6 European castles which featured in movies we all love so much!

Europe has plenty of great filming locations and its medieval castles are something special - they can give your film the true authenticity! Here's a list of top six European castles which featured in popular movies.

Meet Castillo de Villalonso - one of the best preserved castles in Spain's Castile and Leon. The 15th century castle featured in 'Robin and Marian' with Hollywood stars Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn and Richard Harris.

The British-American romantic adventure movie was shot in 1976 by Columbia Pictures. I had a privilege to talk to the owners of the castle which was completely restored in the 2000s. It is now open for tourists, offers guided tours and you can have your wedding there too – learn how!

The 14^th century Chateau de Val in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France was the film setting for the iconic French-Italian adventure movie Le Capitan with Jean Marais. In the movie the castle bears the name of Clairefont.

The majestic chateau was under threat when an artificial lake was created and the water level almost reached the foundations. The lake also killed the park surrounding the castle which once dominated the valley.

This 13th century castle in Rhineland-Palatinate was never destroyed or captured – this is why it is so authentic. It has preserved many precious items including the original interiors stretching from the gothic times.

No wonder it was selected to represent in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Brunwald Castle, a military secret base located on the Austria-Germany border where Nazis kept Henry Jones Sr. The adventure-action movie starring Sean Connery and Harrison Ford was shot by Lucasfilm in 1989.

Many scenes of the legendary 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu were filmed in Orava. Situated on a high rock above Orava river it is considered one of Slovakia's most beautiful castles. It was built in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 13th century. The castle represented Count Orlok's Transylvanian castle.

The movie was directed by F. W. Murnau starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife of his estate agent. Actually this Slovak castle is very popular among film directors. The 2020 TV adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Dragonheart: A New Beginning, Van Helsing's season 5 were all shot in Orava castle

One of the oldest Romanesque Spanish castles – Castillo de Loarre - was built in the 11th-12th century on the land reconquered from the Muslims. The castle abbey became an important stronghold on the border between Christians and Muslims.

The rocky landscape was a bit of a challenge for the architects but it gave a great military advantage. The castle's structures are scattered across the area at different elevations and surrounded by a wall to unite them all. This is what Orlando Bloom had the pleasure to enjoy during the shooting of Ridley Scott's epic Kingdom Of Heaven.

One Spain's iconic castles, the 8^thcentury Castillo de Almodovar featured in a number of movies but Games of Thrones was probably the one, which made it really famous across the world. Restored in the 1900s the castle was chosen to be Highgarden, the family nest of the Tyrell House.

Interestingly, the owner Fernando Solis y Tello was selected to play a soldier but he turned down the offer. The crew filmed around El Paso de Ronda, Patio de Albero, the dungeon and the exteriors. I talked to Fernando's wife Eva Morejon about the filming process and what it is like to run a castle which has all of a sudden became that famous!

Castles owners from across Europe and beyond share their secrets with me! Click the button below to learn them!