Tag Archives: castle

Puzzle: Belvedere Castle


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 68cm x 48.1cm
Producer:  Mega Brands, Click series
Notes: Belvedere Castle is a building in Central Park in New York, New York, that contains exhibit rooms and an observation deck.

Built as a Victorian folly in 1869, the castle caps Vista Rock, the park’s second-highest natural elevation Constructed of Manhattan schist quarried in the park and dressed with gray granite, it tops the natural-looking woodlands of The Ramble, as seen from the formal Bethesda Terrace. As the plantings matured, the castle has disappeared from its original intended viewpoint. Its turret is the highest point in the park.

Belvedere means ‘beautiful view’ or ‘panoramic view’ in Italian and the castle provides impressive views across Central Park and New York City. It was designed as an additional feature of the Central Park “Greensward” plan by the architects Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould after they, along with Frederick Law Olmsted, were reappointed to oversee the park’s construction in 1865.

The site, which overlooks the Lower Reservoir, already held a fire tower under the control of the Croton Aqueduct board. In 1867, the board transferred the site to the Park, and the fire tower was demolished. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Hogwarts Castle, Harry Potter


Size: 550 pieces
Producer: Mattel (I believe)
Notes: I do not have a record of the producer of the puzzle as I do not have the box anymore. A clarification is welcome – if you have any clue as to the details regarding this puzzle, I would much appreciate that information.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of eleven and seventeen.

Rowling has suggested that she may have inadvertently taken the name from the hogwort plant (Croton capitatus), which she had seen at Kew Gardens some time before writing the Harry Potter series.

In the novels, Hogwarts is located somewhere in Scotland. The school has numerous charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for a Muggle  (i.e., a non-magical person) to locate it. Such people cannot see the school; rather, they see only ruins and several warnings of danger. The castle has extensive grounds with sloping lawns, flowerbeds and vegetable patches, a loch (called The Black Lake), a large dense forest (called the Forbidden Forest), several greenhouses and other outbuildings, and a full-size Quidditch pitch. There is also an owlery, which houses all the owls owned by the school and those owned by students. It should be noted that some rooms in the school tend to “move around”, and so do the stairs in the grand staircase. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Shaped castles


Size: 1000 pieces, multiple pieces missing
Producer: Sure-Lox

Thank you to Renee for providing the size and the producer as I do not have the box for this puzzle anymore.

Notes: Shaped puzzle on black background depicting multiple castles in a single collage, surrounded by a white border.

A castle (from Latin castellum) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified, from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility, and from a fortified town, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Citadel by Kirwan


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 50.8cm round
Producer: Grand Toys, No. 6191
Artist: Kirwan – His images are political, surrealistic, and humanistic. There are paintings, book covers, cards, calendars, architectural design, many other illustrations and sculpture. [Kirwan Studios site]
Drawing: Citadel, ©1978 and 1994. 36″ round, oil on canvas over wood.
Box: photo

Puzzle: Oberhofen Castle, Bern Canton, Switzerland


Size: 1000 pieces
Producer: Big Ben
Location site: http://www.oberhofen.ch/
Story: The lakeside castle of Oberhofen dates back to the Middle Ages, but has been constantly changed and updated throughout the ages. The castle today houses a division of the Historic Museum of Bern, and has a spectacular formal lakeside garden in the English style with many rare specimen trees.

The Wichterheer estate, lakeside to the south of the castle, houses the Museum fũr Uhren und Mechanische Musik (Museum of Timekeeping and Mechanical Music) as well as an exhibit of 20th century local art. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Linderhof Castle, Bavaria


Size: 1200 pieces (1 missing)
Producer: F.X. Schmid
Location site: http://www.linderhof.de/
Story: Linderhof Palace (German: Schloss Linderhof) is a palace in Germany, near Oberammergau in southwest Bavaria near Ettal Abbey. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one of which he lived to see completion.

Although Linderhof is much smaller than Versailles, it is evident that the palace of the French Sun-King Louis XIV (who was an idol for Ludwig) was its inspiration.

The park combines formal elements of Baroque style or Italian Renaissance gardens with landscaped sections that are similar to the English garden. [Wiki]