The most spectacular abandoned castles in the world

A London journalist and writer collects in his book« Abandoned Castles» incredible abandoned fortresses

« I've always been interested in places that we seem to leave behind &raquo ;, tells us the London journalist and writer, Kieron Connolly.« These places capture our attention and make us Ask us: What happened here? Connolly, the eldest of three brothers who has always had a predilection for history , recounts a family anecdote with which, probably , it all started:« When we were children, our mother kept us busy on rainy days making us walk miles and miles along a disused railway line ».Actually, she says that this only happened one day, but they like to remember it as if it had been a regular occurrence.However, the writer was fascinated and some questions clutched his head:«¿ How quickly he grew up nature when people stopped using it? And, first of all, why did it close?&Raquo ;.

It was this curiosity that led him to write books in which he tells the past of abandoned places because, according to him, they have a air of mystery ».in his last book,« Abandoned Castles» (« Abandoned Castles»), published by the English publisher Amber Books, explores the most spectacular forgotten fortresses in the world that are considered windows to some civilizations long since disappeared.Kieron Connolly was really inspired by his previous publication,« Abandoned Places» (« Abandoned Places»), a book that goes back to the middle of the 19th century to talk about abandoned modern places: from the Gol Rush ghost cities in California, the whaling stations of the South Atlantic or the desert amusement park of East Berlin, to the Cold War bunkers in the south east of England and the Ciudad Real airport in Spain .

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The investigation only took a few months.Kieron Connolly was documented in The British Library (The British Bookstore) in London, the books I had at home and through the Internet.I found these places thanks to the common effort made by the Amber Books team and: Some We suggest ideas from places we had visited or about which we knew something, others were found through research tigacion&raquo ;.

With the low budget and the schedule imposed by the publication of the book, could not afford to visit the castles on which it deals with book.However, it was in one of them.« The most impressive for me is the Fortress Belvoir in Israel&raquo ;, says Connolly.In 2004, he was on vacation in Israel and, driving from the Sea of ​​Galilee through the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem, passed by a small road sign that indicated that there was a hilltop fortress .He had no idea what he was going to find, but to his pleasant surprise, he discovered a magnificent structure of Belvoir , an old crusader castle of the 12th century.Almost 900 years after That it was built, the lower floors, the thin walls and all the pits still remain there.« Looking down in the valley, I pr As strange as it would be for European Crusaders, so far from their homes, to find themselves in Belvoir&raquo ;, says the journalist.

Connolly's book includes strong military 19th century in the French Alps, castles of the 13th century in the Scottish Highlands and medieval fortresses in Syria.Son« doors to the past» that hide among their ruins an imprint, sometimes indelible, of the different owners and conflicts happened.

En« Abandoned Castles» The Fort of Malamot appears, built in 1889 in the Cotios Alps (France).

Also the Spis Castle , in Slovakia, a fortress Romanesque of the twelfth century that would become a Gothic style a century later.In the fifteenth century the castle was completely rebuilt and, later, the new owners transformed it into a Renaissance family residence.Finally, the castle burned in 1780, but remains a relic with as much history as architectural styles had in the past.

Connolly's favorite story refers to the Martello Tower , a Genoese tower of Corsica that« was built in the 16th century, when Corsica was part of the Republic of Genoa to defend against pirates&raquo ;, the writer explained to CNN.Later, although the tower will pass at the hands of the British in the Napoleonic wars, the structure and design left them impressed .

Another prominent castle is the Castle of Ballycarbery , located in Kerry (Ireland).All that remains of this 16th century fortress are the stone walls.Now, it is slowly being absorbed by nature, because the walls are covered with ivy and the first floor, grassy .

« As relics of an early era, abandoned castles stand out in the landscape&raquo ;, says Connolly, who describes them as« involuntarily wonderful &raquo ;.