Knife Castle in Ukraine – Lastochkino Gnezdo

If you ever visit Ukraine, there is a castle named Lastochkino Gnezdo. It’s a symbol of the Autonomic Republic Crimea, Ukraine. We can compare this castle with Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Its beauty is amazing and located right on the edge of the rock, makes it look fearless and inaccessible.

Let me tell you its history, there was a general, wounded in the Russian-Turkish war. He came to the cape Aj-Todor and saw a tree. It was growing right from the rock and was an embodiment of the power, courage and firmness. The general developed a passion for this tree and decided to build a wooden house there; it was called “Generalif” later. In 1911 it was bought by a saleswoman Rahmanova and titled Lastochkino Gnezdo. Later she sold it to baron Steingell. The new owner ordered to ruin the wooden house and built a new one – a stone castle. The project was designed by a Russian architect A. Sherwood. The castle was built in 1912 and in 1912 a tradesman Shalaputin opened a restaurant there. In the USSR period Lastochkino Gnezdo was a building of the Russian sanatorium “Pearl” (the library was situated there). In 1927 there was an earthquake and the building was damaged, part of the rock has fallen away, the castle was closed and opened again only after a reconstruction in 1968.

The popularity of the castle is explained because of its natural location and apart of the rock it stands on and the Black Sea around it. Without this accompaniment it will look like a bust and lose its magnificence.

Dracula Castle

Who doesn’t know Dracula? Many people believe that he sucks human’s blood. The Wallachian empire whose name was Vladimir III also known as Dracula. He was held at Hunyad Castle for 7 years long. This castle used to be a defensive structure and remains to be one of the most evident symbols of the middle Ages. The castle is situated in present-day Hunedoara – a city in Romania.

Romania is a nice and pleasant country but to my mind a bit underestimated. It lies at eastern of Europe, It has thousands of numerous attractions and nobody ever mentioned them. The country is beautiful and green and friendly but I would like to pay your attention to incredible Hunyad castle. The castle looks incredible and a bit frightening, darkness everywhere around. Can you imagine how scary it is, wondering there might be the Count near you.

I think it’s a wonderful place Romania has. Though it was believed as a Dracula prison, still it’s an amazing castle.

The Beautiful Iwakuni Castle

Japan has many beautiful things, Mount Fuji, Sakura flower, Kintai Bridge and Iwakuni castle is just one of them. Iwakuni Castle has fantastic surroundings and architecture. It is open to tourists all year round, it is a home of a strange white snake and the city itself offers fantastic fishing experience, especially in summer.

Iwakuni looks like an old Japanese culture; we can see numerous narrow streets, old-fashioned buses, quaint shops and old houses. The city is surrounded by mountains and just one walk through the graceful Kintai Bridge charms most tourists. The Iwakuni Castle lies in Kikko Park. Kikko Park is a home of the natural wonder, the white snakes, which can only found in Iwakuni. It’s situated at the top of a small Mountain that can be reached by foot or cable car.

Kintai (Brocade Sash) Bridge is 210 meter long, and five meter wide and it draws millions of tourists every year to take pictures of such beauty. It was built in 1673, and it took almost a year to build it. Its main attraction is amazing wooden arches. The arches are replaced every 30 years but the technology of changing them is still the same. Kintai Bridge is amazingly illuminated at night. When you visit Japan, don’t forget to try sushi.