Blair Castle
| Blair Castle | ||
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 Blair Castle |
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| Creation time : | 1269 | |
| Conservation status: | renovated / restored | |
| Geographical location | 56 ° 46 '25 " N , 3 ° 51' 28" W | |
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Blair Castle is a castle built by John Comyn in 1269 in Blair Atholl in the Council Area of Perth and Kinross in Scotland . It is the seat of the Murray family , head of the family is the Duke of Atholl . The Atholl Highlanders , the only legal private army in Europe, which is only a purely ceremonial bodyguard, are stationed at the castle . The castle complex is now open to tourists every day.
history
The first forerunner of today's facility was fortified in the 13th century. The Count of Atholl is one of the first seven Mormaerships in Scotland and was awarded in the 10th century. When the Celtic line of the Counts of Atholl died out in the 13th century , it passed to the Strathbogie dynasty. This line also included David , the so-called "Crusader Count". In 1269 he complained to Alexander I that in his absence John Comyn (also anglicized: Cumming) of Badenoch in Blair had started building a castle. But he managed to regain the castle for the Strathbogie dynasty.
The earliest dignity of Atholl changed several times in the following centuries until it was bestowed on the half-brother James II , John Stewart , as the progenitor of today's House of Atholl in 1457 . After the death of the fifth Earl of the Stewart line, the title of Earl of Atholl passed to the son of the heiress, John Murray, Master of Tullibardine. During the Civil War , John Murray sided with Charles I. Blair Castle was captured by Cromwell in 1652 . In the second Jacobite revolt , Blair Castle was besieged and attacked by Jacobite lord George Murray, brother of the second Duke of Atholl. This siege, undertaken by a family member of the Murrays himself, is believed to be the final siege of a British castle.
George Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl, donated Blair Castle to a foundation before his death in 1996, as the prospective title heir, his distant cousin John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl , showed no intention of taking over the title from his native South Africa moving to Scotland.
architecture
In its eventful history, Blair Castle was captured, partly destroyed and rebuilt four times. The building history shows how the castle was gradually converted into a castle, only to be clad with a castle-like facade afterwards. In its current state, Blair Castle presents itself in white raw plaster with towers and stepped gables . The interior features stucco work in the Rococo style , which was carried out by Thomas Clayton. The marble fireplaces are by Thomas Carter. In the 1860s, the seventh Duke of Atholl commissioned the architect David Bryce to redesign parts of the castle and the facade in the baronial style. The wood-paneled entrance hall, decorated with weapons, testifies to this renovation.
Web links
- Official site (English).
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Hugh Montgomery-Massingsberd: Castles and noble seats in Scotland. Könemann, Cologne 1997, p. 14.
- ^ Hugh Montgomery-Massingsberd: Castles and noble seats in Scotland. Könemann, Cologne 1997, p. 19.
- ^ Hugh Montgomery-Massingsberd: Castles and noble seats in Scotland. Könemann, Cologne 1997, p. 20.