Biltmore Castle

The castle is an impressive Biltmore family domain, which is located near Asheville in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Many voted Biltmore as the most beloved family house of the Americans. This definition comes from a rating of the American Institute of Architects, which was made in 2007 in order to sort the list of favorite architectural structures in America.

Biltmore Castle was built in the years between 1889 and 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt II. Biltmore is considered the largest private estate built in the U.S. It is situated on a total area of 16, 300 square meters, and throughout the building are 20 separated impressive rooms. As a tourist attraction Biltmore castle was open for public visits in March 1930 when Cornelia Stephenson (Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt) decided to tackle the difficult economic situation.

Vanderbilt II was a lover of beautiful scenery and mild climate in the region of North Carolina, so decided to build his own mansion here. He called mansion Biltmore "my little mountain getaway”. During construction Biltmore emitted too little attention to family business and its own investments as a result of which he is accused to had scattered much of the family heritage of building their dream estate - Biltmore.

Built along the lines of a French chateau of the Loire valley, Biltmore is the work of architect Richard Morris Hunt, a layout of the park to it is the work of Frederick Law Olmstead, who is an author and designer of Central Park in New York. Today visitors can see from centuries ago the designed indoor swimming pool, bowling alley and historical library.

Some rooms are filled with artwork and fine furniture from the 19th century. When it was open for public visits Biltmore proposed new plans, such as elevators, air heating, centrally controlled clocks, fire alarm and intercom system.