Castle Map — Explore 2,435 Castles, Fortresses & Palaces Worldwide

The interactive map of the world's castles & fortresses

Castlemap is a free interactive map of 2,435 of the world's greatest castles, fortresses and palaces across 129 countries. Pan and zoom the night map above, click any point for a photo and quick facts, or open a landmark's page for its full story and exact location. From medieval strongholds and hilltop citadels to grand royal palaces, it is the most complete castle map online.

Browse by type

Castles 937 Fortresses 389 Palaces & châteaux 692 Ruins 417

Castles by country

Find castles and fortresses in the countries that have the most:

France 183

Italy 179

Germany 176

England 152

Japan 101

Spain 88

Scotland 87

India 80

Poland 77

Czech Republic 74

Sweden 73

Austria 68

Russia 60

Wales 56

Turkey 46

Slovakia 45

Ireland 36

Ukraine 35

Belgium 33

Denmark 33

Browse all 129 countries on the map →

Famous castles to start with

The most-covered castles on Earth, by number of Wikipedia language editions:

Palace of Versailles France

Forbidden City People's Republic of China

Château de Montsoreau France

Kremlin Russia

Alhambra Spain

Buckingham Palace England

Neuschwanstein Castle Germany

Tower of London England

Bastille France

Windsor Castle England

Fatehpur Sikri India

Potala Palace Tibet

The most famous castles in the world, ranked → · Browse all 2,435 castles & fortresses →

How this map is built

Castlemap is built entirely from open data: facts, founding dates and coordinates from Wikidata, photographs from Wikimedia Commons, stories from Wikipedia, and the night basemap from OpenFreeMap and Natural Earth. Rather than plotting every fortification on Earth, the atlas curates the 2,435 most significant castles, fortresses and palaces — each verified to have a real photo, an English Wikipedia article and exact coordinates — balanced across 129 countries so the map stays explorable.

Missing a castle you know? The map refreshes from Wikidata, so the best way to add one is to improve its Wikidata entry: exact coordinates, a Commons photo and an English Wikipedia article make it eligible for the next refresh. Edits to the commons improve every atlas built on them — not just this one.

The full curated dataset is free: download all 2,435 castles as GeoJSON or CSV (CC0). Curious how it breaks down? See the castle statistics — which country has the most castles, who leads per capita, and when the world built them.

Frequently asked questions

What is Castlemap?Castlemap is a free interactive map of 2,435 of the world's great castles, fortresses and palaces across 129 countries. Every landmark is plotted on the map and has its own page with a photo, founding century, story and coordinates.

How many castles are on the map?2,435 landmarks in total — 937 castles, 389 fortresses, 692 palaces and 417 ruins — across 129 countries.

Which country has the most castles?In the Castlemap atlas, France has the most with 183, followed by Italy, Germany, England, Japan. You can browse castles in any of 129 countries.

Is Castlemap free to use?Yes — Castlemap is completely free and needs no account. Open the map and start exploring the world's castles right away.

Where does the castle data come from?Castle facts and coordinates come from Wikidata, photos from Wikimedia Commons, and the basemap from OpenFreeMap and Natural Earth — all open data.

How are the castles ranked by fame?Each castle carries a fame score: the number of Wikipedia language editions — plus a few sister projects — that cover it, taken from its Wikidata sitelink count, a well-established proxy for global renown. The Palace of Versailles ranks #1. You can see all 2,435 castles ranked by fame, with the method and its limits explained in full.

Why isn't a castle I know on the map?Castlemap is curated rather than exhaustive. Europe alone has tens of thousands of castle sites — many towns and hilltops have one — so the atlas maps the 2,435 most significant worldwide: those with a documented story, a real photo and exact coordinates, balanced across countries so the map stays explorable.

Can I add a castle to the map?Yes — through open data. Castlemap refreshes from Wikidata, so to get a castle added, improve its Wikidata entry with exact coordinates, a Wikimedia Commons photo and an English Wikipedia article. Well-documented castles become eligible for the next data refresh, and your edit improves every map built on open data.

Explore all 2,435 castles & fortresses →<br>More atlases: TrainRouter · Sunshine Atlas · Beachmap · Detourmap

Castlemap is an interactive night map of 2,435 great castles, fortresses and palaces across<br>129 countries. Browse all castles or<br>castles by country — every landmark has its own page with photo,<br>founding century and story.