Peel Castle

Peel, United Kingdom

Peel Castle was originally constructed by Vikings. The castle stands on St Patrick's Isle which is connected to the town by a causeway. It is open to visitors during the summer.

The castle was built in the 11th century by the Vikings, under the rule of King Magnus Barefoot. While there were older stone Celtic monastic buildings on the island, the first Viking fortifications were built of wood. The prominent round tower was originally part of the Celtic monastery, but had battlements added at a later date. In the early 14th century, the majority of the walls and towers were built primarily from local red sandstone, which is found abundantly in the area. After the rule of the Vikings, the castle continued to be used by the Church due to the cathedral built there – the see of the diocese of Sodor and Man – but was eventually abandoned in the 18th century.

The castle remained fortified, and new defensive positions were added as late as 1860. The buildings within the castle are now mostly ruined, but the outer walls remain intact. Excavations in 1982-87 revealed an extensive graveyard as well as the remains of Magnus Barefoot's original wooden fort. The most spectacular finds were the 10th century grave of 'The Pagan Lady' which included a fine example of a Viking necklace and a cache of silver coins dating from about 1030. The Castle's most famous 'resident' is the so-called Moddey Dhoo or 'Black Dog' ghost.

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Address

W Quay, Peel, United Kingdom
See all sites in Peel

Details

Founded: 11th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

More Information

www.visitisleofman.com
manxnationalheritage.im
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


St. German's Cathedral Ruins (0,1 km)
Peel Cathedral (0,7 km)


Castle Rushen (17,2 km)
Manx Museum (16,2 km)
Rushen Abbey (14,9 km)
St. Adamnan's Church (19,2 km)
St Michael's Isle (18 km)
Balladoole (16,4 km)
Mull Hill (17,5 km)
Cronk Howe Mooar (15,3 km)

User Reviews

Joshua Loy (2 months ago)
Just beautiful but I wish there was a little more to do there and would have liked some of the history. Nigel was a great tour guide and I recommend looking him up if you make it over that way.
Chris Rodrigues (3 months ago)
Lovely castle out there. Absolutely worth a visit. Also, the views of the castle from the adjacent hill are super.
Iain Ames (3 months ago)
Lovely visit when the sun is out. Beautiful place. Nice stop off. Put your hiking boots on to take full advantage
Nigel Spink (4 months ago)
A pity it wasn't open for half term, especially as the weather was perfectly suited for exploring and open air location. It looks like a fun place for children to explore.
Karen Rigby (4 months ago)
Great walk around the castle. Collect shells from the beach below . Look out for the seals. Great cafe on the quayside for take out drinks Visit the lifeboat station. Well worth it.
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Moszna Castle

The Moszna Castle is one of the best known monuments in the western part of Upper Silesia. The history of this building begins in the 17th century, although much older cellars were found in the gardens during excavations carried out at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the investigators, including H. Barthel, claimed that those cellars could have been remnants of a presumed Templar castle, but their theory has never been proved. After World War II, further excavations discovered a medieval palisade.

The central part of the castle is an old baroque palace which was partially destroyed by fire on the night of April 2, 1896 and was reconstructed in the same year in its original form by Franz Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. The reconstruction works involved an extension of the residence. The eastern Neogothic-styled wing of the building was built by 1900, along with an adjacent orangery. In 1912-1914, the western wing was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. The architectural form of the castle contains a wide variety of styles, thus it can be generally defined as eclectic.

The height of the building, as well as its numerous turrets and spires, give the impression of verticalism. The whole castle has exactly ninety-nine turrets. Inside, it contains 365 rooms. The castle was twice visited by the German Emperor Wilhelm II. His participation in hunting during his stay at the castle was documented in a hand-written chronicle in 1911 as well as in the following year. The castle in Moszna was the residence of a Silesian family Tiele-Winckler who were industrial magnates, from 1866 until the spring of 1945 when they were forced to move to Germany and the castle was occupied by the Red Army. The period of the Soviet control caused significant damage to the castle's internal fittings in comparison to the minor damage caused by WWII.

After World War II the castle did not have a permanent owner and was the home of various institutions until 1972 when it became a convalescent home. Later it became a Public Health Care Centre for Therapies of Neuroses. Nowadays it can be visited by tourists since the health institution has moved to another building in the neighbourhood. The castle also has a chapel which is used as a concert hall. Since 1998 the castle housed a gallery in which works of various artists are presented at regular exhibitions.

Apart from the castle itself, the entire complex includes a park which has no precise boundaries and includes nearby fields, meadows and a forest. Only the main axis of the park can be characterised as geometrical. Starting from the gate, it leads along the oak and then horse-chestnut avenues, towards the castle. Further on, the park passes into an avenue of lime trees with symmetrical canals running along both sides of the path, lined with a few varieties of rhododendrons. The axis of the park terminates at the base of a former monument of Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. On the eastern side of the avenue there is a pond with an islet referred to by the owners as Easter Island. The islet is planted with needle-leaved shrubs and can be reached by a Chinese-styled bridge. The garden, as part of the whole park complex was restored slightly earlier than the castle itself. Preserved documents of 1868 state that the improvement in the garden's aesthetic quality was undertaken by Hubert von Tiele-Winckler.

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