Home-made Castles

[Susano]

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Curious Expeditions recently posted on Tarodi Var, a self built castle in the Hungarian countryside. Yet Tarodi Var is not alone. Scattered throughout the world, there are a small handful of castles made by non-architects, constructed without a team of workers, and with very little money.

All the castles presented below were built by a single person, with occasional help from family members or friends. Raised rock by rock from the ground, these castles are the result of unfaltering vision, pure will, and a lifetime effort to make literal the phrase “a man’s home is his castle.”

Without further ado, Curious Expeditions presents the 15 best self built castles in the world.

http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=91

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[L. Marcus]

I hope they all have secret passages. A castle isn't a castle without a secret passage.

[Theron]

This one isn't as ambitious, but it has the advantage of being fairly nearby

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I took these a few days ago. They're from Commanche Lookout Park in San Antonio, TX. The tower is a 1:1 scale replica of a 12th century Norman keep. It was built in the 1920s on top of a one of the highest points in the San Antonio area by a retired Army colonel. Originally, it had floors and stairs, though these have long ago rotted away. In the 1930s, it housed WPA workers, and then it sat neglected for many years, mainly serving as a haunt for high school parties and urban legends of devil worshippers. In the 1990s, the city of San Antonio acquired the property and turned it into a park. The tower is fenced off from the public and accessible by hiking trails. My son and I had a dandy time storming it the the other day.

(The first two pictures were taken with my lousy camera phone facing almost directly into the sun. The polarization gave them a wonderfully shadowy effect.)

[Susano]

I hope they all have secret passages. A castle isn't a castle without a secret passage.

Well, one has a secret room, apparently.

[L. Marcus]

It burned down, fell over, and sank into the koi pond.

[Narratio]

Should have built it in a swamp. No Koi in a swamp and you get the alligators for free.

[Old Man]

I built a castle just the other day. But then the tide came in.

[L. Marcus]

Damn tide. Shoulda be a law. :mad: