Fairytale Castles and Palaces that we would all like to conquer

Surrounded by water, camouflaged between the density of the forests or dominating entire regions from the privileged heights. We do not know very well if it is due to the strength of the thousands of stories and legends that have them as protagonists, but the castles deeply attract our gaze and curiosity.

Huge constructions that served as a home for kings and emperors and that, despite their defensive function, their appearance sometimes seems to be taken from old fairy tales.

Castles were places built to defend the susceptibility of a territory against foreign siege. Inside you can still breathe the memories of those who suffered defeat and exile, but they also hide the romanticism and melancholy of those times when they were epicenters of identity and longing for their conquerors .

Today, despite the attacks, they are the ones who have stayed here, scattered throughout the world, to conquer us .

MESPELBRUNN CASTLE

If there is a title that Germany has earned , it is that of ” land of castles “, since its entire territory is dotted with these majestic constructions. In the small town of Mespelbrunn , very close to Frankfurt , stands Mespelbrunn Castle , one of the most picturesque castles in northern Bavaria , in the middle of the forest .

Due to its Renaissance style and the idyllic natural environment that surrounds it, it makes us feel in the middle of the Middle Ages . The absolute calm of the place and the thickness of the Spessart forest make the construction emerge almost by magic, projecting its reflection in the calm waters of the pond that shelters it.

Mespelbrunn is one of the few German castles that have managed to preserve its original state, without giving in to the ravages of time. Although its origins go back to the 15th century, what we can see today, with the exception of the cylindrical tower, is the result of a reconstruction at the end of the 16th century.

The rooms of one of the wings of the castle are still inhabited by their owners, the Echter von Mespelbrunn family . Despite this, it is open to the public, with rooms, patios and a valuable collection of porcelain, furniture and paintings open to visitors; which gives them an income with which they can keep the building in good condition.

PALACE OF PENAOnce upon a time in Portugal, there was a beautiful town that, covered by forests and climbing a mountain, served as a summer retreat for the monarchs of the country. Once upon a time, Sintra .

They say that this town, decorated by castles, palaces and dream gardens, is the capital of romanticism. It has been declared a World Heritage Site, and every inch, every stone, every steep street is protected by UNESCO .

Nestled in the middle of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, the picturesque Sintra is a daily attraction for thousands of tourists who come to it to enjoy its nineteenth-century architecture more typical of fantastic legends than real life.

For the same reasons, it became the maximum representative of the Portuguese Romanticism of the 19th century and its aura attracted kings, monks, extravagant millionaires and young artists who toured the European continent, thus becoming a refuge for writers of the stature of Lord Byron -who described it as a “glorious Eden”- or Hans Christian Andersen .

However, of the many palaces and castles that extend between its hills always hidden in the Atlantic mist, the Pena Palace is the “pretty girl” of the city and, probably, the one that paved the way for fairy tales to Sintra.

Settled on the highest peak of the mountain range, the colorful palace watches over the town, one of the most famous monuments in the country and the maximum exponent of the extravagance that inhabits the place.

It was built as a summer residence by the “ artist king”, Fernando II , in the mid-19th century. Its architecture shows us a variety of historical styles with influences from the Gothic, the Manueline, the Muslim and the Renaissance.

The imposing palace, surrounded by lush gardens, differentiates each artistic style with a color: yellow, burgundy and mauve, giving it a psychedelic air capable of transporting those who come to visit it to the magical worlds of cartoons.