A skeleton unearthed beneath the chapel of Stirling Castle in Scotland has been identified as the first confirmed archaeological case of death by trebuchet. / READ MORE /
Château de Chenonceau is recording more than 5,000 visits a day during France's fifth heatwave of the summer, even as other Loire Valley châteaux report sharp visitor declines this season.
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Most people who have heard of Schwerin Castle know it for one image: a fairy-tale silhouette rising from its own island, so photogenic it is routinely mistaken for a film set. The accolade is deserved: it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024. Schwerin earns every visitor it gets. But Bundesland Mecklenburg-Vorpommern hides a scattering of estates within a short drive that see a fraction of the attention. These five reward the detour. / READ MORE /
The Fürstliches Residenzschloss Detmold has secured €750,000 in federal funding through Germany's KulturInvest programme to support comprehensive restoration and conservation work on the princely residence. / READ MORE /
A free interactive atlas has begun charting the world's fortified heritage, plotting more than 6,400 castles, fortresses and palaces across 138 countries on a single browsable map. The project was launched by a Norwegian developer working under a pseudonym, and shows what a combination of AI, open data and programming skill can now achieve great results without institutional backing. / READ MORE /
German entrepreneur Peter Löw has restructured more than 300 companies, teaches economic philosophy and is a devoted father and husband. For the past two decades he has poured his energy into rescuing forgotten monuments across Europe. We spoke to him from his office in Munich's Palais Seinsheim, where Mozart once stayed. / READ MORE /
You may well know William Morris as the designer of the most beloved wallpaper patterns from Victorian Britain. But did you know that his outrage at the botched restoration of a church led him to found the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877? A true ‘heritage hero’ from the past and a radical Victorian who taught Europe to restore its old buildings with respect. / READ MORE /
Versailles is extraordinary. But it is also extremely crowded. The good news is that the Île-de-France and its neighbouring departments contain dozens of historic châteaux that see a fraction of the crowds, and sometimes tell stories Versailles cannot. Within 90 minutes of Paris, these five reward the detour. Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte The story of Vaux-le-Vicomte... / READ MORE /
Germany's official presidential palace, Schloss Bellevue, has opened its historic state rooms to the public for the first time as a contemporary art exhibition, weeks before the building closes for a multi-year restoration. / READ MORE /
Eight bottles of nineteenth-century Château d'Yquem have been restored after spending decades hidden beneath the floor of a Czech castle chapel. The wine, part of a 136-bottle collection left behind by a noble family fleeing Czechoslovakia at the end of the Second World War, will go on public display for the first time following a fundraising campaign by the castle. / READ MORE /