Vianden Castle in Luxembourg... WOW!

If it's one thing I love...it's a great castle! This one is definitely in my top 10 list of Fantastic European Castles. This is Vianden Castle in Vianden, Luxembourg. You might have seen Vianden Castle aready, without even realizing it. She's quite famous. She has been featured in several movies, such as Georges and the Dragon, with Patrick Swayze, Shadow of the Vampire, with John Malkovich, and Sherlock Holmes, with Morgan Fairchild and Christopher Lee. Doesn't this tower look like the one that Repunzel lived in? If so, she had some seriously long hair. I'm just saying. Vianden Castle was built between the 11th and 14th centuries. Like most castles of this time frame, each inhabitant made it just a little bit bigger. Until the 15th century, it was home to the counts of Vianden, who were related to both the Royal Family of France, and the German Imperial court. This is the Arms Hall. Another view of the Arms Hall.This is a set of chainmail from Arezzo, Italy. It was made in the 14th century, and is extremely heavy. This is the view from the Lower Chapel, looking up into the upper one.The castle overlooks the town of Vianden in the valley below.The inner courtyard and surrounding rooms were heavily damaged by lightening in 1667, but were later repaired.The Byzantine Gallery was one of my favorite rooms. Just imagine having lunch here on a sunny summer afternoon. It was a little bit chilly today, but just as beautiful.The Upper Chapel was dedicated to St. Anthony, and was the first church of Vianden. Before that, the closest church was the Basilica of Roth, Germany. The chapel is in a ten-sided tower of the castle. The castle bedroom was very pretty. Here is a peek into the Grand Kitchen. It's a little known fact that flat screen tv's were quite common in castles. Obviously only the Royals could afford them, but they came in quite handy for keeping the kitchen staff entertained while preparing those enormous royal feasts.Just up the stairs from the kitchen, is the Dining Hall. This is the large cellar. It is currently used as a dining hall during the Medieval Festival. Sadly, we had to bid good-bye to beautiful Vianden Castle and head toward home. We just had to take one more look back at her before we left the valley. She is breath taking, isn't she? When I win the lottery, I'm building myself a castle. If you are very, very nice, I'll let you come and visit me. I'd better start researching. I need to buy some property on top of a mountain in Texas...