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The ancient Pieniny castle was built on northern slope of a steep hill. The complex was small, due to lack of space, but placed in a spot which provided natural defence. The length of the defensive walls was 88 meters, and the walls were 1 meter thick, made from the local limestone rock. The gate was located in western part of the castle, below which cellars were built. According to Jan Długosz, during the disastrous Mongol invasion of Poland (1259), Prince Boleslaw V the Chaste fled to the Pieniny Castle (spelled as Castro Pyeniny), together with his mother and wife Kinga of Poland. Historians however doubt Długosz, claiming that construction of the castle was not initiated until the 1280s. The complex guarded southern border of Lesser Poland, and probably was abandoned by the first half of the 14th century, to be destroyed in the 15th century (most likely in 1433, during a Hussite raid.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.
