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15 Of The Most Beautiful Abandoned Castles I Discovered During My Travels Around The World
I'm a French artist, and my name is Dimitri "Jahz Design." I graduated as a graphic designer. I have always been interested in history and architectural remains. It was in 2013 when I developed my interest in the urban photography of heritage in disuse. My first exploration was an ancient cemetery of military ships.
I travel the globe looking for forgotten places in urban decay. Today, I want to share with you the most beautiful abandoned castles in the world.
More info: jahzdesign.com | Instagram | Facebook
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Italy
This looks like a candidate for a few sheep or goats (or Highland Cattle!) to knock back the landscaping and it would look, like, 250% better!
No, this is art-nouveau. Must have been built in the beginning of the 20th century. That actually makes it a lot more precious, as this style was so distinctive and significant in art history, but lasted for such a short time that examples of it are very rare.
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Did artist find no history of owners or any of the occupants. How about insides. Can we see or learn no more?
France
France
Imagine the people that walked through these halls- the property...
France
Belgium
That's Chateau Miranda in Noisy. It was torn down by its a*****e owner despite the best efforts of activists to try and save it.
Belgium
France
Italy
Italy
Jahz Design: Your pictures are fantastic! They’ve given me new fodder for my “personal fantasy hour”. Do you have any info on the castles’ histories? The families that owned them? Or specific location? I’d like to look a couple of them up; namely, #1 & #8. Very good job!👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽💗
France
France
Maybe not abandoned but definitely only ruins. The place has no roof and the interior is completely gutted. I thought a fire might of gutted it but it was just neglect. So sad.
Very interesting, it would be nice to see the interior, however, I do understand it is likely unsafe, thanks for showing !!!
Each of these castles could inspire their own delightful stories. Loves won and lost, secrets kept or revealed. Battles fought all the little joys and tragedies of life. All empty houses or buildings own the bittersweet wisftul, but there is that extra layer of intrigue and romance when it is a castle.
Thinking of the history and memories lost within the walls of all of these castles breaks my heart. Even more when the interior is also photographed and shown. Homes are ingrained within families. Where did their families go??
Regular abandoned houses already make me sad, but all this lost beauty and culture is just heart breaking.
It breaks my heart to see such beautiful buildings Being left to fall apart. It should be possible to have it for free but sign some co tract that you should renovate it..
Renovate such building is out of budget for almost everyone. It takes really skilled craftsmen and their rates are quite expensive. materials are expensive too, like cut stones, slates, stained glass ... Some of these materials arn't even produced anymore. It's a shame they're left to die but on the bright side, in France we have a lot of castle, like really a lot. it's ok if a few of them disappear
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I love every one of these. My favorite house ever is the house in Locke and Key.
How sad that these are abandoned. They could be museums or public spaces of some kind. Such beautiful architecture gone to waste.
many of them already are museums, art centers, hotels, city halls etc...but you can't save them all : "The French word château has a wider meaning than the English castle: it includes architectural entities that are properly called palaces, mansions or vineyards. The number of castles in France is estimated to about 45,000, a bit more than 1 for France's 36,000 communes. (French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy, or municipios in Spain.) " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_France
Load More Replies... I love them all. I wish I could buy them and fix them up. Back to beautiful and wonderful. I would think that their countries would want to preserve their history.
let's compare : the Dordogne region : Dordogne : area : 3,500 sq mi (9060 km2) New Jersey : area : 8,722.58 sq mi (22,591.38 km2) DORDOGNE : 67 chateaus, forts and 339 manors.
Load More Replies... the photographer is french : CASTLE : "large building or series of connected buildings fortified for defense, fortress, stronghold" (late Old English), in this sense from Old North French castel (Old French chastel, 12c.; Modern French : château), from Latin castellum "a castle, fort, citadel, stronghold. CHATEAU : is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. "The word château is a French word that has entered the English language, where its meaning is more specific than it is in French. The French word château denotes buildings as diverse as a medieval fortress, a Renaissance palace and a fine 19th-century country house. When clarification is needed in French, the term château fort is used to describe a fortified castle, such as the Château fort de Roquetaillade." So nothing wrong with him calling them " castles " . Thank you very much !
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Can you share the location of these wonderful places -- at least the country they're in? As a scholar of colonial architecture, I'm especially fascinated by old mansions in the tropics that often reflect a mixture of European and local influences. I'd be very grateful for more information on the places you're documenting so well. They represent a lost epoch wherever they are. Robert Gamble (USA)
They say there are more castles in Germany than McDonalss in the US and I looked it up and by god it is true, over 20,000, the majority abandoned
"The number of castles in France is estimated to about 45,000, a bit more than 1 for France's 36,000 communes. (French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy, or municipios in Spain.) "
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Fascinating photos, but he's really stretching the definition of "castle," isn't he?
"The French word château has a wider meaning than the English castle, it denotes buildings as diverse as a medieval fortress, a Renaissance palace and a fine 19th-century country house.: it includes architectural entities that are properly called palaces, mansions or vineyards. The number of castles in France is estimated to about 45,000, a bit more than 1 for France's 36,000 communes. (French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy, or municipios in Spain.) "
Load More Replies... Very interesting, it would be nice to see the interior, however, I do understand it is likely unsafe, thanks for showing !!!
Each of these castles could inspire their own delightful stories. Loves won and lost, secrets kept or revealed. Battles fought all the little joys and tragedies of life. All empty houses or buildings own the bittersweet wisftul, but there is that extra layer of intrigue and romance when it is a castle.
Thinking of the history and memories lost within the walls of all of these castles breaks my heart. Even more when the interior is also photographed and shown. Homes are ingrained within families. Where did their families go??
Regular abandoned houses already make me sad, but all this lost beauty and culture is just heart breaking.
It breaks my heart to see such beautiful buildings Being left to fall apart. It should be possible to have it for free but sign some co tract that you should renovate it..
Renovate such building is out of budget for almost everyone. It takes really skilled craftsmen and their rates are quite expensive. materials are expensive too, like cut stones, slates, stained glass ... Some of these materials arn't even produced anymore. It's a shame they're left to die but on the bright side, in France we have a lot of castle, like really a lot. it's ok if a few of them disappear
Load More Replies... I love every one of these. My favorite house ever is the house in Locke and Key.
How sad that these are abandoned. They could be museums or public spaces of some kind. Such beautiful architecture gone to waste.
many of them already are museums, art centers, hotels, city halls etc...but you can't save them all : "The French word château has a wider meaning than the English castle: it includes architectural entities that are properly called palaces, mansions or vineyards. The number of castles in France is estimated to about 45,000, a bit more than 1 for France's 36,000 communes. (French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy, or municipios in Spain.) " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_France
Load More Replies... I love them all. I wish I could buy them and fix them up. Back to beautiful and wonderful. I would think that their countries would want to preserve their history.
let's compare : the Dordogne region : Dordogne : area : 3,500 sq mi (9060 km2) New Jersey : area : 8,722.58 sq mi (22,591.38 km2) DORDOGNE : 67 chateaus, forts and 339 manors.
Load More Replies... the photographer is french : CASTLE : "large building or series of connected buildings fortified for defense, fortress, stronghold" (late Old English), in this sense from Old North French castel (Old French chastel, 12c.; Modern French : château), from Latin castellum "a castle, fort, citadel, stronghold. CHATEAU : is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. "The word château is a French word that has entered the English language, where its meaning is more specific than it is in French. The French word château denotes buildings as diverse as a medieval fortress, a Renaissance palace and a fine 19th-century country house. When clarification is needed in French, the term château fort is used to describe a fortified castle, such as the Château fort de Roquetaillade." So nothing wrong with him calling them " castles " . Thank you very much !
Load More Replies... Can you share the location of these wonderful places -- at least the country they're in? As a scholar of colonial architecture, I'm especially fascinated by old mansions in the tropics that often reflect a mixture of European and local influences. I'd be very grateful for more information on the places you're documenting so well. They represent a lost epoch wherever they are. Robert Gamble (USA)
They say there are more castles in Germany than McDonalss in the US and I looked it up and by god it is true, over 20,000, the majority abandoned
"The number of castles in France is estimated to about 45,000, a bit more than 1 for France's 36,000 communes. (French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy, or municipios in Spain.) "
Load More Replies... Fascinating photos, but he's really stretching the definition of "castle," isn't he?
"The French word château has a wider meaning than the English castle, it denotes buildings as diverse as a medieval fortress, a Renaissance palace and a fine 19th-century country house.: it includes architectural entities that are properly called palaces, mansions or vineyards. The number of castles in France is estimated to about 45,000, a bit more than 1 for France's 36,000 communes. (French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy, or municipios in Spain.) "
Load More Replies...