Uhuburg Castle

Here's a castle being built by the owner using AAC blocks. It's called Uhuburg Castle. It seems to exist on Facebook only as far as a website goes, but you can see a lot of pictures of the construction process without needing an account. There seem to be quite a few new castles popping up on the web, I'm not sure if it's a desire for publicity or a sign of economic improvement. The vast majority are of the concrete block construction with a flat front and flanking round turrets at the corners. I can't tell if they're owner built, likely not, so I'm not featuring them here. A visit to the DuPont Castle website will have a good listing of them. At any rate, this is the only castle being built with AAC block that I know of.

Woodstock, Connecticut Castle

This castle is being built in Woodstock, Connecticut. It appears from what I've been able to dig up that the owner is a bit eccentric (aren't all castle builders to some extent?), and the article seems to confirm that. The castle is quite fanciful, and has features that are more romantic in style rather than defensive in construction. From what I gather the owner is doing none of the work, it's all contracted. Interesting enough to share, I figure - so here you go.

In the storybook style...

I took a break from detailing the big castle to work on a different style. I tried to head in the direction of the "storybook style" popular during the early part of the 1900s. I've generally stayed away from it because it winds up looking a little to "Disney" and tacky. The previous building posted tends to look a bit more serious, this idea was to head more towards cozy and English Cottage-like rather than impressive. Anyway, there are several good sites to find out about storybook homes on the web, Storybookers comes to mind off the top of my head, and a really good book to look at the style is "Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties" by Arrol Genner and Douglas Keister.

If you download this one, ignore the square footage. I didn't get the scale right and the first floor alone is way more square footage than the entire large castle below.

Interior Views

More views of the front and interior. Some of it just doesn't look right to me, I haven't figured out what looks best. The exterior steps need a wall or railing, the interior steps seem a little too wide (I designed them that way, but it doesn't look right; anyone who has tried moving furnishings up a narrow stars will understand why the extra width!) and the space under the stairs seems wasted. I'll probably enclose the stairs at some point and put a closet under there, or even stairs to the basement (most likely).

The view looking in the door is rather plain, I haven't yet decided how to include the half-timber/stone/stucco-plaster-ish look that seems to be working in the great hall. Plus all of the normal things you expect to see in a house are absent from these models such as lights, some trim, baseboards and electrical outlets. Not to mention that some of the textures/paints are rather monotonous, but I'm no GIMP/Photoshop expert so it isn't easy for me to make these things unless I find something online that I can use with minimal tweaking (like the flagstone floor, it was a rubber door mat that I edited to work)

Is this for real?

Realms of Legend.

The plan for this idea seems to be a small city and to have the largest castle and grounds in the United States. It certainly doesn't appear to be something that could be built by one or even a few people, and looks like it should require a large number of investors, lots and lots of money, and years to construct. Interesting idea, but the lack of updates to the site since the earlier parts of this year makes me wonder if the idea is no longer being pursued... I'll just have to categorize this one with the rest of the "wish castles" until something more substantial shows up on the site.

Castle? Folly?

There are several bulletin boards out there that have castle-centric discussions, and a few that leave room for people to discuss the building of modern castles. There is always a debate (sometimes nasty) on what constitutes a real castle, and a folly.

Well, after learning a bit more, in my opinion: A real castle is one that was built prior to the 1600s and the primary use was defense and domestic living. The naming of modern built structures with the term castle isn't quite correct, as these structures are not purpose built for defense; they are simply very unique homes. That said, use of the term "castle" to describe them doesn't bother me in the least.

A "folly" is pretty much what most people will build nowadays, and that is a home that has some castle-like features. I guess if I were to build one, it would be a folly; a structure not made of pure stone, having a stone facade, and primarily being a residence. There are some folks out there putting together structures that blur the line between castle and folly, they are well constructed of pure stone (ashlar and/or rubble) and could possibly be used for defense. Therein lies the debate. As far as I'm concerned, the debate is academic; if it looks like a castle, it'll still be called a castle, regardless of the purist's ranting.

EDIT: After learning a bit more, my definition of a folly isn't right, a "folly" serves no real practical purpose other than fancy or artistic design. A home that is in the style of a castle is exactly that, a home that looks like a castle. The Germans have a word that describes those structures much better: "Schloss".

Falkenstein Castle

Falkenstein Castle is a residence/special event castle located in Texas.

Another castle that has come up while searching the internet. I can't tell if this was self-built (as in, they laid the stones and built some of it with their own hands) by the owners or not, but from the size and complexity of the structure, it likely may not have been. It's very nicely done though, based on Neuschwanstein. It is available for a limited number of special events, there's more information available on the castle's website.

Not an owner built castle, but wow!

Castello di Amorosa, a winery in Napa.

Not exactly an owner built castle in the sense of the purpose behind this site, but it is a modern castle. The level of detail and finishing is incredible. A must see for inspiration.