4. Chateau de Chinon (France) 希侬城堡（法国）
The Loire Valley is, of course, a glittering cornucopia of fine castles and tall-towered flights of fancy – a legacy of the 15th and 16th centuries, when French royal power was concentrated here, and the Gallic nobility dutifully constructed their mansions close to the throne. Admittedly, Chinon pre-dates this period – there has been a chateau on its crag since the 10th century. And the river it looks down on is the Vienne, a tributary of the Loire, rather than the Loire itself. But it holds a crucial place in French history. It was here in 1429 that Joan Of Arc met Charles VII – an encounter which gave the monarch new impetus in his ultimately successful bid to liberate his kingdom from English rule.
卢瓦尔河谷是闪闪发光的宝藏之地，那里到处是美丽的城堡和高耸入云的塔楼——这些都是15世纪和16世纪聚居在那里的法国王室家族留下来的遗产。当时法国贵族都将自己的府邸建在国王宫殿附近。无可否认，希侬城堡建造的日期更早，早在10世纪就有了这座悬崖上的城堡。城堡俯瞰着维埃纳河，而非卢瓦尔河，维埃纳河是卢瓦尔河的支流。不过，希侬城堡在法国历史上占据着举足轻重的地位。这座城堡见证了1429年圣女贞德和查理七世的会面，这次会面让查理七世萌发了新动力，让他最终得以成功让法国脱离英国的统治。
5. Chateau de Saumur (France) 索米尔城堡（法国）
An image of symmetrical fairytale perfection, its towers leaping into the sky, its grand entrance accessed via drawbridge, the castle at Saumur ticks all the boxes required to be a spectacular Loire chateau – not least because it gazes out across the river in question (and its confluence with the Thouet). Tenth century in origin, though freshened and finessed in subsequent centuries, it has played host to a few beasts during its millennium of existence – it was converted into a state prison once Napoleon Bonaparte had seized the French reins. Happily,
it is now restored to full splendour, staring imperiously at its surroundings.
童话般完美的对称外观，直冲云霄的高塔，雄伟的吊桥入口，索米尔的这座城堡具备了成为一座壮丽卢瓦尔河谷城堡的全部条件——不只是因为它就在卢瓦尔河边（而且位于卢瓦尔河和图埃河之间的交汇处）。这座始建于10世纪的古堡尽管在后来的岁月中历经翻新和打理，在长达千年的历史中也曾招待过几个禽兽之人——在拿破仑?波拿巴执掌法国大权后曾将索米尔城堡改造为国家监狱。幸运的是，现在这座古堡已经回复到全盛状态，傲视着周围的一切。
6. Chateau de Chenonceau (France) 舍农索城堡（法国）
Some castles project their majesty via towers so lofty and tapering that they practically come with a resident Rapunzel. Not so Chenonceau, another fabulous fragment of the Loire region. Crafted between 1514 and 1522 (though there was a palace on the site as early as the 11th century), it is low-slung and lovely, delivering its visual coup de grace in its elaborate gardens – and in the way it straddles the River Cher via four elegant arches. Chenonceau is as beautiful as a castle can be – and it is wholly aware of its magnificence.
有些城堡的壮丽之处在于又高又尖的塔楼，非常适合长发公主居住。但是舍农索城堡却不是这样。它是卢瓦尔地区的又一段华丽篇章。建于1514年至1522年间（早在11世纪这座城堡的原址上就有一座宫殿）的舍农索城堡矮矮的很可爱，她给人带来的视觉震撼来自于那些精致秀丽的花园，还有横跨谢尔河的四个拱洞。舍农索城堡是你能想象到的最美丽的城堡，而且它深知自己的魅力所在。
7. Kronborg Castle (Denmark) 克伦堡宫（丹麦）
Pitched on the very eastern edge of Denmark in the town of Helsingor – so close to the edge, in fact, that Sweden is barely a stone’s-throw distant across the Oresund strait – Kronborg is very much a castle for princes and princesses. Particularly princes. A squat brick bastion, founded in the 1420s but converted into a Renaissance masterpiece by the Danish king Frederick II between 1574 and 1585, it was – and is – the setting for William Shakespeare’s tour de force Hamlet. Every summer, actors stride around its cavernous interior playing the troubled lead and his doomed love interest Ophelia as part of
趣味学英语(25)：一生中必去的10个梦幻城堡 - 图文
