pointed towers, walls with battlements, a drawbridge,
12:51a chapel with colorful stained glass,
12:54and a room with a carved fireplace and family symbols.
12:59Almost all of these are newly made and were intentionally designed to look medieval,
13:04even though it is not really a medieval castle.
13:07It stands at a height of about 250 meters above the valley,
13:12right on the edge of a cliff.
13:14Up to now, it is still owned by the same family.
13:19It only has one bedroom and no bathrooms because it was not really built to be lived in.
13:26It was built to look exactly like a castle from a story,
13:30a dream made of stone.
13:33Uchisar Castle, Turkey.
13:36In the heart of Cappadocia, Uchisar Castle is unlike an ordinary fortress.
13:41It doesn't have the traditional walls surrounding a courtyard,
13:44nor does it have towers of equal height.
13:46Instead, it's a massive rock made of volcanic tuff filled with tunnels, rooms, stairs, and lookout points.
13:55Here, the rock itself became the architecture.
13:59It rises to about 60 meters above the village and is one of the highest places in Cappadocia.
14:07Because of this, it can be seen from many parts of the region.
14:11For many centuries, this place has served as a natural refuge.
14:16In a landscape full of valleys, fairy chimneys, and ancient pathways,
14:21Uchisar served as a lookout and defensive position.
14:26The holes and rooms inside it were used as dwellings, storage, and hiding places.
14:32And that's why this castle is unique.
14:36It wasn't built on top of the rock.
14:38Instead, it was carved out from inside the very rock itself.
14:42Instead of building a fortress against the landscape,
14:45the inhabitants used a natural large rock made of volcanic stone
14:49and turned it into a safe hiding place.
14:53Prejama Castle
14:56Slovenia
14:57A few kilometers from the Postojna Cave in Slovenia is Prejama Castle,
15:03a fortress built right into the middle of a 123-meter high cliff.
15:09It's not just perched on the rock.
15:10It was built at the mouth of a large cave,
15:13using the mountain as its back wall, shelter, and natural defense.
15:18Because of this, it is listed in the Guinness World Records
15:20as the largest cave castle in the world.
15:23Its location is a huge advantage because, unlike ordinary castles,
15:28it cannot be easily surrounded by enemies.
15:31The rock protects its rear side,
15:33while only the front entrance is easily visible and accessible.
15:36In addition, at the back and inside the building,
15:39there is a network of tunnels that connect the castle to the outside.
15:45These tunnels provided additional ways to enter, exit,
15:49and obtain necessary supplies even during a siege.
15:55According to the most well-known story about this place,
15:58the knight Erasmus of Prejama used these secret tunnels
16:02during the siege of the castle.
16:04Because of this, he was still able to receive food
16:08and leave the castle without being noticed by the enemies.
16:11The people here didn't just build a fortress on the mountain.
16:15They used the mountain itself and made it a part of the castle.
16:20Ten castles and fortresses were built in places
16:23where the land itself served as defense
16:26even before the first stone was laid.
16:29Some were built on top of cliffs facing the sea.
16:33Others were built on rocky parts of mountains in isolated ranges
16:37or on rocks formed by volcanic activity
16:40and hollowed out from within.
16:43But the idea behind all of these is the same.
16:46They used the landscape itself as part of the architecture.
16:49In these places, the elevated location isn't just for the impressive view.
16:55It's also a strategic advantage.
16:59The harder a place is to reach,
17:02the harder it is to attack,
17:04and the harder it is to live in,
17:06the more its walls protect the power within.
17:11Which of these castles did you like the most?
17:14I'll read your comments,
17:16and if you want to discover more unusual places,
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