Caerphilly Castle

Kayrfilly Castle – the second largest medieval castle in the UK – was built by Earl Gilbert de Clair, nicknamed the Reds on the lands of Cardiff County. The castle was built as a defense against the threat from Wales, which in the second half of the thirteenth century united under the rule of Llywelyn ap Graffad. The castle was built in a record time for that time - in three years from 1268 to 1271. But while the castle was being built, King Edward I of England defeated Llywelyn’s troops and Kyrfilly lost his strategic importance.

The castle embodied most of the advanced developments of fortification architecture of its time. Kairfilli was built on an artificial island, the Gledir river, blocked by two dams north and south, spilled, forming a rather large lake. The dam was fortified, in it were arranged gates leading to the city of Kairfilly. The rectangular double walls of the castle form an outer and inner courtyard with gate towers to the west and east, and round towers at the corners of the courtyard.

After the Civil War, Cromwell ordered the castle to be destroyed. However, the building was so strong that only part of the wall and several towers were blown up. About those times reminds one of the towers, tilted from the explosion so that it became known as the Falling.