Dunrobin Castle

Dunrobin Castle is an unusually beautiful castle in a mountainous area of Scotland, which is the seat of the Sutherland clan. Throughout its history, the castle has seen a lot of intrigue and battles.

History of the castle

At the beginning of the 13th century, these lands were bought by Lord Hugh Duffus. Around 1230, the county of Sutherland arose, which was inherited. The first notes about the defensive structure in this place date back to 1401. The original castle was square in shape with walls almost 2 meters thick. Dunrobin Castle is believed to have been named after the sixth Earl of Sutherland. In the 15th century, the eighth Earl of Sutherland married his daughter to Adam Gordon, in 1508 the earl died, declaring his son the heir, but during the court proceedings all the property passed to Adam Gordon. In 1518, while he was away at Dunrobin Castle, Alexander Sutherland (the rightful heir to the castle) seized it. The Gordons quickly recaptured the castle, capturing Alexander, they beheaded him, and stuck his head in a spear and placed it on top of the castle tower. John Sutherland tried to return the family estate in 1550, but he was killed in the castle garden. This is how the castle became attached to the Gordon clan. Later, the head of the Gordon clan would change his surname to become the 17th Earl of Sutherland.

In 1745, there was a Jacobite rebellion against England, and the Sutherland clan supported England. Soon Dunrobin Castle was stormed by the Jacobites, but the earl managed to escape through the back door. In 1766, the castle was inherited by Elizabeth, who married the politician George Leveson-Gower. As a result, George received the title of the first Duke of Sutherland. In 1835-1850, a large-scale reconstruction of the castle took place, during which it acquired its current appearance. Charles Barry, who was the architect of the Palace of Westminster, supervised the reconstruction. At the end of the construction, Dunrobin Castle turned into a magnificent palace. The architecture of the castle and the adjacent garden is clearly inspired by French architecture, in particular Versailles.

In 1870, a railway was brought to the castle to maintain the castle. During the First World War, it was used as a military hospital, at the same time there was a fire that destroyed most of the interior. In 1973, the castle was opened to the public, leaving part of the rooms for the Sutherland family. Dunrobin Castle has 189 rooms, the interior of which had to be restored after the fire. Inside there is a museum, the collection of which contains objects brought from abroad by family members: animal heads brought from safari, household items from other continents, archaeological finds. The castle is open from April to October.