Would you splurge millions to live in a palace? Castles for sale in the Netherlands, Scotland and France, complete with moats and turrets to make you feel like a true royal
- Schaloen Castle, a Dutch national monument in the province of Limburg, is available through an affiliate of Christie’s, as is Henan Castle, in Brittany, France
- Savills are selling Brechin Castle, home to the Earl of Dalhousie, while Beaux Villages Immobilier have the chateau at Villefranche-sur-Saône in the Rhone region
Life might not be one long fairy tale, but it is still possible to live out your childhood dreams in a castle of your very own.
While fortification was the primary purpose of many of the castles that sprang up across Europe in the Middle Ages, their grand designs also provided a fitting domain for royalty and the gentry.
Later, wealthy families – titled or not – built and occupied castles, retaining traditional features such as turrets, towers and moats as a symbol of their status and success.
Tens of thousands of castles were built across Europe, while elsewhere there are a number that still exist in Japan. One estimate suggests there were at one time 25,000 in Germany alone. Another view has it that Wales – still boasting 600 today – is the true epicentre of castle construction, with more per square mile than anywhere else in the world.
Of course, many have since fallen to ruin, but some have been lived in continuously for centuries. So, if you fancy yourself as a modern-day noble of the manor, there are several habitable castles currently for sale.
The Netherlands
Right out of a storybook, Schaloen Castle, a Dutch national monument in the province of Limburg, boasts a moat, medieval towers and a gated cobblestone entryway. Originally dating back to 1375, the castle once long occupied by Dutch nobility was rebuilt from a ruin in 1650, and restored again in 1894 by architect Dr PJH Cuypers, creator of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum museum. Further adding to its enchantment, the castle sits on the edge of a forest.
The last owner of noble descent, a countess, left the castle in 1934. After being used as a school, the building stood empty for years until its present use as a private house. The 16-room castle, with various outbuildings on a 2.2-hectare site, is for sale for €3.955 million (about US$4 million) through R365, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate.
Scotland
