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News of castles, mansions, palaces and more… |
Is this Vladimir Putin’s Xanadu?Â
High on the hills overlooking the Black Sea stands a palace fit for a tsar.
Ornate grounds surround the regal building, which nestles on a quiet, tucked-away stretch of coast. The hideaway’s calm is only occasionally punctuated by the hum of helicopter blades, when a rather famous guest arrives. Vladimir Putin, the newly elected Russian president, has been seen at the palace several times, causing much s… (View original article)
A HOME IN THE FARMHOUSE STYLE IN MALTA
1,900,000 euros ($2.5 million)
This four-bedroom house in the countryside of Malta, a Mediterranean island nation off the Italian coast, was built in 2008 using the limestone of a dismantled 18th-century Maltese palace. The 4,200-square-foot house has the solid exterior frame of a traditional Maltese farmhouse, but a fully modernized interior with spacious, airy rooms, air conditioning and remote-controlled lighting.
Th… (View original article)
17 April 2012
Last updated at 05:12 ET
By Bojan Kveder
Milot, Haiti
It is one of the most remarkable attractions in the Western Hemisphere, but the Palace of Sans-Souci in northern Haiti is seldom visited by foreigners.
Decades of political instability and lawlessness mean much of Haiti is avoided by tourists.
But the story of the sprawling palace complex, whose name means “Without Worry”, had fascinated me for more than 40 years.
It … (View original article)
Colditz Castle, a Renaissance period castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, in Germany, is drawing a huge number of British visitors.
A onetime Nazi prison camp for prisoners of war (PoW’s) from the allied forces in World War II, the present castle has been recently renovated to operate as a hotel, offering rooms for as little as £20 a night.
Tour operators in the UK are promoting a night’s stay in one of the castle’s 161 bedrooms as the ultimate… (View original article)
On the 100th anniversary of Fonthill Castle, Henry Mercer’s dramatic concrete home, the Bucks County Historical Society is being honored for preserving the Doylestown landmark.
The historical society will receive a Special 100th Anniversary Recognition Award from the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia on May 8. In announcing its annual Preservation Achievement Awards on Thursday, the alliance noted that Fonthill Castle “is one of the Philadelphia re… (View original article)
19 April 2012
Last updated at 20:36 ET
A campaign group hoping to buy the former residence of the Bishop of Worcester has reached a deal with its owners, the Church of England.
The Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust (HCPT) said it had agreed a new price for the freehold to the listed building with Church Commissioners.
The Heritage Lottery Fund turned down a bid for money from HCPT over concerns about the original £2.2m asking price.
No beauty but excellent for keeping out Alex Salmond & Co. Carlisle castle. Photograph: Charlie Hedley
A new exhibition in Carlisle Castle’s Militia Store tells the near 1000 year story of the often battered castle – at various times a Norman castle, frontier fortress, administrative centre, royal palace and garrison.
Nearby is the Captain’s Tower, probably built by Henry II in the 1180s, and open to the public for the first time in 25 years.
<... (View original article)
Published on Saturday 21 April 2012 05:00
There are not many places where you can walk in the footsteps of major players of the Tudor era.
But Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire can boast just that honour. A honey-coloured beauty nestled in a valley just north of Cheltenham, it really is a gem.
The castle itself is a stunner. You could easily forget how close you are to civilisation. And even for those who aren’t fussed ab… (View original article)
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Bernard O’Shea
Leeds Castle, Kent, is renowned for its scenery and entertainment.
England has a great many urban attractions, but nothing beats its countryside in summer. On any visit to London or the other big cities, be sure to take time out in the country. Once you get off the frenetic highways you’ll feel a real sense of peace travelling down narrow hedge-lined roads under a canopy of trees, through picturesque villages wh… (View original article)
CONG, Ireland
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At the peak of the Celtic Tiger era, an economic boom from 1995 to 2007 that transformed Ireland from one of Europe’s poorest countries into one of its richest, the helicopter pad at County Mayo’s five-star Ashford Castle was buzzing.
Restaurant manager Robert Bowe, who has worked at the iconic lakefront hotel for a quarter century, remembers the arriving passengers. Newly minted Irish tycoons in their 30s, worth $300 million on paper, were eager to drop more t… (View original article)