When were castles built in Europe?
Castles are a type of fortress, and in that sense, they have been built since ancient times. However the “motte & bailey” structure most people envision when they think “castle” was a product of the Norman era – the late 11th to early 13th centuries. Castles of various kinds continued to be built up until the widespread use of gunpowder canons in the 16th century made them obselete. After that “castles” were sometimes built as vanity projects of various royalty (for example: “Mad” King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, which was built in the 19th century).
