Pittarthie Castle was a laird’s fortified house in Fife. The present house was built for James Monypenny of Pitmilly c. 1580. There are substantial remains of the hilltop house, which is built in an 'L' plan with the jamb, its northwest corner bowed, attached to the southwest of the main block, and a stair tower in the inner angle. The stonework is good quality rubble with ashlar dressings. but much coarser masonry appears at the bottom of the south wall, possibly evidence of an earlier building. It displays wonderfully decorative but now fairly useless defences—a gunloop beside the roll-moulded door, and pistol holes below all the window sills.
The date 1682 is carved, together with William Bruce's arms and initials, on a segmental pediment over the first floor hall's south window. This window, like most of the others, has typically late 17th century rounded arrises. The interior is derelict. In the tunnel-vaulted jamb, there is a kitchen with a huge north fireplace, and a water inlet in the west wall. Perhaps also of late 17th-century origin was the addition of a north stair turret.
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Linderhof is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.
Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867-1868 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz and laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.
Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace and was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.