Fotos

Second nightshot taken at saturday's sound and light show, Vianden castle, Luxembourg. First picture here. I'm not so sure which one to prefer. This second shot has some noisy grain, although only shot at 2oo iso.

Vianden Castle was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries on the foundations of a Roman 'castellum' and a Carolingian refuge. It is one of the largest and most beautiful feudal residences of the romanesque and gothic periods in Europe. Until the beginning of the 15th century it was the seat of the influential counts of Vianden. In 1417, the dominion passed by inheritance to the House of Nassau, which in 1530 collected the principality of Orange as well. From then on, the castle was no longer the official residence of the counts.

The main construction parts of the castle which are preserved today, in particular the chapel and the small and large palaces, originate from the end of the 12th and the first half of the 13th century. In 1820, under the reign of King William I of Holland, the castle was sold piece by piece, and as a result, it fell into a state of ruin. It was a pile of rubble until the family of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg transferred it to State ownership in 1977. Since restored to its former glory, the castle now ranks as a monument of not only regional, but European importance, and attracts lots of tourists, mostly from the Netherlands, one of the reasons being that the former Counts of Vianden are ancestors of the House of Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal family.