Ah, finally. A fellow enthusiast of castles!
Now, ick thing about building castles in Minecraft is delegating on how much visual detail you want on a wallpiece. Either you use heavy amounts of depth with various contrasting blocks, or you use a mixture of similarly hued blocks to create a flat-yet-not-flat looking wall. For this reason, its a touch easier to build castles that have accentuated details than the awful stone hulks that are most pre-Normandian English castles. I mean, look at this.
This is one of the prettier ones, and its all sorts of slatted gray.
It gets real difficult, too. Some castles look awesome in monotone, but there's no way to recreate the amount of detail found in gothic castles. One of my favorites, Chateau de Chenonceau, would be tough to build in Minecraft simply due to the amount of details.
Some castles, mostly Renaissance, late Medieval, and Eccelestical styles, have a wonderful mix of colors that you can use to your advantage. Some can be sublime (and recreated through stained clay and brick) such as this Chateau de Lacave.
You can get all sorts of funky with color and shape. This is Peles Castle, a neo-Renaissance conglomerate of all sorts of castle styles.
I think the key towards creating attractive monotone castles start from attractive shapes, with the application of details presented as a secondary feature. Lichtenstein Castle is a beautiful example of castle architecture for this reason. Note that the geography its built upon is a crucial feature to the visual silohette of this beauty.
Another example, albeit far more colorful, is Eltz Castle. Such a striking shape!
A much more drab, though dramatic and large castle. Bouzov Castle.
Of course, details are also great ways to make the wall of a castle stand out. While converted into a modern section slightly, Schwerin Castle is a wonderful example of highly ornate imperial castle architecture.
Here's a harmonious combination of shape and detail, even if its built in one tone of color. This is Schloss Marienburg.
And yet another. This is Frederiksborg Castle, a rather late-era Danish castle.
Lets not forget function, however. Castles built to prevent people from jumping in can be pretty, albeit relying heavily on shape for its aesthetic appeal. This is Hochosterwitz Castle, a 9th century Austrian beauty.
They can get super quirky as well, relying on its nature for charm. This is Castell Coch, a Welsh fortification.
This is the drymoat of Breze, France. The deepest drymoat in Europe, its also a beautiful scene from below as well as from above.
Here's Satvey, a German brick castle.
Ooh! Lets not forget about Swiss Castles! I love that lakeside charm that most of these suckers have.
Or the Italian ones, built in monotones but rustic and formidable.
Here's Karlstejn Castle.
Though arguably one of my favorite castles out there is not a castle at all, but a beautiful monestary known as Mont-Sant Michel. This French cathedral is built over a tide-weathered castle and towers over the countryside. It brings a tear to my eye.
That, or its Hohenzollern Castle.
...Goddamn, I love castles.
Tune in next time for Middle Eastern fortifications!
