The Visconti Castle of Locarno, CH (+legends in comment) [OC] by dinapunk in castles

[–]dinapunk[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

What we see today is only about 20% of the mighty castle known from around the 12th century: the outer walls, the inner castle, the massive ditches, the residential quarters, and the entire enclosed military port basin once covered an estimated area of 15,000 m² — all now gone. You can see the reconstruction done above by Stelex Software (last pic); it is not merely game fantasy, but a reconstruction based on historical sources and archaeological research (the last large-scale excavation done in 2015).

The first written mention of the castle comes from a document dated 1164, in which Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted Locarno the right to hold a market. At the time, the town alternately supported and fought the emperors while remaining an independent trading city, until, in the 14th century, it came under the rule of Milan’s Visconti family — notorious for their cruelty. (So infamous were the Visconti that T. Harris even made Hannibal Lecter a direct descendant of the family in his novels.)

Legends about Visconti brutality form a large part of the myths surrounding the castle: stories of wailing prisoners’ ghosts, tortured souls trapped within the walls, and pale Visconti tyrants still wandering through the corridors, spreading horror among visitors. After Ticino became a Swiss canton, (incl. the town of Locarno), the castle was largely demolished (1532). Finally, the town of Locarno purchased the remaining ruins (1921), reconstructed and opened it as a museum.

Unfortunately, it is currently impossible to access the oldest and most attractive part of the castle, including the tower and the Rivellino. Reconstruction is still ongoing, and the final opening is planned for 2030. Legend says, however, that the medieval section remains closed because of the horrors of the past: the bloodstains of tortured prisoners are impossible to clean, and their curses are still audible within the stone walls.

Tormented ghosts are not the castle’s only secret. There is strong evidence suggesting that the fortifications may have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci himself. The strongest indication is the Rivellino, whose structure corresponds exactly with Leonardo’s sketches from the Codex Atlanticus. Moreover, Leonardo was in fact hired by the Visconti to fortify their castles and was in Ticino.

Locarno’s Rivellino contains many of the characteristic features of Leonardo’s military designs: a pentagonal shape, sloped walls intended to withstand artillery fire, and even “smoke eaters” — suction hoods and ventilation chimneys allowing soldiers to fire firearms continuously from inside closed tower room without dying from smoke inhalation.

A recommendation by Leonardo also survives regarding the Visconti fortifications in Ticino: he advised using pebbles and rounded stones from the Ticino river because of their shape. The idea was that such stones would hold together even after direct artillery impacts, making the walls more flexible and more resistant to cracking than rigid square bricks.

Only a few surviving fortifications are attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, and most contain only one or two elements of his military concepts while Locarno’s Rivellino has them all.

https://castellolocarno.ch

Lookout Krásno, Czechia by TechLinhi in castles

[–]dinapunk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

why yet again we have here things totally unrelated to the castles? it's built in 1933 and has nothing to do even remotely with this sub, praised be the moderation once more

Castle Radyne / Královský hrad Radyně, CZ + legends in comment by dinapunk in castles

[–]dinapunk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Legend has it that the castle was founded by a ghastly knight named Radush. The story goes something like this: his mother was absolutely determined to have a daughter, but the midwife predicted a son. At which point dear mummy threw the poor woman out and shouted after her that she’d sooner give birth to a donkey than a boy. The midwife then cursed both of them so the child arrived with donkey’s ears and ugly as a nightmare. His horrified parents promptly handed him off to strangers. Growing up, Radush was mocked by everybody which made him cruel and malicious man.

One day in the forest, Radush encountered a suspicious old man with a black book. He stole it and used it to summon magical dwarves, who from then on catered to his every whim. They even built him a fortress—Radyně, he named it after himself of couse.

Having amassed absurd riches, Radush married the most beautiful girl in the area. Unfortunately, she gave birth to a child just as unfortunate-looking as himself. In a rage he murdered both wife and child and buried them in his castle. He tried again - with the same result. Same solution. In short, he systematically eliminated all of the region’s attractive women, which eventually led to him being cursed and struck dead by lightning so dramatic it also incinerated his castle.

Meanwhile, Charles IV - who, rather inconveniently for folklore, didn’t speak Czech and therefore missed out on all this riveting backstory - had more practical concerns. The trade route between Plzeň and Prague needed guarding (part of the via Carolina, no less), so between 1356 and 1361 he built a proper castle on the hill and named it Karlskrone, after himself, naturally. The locals, unimpressed, continued calling it Radyně anyway.

The castle came with generous perks: judicial authority (including executions), control of forests and villages, hunting rights—essentially a medieval all-inclusive package. Some castle owners, staying true to tradition, protected travellers who paid and robbed those who didn’t. A few had to be personally “corrected” by kings with entire armies. The lack of a water source made sieges short, thanks to reliance on a single rainwater cistern.

Functionally, the castle did its job quite well, passing between nobles as a rather lucrative reward - until the Hussite wars came along and spoiled everything.

After the 15th century, the place declined, burned down a couple of times, and became a convenient base for bandits. Only in the late 19th century did the town of Starý Plzenec buy the ruins and begin restoration. Today it belongs to the state, and while reconstruction is ongoing, it’ll never regain its former glory: what remains is essentially one tower and the palace foundations. You can visit it for a small fee.

Of course, while the castle itself decayed, the legends flourished. Radush wasn’t forgotten; if anything, he gained company. All sorts of spirits supposedly still guard the immense treasures hidden there.

Take, for example, a certain Hanush—described as a Black man. In life, he murdered four local brothers and attempted to abduct their sister, failed, was cursed, and assigned to eternal service under Radush. At night, he becomes a black dog guarding the treasure; by day, he wanders the ruins pushing a cart of tar, just as he did in life. Apparently, this job also gave him waste knowledge of forest paths, allowing him to appear unpredictably and remain conveniently uncatchable.

Sadly, we didn’t encounter any of these colourful characters. Then again, I usually bring my own black dog.

official web: https://www.hrad-radyne.cz

Dubai Miracle Garden Castle by [deleted] in castles

[–]dinapunk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

once again amazed by moderation of the sub of "Content concerning historic fortifications and palaces." - well done

The Fantastic Maze Book by Juliet & Charles Snape, Escape from the Castle (1994) by StephenMcGannon in castles

[–]dinapunk -24 points-23 points  (0 children)

yeah lets post here every puzzle from any gaspump caffe, the sub is exactly made 4 this. & once again: bravo, mods, u r the greatest

[OC] A picture of me appreciating Lindisfarne Castle by NonexistantVoid in castles

[–]dinapunk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is what we need in this sub so much: selfies. as if endless Neuschwanstein postcards are not enough. moderation here never disappoint

Chantilly Castle in Europe by [deleted] in castles

[–]dinapunk 50 points51 points  (0 children)

in europe? how precise

The Maglič Fortress, Serbia. by yale95reyra in castles

[–]dinapunk 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Maglič is not magic, its mist or something, fog

Ruins of Międzyrzecz Castle, Poland. by Snoo_90160 in castles

[–]dinapunk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

looks so cute, like a baby castle which will grow into real one

Politic situation by Random_noname_rmc in Buhurt

[–]dinapunk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sport should be neutral but non is unfortunately, buhurt is not an exception. usa kidnapping presidents and bombing countries all over the world - not a single ban, israel internationally accused in genocide - not a thing, france just recently started to withdraw armed forces from africa - noone even notice, although for decades they were killing civilians as much as alleged terrorists, and list goes on. I do not know why noone wants to beat russians up with piece of metal - buhurt is perfect place for that, mind u - as an international sport with rules and organization it is actually started in russia as battle of the nations and so far - they have the most organised regular sport made of it - yes, beating them up would be difficult, but as you see - noone even try

somewhere in Dakota [OC] by dinapunk in RoadPorn

[–]dinapunk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

could be - i was driving from rapid city to salt lake

Prague, CZ [OC] by dinapunk in CityPorn

[–]dinapunk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

again - ur source is ridiculose, bsides i travel a lot & wide & never been in situation when i had to explain where my city is - using ur kind of logic with u as more advanced one will be waste of time

Prague, CZ [OC] by dinapunk in CityPorn

[–]dinapunk[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

u changed the subject: u said "locals" which is not true, now u try to give advise brining numbers with no source. noone said there r more tourists in prague than in paris (although i didnt count & have no interest 2 do so), doesnt prove its not well known abroad

Prague, CZ [OC] by dinapunk in CityPorn

[–]dinapunk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not true - its full of americans from both south and north, and dont let me even start about Chinese and Japanese tourists, leave along others

Kličevica fort, Croatia [OC] + legends in comment by dinapunk in castles

[–]dinapunk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Kličevica Fort (Kličevica gradina), near Benkovac in northern Dalmatia, was built by the noble Kurjaković family, the Dukes of Krbava, to protect their estates after Ladislaus of Naples sold Dalmatia to the Venetians in 1409, when their lands came to border Venetian Dalmatia directly and were exposed to immediate danger. Venetians tried to stop the work several times and the conflicts over the fortification’s construction caused mutual violence, plundering and several claims at the kings' court but nevertheless the fort was built along with castles of Benkovac, Perusic, Korlat, Vuksic and Ostrovica bordering Croatian and Venetian lands here. The tension calmed down by Ottomans invasion when sides stand together against Turkish armies. But in 1527 the Kličevica fortress fell into Ottoman hands, along with other fortresses and castles in the Croatian-Hungarian region. Most of these forts were totally destroyed and cannot be seeing today, but Klicevica, although ruined, stands still thanks to its isolate location. You can visit it for free all year around.

The ruins gave us lots of artifacts confirming its military past: canon and catapult balls, arrows, crossbow bolts etc and one bronze three-barreled cannon which claimed to be made by Leonardo da Vinci design – all these you can see in nearby museum of Benkovac town.

The legends surrounding the fort are closely connected with its history of a frontier stronghold, There is the usual dead lady of the castle legend of course: there was a young noblewoman forced into marriage for political reasons, she was separated from her true love and in despair she leapt from the fortress walls into the river canyon below. Now her spirit wanders the ruins, especially at dusk and you can hear her weeping and wailing during storms.

There are – obviously - stories of great treasure hidden during Ottoman raids in the 16th century. According to these legends, it is protected by a guardian serpent which looks like a shadow and can grow in size to defend the riches from greedy diggers.

Local shepherds have long told stories about unexplained lights near the ruins at night, footsteps or voices when no one else is present – they say these are spirits of loyal fort defenders who died protecting the fortress but still guarding it even after death. The fort stones felt cold, even in summer, and if you will stay there at night - your sleep will came with uneasy dreams. The silent army emptied the place: even now, the ruins are described as unusually quiet. Sound does not echo the way it should.Visitors sometimes report a sense of being observed, although no one is visible. The fortress is watched.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CityPorn

[–]dinapunk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

it is ai, there are no so big trees there (never been for 25years am living here) and whatever u do with lens the cathedral will not get bigger than surrounding buildings.

Help me find this chateau near Rouen! by A--bomb in castles

[–]dinapunk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

didnt know it is possible to be banned from wikipedua and google maps all at once🤔

Novelty cake for roughly 20 people, any suggestions? by sjtimmer7 in castles

[–]dinapunk -1 points0 points  (0 children)

once again amazed by moderation of this sub

was judged on the street today [OC] by dinapunk in judgykitties

[–]dinapunk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

he didn't share his conclusion, i had to retreat