is one of the oldest intact medieval castles in the country. It dates back to the 13th century and was constructed on the site of a previous wooden structure built by the legendary ruler Strongbow.

Read on to find out more about 21 of the world’s most beautiful castles, fortified homes that are both a feast for the eyes ...

This gorgeous medieval castle endured wars with little damage ... The original structure, built out of wood in 1212, was destroyed by the Mongols and later rebuilt from stone.

A wooden drawbridge provided access across the moat. The stone castles that we recognize today as emblematically medieval appeared from the 11th and 12th centuries onward, having developed out of ...

The West Front at Castle Acre Priory in south England ... For example, one of four surviving medieval painted wood ceilings in Europe is in St Michael’s Church in Hildesheim, northern Germany.

The carpenters, in turn, rely on the wood-cutters who go out into the ... Above all, building a medieval castle requires the skill and co-operation of a workforce functioning together as a community.

From the fairytale towers of Bavaria’s Neuschwanstein to the golden battlements of Jaipur’s Amber Fortress in India, these ...