Fairlie Castle is a restored oblong tower castle located on a natural rounded knoll situated above a precipitous section of the Fairlie Glen near the town of Fairlie in North Ayrshire. It was built by the now extinct family, the Fairlies of that Ilk and survives in a fairly good state of preservation.
Timothy Pont records that Fairlie was a strong tower with orchards and gardens. One source has it that Sir Robert Fairlie of that Ilk built the present castle in 1521, the family having held the lands since the fourteenth century. In around 1656-1660 the last of the Fairlie family sold the castle and barony to the Boyle family in the person of David, first Earl of Glasgow. Little Cumbrae Castle, Law Castle at West Kilbride and Fairlie Castle are all in the vicinity of the Firth of Clyde and have striking similarities.
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Prunn Castle is perched on an almost vertical Jurassic outcrop high above the Altmühl river valley south-west of Regensburg. Its impressive appearance from a distance is matched by the views from the castle of the surrounding Altmühltal countryside.
Lords of Prunn were first mentioned in 1037, and they will have certainly chosen the site because of its favourable position on several transportation routes. The castle itself dates from around 1200, a time when many castles were being built. The Danube region centring around Kelheim became very important in this period under the Bavarian duke Ludwig I. One of the oldest parts of the castle is the 31-metre keep.
In 1288, Duke Ludwig of Bavaria acquired the castle from the lords of Prunn-Laaber. In the first half of the 14th century the duke then invested the Fraunberg vom Haag family with the castle.