Dover Castle
Dover Castle is clearly distinguished from other medieval fortresses in the territory of England. Besides being exceptionally beautiful, yet creepy it is considered the oldest preserved fortress in England and one of the oldest generally in Europe. Moreover, the Palace is one of the largest English castles.
The transcend of the English Channel port of Dover is in Kent, on the shore of the Strait of Pas de Calais, which is the narrowest part of the strait Channel between Britain and France.
Even in those distant centuries Dover won its nickname, Key to England because of its extremely important strategic location. Because of its strategic location, the Dover Castle is now a museum and visitors have availabalit to all its parts, including the famous tunnels.
The fortress had the mightiest walls and massive towers reminiscent of the raw and violent mysterious past of the castle. Today, the well preserved structure of the palace is a background of many television and cinema productions, which include, Hamlet, Lady Jane and others.
The Dover Castle is situated on the famous White Cliffs. On October 14th in 1066 after defeating Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, the path of William the Conqueror to Westminster Abbey passed through Romney, Dover, Canterbury, Surrey and Berkshire. Even then, the attention was drawn to the new king of the area.
The construction of the fortress began under King Henry II. For 10 years from 1178 to 1188 under the guidance of architect Maurice the Engineer the impressive fortifications of the fortress were built. During the reign of Henry III, Dover undergoes profound changes. The outside wall which remains behind the Dover Castle, the Roman church and lighthouse were all erected. In the reign of Henry VI of England the walls were strengthened again to successfully resist the new weapons entering the army.
In the north and south walls of the Dover Castle were built outbuildings, which began the steps leading through to the three pillars. The tower has a passageway that leads to the basement. To strengthen its security, access to it is from three doors fitted with strong bolts.
The stairs leading to the chapel are located on the second floor of the first pillar. Continue along you then get to the suspension bridge which leads to the co-pilot. In the lower chapel you can enter the penthouse. On the ground floor are several rooms and warehouses. In the late 18th century rack rails were added to the tower to upgrade massive stone arches to fit the big guns.
