How many castles there are, where they stand, and when they were built — measured across the 7,787 castles, fortresses, palaces and ruins of the Castlemap atlas.
Every number on this page is computed from the atlas's open dataset — the same 7,787 landmarks you can explore on the interactive castle map or download free (CC0). The atlas is curated rather than exhaustive, so these are statistics about the world's significant castles: each entry has a documented story, a real photo and exact coordinates. Cite anything here — a link back is appreciated. Last computed .
How many castles are there in the world?
No one has counted them all. Europe alone holds tens of thousands of castle sites — estimates for Germany alone run to some 25,000 — and most are unnamed ruins, earthworks or private homes. The Castlemap atlas curates the 7,787 most significant castles, fortresses, palaces and ruins worldwide: 3,410 castles, 1,352 palaces & châteaux, 1,507 fortresses and 1,518 ruins, spread across 141 countries. Country by country: how many castles every country has.
Which country has the most castles?
Spain leads with 600, just ahead of France (516) and Germany (492). The atlas counts England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separately — combined, the United Kingdom holds 632, more than any single country.
Among the 76 countries with at least ten atlas entries, Luxembourg has the most significant castles per capita: 67.2 per million residents — roughly one for every 15,000 people. Malta (34.5) and Ireland (32.5) follow. Among countries of more than five million people, Ireland leads with 32.5 per million.
Malta is the most castle-dense country on Earth: 601.3 significant castles per 10,000 km² — about one every 17 km². Among countries larger than a city-state, Switzerland lives up to its reputation as castle country with 48.4 per 10,000 km², ahead of Wales (48.1) and Netherlands (47.8).
Countries with ≥ 10 atlas entries. Population: UN 2024 estimates; area: total country figures. Rates measure significant castles in the atlas, not every fortified site.
When were castles built?
Of the 5,765 dated entries (74.0% of the atlas), the busiest founding century is the 13th — the high-medieval castle boom — and 47.9% were founded between 1000 and 1500. But building never stopped: castle foundings peak in the 13th century, palace foundings in the 18th, and the median dated entry is as late as 1450. Another 758 entries (13.1%) date from 1801 onward — the romantic revival that produced Neuschwanstein.
≤ 8th c.264
9th c.61
10th c.130
11th c.318
12th c.550
13th c.831
14th c.587
15th c.436
16th c.720
17th c.585
18th c.525
19th c.571
20th c.180
21st c.7
The oldest castles in the world
The oldest dated landmark in the atlas is Aniba in Egypt, c. 3000 BC. A caveat borne of honesty: ancient sites usually carry the date of the first fortification on the spot, not the standing structure — Erebuni Fortress in modern Yerevan, founded by inscription in the 8th century BC, is the textbook case. The purpose-built medieval castle emerged only around the 10th century AD.
No one has counted them all — Europe alone has tens of thousands of castle sites, and estimates for Germany alone run to some 25,000. The Castlemap atlas curates the 7,787 most significant castles, fortresses, palaces and ruins worldwide — 3,410 castles, 1,352 palaces, 1,507 fortresses and 1,518 ruins across 141 countries. Every statistic on this page is measured within that curated set.
Which country has the most castles?
In the Castlemap atlas, Spain has the most with 600 entries, followed by France (516) and Germany (492). Counted together, the United Kingdom's constituent countries — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — hold 632, more than any single country.
Which country has the most castles per capita?
Luxembourg, with 67.2 significant castles per million residents — roughly one for every 15,000 people. Malta (34.5) and Ireland (32.5) follow. Among countries of more than five million people, Ireland leads with 32.5 per million.
What is the oldest castle in the world?
It depends on the definition. The oldest dated landmark in the atlas is Aniba in Egypt, c. 3000 BC. Ancient sites usually carry the date of the first fortification on the spot — the purpose-built medieval castle only emerged around the 10th century AD.
When were most castles built?
The single busiest century in the atlas is the 13th — 831 dated entries were founded then, and 47.9% of all dated entries were founded between 1000 and 1500. Palaces skew much later, which is why the median dated entry was founded in 1450 — castle-building peaks in the 13th century, palace-building in the 18th.
Are new castles still being built?
Yes — 758 atlas entries (13.1% of dated ones) were founded in 1801 or later, most of them romantic-revival castles and palaces such as Neuschwanstein Castle, begun in 1869.
Cite these statistics
Everything on this page is free to quote and republish. The underlying dataset is CC0 and free to download; it is also citable via DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21322359. A suggested credit:
Source: Castlemap — Castle statistics (https://thecastlemap.com/statistics/), data CC0.