Castillo Eilean Donan: castillos increíbles (Escocia, Gran Bretaña)

Today we have come to the castle of Illendonam, in the Highlands, Scotland, to try to go through the historical secrets that are hidden behind its walls, but above all to enjoy of this wonderful environment that surrounds it. The castle of Illendonam, or perhaps better pronounced Illendonam, of Gaelic origin, rises challenging on the island that Lake Dwyche does not dare to flood with its waters. It owes its name to a Christian saint called Donan, who in his evangelizing mission of the island, it seems that he built in the place a primitive church, although surely it was inhabited before. The photographic and poetic print that the fortress offers has attracted the attention of several film directors for its beauty. But in the past, its main value was the strategic location, which made it a place impregnable for Viking besiegers or English kings who wanted to invade it. When the bridge was raised, the island of Donan was unnoticed, and the enemy only it was worth the patience of the siege for several months, if he wanted to take the construction. Little is left of the great castle that rose at the beginning of the thirteenth century, under the mandate of the Scottish king Alexander II, and that shortly after became a bastion of the powerful Macrae clan and its allies the Mackenzie, played an important role in the wars of independence of Scotland. Here they say that the father of the homeland, Robert de Bruges, took refuge to prepare his arrival to the throne and to the government of the country. The destruction of the castle of Eilean Donan came in the struggles of the Cacovite Wars, when the supporters of the Mackenzie took refuge in the fortress without taking into account that they were no longer in the Middle Ages, but at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The gunpowder had been invented and the cannons of the English army turned into rubble the walls that were once an impenetrable enclosure. The castle remained for about two hundred years at the mercy of the rain and the winds, totally abandoned. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a member of the former powerful Macrae clan, John Macrae Glynstrap, carried out a restoration of the castle and a few decades later it was opened to the public and turned into one of the most visited tourist monuments in Scotland. The castle, inside, does not have the greatness or monumentality of other Scottish fortresses. Nor does it have the history of the Castle of Edinburgh or Stirling, but nevertheless advantages everyone in their places, in the ability to merge with the green and gold that surrounds it and offer the traveler's goal a photo that will remain forever in memory. Well, from the castle of Eilean Donan we say goodbye for today's program. In future episodes we will return with the castles and with culture in general, you know. If you liked it, leave us a like, subscribe and share.