BERLIN—An American man has been arrested over the death of one U.S. tourist and an assault on another near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany after he allegedly pushed the two women down a steep slope, authorities said Thursday. The incident near the popular tourist attraction happened on Wednesday afternoon near the Marienbruecke, a bridge over…

It might seem something of a wonderland when viewed from above—the village’s green- and gold-striped landscape weaves a tapestry that stretches toward the horizon, as far as the eye can see. A long, lonely thread of street prods through the village of Sułoszowa, 28 miles northwest of Krakow, Poland. That connects its nearly 6,000 inhabitants…

They wanted a castle. So Jim Bishop was going to build them a castle. It was 1969 when the ornamental ironworker in his late 20s set out building a stone cottage near Pueblo, Colorado, with the help of his father, intending to make a home out of a shack. But what began as a construction project…

This 11th-century German castle, among the eight oldest castles in the world, was once partially destroyed but lovingly restored centuries later. Still standing today with some original features, the statuesque castle looks as though it fell straight from the pages of a fairytale. Reichsburg Cochem, otherwise known as Cochem Castle, stands on a hill some…

A fairytale castle in Germany has survived since the medieval era under the care of one single family. Thanks to a community effort and the family’s dedication, the castle stands unscathed by war and demolition and is now beloved the world over as a piece of history, a stunning photo hotspot, and a testament to…

The story of a stunning castle, lovingly built in 1900 by an American hotelier for his wife, ended in heartbreak when the wife died suddenly at 31. The project was abandoned, and the castle stood empty for seven decades. Boldt Castle is the jewel in the crown of Heart Island, a five-acre private island among the…

Nestled in the mouth of a yawning cave, halfway up a steep, 400-foot cliff in southwest Slovenia, Predjama Castle once stood an impregnable fortress before an invading army of the Hapsburgs. The 800-year-old structure, so local legend goes, was once occupied by a renegade robber knight named Erasmus, who met his unceremonious end while doing…

On the balmy Caribbean island of Montserrat, Amy, a former British civil servant, and Marc, who was a research scientist in France, met for the first time and fell in love in a tropical paradise. In 2014, they tied the knot. But when it came time to decide where to settle, they eventually chose a place…

While from a distance Fonthill Castle does much to evoke its European counterparts—with its imposing, bulky countenance, its heavenward towers and spires, its parapets and chimneys—inside, and at its heart, it’s an altogether different creature. If the castles of yore across the Atlantic were meant to protect and deter, this is every bit the opposite:…

By Bonnie and Bill Neely Henry Chapman Mercer was an unusually accomplished and fascinating man who was born in 1856 and lived until 1930. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar but never practiced law. His passion was travel, and he became an archeologist who went on to dig in many countries. He never married,…