~/europe-castle-map ● LIVE OSM DATA apps ← back to terminal
|>>> |>>> | | _ _|_ _ _ _|_ _ |;|_|;|_|;| |;|_|;|_|;| \\. . . / \\. . . / \\: / \\: / ||: | EUROPE ||: | ||:. | CASTLE MAP ||:. | ||: | ||: | ||:. | 50,000+ ||:. | ||: | CASTLES & ||: | ||:. | FORTIFICATIONS ||:. | ____________||: |_________________||: |____________ |_=_=_=_=_=_||:..|_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=||:..|_=_=_=_=_=_| |_=_=_=_=_=_||: |_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=||: |_=_=_=_=_=_|

Europe Castle Map

50,000+ castles, ruins, fortresses & palaces · OpenStreetMap data · Filter by era, type & country · Color-coded by century

⚔ Select a country to explore its castles
Data loaded on demand from OpenStreetMap · typically 3-10 seconds per country

// ABOUT THIS CASTLE MAP

🏰 50,000+ Castles

Every castle, ruin, fortress, palace, and fortification tagged in OpenStreetMap across Europe. From Roman-era hillforts to 18th-century stately homes. The data is community-maintained and growing.

🌈 Color-Coded by Era

Markers are automatically color-coded by estimated construction period based on available date tags: Roman (purple), Early Medieval (red), High Medieval (orange), Late Medieval (yellow), Renaissance (cyan), and Modern (green).

🔍 Filter & Search

Filter by era, castle type (fortress, palace, manor, tower, ruins), or search by name and country. Click any marker to see details, Wikipedia links, and satellite views. The sidebar shows a scrollable list of nearby castles.

🌎 OpenStreetMap Powered

All data is pulled live from the Overpass API, which queries the OpenStreetMap database. No accounts, no fees, no tracking. The map uses Leaflet.js with marker clustering for smooth browsing even with tens of thousands of points.

🇪🇺 Europe's Castle Density

Germany has the most castles in Europe (~25,000), followed by France, the UK, Italy, and Spain. Wales has the highest density per square mile. The Rhine, Loire, and Danube valleys are legendary castle corridors.

🔒 100% Client-Side

Everything runs in your browser. No data is sent to any server. The Overpass query goes directly to OSM's public API. Your searches and clicks stay on your device. Free, private, and open.

▸ About · FAQ · How it works [+]

FAQ — Europe Castle Map

How many castles are in Europe?

Europe has over 50,000 documented castles, ruins, fortresses, and palaces. Germany alone accounts for roughly 25,000. This map displays every structure tagged as historic=castle, historic=fort, or historic=fortress in OpenStreetMap, the world's largest open geographic database.

Where is the highest concentration of castles?

Germany, France, the UK, and Italy lead in raw numbers. Wales has the highest castle density per square mile of any country. The Rhine Valley, Loire Valley, Scottish Highlands, and Transylvania are particularly rich castle regions.

What data source does this map use?

All data comes from OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API. The query fetches nodes, ways, and relations tagged with historic=castle, historic=fort, or historic=fortress within the European bounding box. Data is community-maintained and regularly updated by thousands of contributors worldwide.

How is the era / construction date determined?

The map reads the start_date, year_of_construction, or building:year tags from OSM. When no date tag exists, the castle is shown in grey as "Unknown era." About 15-20% of castles have date information; the rest rely on future community contributions.

Can I contribute or fix data?

Yes! OpenStreetMap is open for anyone to edit. If a castle is missing, mislocated, or has incorrect tags, you can fix it at openstreetmap.org. Changes appear on this map within hours when you reload.

Is my data private?

100%. Everything runs client-side in your browser. The only external request is to the Overpass API to fetch castle data. No analytics beyond a simple page-view counter. No cookies, no tracking, no ads.