Dublin Castle was commissioned in 1204 by King John of England to protect the city (ironic because city is not in castle), to house the administration for justice and the kings treasure. A Viking fort had been erected in 940 in the same location as Dublin Castle. Remnants of Viking structures can be viewed under the castle (stone fortifications and the moat). Under the castle it is damp, cold and quite creepy. As we walk through the group guide explains when archaeologists excavated underneath (the oldest part of Dublin Castle) they found 125 skulls. The Vikings incarcerated people and starved, tortured and beheaded them. I was fascinated with these old structures but thought was sad. These people contained in small, dark and wet places. Just being under the castle I got a feeling of hopelessness. The walls, floor and ceiling were at least a meter of stone. There is only one way to exit and the door is petite and on a slop of rock.
The Dublin Castle also became a residence for Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and the Old Parliament. Not to mention it functioned as a high security prison. The Dublin Castle has seen many disasters, renovations and regimes. There used to be four towers on the four corners of the castle but they were blown up by gun powder and fire (separate times). Half of Dublin Castle is being used as the Garda (police) headquarters. In fact the old dungeon, Record Tower, houses the Garda Museum. I decided not to got to that because my tour book says that it is something to miss. There are other things that I would rather see like the Archaeology Museum that has 2 million artifacts. I think I am going to spend two days there.
The Upper Court and full view of the Saint Patrick's Hall are not my pictures. The slide show is interactive.
2 comments:
Laine,
I have been loving all of your posts from spooky mannequins to spooky dungeons. Your adventures are so interesting. What is the signficance of the court at the castle? Is that a walkway swirling around? Do you know why it has that design?
-Mr. Whippy.
uber cool, i love your descriptions of the locations too. can't you just imagine living there during the time of King John! what a different world those who lived there ruled.
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