Castles of Scotland: a story in stone

Castles of Scotland - a special pride of this amazingly picturesque country. They are beautiful, original and unusual. Practically all of them, from magnificent royal residences to mysterious ruins, are located in extreme places (on top of a rock, on the shore of a lake or the sea).

Before the majestic structures with romantic towers stretching to heaven began to be built, the inhabitants of Scotland built fortresses for centuries. According to chronological records, at one time in Scotland there were about 3000 castles. Many of them disappeared over time, some today represent only ruins. But even today the castles of Scotland are dumb witnesses of glorious past times.

On the territory of modern Scotland, they began to build with the beginning of the feudal system in the twelfth century. Originally they represented a special type, called "mott and baily". A wooden fort was built on a pile of mounds from the earth (mott). Mott was located in the territory of a large courtyard (bailey), which was renewed with a palisade (or protective ditch). Such defense facilities, in spite of their relative simplicity, still seemed quite formidable militarily. They were built throughout the whole of northern Europe since the 10th century, were particularly popular in Normandy and Anjou (France), from the 11th century on the lands that were part of the Holy Roman Empire. In Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Holland and Denmark, "mott and baily" appeared in the 12-13 centuries. By the end of the 13th century, the art of building fortifications was largely modernized, but the "mott" (earthen fortification) remained a distinctive feature of many countries.

During the wars of independence Robert Bruce pursued a policy of neglecting the castles. He destroyed them so that the British could not use them. In the late Middle Ages, new castles were built in Scotland, which could accommodate large garrisons. The appearance of firearms radically changed the character of castle architecture. There was a need to create certain adaptations for its use-gun ports, platforms for installing guns, strong walls, capable of resisting bombardment.

In the Renaissance the castles of Scotland represented a type of palace castle. A similar tradition in construction began with the Linlithgow Palace (next to the city of Linlithgow), the residence of the Stuarts, in which Mary Stewart was born . It should be noted that the elements of the medieval castle, the royal palace, the tower house (a common type in Scottish architecture until the 17th century) were actively used in the construction of baronial mansions. But for all their similarity with locks, they are not so. These are examples of a unique architectural style, called the "Scottish Baron", whose appearance dates back to the 1560s. Some of the houses of the barons, for example, Kragivar or Balmoral (both in the Aberdeenshire area) have received the proud title of "castles of Scotland".

Photos of these mansions arouse great interest not only to their well-preserved exteriors and interiors, but also to the environment - beautiful parks and gardens.

The volcanic rock, named Zamkova, is located in the center of the Scottish capital. This is the location of the magnificent Edinburgh Castle - the symbol of Scotland and its important sights. This is perhaps the most grandiose construction in Scotland in a literal and metaphorical sense. Here, in essence, the history of the country began.