House in the form of a castle. Country houses in castle style. Basic elements of modern castle style in architecture

Many people, who in childhood loved to read fairy tales about beautiful princesses and brave knights, dream of their own huge castle. Nowadays, turning a dream into reality is not at all difficult, especially if you approach the matter wisely and patiently. But before you build your castle-style house project, you should understand a little about the main directions of this style.

What are the distinctive features of castle-style houses? First of all, its architecture contains many fairly large forms, especially massive walls, which are almost devoid of any decoration. Strength and stability are the main features of this style. In interior design, mosaics and wall paintings are often found, although this issue is a matter of taste of the owner.
This video shows an example of a 3D project of a house in a castle style

The castle style is divided into several main directions: classical, Gothic, Renaissance, Romanesque, Baroque.

If you dream of your own castle, then you need to choose the desired direction, and then turn to specialists to create a suitable project.

House project in the style of a medieval castle

A chic castle, which is made in a medieval style, can become a real decoration of any site. A massive roof, an abundance of various architectural details, and decorative finishing of the facades, which are thought out in the most careful way, allow you to create a simply stunning look for your home.

The layout of the cottage is quite rational and is made in full compliance with all requirements and standards. There are two zones on the ground floor. In one of them there is a garage, an entrance area and a boiler room, and in the second there is a room for daytime use.

On the second floor there is an office with a bay window, three bedrooms and a spacious bathroom.

The attic is used as a playroom.

The castle style arose during the Romanesque era in the 11th - 13th centuries. This period was the most expressive in architecture - castles, monasteries, and temples were erected on hills. The events of those times, namely wars, unexpected attacks by ill-wishers, dictated their construction conditions. Therefore, the constructed structures had to, first of all, perform a protective function.

Despite minor differences in the styles of castle architecture in different regions, the basic structures were the same.

Castles were impregnable fortresses surrounded by a high stone wall. They necessarily included towers so that the enemy could be seen from afar. It was possible to move from floor to floor in the tower along a narrow spiral staircase. The width of the passage was designed for only one person. This decision was due to security measures. The knight walked first, who was ready to take the enemy’s blow upon himself, guarding an important person behind his back.

The road to the castle was laid so that visitors approached the building from the right side, which was not covered by a shield. The green spaces around were not high, so that opponents could not hide in them.

Another distinctive feature of castles is a deep moat along the perimeter of the building. It was possible to get into the fortress using a drawbridge.

Castle style in Russia

Castles did not become popular in Russia. Instead of them, kremlins, fortresses, and later palaces were built.

But still, typical examples of castles exist - Mikhailovsky Castle in the city of St. Petersburg. It was erected by Paul I, choosing one project from 13 proposed options. Construction lasted 12 years. The castle was surrounded by 2 rivers - Fontanka, Moika, as well as canals. The finished castle stood out impressively against the backdrop of houses in the Baroque and classical styles.

No less famous is Vyborg Castle, built in the 13th century in the Gulf of Finland. It was built by the Swedes during the Crusade. This is one of the few buildings in Russia that has been almost completely preserved to this day.

Is the style alive today?

Over time, the style gave way to baroque and classics. However, projects of houses in the medieval castle style are still successfully developed and implemented by designers and architects. The style is alive and has its own distinctive features.

Most often it is ordered by people who want to fulfill their childhood dream - to live in a spacious, large castle. This solution will also appeal to those who like large houses with a predominance of stone and without an abundance of decor.

If you are interested in the history of the Middle Ages, then such a project will also be the best solution for you, since the environment will help satisfy cultural needs and develop hobbies.

Types of castle style

The castle style is divided into several types:

Romanesque.

Massive walls without decoration, small windows. The architecture is dominated by large forms. Heavy vaults with large columns.

Gothic.

The building “stretches” upward. Arches, narrow turrets, narrow windows, bas-reliefs, and pinnacle towers predominate. The constant elements of Gothic are gargoyles and other mythical creatures.

Renaissance.

Provides symmetrical shapes and proportions. Buildings include columns and domes. The walls are decorated with stucco and bas-reliefs.

Basic elements of modern castle style in architecture

Castle style houses have the following distinctive features:

Monumentality.
Massive walls.
A little decor.
Large windows with stained glass, stucco, and forging can be supplemented with canopies.
Semicircular arches.
High pitched roofs, spiers.

The key element of the castle style of a country house is a tower - one or several. Near it are placed the remaining elements of the home in the form of simple geometric shapes.

Castle-style mansions are built from stone or brick. Brick is often faced with panels of natural or decorative stone. The facades are made in muted, natural colors - brick, sand, gray, beige.

If in the Middle Ages there was practically no decor on the facades of buildings, then modern designs of houses in the castle style include stucco molding, bas-reliefs and figures of mythical creatures in the Gothic style.

Trends in the architecture of country houses

Recently, trends in the architecture of country houses show that people are bored with the typical manor style, as well as modern trends (minimalism, hi-tech). Customers increasingly prefer more natural materials, simple geometric shapes and moderate decoration.

For lovers of the exotic, our company has developed original castle designs, the plans and designs of which differ from other large buildings built, for example, in the style of a palace. Castles were common in the 10th-16th centuries, when Europe was rocked by internecine wars. Therefore, the dwelling was at the same time a defensive structure, adapted for protection from enemies and a long siege.

Architectural features of the “castle” style

A modern project that implements a “medieval” house in the style of a castle includes towers, massive walls, and observation windows. Of course, now it is not surrounded by a moat with water, as was customary in the Middle Ages, and there are no weapons warehouses inside. Historical stylization is created using typical architectural elements and “antique” finishing materials.

Cottages in the medieval style are solid stone buildings made of brick, aerated concrete blocks with thick walls without protrusions.
An indispensable attribute of the style is round or polygonal towers and turrets with small windows - “loopholes”.
The external decor is represented by cladding made of natural or artificial stone, decorative ceramic bricks of brown and gray color.
The roofs are multi-pitched, with canopies and dormers, covered with dark-colored tiles. Sometimes there are “teeth” present, giving the building a distinctive appearance.
The windows are elongated in a vertical direction, tall, narrow, almost always arched. The “arch” can be stylized - emphasized with a different color or special masonry.

In the 17th century, the castle began to acquire the features of a palace style. The walls began to be lined with light stone, decorated with ornaments, and decorated with bas-reliefs. In general, any house project in the form of a castle involves the construction of a cottage, which with all its appearance shows: my house is my fortress.

Projects of mansions in the castle style


Fortress project No. 39-08	Palace project No. 33-19

The photo from the catalog shows different solutions. Among the castle style projects there are buildings like a medieval fortress, and there are houses and cottages that are more reminiscent of a palace, for example, project No. 33-19. This is a large house with a light plastered facade, balconies and a terrace.

All our projects contain a full package of documentation necessary for construction: floor plans, masonry diagrams, sections of the roof and foundation. A specification of materials is attached to it, and using a special order form you can calculate an estimate.

Country houses, stylized as castles, combine the accumulated experience of generations and modern solutions of architects. These include small turrets, thin spiers, and forged decorative elements. They are distinguished by massive structures, complex layouts and fundamental nature. The appearance is based on a combination of the Romanesque style with others: from Gothic to Art Nouveau.

The architects of ABC Construction developed the concept of a house in this majestic style. You have the opportunity to become the sole owner of the house in this unique project.

Castles in the Middle Ages

The history of the castle style dates back to the 10th century. During times of frequent internecine wars, the main purpose of the castle was to be inaccessible to enemies. It was built on a hill, surrounded by a deep ditch. The facades were built without frills, so the enemy did not have the opportunity to catch on to the ledges and climb the wall. The towers provided an overview of the adjacent properties of the castle owner, and surveillance was carried out for possible enemy attacks.

The most protected and inaccessible place in the castle was the donjon - the main tower. It was located inside the walls, representing a fortress within a fortress. The cramped interior was not intended for habitation. It often housed important strategic objects - weapons warehouses and food supplies, a well. From the point of view of protection against shells, round or polygonal towers were most suitable.

The majestic fortress with its size inspired fear and respect and showed the power of the owner.

Gothic style castles

In subsequent centuries, castles lost their defensive significance. The owners began to pay more attention to their appearance, expressing their influence and wealth through them. The most popular were the Gothic and Neo-Romanesque styles, which created a special lyrical mood. Gothic castles are distinguished by high walls, their towers and vaults seem to rush upward. Decorative decoration appeared on the facades: pointed arches, openwork pediments, crenellated turrets.

A striking example of a Gothic castle is Pierrefonds, located in France. In the 12th century it was conceived as a military castle. Pierrefonds was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt until Napoleon Bonaparte noticed these lands. The restoration was entrusted to the famous French architect Viollet de Luc, whose working methods caused much controversy at the time. He believed that the building needed to be restored to a complete state, which it might never have had, and rejected generally accepted methods of restoration. Napoleon approved of Viollet de Luc's approach, this corresponded to Bonaparte's desire to breathe new life into the castle and make it more modern. The restoration of the castle took about 40 years. Pierrefonds became rectangular in shape, measuring 89x104 m, the walls were up to 7 m thick. The courtyard got its name - the Court of Honor.

Castles in the style of classicism and renaissance

In classicism and renaissance style castles, solemn grandeur was expressed through simplicity. Characteristic features: harmony and practicality of layout, symmetry and geometric shapes, light color palette. The architects drew inspiration for the decor from ancient culture: porticos, reliefs on the surface of the walls.

Many historians consider Litomysl Castle to be the best example of Renaissance architecture. It was built in the city of the same name in the Czech Republic in the 16th century. The walls of the facade are painted using the most complex sgraffito technique. Layers of plaster were applied, differing in color from the base, and then scraped until the desired pattern was obtained.

Castles in Russia

In Rus', castles did not become widespread; instead, fortresses and kremlins were built, and, at a later time, palaces. However, there are rare examples of castles. Mikhailovsky Castle (Engineering) was erected by Paul I in St. Petersburg. The design took 12 years, and in the end the emperor chose from 13 design options. It was distinguished from palaces by its location and security. The castle was surrounded by water on all sides: the Moika and Fontanka rivers, the Voznesensky and Tserkovny canals. In style, the castle belongs to romantic classicism; its architecture stands out from the background of other buildings made in strict classicism and baroque.

The main entrance is on the south side, richly decorated with red marble columns made in the ancient Greek style. On the upper part of the façade there are sculptural figures and a quotation from the Bible: “To your house shall be the holiness of the Lord throughout the length of days.”

The western part was decorated with white marble medallions with the faces of the apostles. On the decorative wall, erected above the cornice, there were marble sculptures. The overall picture of the apses was complemented by a semicircular projection of the building with a gilded cross.

From the northern part of the castle there is a view of the Summer Garden. The open terrace with a wide staircase and paired marble columns is reminiscent of an Italian villa.

The eastern facade looks modest in comparison with the others; it is decorated with a central risalit - the part of the building protruding from the facade.

Styling a house like a castle in modern country houses

The facade of a modern mansion can evoke thoughts of romantic times of yesteryear or look like a modern mini-fortress in the spirit of the Middle Ages. The choice of the type of future home depends on the preferences of the owner.

An irreplaceable element of a castle is one turret or several. Its thin spiers and battlements are harmoniously combined with the original roofing and the external appearance of the mansion. The shape of the turret can be rectangular, round or multifaceted.

In forged elements on stairs or gates, a bas-relief depicting the heads of animals or an acanthus leaf looks harmonious.

Bay windows bring special comfort and sophistication - projections of the room that expand the interior space and add light. The balcony and terrace serve as an additional place for relaxation and fit harmoniously into the overall appearance of the house.

Little knights and princesses will be interested in playing hide and seek in the attic rooms or looking for “royal treasures.” A castle-style house will satisfy the aesthetic needs of even the most sophisticated customer.

Castle style house from the ABC of Construction

The ABC of Construction company successfully implemented the design and construction of a castle-style house for our customers in Peterhof. The materials used in construction embody the reliability and good quality characteristic of castles. The walls are made of RAUF porous stone.

The foundation and ceilings are a monolithic reinforced concrete slab. The façade is lined with Belgian solid brick. The roof is covered with soft tiles from the American manufacturer GAF. Its dark color gives the house color, in the spirit of past centuries.

“ABC of Construction”, following the canons of castle architecture, projects include a large tower, which is the pride of the current and future owners and the main decoration of the building.

The turret projections on the second floor harmoniously complement the overall appearance of the house.

Dormers are a type of dormer windows, also stylized as turrets. They add dynamism to the appearance of the building and add lighting to the interior space.

The castle style assumes maximum simplicity in decoration. Details should emphasize and complement the solid appearance of the building. In the built house in Peterhof, the architects, together with the customers, chose a combination of calm colors in the cladding, copper elements on the roof and an interesting solution in the choice of materials for the design of the gate.

The fence is made of Belgian ceramic brick. Its decorative frame is made of Polish brick, “polar night” color. The accent on the gate was the bas-relief located in the center.

The main tower is crowned with an elegant copper spire, and stone chimneys are completed with caps made of the same material. The building is framed on all sides by galvanized steel gutters with copper coating. The selected type of drain is aesthetically attractive due to the absence of joints on the external surface and has increased strength.

The order for the production of decorative items for this house was completed in a specialized art workshop with which our company has been cooperating for many years.

According to the architects' plan, the facade is distinguished by rusticated stones on the windows and corners of the house, with clear straight lines. The southern wing is decorated with a bay window with panoramic windows.

Natural stone “Alexandrovsky” was used for cladding the base.

Many thanks to our customer for their trust and painstaking joint work on the design and construction of this unique facility!

Not everyone, even the richest people, is lucky enough to live in a real ancient castle. But many are trying to turn their ordinary home into one. Sometimes it looks very stylish, but more often it looks funny. And today we will tell you about the 10 most unusual modern buildings in the form of a castle.

Sleeping Beauty Castle is the symbol of the Disney studio and the most famous object of the Disneyland amusement park. There is fierce debate as to which structure was the basis for the appearance of this building. Among the prototypes are Neuschweinstein Castle in Bavaria, Notre Dame Cathedral and the almost completely destroyed Castle of St. Hilarion in Cyprus.

Of course, no Sleeping Beauty lives in this castle. This structure, built in 1955, is purely decorative and is the gateway between two different parts of the Disneyland park.

There are families who have a treehouse in their backyard. And a social unit from Great Britain has not a house, but a whole castle, consisting of several towers and bastions connected to each other by rope bridges.

Moreover, this is not just a place for children's fun and entertainment, it is a full-fledged living space where the above-mentioned family lives on a permanent basis. Inside there are several bedrooms, common rooms, toilets, bathrooms, a kitchen and a dining room. But all this does not stand on the ground, but is attached to trees at a height of several meters.

In the village of Akimovka, Zaporozhye region of Ukraine, there is one of the most unusual residential buildings in the entire country. The fact is that this building with a total area of 330 square meters looks like a real medieval castle with blank outer walls and defensive towers.

It was originally planned that this modern castle would be a children's entertainment center, but the idea could not be agreed upon with local authorities. As a result, the entrepreneur who built it decided to convert the building into his own residential building.

A residential building in the form of a castle looks much more harmonious in Italy, where, unlike the steppes of Southern Ukraine, there is a tradition of such buildings. But a family from Milan, wanting to live in a castle, decided not to buy one of the many real ancient defensive fortresses, but to build it anew. Moreover, in such a way that this stylization does not look vulgar and tasteless.

The result is a very stylish cottage, one of the volumes of which is very reminiscent of the square tower of an ancient castle. It contains bedrooms for the owners and their guests. And all this stands on the shores of Lake Como, in one of the most picturesque corners of Italy, located 40 kilometers from Milan.

California's Napa Valley has very European - Italian or Spanish landscapes. Alternating hills and flat spaces, endless vineyards and wineries. What is missing is a knight's castle, a centuries-old stronghold protecting the local population from raids by neighboring feudal lords.

But in 2007, a castle also appeared there - a complex called Castello di Amorosa, which houses a winery, tasting room, hotel and tourist center. This building, with an area of more than 11 thousand square meters, is stylized as a European defensive structure.

At the same time, the interior spaces also have a corresponding style - Castello di Amorosa has art galleries, a wine cellar, a Catholic chapel and even a torture room. This pseudo-castle regularly hosts festivals of medieval European culture and history.

It is difficult to say what is more present in a private residential building with the name located in Piedmont - modernity or history. It would seem that this building clearly has the appearance of a castle. Moreover, its two towers are original, they remained from a medieval Italian fortress.

But the rest of the towers and premises have an absolutely modern look, albeit a little stylized to match historical realities. And the pool, equipped in the courtyard of this castle house, completely takes us from the times of the knights to the twenty-first century - safe and comfortable.

Looking at this Gothic building and the green spaces surrounding it, it is easy to believe that it is located somewhere in Britain or Ireland. In any case, from the outside it looks like a centuries-old defensive structure from that region. But, in fact, this castle is located in the village of Khryashchevka, Samara region of Russia.

The Garibaldi Castle Hotel was built in this area in 2012, and the opening of the VIP hotel inside is planned for 2014. Despite its appearance, this is a new building - the facing stones, darkened by time, were artificially aged.

Surprisingly, Garibaldi Castle does not look like tasteless kitsch - it fits very harmoniously into the surrounding landscape of the Samara region.

And if the Garibaldi Castle Hotel in Khryashchevka looks very decent, it is clear that good architects worked on it, and expensive materials were used in the decoration, then a similar building with the name Excalibur is obvious kitsch.

Otherwise, it’s not surprising. After all, this castle is located in Las Vegas - the world capital of kitsch. Inside Excalibur there is a hotel, casino and shopping and entertainment center. People go there to spend money in exchange for pleasure and excitement, and not in anticipation of seeing something real, historical.

Chinese copy of a French castle

The Chinese managed to copy not only the appearance of this elegant structure, but also its interiors. So visitors to the fake castle can admire the same frescoes and paintings that hang in its original, French version.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world travel to Lapland every year during the winter holidays to visit Santa Claus. And it is natural that even the castle of this mythical character appeared there, made, of course, of snow and ice.

Snow Castle houses a twenty-room hotel, as well as a restaurant and family entertainment center. Inside all the rooms of this unusual structure, the temperature froze at -5 degrees Celsius. So for visitors to sleep comfortably on a snow bed, they have to cover themselves with several layers of blankets and skins of wild animals.

Snow Castle opens its doors to visitors from December to April.