Fit for a king

Castles are wonderful structures, the places where so many of our childhood imaginative adventures take place. Castles provide the setting for stories satisfying to both boys and girls: for boys they may involve knights, dragons and battles; for girls, perhaps princes, princesses and fairytales. How wonderful, then, that castles are not simply figments of our imagination. Castles are real and, for most of us, you don’t have to travel too far to see one, or even walk around one.

However, it is the fairytale-style castle that most children particularly admire and, if you want to see real examples of these, then it is mainland Europe you need to visit. Take Sleeping Beauty’s castle, the focal point at Disneyland. Most people don’t know that it was modelled on a real one called Neuschwanstein in Germany. Also known as the ‘Fairytale Castle’, it was built by King Ludwig II. When he died in 1886, building ceased, leaving around 60 per cent of the rooms unfinished. But, this is just one of the beautiful castles that can be found all over Europe and it is these fairytale fortresses that are the focal point of this creative topic.

Activities

1. Build a fairytale castle
2. Castle for sale – literacy
3. Life in the castle – literacy
4. A Royal visit – drama
5. A coat of arms – art and design