一生中必去的10个梦幻城堡

1. Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany)
新天鹅城堡（德国）

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.
新天鹅城堡是梦幻城堡中的梦幻城堡。这座古罗马式复兴风格建筑坐落在德国南部霍恩施万高村的一个山顶上，是为了迎合巴伐利亚“疯王”路德维希二世的奢华品味于19世纪晚期（准确时间是1869到1886年）兴建的。可惜的是，城堡建好的同一年路德维希二世就去世了。能让他（在来世）感到安慰的是，新天鹅城堡后来成为了奢华梦幻城堡的模板。美国加州迪士尼乐园睡美人城堡的灵感就来源于新天鹅城堡。 

2. Lichtenstein Castle (Germany)
利希滕斯坦城堡（德国）

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.
德国南部特别钟爱这种壮丽的城堡。利希滕斯坦城堡距离新天鹅城堡不是太远（在新天鹅城堡西北方向110英里处，约合177公里，位于邻近的巴登-符腾堡州）。这座哥特复兴风格的宏伟城堡于1840年到1842年间兴建，坐落在斯瓦比亚汝拉山的一座悬崖上，距离山脚下的伊查兹河约250米——似乎在召唤着路过的王子爬上城墙来拯救城堡中的公主。更浪漫的是，该城堡在中世纪的前身——老利希滕斯坦城堡的废墟就在新堡旁边。 

3. Ljubljana Castle (Slovenia)
卢布尔雅那城堡（斯洛文尼亚）

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.
斯洛文尼亚的首都是个充满惊喜的城市——这个风景如画的小城让人好奇当地人是不是把城市的丑陋一面给隐藏起来了。其中最赞的就是这座描画出天际线的中世纪杰出建筑。卢布尔雅那城堡最初兴建于11到12世纪，后于15世纪进行改造，改造后的城堡丧失了一些堡垒的威严，但方便人们登上城堡，在美丽的庭院中品味咖啡。 

4. Chateau de Chinon (France)
希侬城堡（法国）

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.
卢瓦尔河谷是闪闪发光的宝藏之地，那里到处是美丽的城堡和高耸入云的塔楼——这些都是15世纪和16世纪聚居在那里的法国王室家族留下来的遗产。当时法国贵族都将自己的府邸建在国王宫殿附近。无可否认，希侬城堡建造的日期更早，早在10世纪就有了这座悬崖上的城堡。城堡俯瞰着维埃纳河，而非卢瓦尔河，维埃纳河是卢瓦尔河的支流。不过，希侬城堡在法国历史上占据着举足轻重的地位。这座城堡见证了1429年圣女贞德和查理七世的会面，这次会面让查理七世萌发了新动力，让他最终得以成功让法国脱离英国的统治。 

5. Chateau de Saumur (France)
索米尔城堡（法国）

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.
童话般完美的对称外观，直冲云霄的高塔，雄伟的吊桥入口，索米尔的这座城堡具备了成为一座壮丽卢瓦尔河谷城堡的全部条件——不只是因为它就在卢瓦尔河边（而且位于卢瓦尔河和图埃河之间的交汇处）。这座始建于10世纪的古堡尽管在后来的岁月中历经翻新和打理，在长达千年的历史中也曾招待过几个禽兽之人——在拿破仑•波拿巴执掌法国大权后曾将索米尔城堡改造为国家监狱。幸运的是，现在这座古堡已经回复到全盛状态，傲视着周围的一切。 

6. Chateau de Chenonceau (France)
舍农索城堡（法国）

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.
有些城堡的壮丽之处在于又高又尖的塔楼，非常适合长发公主居住。但是舍农索城堡却不是这样。它是卢瓦尔地区的又一段华丽篇章。建于1514年至1522年间（早在11世纪这座城堡的原址上就有一座宫殿）的舍农索城堡矮矮的很可爱，她给人带来的视觉震撼来自于那些精致秀丽的花园，还有横跨谢尔河的四个拱洞。舍农索城堡是你能想象到的最美丽的城堡，而且它深知自己的魅力所在。 

7. Kronborg Castle (Denmark)
克伦堡宫（丹麦）

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.
克伦堡宫坐落在丹麦赫耳辛格市的最东边，事实上，克伦堡宫离瑞典也就一箭之遥，中间隔着厄勒海峡。这是一座属于王子和公主的城堡，尤其是王子。这座敦实的城堡用砖石砌成，于15世纪20年代兴建，后来在1574年至1585年间被丹麦国王腓特烈二世改造成文艺复兴风格的杰出宫殿。克伦堡宫在过去和现在都是莎士比亚代表作《哈姆雷特》的巡演之地。每年夏天，都会有演员在城堡内扮演苦恼的男主人公哈姆雷特和他的苦命恋人奥菲利亚，作为哈姆雷特文化节的一部分。莎士比亚再也找不到比这更好的戏剧大厅了。 

8. The Alcazar of Segovia (Spain)
萨戈维亚皇宫城堡（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.
西班牙在很多地势险要的山头上都修建了史诗般牢不可破的堡垒，格拉纳达盖世无双的阿尔罕布拉宫就是一个明显的例子。但是，再往北边去，到达卡斯提尔莱昂大自治区的塞哥维亚，你将能看到萨戈维亚皇宫城堡。这座城堡的起源非常古老，早在罗马时代，这个黑黝黝的山头上就已经建起一座堡垒，升级版城堡是在16世纪腓力二世统治期间建造的，当时城堡内的巨大花园是由建筑师弗朗西斯科•莫勒设计的。据说建筑师的本意是让城堡看起来像一艘船的船头，这种描述恐怕会让城堡的宏伟感觉大打折扣。美国奥兰多迪士尼世界中的“灰姑娘城堡”原本打算以它为原型。 

9. Stirling Castle (UK)
斯特林城堡（英国）

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乐的，有一位悲剧人物就曾经居住在斯特林城堡中——斯特林城堡大概是苏格兰最适宜拍照的城堡，虽然爱丁堡城堡更为出名。就是在这里，苏格兰玛丽女王在16世纪40年代度过了她的童年，这位女王后来被她的表姐伊丽莎白一世下令砍头。这座壮丽的城堡坐落在一个火山峭壁上，用敏锐的目光俯瞰着福斯河谷，一如在中世纪时那样。斯特林城堡在中世纪时曾被围攻八次。这座城堡饱受折磨的旧主人据说还阴魂不散，因苦大仇深而永远得不到解脱。 

10. Warwick Castle (UK)
华威城堡（英国）

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.
华威城堡现在归默林娱乐集团所有，是一个经营得很成功的亲子旅游胜地。人们很容易会忘记，华威城堡曾经是一座令人敬畏的堡垒，是征服者威廉在1068年兴建的，为鲜血换来的新政权保驾护航。后来华威城堡成为了沃里克伯爵的居所，是英国最宏伟的府邸之一。抛却他犀利的棱角不看，华威城堡一直是个对着自己在雅芳河里的倒影自恋的英俊家伙。现在他也依然魅力不减，尽管有成百上千的小孩围着他跑。事实上，华威城堡中的乐趣远不止如此。现代的家庭们还可以参观公主塔，这座塔就像它的名字一样梦幻，人们可以在其中编织自己的童话。华威城堡门票每人13英镑（114元人民币）。