Castle of King John in Limerick
King John's Castle in Ireland is a so called Royal Island, directly in the heart of the old part of the third largest Irish city in Limerick. This historic palace lies on the beautiful River Shannon, to which a fine view of the old bridge is built over it.
The original castle on the site of today's King John's Castle was built between 1200 and 1210. In the following centuries the castle has seen the construction of a number of modifications and repairs, but to this day, King John's Castle remains a most impressive Anglo Norman fortress in the territory of Ireland. The palace has managed to retain many original features of the original building, which today makes it unique in its nature.
In the entrance of the Castle King John you can immediately take note of the watchtowers at the corners of the fortress and the peaks, which are subject to complete archaeological studies today. In fact, King John's Castle is now buried in ruins, having left only the walls, towers and fortifications. During development of the tourist center at the Castle, remains of a Viking settlement were discovered.
The visitor center provides visitors to the King John's Castle the opportunity to see the intriguing historical exhibition that recreates the history of the castle in a rather dramatic way. Archaeological excavations provide the earliest evidence of a permanent life in the town of Limerick, and the evidence of the former siege units.
Some of the exposures of King John's Castle shows the garden, traditions in the 16th century, the very attractive premises where the officers lived in the 13th century, which were excavated and opened in 1993 – 1995. Today, the castle provides interesting specimens of coins. King John, as king of all Ireland made his own coins, as particularly in the castle there was built a so called Monetary yard.
One of siege mines, which today is quite an interesting tourist attraction, gives visitors the opportunity to experience a dose of formidable atmosphere of those times, however it needs reconstruction.
