http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRRTsaLMgp8&feature=related

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His Home Is This Castle

For this Williamson County man, an old proverb rings true

Castle Gwynn looks like a 12th-century castle inside and out. Even the kitchen, below, has a medieval motif alongside modern amenities.

photos by Wes Aldridge

France, Wales, England – certainly. Nestled high in the Alps overlooking the moors of Scotland – absolutely. But turrets in Tennessee?

Not likely, you say?

If that’s your final answer, then you apparently have never driven the scenic stretch of State Route 840 near Arrington and Triune, where a white stone and brick structure rises through the trees on the west side of the road. It looks strikingly like, well … a castle.

And, in fact, it is. It’s Castle Gwynn, a startling replica of a 12th-century Welsh border castle and the private home of Nashville-native Mike Freeman, a portrait photographer, and his wife, Jackie, a retired schoolteacher. It’s also the location of the annual Tennessee Renaissance Festival each May.

A work in progress since 1970, Castle Gwynn began as a product of Mike Freeman’s imagination in a high school architecture class. A teacher instructed students to sketch their dream house.

“I started drawing the plans for a medieval castle,” recalls Freeman, now 55. “In 1980, we broke ground on it.”

For Freeman, the question was never “if” he would build his castle – it was always “how.”

“If you’re willing to work hard, anything’s possible,” he says with the glint of experience in his eye. “People think just because I live in a castle, I’m rich. But for perspective, consider the fact that I work 12- to 18-hour days, and it has taken us 26 years to build the castle so far. I pay for it as I go, and when I run out of money, I stop working.”

Following his high school graduation, Freeman spent 10 years establishing his photography career, doing research and looking for land on which to build his castle.

“After talking about it for 10 years, I either had to build the castle or become the biggest liar in Tennessee,” Freeman says with a chuckle.

Freeman met a man named John Covington who became enchanted with his idea, and Covington made it possible for him to buy 40 acres of land near Arrington and Triune.

“He was kind of like the grand­father I never had,” Freeman says.

When he was ready to start building, he called upon Kenneth Canaday, a master mason from Hickman County he’d made a deal with a decade earlier.

“I dated his daughter in high school and asked him then if he’d help me with the fancy work on my castle one day,” Freeman says, grinning. “He said, ‘Yes, if you stop dating my daughter.’ So I did, and he did.”

With the occasional help of Canaday’s four sons, Freeman and Canaday spent two years of weekends molding 14,000 bricks into 60 arches in the castle kitchen. In return for their work, Freeman photographed all four of Canaday’s sons’ weddings.

“Mike does a lot of bartering and swapping trades,” says Jackie Freeman. “Nobody’s given him anything. He’s worked and bartered around the clock for all of it.”

With its brick arches, stained-glass windows and handmade tile floor depicting a coat of arms, the intricately detailed kitchen is the castle’s crowning glory. But it’s only the beginning.

Castle Gwynn boasts two seven-story towers connected by a brick cloister, or walkway, with Indiana limestone arches. A stone and brick double staircase, modeled after a staircase at the White House, descends from the front of the castle and has been the backdrop for several weddings, including the Freemans’ own.

An open-air great room features a domed ceiling and elaborate brickwork.

The couple resides in Castle Gwynn’s north tower, and the south tower, still under construction, is used mainly for entertaining guests. Both towers are stucco white.

“Castles were often white, because there’s no way an intruder can climb a white wall on the darkest night without being seen,” Freeman says. “Gwynn is the Welsh word for ‘white,’ so Castle Gwynn means ‘White Castle.’ ”

The south tower’s first floor is a garage, above which is the great room – a two-story reception area with a balcony, domed ceiling, brick arches, chandelier and hooded fireplace.

Plans for the south tower’s upper floors include a honeymoon suite with a personal elevator and hot tub.

The aforementioned kitchen is on the north tower’s ground floor. A small elevator hides behind an elegant wooden door, as do modern appliances like the washer and dryer. Electrical outlets are also hidden, as well as the 21st-century heating and cooling systems.

Take the elevator or winding stairs up from the kitchen, and you’re in the living room, which features a brick fireplace, antique furniture, stained-glass lamps, a collection of 16th-century medieval swords and a 450-year-old original painting of Queen Elizabeth I.

Upper floors in the north tower include the master bedroom and bath, a den/game room, an armory where Freeman plans to display his seven suits of armor, and an exercise room with a hot tub and triangular windows. Each floor has a bathroom.

A 12-ton, 30-foot-diameter cone-shaped roof tops the north tower, while a similar one under construction rests on the ground below waiting to be installed atop the south tower.

Photographer Mike Freeman began construction on his dream castle in 1980; after 26 years, he says, it’s still a work in progress.

Every weekend in May and on Memorial Day, the Freemans open parts of their medieval home to the public during the Tennessee Renaissance Festival, which they started in 1986.

“People were very curious about the castle, so we thought if we did a festival once a year, we could share it with people,” Freeman says.

During the festival, the castle grounds come alive with entertainers dressed in Renaissance clothing; artisans selling jewelry, costumes, artwork and accessories; food vendors selling everything from turkey legs to funnel cakes; jousting tournaments by knights on horse­back; games and man-powered rides; and tours of Castle Gwynn.

Though it took him 11 years to break even on the festival and required more work than most people would care to invest, Freeman insists both the castle and the festival have been well worth his efforts.

“I never gave up,” he says.

“And I’ve been fortunate to have some very talented people share in my dream.”

Story by Jessica Mozo

A friend asked me for my advice, wondering whether the place was in Scotland. Personally, I am of the opinion it is not in Britain (hence the inclusion in this forum). I will not tell you my thoughts (or logical reasons behind them). I would like to hear what other think - and why.

Thanks

A bit of Ireland in Southern California

By DAN LAIDMAN

Los Angeles Daily News

LOS ANGELES - A well-known Sunland-Tujunga home that resembles an Irish castle gained Historic-Cultural Monument designation from the City Council on Friday.

Without discussion, the council voted unanimously to grant the distinction to the Blarney Castle, making it more difficult to alter or destroy the building.

''I want to preserve this house the way it was for the people of Sunland-Tujunga as well as myself,'' said Sarah Olson, who owns the castle and sought the designation.

''I really believe that this is such a unique structure that it would just break my heart that it could be torn down or an apartment building put in here.''

Olson's effort came after a conflict last summer over attempts to raze the nearby Weatherwolde Castle to make way for new houses. That structure was preserved after a neighborhood struggle.

While there is no immediate threat to Olson's castle, she said she sought the designation as a preventive measure.

The area's castle-style residences are legacies of the Depression Era, when Tujunga's abundant natural stone was the cheapest available building material, said Lloyd Hitt, president of the Little Landers Historical Society.

''The actual dream of 'your home is your castle' became a reality with some people,'' he said.

The Blarney Castle was built in 1919, supposedly modeled after the Irish landmark, Hitt said.

While little is known of the original builder, Hitt said the home was purchased in 1921 by Virginia Smith, the first female doctor in Tujunga and the proprietor of a nearby hospital.

The castle had various owners in the ensuing decades, and Olson, who works for Warner Bros., bought it a year and a half ago.

City planners surveyed the Blarney Castle and called it an ''excellent example of Craftsman-style architecture'' in one report.

Despite the castle's fortress-like composition of stone, wrought iron, dark wood, stained glass and arched doorways, Olson said it is not an imposing place to live.

''It's actually very warm. I've made it very comfy,'' she said.

Bled location using Google Maps

http://www.slovenia.info/?grad=314

By Tom Perry

Fri Jul 13, 9:27 AM ET

MASYAF, Syria (Reuters) - Nestled at the foot of Syria's coastal mountains, an ancient citadel has been put on the tourist map by restoration and excavation that revealed mysteries of the medieval Assassins sect, once based here.

Saladin, the great Muslim leader, laid siege to Masyaf castle in the 12th century. But he thought twice before launching an assault on the Assassins, who had a reputation for mounting daring operations to slay their foes.

"Anyone who tried to take the Assassins' castle would be dead the next day," said Haytham Ali Hasan, an archaeologist involved in the restoration project.

Although Saladin had conquered Crusader castles with much stronger defenses, historians believe the Assassins' death threats forced the Kurdish warrior to lift the siege at Masyaf.

Perched on a rock and overlooking a boulder-strewn plain, the castle has been restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

Tons of debris have been cleared from the site since 2000, allowing researchers to learn more about the citadel's secretive occupants.

One of the main conclusions, Hasan said, was that the Assassins were not very good at building castles, even if the site has lasted well and looks impressive to visitors today.

"The system of defense is very poor," he said, reviewing newly acquired knowledge about Masyaf's construction.

The Assassins had tried to copy the castles of the Crusaders and Saladin, "but not very well," he said, suggesting the fort's weaknesses might be evidence of the group's relative poverty.

But what the Assassins lacked in might, they made up for in stealth. Saladin himself narrowly escaped one assassination attempt by their knife-wielding agents.

The Assassins were led by Rashid Al-Din Sinan, also known as "The Old Man of the Mountain." He used Masyaf as a base for spreading the beliefs of the Nizari Ismaili sect of Islam to which he and his followers belonged.

Nizari Ismailis, followers of a branch of Shi'ite Islam, today take the Aga Khan as their spiritual guide.

CISTERNS, SECRET PASSAGE

The restoration project, completed during the last year, has revealed much about the history of Ismailis in Syria while also saving parts of the castle from collapse.

Chambers, wells, passageways, coins and ceramics from the time have been unearthed. "We now know more about the life of Sinan. This is very important for writing the history of the Ismaili community in Syria," Hasan said.

Ismailis were living in the castle as recently as the last century and the fortress is still part of the fabric of Masyaf town.

Locals had built houses right up to the castle's main gate and 12 were bought and demolished as part of the project, making the site easier for tourists to visit.

"Getting inside the castle used to be a challenging operation," said Ali Esmaiel, head of the Aga Khan Development Network in Syria.

Supposed to have been completed in three years, the project took double that because of the wealth of discoveries, said Baidaa Husseino, an architectural engineer and site coordinator.

"You'd find the edge of something and want to know what it was," she said. "We'd work for many extra hours."

The discoveries included a tunnel thought to be a secret escape passage, a traditional bath house and a system of channels designed to carry rain water into cisterns beneath the castle.

TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES, MATERIALS

Much of the restoration work was done by hand using traditional techniques. Materials were reproduced to match those used by the original builders. Concrete used in preservation efforts in the 1980s was replaced with authentic materials.

Syria already boasts a list of well-preserved castles dating to the period, including the imposing Krak des Chevaliers -- a Crusader fort just an hour's drive from Masyaf.

Like the Citadel of Saladin near today's coastal city of Latakia and the fortress at the city of Aleppo, Krak des Chevaliers has the status of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has also conducted restoration work at the citadels of Saladin and Aleppo.

Husseino, herself an Ismaili, hopes tourists will add the smaller fortress at Masyaf to their list of sites to see.

"It deserves to be visited," she said.

http://www.romaniatourism.com/castles.html

Back to Vlad's castles:

Poenari Castle was Vlad's residential home, which he rebuilt in 1457. It was built atop a rather steep hill along the Arges River. Its interesting in that the lower sections were built with river stone, while the upper ramparts were built of brick, giving it a two tone appearance. Its a ruin today, but one can get a sense of its power as it overlooked the valley below.

http://www.spirit.ro/cpg/displayimage.php?...at=1&pos=89

http://www.draculascastle.com/html/poenari.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poienari_Castle

Bran Castle, formerly Dietrickstein, is also known as "Dracula's Castle" today. But this is more marketting than fact, as it has never been confirmed to actually be one of Vlad's residences, and was only linked to the prince slightly. The original fortress was built back in 1212, but its still an impressive structure thats very well kept.

http://www.aboutromania.com/brancastle.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_Castle

http://www.draculascastle.com/

Since I'm from the US, we don't get to see much in the way of castles except what appears on TV. Thus I imagine I'm not the only one to fall in love with the structures based on fictional stories... and then have fun learning the historic backgrounds behind the myths.

Cheers.

Rupea is situated on a natural basalt rock formation, and is an ideal location for a castle (see picture below that clearly shows its height compared to the surrounding area). Believed to have originally been used as a Roman camp, its better documented as a Saxon and Hungarian defensive structure.

The first attestation dates back from the year 1324 when some refugees found a hidden place in the citadel running from the fury of the Hungarian king Robert Carol's army.

Little by little the inhabitants built three protective towers and two interior courtyards. Inside the fortress there is a well 40 m deep. The water is still drinkable. In 1790, a strong storm destroyed the roof and since then it hasn't been repaired.

Where did the other Romanian castle topics disappear to?

http://www.castles.info/slovakia/bojnice/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bojnice_Castle

http://www.bojnicecastle.sk/HOME/index-en.htm