一生中必去的10個夢幻城堡大綱
1. Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany)
新天鵝城堡（德國）The fantasy castle about which other fantasy castles have fantasies. This elaborate slice of Romanesque Revival perches on a hilltop above the village of Hohenschwangau in southern Germany. It was crafted in the late 19th century (between 1869 and 1886, to be precise), to the ostentatious tastes of Ludwig II, King of Bavaria. Sadly for the man in question, he died in the same year that his dream residence was finished. His consolation (in the afterlife anyway) is that Schloss Neuschwanstein (whose name translates as New Swanstone Castle) has become the blueprint for such wildly flamboyant structures. It was the inspiration for the “Sleeping Beauty Castle” which lights up Disneyland in California.
新天鵝城堡是夢幻城堡中的夢幻城堡。這座古羅馬式復興風格建築坐落在德國南部霍恩施萬高村的一個山頂上，是爲了迎合巴伐利亞“瘋王”路德維希二世的奢華品味於19世紀晚期（準確時間是1869到1886年）興建的。可惜的是，城堡建好的同一年路德維希二世就去世了。能讓他（在來世）感到安慰的是，新天鵝城堡後來成爲了奢華夢幻城堡的模板。美國加州迪士尼樂園睡美人城堡的靈感就來源於新天鵝城堡。2. Lichtenstein Castle (Germany)
利希滕斯坦城堡（德國）
The south of Germany has a thing for castles which sigh with splendor. Not too far from Neuschwanstein (110 miles to the north-west, in the neighbouring state of Baden-Wurttemburg), this stately pile was built in the Gothic Revival style between 1840 and 1842. It perches on an escarpment in the Swabian Jura, some 250 metres above the Echaz River – its position all but demanding that any passing princes clamber up its walls to rescue any princesses who happen to be inside. Even more romantically, the ruins of its own medieval predecessor on the bluff, Burg Alt-Lichtenstein, sit immediately next to it.
德國南部特別鍾愛這種壯麗的城堡。利希滕斯坦城堡距離新天鵝城堡不是太遠（在新天鵝城堡西北方向110英里處，約合177公里，位於鄰近的巴登-符騰堡州）。這座哥特復興風格的宏偉城堡於1840年到1842年間興建，坐落在斯瓦比亞汝拉山的一座懸崖上，距離山腳下的伊查茲河約250米——似乎在召喚着路過的王子爬上城牆來拯救城堡中的公主。更浪漫的是，該城堡在中世紀的前身——老利希滕斯坦城堡的廢墟就在新堡旁邊。3. Ljubljana Castle (Slovenia)
盧布爾雅那城堡（斯洛文尼亞）Slovenia’s capital is a true box of delights – so small and picturesque that you start to wonder whether the locals have somehow concealed the uglier portions of the city. And it is topped by the medieval masterpiece which shapes its skyline. Initially built in the 11th and 12th centuries, and remodelled in the 15th, it has lost some of its fortress snarl – but it rewards those who make the walk upwards to sip a coffee in one of its pretty courtyards.
斯洛文尼亞的首都是個充滿驚喜的城市——這個風景如畫的小城讓人好奇當地人是不是把城市的醜陋一面給隱藏起來了。其中最讚的就是這座描畫出天際線的中世紀傑出建築。盧布爾雅那城堡最初興建於11到12世紀，後於15世紀進行改造，改造後的城堡喪失了一些堡壘的威嚴，但方便人們登上城堡，在美麗的庭院中品味咖啡。4. Chateau de Chinon (France)
希儂城堡（法國）The Loire Valley is, of course, a glittering cornucopia of fine castles and tall-towered flights of fancy – a legacy of the 15th and 16th centuries, when French royal power was concentrated here, and the Gallic nobility dutifully constructed their mansions close to the throne. Admittedly, Chinon pre-dates this period – there has been a chateau on its crag since the 10th century. And the river it looks down on is the Vienne, a tributary of the Loire, rather than the Loire itself. But it holds a crucial place in French history. It was here in 1429 that Joan Of Arc met Charles VII – an encounter which gave the monarch new impetus in his ultimately successful bid to liberate his kingdom from English rule.
盧瓦爾河谷是閃閃發光的寶藏之地，那裏到處是美麗的城堡和高聳入雲的塔樓——這些都是15世紀和16世紀聚居在那裏的法國王室家族留下來的遺產。當時法國貴族都將自己的府邸建在國王宮殿附近。無可否認，希儂城堡建造的日期更早，早在10世紀就有了這座懸崖上的城堡。城堡俯瞰着維埃納河，而非盧瓦爾河，維埃納河是盧瓦爾河的支流。不過，希儂城堡在法國曆史上佔據着舉足輕重的地位。這座城堡見證了1429年聖女貞德和查理七世的會面，這次會面讓查理七世萌發了新動力，讓他最終得以成功讓法國脫離英國的統治。5. Chateau de Saumur (France)
索米爾城堡（法國）An image of symmetrical fairytale perfection, its towers leaping into the sky, its grand entrance accessed via drawbridge, the castle at Saumur ticks all the boxes required to be a spectacular Loire chateau – not least because it gazes out across the river in question (and its confluence with the Thouet). Tenth century in origin, though freshened and finessed in subsequent centuries, it has played host to a few beasts during its millennium of existence – it was converted into a state prison once Napoleon Bonaparte had seized the French reins. Happily, it is now restored to full splendour, staring imperiously at its surroundings.
童話般完美的對稱外觀，直衝雲霄的高塔，雄偉的吊橋入口，索米爾的這座城堡具備了成爲一座壯麗盧瓦爾河谷城堡的全部條件——不只是因爲它就在盧瓦爾河邊（而且位於盧瓦爾河和圖埃河之間的交匯處）。這座始建於10世紀的古堡儘管在後來的歲月中歷經翻新和打理，在長達千年的歷史中也曾招待過幾個禽獸之人——在拿破崙?波拿巴執掌法國大權後曾將索米爾城堡改造爲國家監獄。幸運的是，現在這座古堡已經回覆到全盛狀態，傲視着周圍的一切。6. Chateau de Chenonceau (France)
舍農索城堡（法國）Some castles project their majesty via towers so lofty and tapering that they practically come with a resident Rapunzel. Not so Chenonceau, another fabulous fragment of the Loire region. Crafted between 1514 and 1522 (though there was a palace on the site as early as the 11th century), it is low-slung and lovely, delivering its visual coup de grace in its elaborate gardens – and in the way it straddles the River Cher via four elegant arches. Chenonceau is as beautiful as a castle can be – and it is wholly aware of its magnificence.
有些城堡的壯麗之處在於又高又尖的塔樓，非常適合長髮公主居住。但是舍農索城堡卻不是這樣。它是盧瓦爾地區的又一段華麗篇章。建於1514年至1522年間（早在11世紀這座城堡的原址上就有一座宮殿）的舍農索城堡矮矮的很可愛，她給人帶來的視覺震撼來自於那些精緻秀麗的花園，還有橫跨謝爾河的四個拱洞。舍農索城堡是你能想象到的最美麗的城堡，而且它深知自己的魅力所在。7. Kronborg Castle (Denmark)
克倫堡宮（丹麥）Pitched on the very eastern edge of Denmark in the town of Helsingor – so close to the edge, in fact, that Sweden is barely a stone’s-throw distant across the Oresund strait – Kronborg is very much a castle for princes and princesses. Particularly princes. A squat brick bastion, founded in the 1420s but converted into a Renaissance masterpiece by the Danish king Frederick II between 1574 and 1585, it was – and is – the setting for William Shakespeare’s tour de force Hamlet. Every summer, actors stride around its cavernous interior playing the troubled lead and his doomed love interest Ophelia as part of the Hamletscenen festival. Never does the Bard have a greater auditorium.
克倫堡宮坐落在丹麥赫耳辛格市的最東邊，事實上，克倫堡宮離瑞典也就一箭之遙，中間隔着厄勒海峽。這是一座屬於王子和公主的城堡，尤其是王子。這座敦實的城堡用磚石砌成，於15世紀20年代興建，後來在1574年至1585年間被丹麥國王腓特烈二世改造成文藝復興風格的傑出宮殿。克倫堡宮在過去和現在都是莎士比亞代表作《哈姆雷特》的巡演之地。每年夏天，都會有演員在城堡內扮演苦惱的男主人公哈姆雷特和他的苦命戀人奧菲利亞，作爲哈姆雷特文化節的一部分。莎士比亞再也找不到比這更好的戲劇大廳了。8. The Alcazar of Segovia (Spain)
薩戈維亞皇宮城堡（西班牙）Spain revels in epic fortresses on seemingly unassailable hilltops – the incomparable Alhambra in Granada is an obvious example. But look further north, to the town of Segovia in Castile and Léon – where your eyes are greeted by the spectacle that is the Alcazar. Ancient in origin – there was a fortress on this swarthy hillock in the Roman era, - its sophisticated outline took form in the 16th century under King Philip II, when its broad gardens were designed by the architect Francisco de Morar. The castle supposedly resembles a ship’s bow – a description that, if anything, does its grandeur a disservice. It is also meant to be the inspiration for the “Cinderella Castle” at Disney World in Orlando.
西班牙在很多地勢險要的山頭上都修建了史詩般牢不可破的堡壘，格拉納達蓋世無雙的阿爾罕布拉宮就是一個明顯的例子。但是，再往北邊去，到達卡斯提爾萊昂大自治區的塞哥維亞，你將能看到薩戈維亞皇宮城堡。這座城堡的起源非常古老，早在羅馬時代，這個黑黝黝的山頭上就已經建起一座堡壘，升級版城堡是在16世紀腓力二世統治期間建造的，當時城堡內的巨大花園是由建築師弗朗西斯科?莫勒設計的。據說建築師的本意是讓城堡看起來像一艘船的船頭，這種描述恐怕會讓城堡的宏偉感覺大打折扣。美國奧蘭多迪士尼世界中的“灰姑娘城堡”原本打算以它爲原型。9. Stirling Castle (UK)
斯特林城堡（英國）Princesses in castles do not have to be happy. Stirling Castle – arguably Scotland’s most photogenic, even if Edinburgh Castle is more famous – was one of the backdrops to the life of a tragic figure. It was here that Mary Queen of Scots – destined to be beheaded at the order of her own cousin Elizabeth I – spent her childhood in the 1540s. Resplendent on a volcanic crag, it still surveys the valley of the River Forth with as keen an eye as it did during the Middle Ages, when it was besieged eight times. Its tormented former resident is said to haunt it – forever weighed down by her troubles.
城堡中的公主不一定是快樂的，有一位悲劇人物就曾經居住在斯特林城堡中——斯特林城堡大概是蘇格蘭最適宜拍照的城堡，雖然愛丁堡城堡更爲出名。就是在這裏，蘇格蘭瑪麗女王在16世紀40年代度過了她的童年，這位女王后來被她的表姐伊麗莎白一世下令砍頭。這座壯麗的城堡坐落在一個火山峭壁上，用敏銳的目光俯瞰着福斯河谷，一如在中世紀時那樣。斯特林城堡在中世紀時曾被圍攻八次。這座城堡飽受折磨的舊主人據說還陰魂不散，因苦大仇深而永遠得不到解脫。
10. Warwick Castle (UK)
華威城堡（英國）Now owned by Merlin Entertainments and run (very successfully) as a family-friendly tourist attraction, it can easily be forgotten that Warwick Castle was once a formidable fortress – founded by William the Conqueror in 1068, as a new regime set a seal on its blood-won authority. It grew to be one of the great houses of England, the seat of the Earls of Warwick – but for all its hard-edged might, it was always a handsome devil, admiring its reflection in the River Avon. It is still very much a charming man, even when hundreds of children are running around it. Indeed, that is half the fun. Modern families can create their own fairytales by visiting the Princess Tower, which comes with as much sparkle and stardust as said name suggests. Castle admission costs from ￡13 per person.
華威城堡現在歸默林娛樂集團所有，是一個經營得很成功的親子旅遊勝地。人們很容易會忘記，華威城堡曾經是一座令人敬畏的堡壘，是征服者威廉在1068年興建的，爲鮮血換來的新政權保駕護航。後來華威城堡成爲了沃裏克伯爵的居所，是英國最宏偉的府邸之一。拋卻他犀利的棱角不看，華威城堡一直是個對着自己在雅芳河裏的倒影自戀的英俊傢伙。現在他也依然魅力不減，儘管有成百上千的小孩圍着他跑。事實上，華威城堡中的樂趣遠不止如此。現代的家庭們還可以參觀公主塔，這座塔就像它的名字一樣夢幻，人們可以在其中編織自己的童話。華威城堡門票每人13英鎊（114元人民幣）。
