Germany has more castles than the United States has McDonald’s. This is the Eltz castle, located in Wiershem. It has been owned and occupied by the same family for 33 generations over 800 years

[u/The_Love-Tap]

[u/Otaraka]

About 14k McDonalds for those of you are also wondering.  I thought they had to be exaggerating at first.

[u/Mostface → u/Otaraka]

Holy hell I would have bet money it wasn't true.

[u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_ → u/Mostface]

I'm German and I still don't believe. That has to be a very strange definition of a castle?? 

Edit: Okay turns out it's just dumb click bait, the definition of "castle" in this case includes everything from a fancy residential house that has been used by aristocracy in the past, to a proper castle and even ruins of a castle or a memorial. (Burg, Schloss, Ruine, "Herrenhaus", Denkmal).

Edit 2: According to the European Castle Institute there are 25000 castles in Germany, of the type like in the picture. Guess what... around 20% are still or at least somewhat resembling a building, 40% are ruins and  the remaining 40% are preserved only as "archaeological monuments" in their foundations - or have disappeared. Yes castles that have fully disappeared and nothing except the location is still known also count into the 25000.

In reality there are around 5000 castles in Germany, still impressive but most are not as impressive as in the picture at all, and around 13000 Mc Donald's in the USA.

[u/LennyLennsen → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

They even included you with your fortified username

[u/NoNotChad → u/LennyLennsen]

Does he even have the license to crenellate his username?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licence_to_crenellate

[u/codyexplainsitall → u/NoNotChad]

Oi mate, you got a license for those crenellations?

[u/TrulyOutrageous42 → u/codyexplainsitall]

Damn, you need a license for that? And to think, I've been crenellating unlicensed this whole time!!

[u/LennyLennsen → u/TrulyOutrageous42]

Username checks out

[u/ThePuceGuardian → u/TrulyOutrageous42]

🎶 Gotta keep 'em crenellated! 🎶

[u/SirLoremIpsum → u/NoNotChad]

"The names Bond, Aethelred Bond. Licence to Crenellate"

*admiring coos from the audience

[u/pacerpower → u/LennyLennsen]

God you made me laugh so hard.

[u/Exciting_Bat_2086 → u/pacerpower]

This app sometimes I tell you what XD

[u/iheardthemetalclank → u/Exciting_Bat_2086]

I'm old and it still weirds me out when people call Reddit an app.

[u/Exciting_Bat_2086 → u/iheardthemetalclank]

It’s been awhile since I’ve used it on PC.

[u/XxPepe_Silvia69xX → u/Exciting_Bat_2086]

I use it on pc when I’m home. I like being able to go back to old Reddit lol

[u/Crazy_Battlesheep → u/XxPepe_Silvia69xX]

I browser old.reddit on my phone.

[u/Repulsive_Stock9400 → u/Exciting_Bat_2086]

I only use reddit on my laptop and I used to only use "old" reddit, but they've made some recent changes that make it impossible to browse "old" reddit without being logged in.

So that's forced me to use "new" reddit when I'm not logged in and it's absolutely insane how bad the site is. Like, it just doesn't work; it constantly freezes and glitches out entirely, I'm repeatedly having to refresh just to see anything and it's just crazy. "Old" reddit works great. "New" reddit is a trashfire. How did that happen? Why has it not been fixed by now?

I'm absolutely baffled by reddit investors. I feel like they have to be completely clueless about what a disaster this place actually is.

[u/freetonik → u/Exciting_Bat_2086]

It’s still weird to me because an app is a way to access Reddit. But Reddit itself is not an app.

It’s like calling a movie “cinema”.

[u/PeteTheBeeps → u/freetonik]

Exactly. Also who talks about apps like it’s 2013?

[u/StevieMJH → u/LennyLennsen]

Waiting for someone with a Trebuchet username to show up.

[u/Informal-Term1138 → u/StevieMJH]

You won't see the sapping ones.

[u/Lick_my_balloon-knot → u/LennyLennsen]

┬┴┬┴┤( ͡° ͜ʖ├┬┴┬┴

[u/Academic-Ad-1879 → u/Lick_my_balloon-knot]

Great username

[u/HauntedCemetery → u/LennyLennsen]

u/crenelation

[u/EphemeralDan → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

When I went to Ireland. I saw the ruins of a castle and asked a local what castle it was, he said, "I don't know." It's just an old pile of rocks" That's when I understood that castles in Ireland were like barns in New England. You see some truly spectacular specimens, and then you have a bunch that barely qualify as buildings. And then you have the ones that are just piles of rubble. Fewer of those because it's a lot easier to get rid of a pile of wood than a pile of rocks.

[u/mang87 → u/EphemeralDan]

I'm from Ireland, and I never really considered this before. I read that comment and thought 5k castles was a shit ton, and so I went and looked up how many we have. Apparently it's over 7000, and is around 30k if you include partial ruins and fortified estate buildings. I've never really paid much attention to them because they're just part of the landscape, or an old building at the center of a town. I guess we don't really have many truly impressive ones like there are in other parts of the world, so it was never worth paying attention to. Honestly, we also weren't particularly fond of the people who would have lived in those castles.

[u/Fox--Hollow → u/mang87]

And 40-50k more if you count ringforts. Which doesn't surprise me, there's a couple within a five minute stroll from my house.

[u/AnaphoricReference → u/EphemeralDan]

Not in the Netherlands. Since stone doesn't naturally occur here it is carried off immediately.

Mesolithic dolmens. Roman ruins. Castles. They were usually just business until late 18th century. At best they left a drawing.

Ramparts and artificial mounds weren't safe either. Dirt was always big business. We still import a lot of sand and basalt stone for construction.

[u/Ok-Youth-160 → u/EphemeralDan]

My hometown is at a location that has been important for trade for literally thousands of years. My buddy in university was living in a house older then the US with his room mates.

Next to our apartment they found Roman ruins in a field. They dug it up had a look and now it's a field again.

It's basically impossible to build because it's just layers and layers of history and you call in the archeologists to examine the finds.

[u/forsti5000 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

English doesn't differentiate between Burgen and Schlösser so tze number is inflated

[u/Square-Singer → u/forsti5000]

And even Schlösser are hardly a solid definition. I took the bus that went past Schloss Essling for years before someone mentioned to me that that decrepid old house is a Schloss. I would have never guessed.

Btw, English does have terms that differentiate: Fortress = Burg, palace = Schloss. But castle means both.

[u/Foxtrot-13 → u/Square-Singer]

English very much has terms to differentiate these, it is just Americans don't use them.

Castle is a catch all term for a fortified building containing a keep or keep like structure and at least one defensive wall, that was the seat of both military and civil power in the middle ages.

A fort is a fortified building that was only the centre of military power and is normally used from the Elizabethan age onwards.

Fortified manor houses are buildings that are secure but don't have the thick walls or curtain wall of a true castle.

A manor, stately home or palace is just a very big house.

One of the issues is that Victorians (especially in Scotland) liked to put a turret or crenellations on their houses and call them a castle to make it sound fancier than it was.

[u/Loinnird → u/Square-Singer]

Well, no. Castles are fortified. Palaces are not.

[u/fartingbeagle → u/Square-Singer]

It's also complicated that in my experience, castles are usually damp, draughty and cold to live in. As soon as the Thirty Years War ended, and there was less need for a fortification and when any family got some money; the first thing they'd do is build a nice new palace with all modern conveniences, usually using the bricks of the old castle.

Since the palace was often literally built of the old castle, it often kept the name.

Just my theory.

[u/zatalak → u/Square-Singer]

There's a solid definition:

A 'Schloss' is a building or compound that members of the nobility had built for their usage. That's it.

[u/HardWirez → u/zatalak]

That's not very solid. By your definition, if some noble put up a shed to store his collection of bicycles, it would be called a schloss.

[u/Square-Singer → u/HardWirez]

No, a Schloss is what you use to lock up the bicycles.

[u/thedirtyknapkin → u/zatalak]

well that's basically a "manor" in English and is very much not considered a "castle". to call those castles in English just sounds like bad translations work.

[u/Dipsey_Jipsey → u/forsti5000]

so tze number is inflated

That typo is making me read this like Simpsons character, and I'm German hahaha

[u/forsti5000 → u/Dipsey_Jipsey]

Ve hey ways to make yo talk ;p

[u/RelativeEconomics114 → u/forsti5000]

And they include ruins and fortresses.

[u/NewCandy8877 → u/forsti5000]

Probably includes rathause too

[u/Kittelsen → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Probably counting the rooks on chess tables as well I suppose. 🤷‍♂️

[u/cortesoft → u/Kittelsen]

And every White Castle

[u/CardsMultiverse → u/cortesoft]

Which there is none

[u/cortesoft → u/CardsMultiverse]

Makes the math easier

[u/CardsMultiverse → u/cortesoft]

Maybe they count every Burger King, as every King needs a Castle

[u/fleranon → u/CardsMultiverse]

Most definitely. Burger sounds suspiciously like 'Burgherr', the german word for castle-owner :)

[u/HauntedCemetery → u/fleranon]

Ich bin ein burger

[u/Normal_Mouse_4174 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Yeah, if there were over 14k castles in Germany that would be one roughly every 25 square km.

[u/zufaelligenummern → u/Normal_Mouse_4174]

There are a lot more than that where i come from in germany tbf

[u/Ricordis → u/Normal_Mouse_4174]

Germany also had lots of "Zollfestungen". Those were fortified towers at rivers with a chain spun across the river and if you wanted to pass you had to pay a toll.

Those things are also considered as castle in english and there were maaany of these in Germany as it was splintered down to small kingdoms before which means there were many borders.

[u/xrimane → u/Normal_Mouse_4174]

One every 5x5 km doesn't sound unreasonable in some areas though.

We were part of the patchwork of little states here in the Eifel and the allegiance would change from village to village. We still have "Catholic" villages and "Lutheran" villages and notable differences in dialect to the initiated. Every other town seems to have a Schloss or Burg lol.

[u/_kaidu_ → u/Normal_Mouse_4174]

In Thuringia that sounds reasonable. Every town here has at least one castle. And no, they are not all as beautiful as in the picture, but they are definitely not just old buildings.

[u/anonuemus → u/Normal_Mouse_4174]

sounds about right

[u/earthceltic → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

For those not having castles in their country at all 5000 working castles seems incredible. I bet there are still a few that could be restored too.

[u/Strange-Feeling69420 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

I’m more impressed it’s even on the same level of magnitude as the 14k McDonald’s, and tbh I’m surprised there aren’t more McDonalds in America

[u/Suburban--Dad → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Maybe if all those castle owners had sold better cheeseburgers, they wouldn’t have gone out of business and had to tear down their castles!!!! (Thanks, seriously, for doing the math and the actual explanation).

[u/supermarkise → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

There is a local ongoing conflict here where someone (who knows?) is re-building parts of the very torn-down castle (basically just the lowest 1-3 stones are still there), but it's not allowed due to monument protection, so it gets pulled down by the authorities - but somehow it still grows overnight sometimes, lol.

[u/skoomski → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Yeah it’s like when you go to a capital city and most of the “castles” are just former royal apartments or manor houses from the 1600-1800s that happen to stand on the ground of a former actual castle.

[u/DotAffectionate87 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Thanks for this✓

[u/seanpbnj → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Is that you John Oliver? 

[u/Hot-Account-8691 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

I'm surprised the number of McDonald's is that low

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USA has more McMansions.

[u/tallgrasshead → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Yeah but has Indiana Jones been to all of them?

[u/HerrBratkartoffel → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

I have been to several castles in germany. All of them in ruin and all of them are called castle "you name it". I totally understand that the title and the picture can lead to the false assumption that all of these castles look somewhat like the one depicted here but the title is factually true. You will find that many sources will count ruins of castles and castles that are preserved and inhabited alike. Whatever their condition is, it's still very impressive that there are over 25k castles in a country as small as germany.

[u/MrGloom66 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

I somehow didn't register the present tense in "has" and was about to make a fool of myself. But, yeah, I suppose just known locations of former castles should not be counted in. It might be just my bias since well maintained castles are not that common in my country, but for me ruins would also count.

If you think about it though, these are only the ones we know about, and many were mostly wood and earth (in some regions of europe those were way more common for different reasons), or even entirelly wood and earth.

And to be fair, we nowadays have our views on castles skewed by movies, games and even XIXth century buildings cosplaying as castles, but for a XVIth century scotsman a big, wide, relatively isolated tower belonging to a more well do to family counted as a castle. There were countless fortified manors or churches that straddle the limits or that would qualify and would maybe even be viewed in their time as castles, but that to our eyes would definitely fall short.

I'm not saying that your view on the matter is wrong, but I feel that any number anyone gives is very much up to debate...

[u/TheMcBrizzle → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

" .. have fully disappeared and nothing except the location is still known"

Ozymandias weeps

[u/corship → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

It's like counting every fastfood restaurant that ever existed in the us

[u/DangerousPuhson → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

a fancy residential house that has been used by aristocracy in the past

Yeah, are manors considered castles, and if so would their American equivalent of plantations be counted as "castles"?

[u/Shehriazad → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Compare it to the size of the country and the amount of inhabitants and it is still an insanely impressive number by scale.

[u/Proper-Exercise-2364 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

What's most impressive is that family has been alive for 800 years! Their "youngest" kid was born in the 1200's!

[u/titsmuhgeee → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

At the end of the day, a "castle" is just a residence of the upper class, most of which have at least ruins remaining.

If you assume there is a 1000 year period where castles were a thing, 25,000 total only means 25 were built per year in all of Germany. That does not mean they were all being actively used. Most of those were already abandoned/ruins while new castles were still being built.

Just helps put things in perspective.

[u/Baumguard → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Die deutsche Antwort ✔️

[u/Puzzleheaded-Flow724 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

I think that the last 25000 has one too many zeros.

[u/Justgototheeffinmoon → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Only 13k mcdo's in the US? what are they? Lazy?

[u/Griffindance → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

I work in the castle in Celle. Its not quite as "Sword and Magic Fantasy" as the pictured Schloss, but it is still pretty Disneyesque.

[u/sobrique → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

5000 is still a very respectable number of castles though.

I checked the UK - it's 4000 'sites' (e.g. about the same level of definition as that 25k number) but 'substantial ruins' are in the hundreds, and 'currently habitable' is more like dozens.

And nothing that's a patch on some of the very best German Castles, although I guess that's at least partially an age and 'style' thing rather than military necessity.

[u/ThisSiteSucks8485 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

That makes more sense 

[u/Zorkflerp → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Do any of them have phones?

[u/intangibleTangelo → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

luckily every single McDonald's is impressive

[u/1995TimHortonsEclair → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Yeah I've seen some German "castles" and they just looked like old large houses that were in pretty bad disrepair.

[u/Ichbinkeinrob0ter → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

round about 25k but 40% of them are ruins

[u/anonuemus → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Even the not impressive ones ooze history

[u/thicc_llama → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

As a Norwegian perhaps more autistic than you germans I say thank you, I called bullshit on this immediately

[u/OkSmoke9195 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Are we counting former McDonald's locations though 

[u/wwweeeiii → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Now the important part is to list the relevant castles that a visitor actually wants to go and visit.

[u/goodoledepression → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Of course the German got pissed and did the research lol. Good data, good job

[u/HoldingMoonlight → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

What if you include all the closed/former McDonald's?

[u/Berdariens2nd → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

How many castles in Germany are also Mcdonalds. Now that is the real question. 

[u/Sensitive_Election83 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Yes and many of the 13000 McDonalds in the US are more impressive than the some of the 5000 castles in Germany

[u/ameza001 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

I find McDonald's a lot less impressive.

[u/horseydeucey → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Crenellation coming through with facts!

[u/ThisIsBB56 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Thanks for being German in a good sense and kicking this dumbass clickbait out.

[u/No_Kitchen9982 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Lol "Europe has more history than America" 

This was my reaction too hahaha. "Yeah mate, if you consider a few stones jutting up out of the ground that was a foundation in the year 800, sure I guess" 

[u/mrtn17 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

This is why I love Hanses.

Cheers, Jan

[u/general_bonesteel → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Hans, I appreciate you dedication to being exact. Very German.

[u/drhunny → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

25,000 is approximately 1 castle every 14 km2. If they were distributed evenly, you would never be more than about a 15 minute walk from a castle (~ 2km).

But 14000 Micky-Ds in the USA is one every 700 km2, so if distributed evenly you'd never be more than about 13km from a Quarter Pounder (or Royale with Cheese, if you will.)

[u/Traditional-Way-4097 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

i thought a castly was any building that had at least 3 pointy roofs

[u/goopyloopsuperdupe → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Lot of good cut stone on walls nobody is using

[u/OkReference2581 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

Or the amount of Mc Donalds world wide. Speaking of Germany, Mc Donalds replaced Einstein's childhood home in Ulm Germany. There is a statue of him. Been there in 85 

[u/solkenum → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

That’s 1600 people for each castle. Do with this information what you will.

[u/HaikuHighDude → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

That's still WAY more castles than there are Fazolis.

[u/FancyConfection1599 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

I would have always assumed castles just meant either resembling a building or ruins of the building, 60% of 25k is still bigger than 13k so it makes the McDonald’s fact true which is absolutely insane

[u/standardtissue → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

click bait, on social media ?

[u/Visual_Mistake_29 → u/-_--_--_--_--_-_-_-_]

This analysis is why we needed y’all to help us build a viable rocket to launch into space. Bravo.

[u/Lucreth2 → u/Mostface]

I guess this is one of the times I'm reminded of just how much empty space is in my own country.

[u/Hopeful-Occasion2299 → u/Lucreth2]

Well, except for micronations, that's essentially true of all countries.

Most people concentrate in coastal areas and in modern times in large metropolis either in said coastal areas or the interior, but most of the world is sparsely populated. Most of Australia and New Zealand are empty land for example, while North America, particularly Northern Mexico, the US West, and Canada West and North are essentially barren outside of cities.

[u/Cold_Tree190 → u/Mostface]

It really isn’t. They’re including many small fortifications that no one would consider a “castle”. Things like small battlements that would have been manned by fewer than 10 people… they’re really stretching the definition of “castle” to get there

[u/allnamestaken1968 → u/Cold_Tree190]

My home is my castle so it’s included

[u/TA_Lax8 → u/allnamestaken1968]

actually, a bunch of homes "fortified" with merely a fence were included in the count

[u/Entropic_Echo_Music → u/TA_Lax8]

My house has concepts of a fence, so it counts too.

[u/cjwi → u/allnamestaken1968]

My home is my McDonald's so I'm counting that too

[u/WeAteMummies → u/Mostface]

I refuse to believe it. There are seven different mcdonalds within an hour's walk from me and they're building a new one across the street. They didn't build castles that close to each other, and Germany is a much smaller place than the US.

[u/Any-Interaction-5934 → u/Mostface]

That's only 1 McDs for every 24k people. That's really not that crazy.

[u/Nokam → u/Mostface]

Wait until you check France, double the number of castle (40 000 to 50 000).

[u/DisorderedArray → u/Otaraka]

Just a note that Schloss is the word Germans normally use for castle, and that word covers everything you would call a castle in english, and a also huge number of other buildings that would have different names in english. Palaces and country houses are all schloss, for instance. So there are probably nowhere near as many Disney style castles as there are maccyDs in the US. There are a lot of palaces and big houses in Germany though.

[u/Herrvisscher → u/DisorderedArray]

Germany having words for every possible noun

Also Germany:^

[u/de_Generated → u/Herrvisscher]

I mean there are many different words that can be applied to these buildings, depending on what they are, what their function is etc.

Between synonyms or similar words like Residenz, Anwesen, Sitz, Palast or Kastell, you can always combine nouns to describe it better.

Is the castle used for hunting trips or other recreational activities? Visit your Jagdschloss or Lustschloss. Need a retreat during the hot summer months? Visit your Sommerresidenz.

So yeah there are multiple words, but for normal conversations the difference between Burg and Schloss is enough.

[u/Sh1n1ngM4n → u/de_Generated]

Oh I forgot the word “Lustschloss”, that has just a nice ring to it

[u/SabishiRan → u/Sh1n1ngM4n]

With inflation going on I can only get a Luftschloss unfortunately.

[u/Sh1n1ngM4n → u/SabishiRan]

😂😂

[u/FeelingSurprise → u/Herrvisscher]

Don't start the discussion about Schloss, Burg, Festung,…

[u/Personal_Relation421 → u/Herrvisscher]

Not the best example - German differentiates for example between Burg and Schloss. English doesn’t.

The one above is a Burg, not a Schloss.

[u/Oesterreich-Ungarn → u/Herrvisscher]

Landsitz, Schloss, Anwesen, Burg, Palast etc. pp

[u/KeeperAdahn → u/DisorderedArray]

We have both Burg and Schloss as common terms for castle, Burg would be used for your typical medieval fortress castle and even fortified settlements. So it's always some sort of fortification. Schloss as you said may refer to many kinds of noble homesteads, which might be a Burg, but also includes non-fortified places like Palaces and grand manors. But it's actually more of a modern thing that these two words have settled in such clearly defined different meanings.

There are also many other terms for things like castles and fortifications, like Kastell which is very similar to castle.

[u/RedWeddingPlanner303 → u/DisorderedArray]

A Schloss is a more fancy castle, like Neuschwanstein or Sanssouci. They probably included everything that is more rustic, which is called a Burg, and fortresses, which are Festungen. And if ruins are included then the number is probably in the tens of thousands.

[u/Hunkus1 → u/DisorderedArray]

There are 2 words we use Schloss which is for castles people permanently lived in and Burg which is for millitary fortifications.

[u/DisorderedArray → u/Hunkus1]

Yes, I didn't want to come across angry about it, but in my experience (as someone who moved to Germany) when Germans translate schloss into English, they always use the word castle, and as lovely as all those buildings were, I was always a bit disappointed about the complete absence of defensive structures.

[u/LittleMsWhoops → u/DisorderedArray]

I actually think palace is a more accurate translation for Schloss, as in Buckingham Palace = Schloss Buckingham and on thr other hand Windsor Castle = Burg Windsor.

[u/DisorderedArray → u/LittleMsWhoops]

Yes, I think you're completely right. But for whatever reason, I've never heard anyone in Germany translate schloss to palace, except for my German wife, and only after years of me bitching about the lack of battlements and moats in all the schloss we have visited.

[u/Sh1n1ngM4n → u/DisorderedArray]

That’s probably because Germans speak English well, but often not well enough to differentiate the intricate nuances of medieval architecture- lol.

[u/koomGER → u/DisorderedArray]

German here, but not an expert in english.

I would say "Schloss" is often more like a very big manor. But even in german we have several buildings that would be considered more as a "Burg" (generally: military fortificated building with walls). Biggest and most well known example is "Schloss Neuschwanstein", that overall more resembles the definition of a Burg.

[u/Jazzlike-_-Growth → u/koomGER]

And because it's not fun enough:
There is also a Schloss Burg.

I'd say palace is closest to Schloss.
(Though not quite identical, as Palace would be Palast, but it's closer)

Buckingham Palace, Palace of Versailles, Winter Palace, Palace of Justice, etc.

A Schloss can be smaller than a palace, but palaces also don't have to be enormous.

[u/koomGER → u/Jazzlike-_-Growth]

I'd say palace is closest to Schloss.

Yeah, that fits really good!

And yeah, Schloss Burg makes everything worse. ;-)

[u/Square-Singer → u/Hunkus1]

Schloss = palace, burg = fortress. Castle just means either of them.

[u/Sh1n1ngM4n → u/DisorderedArray]

I mean not really. It all depends on what kind “castle” it is. Yeah we differentiate but I personally would have said “Burg” is far more common to be used.

[u/DisorderedArray → u/Sh1n1ngM4n]

In German, yes, but I think this is a case of mistranslation. There are more buildings German's call schloss than there are macdonalds in the US, but there are fewer buildings an English speaking person would call a castle, even though Germans tend to translate schloss to castle.

Like, Herrenchiemsee is absolutely not a castle, it is a palace, but English translations in Germany always use the word castle. Even Neuschwanstein would technically be a folly, not a real castle.

[u/4_fortytwo_2 → u/DisorderedArray]

Just a note that Schloss is the word Germans normally use for castle

No? We use the word "Burg". Like in germany the one from the title is "Burg Eltz". If it is ~medival and had some kind of fortifactions / military purpose it is a Burg not a Schloss.

[u/AJL912-aber → u/DisorderedArray]

A castle for me would be a Burg. A Schloss is more like a palace (or more broadly a mansion)

[u/elitegenoside → u/DisorderedArray]

Americans have a pretty low bar for what counts as a castle. We technically have a couple, but they were all obviously built fairly recently and may not even count by the actual definition.

If looks like what we see in movies, then I'd say it counts.

[u/top_of_the_table → u/DisorderedArray]

That is not true. Germans dont use the world "Schloss" for small country houses.

Fucking annoying to hear that much bullshit on Reddit.

[u/SoupSad742 → u/DisorderedArray]

This is and isn't true. Per (one) definition castle means defensive (private) place where people are living. A single tower where a family is living in is also a castle. 

There are many words in both languages that are about very special cases, not everything is a Schloss and not everything is a castle.

[u/goodolarchie → u/DisorderedArray]

My dog's old doghaus was called Schloss Rufenstein

[u/chosonhawk → u/Otaraka]

thanks for doing the research. i thought the same...but this is a cool factoid.

[u/venom121212 → u/Otaraka]

and 20-25k castles in Germany, for the other side of the comparison

[u/AC-Daniel → u/venom121212]

I am German and sounds hard to believe honestly 🤔

[u/JayS87 → u/AC-Daniel]

Just leave the Haus, verdammt nochmal /s

[u/2rijo5 → u/JayS87]

And make Fenster auf Kipp

[u/RepulsiveRaisin7 → u/AC-Daniel]

That includes ruins, of which there are a ton.

[u/MammothUnique4147 → u/AC-Daniel]

You could be living in a castle right now and not even know it!

[u/overlydelicioustea → u/AC-Daniel]

no way this is true

Germany has about 10k Municipalities. That would mean each would have 2-3 castles.

hardly.

[u/dthdthdthdthdthdth → u/overlydelicioustea]

In German you'll find the number of 25000 "Schlösser, Burgen und Ruinen". So this includes the defensive castles (and later imitations like Neuschwanstein), but also all kinds of palaces, and ruins. This will include many buildings that are more like manor houses that were build by some minor nobility and ruins where there are only a couple of stones, maybe even only some earthworks left. And by that count you can get to these 2-3 castles per municipality more easily.

[u/DuckieGoneQuackers → u/dthdthdthdthdthdth]

So it's click bait then. Using a vague term that covers multiple style of structures instead of one specific type that the rest the world considers a castle.

[u/dthdthdthdthdthdth → u/DuckieGoneQuackers]

All of these would be considered a castle in some context elsewhere as well. There just isn't a strict definition. Most castles were small and belonged to some minor noble men, the development of defensive castles to palaces was gradually, some were build to look defensive but weren't, some ruins are still very impressive, some barely recognizable. There isn't a hard line anywhere and there isn't in the rest of the world either.

[u/Drumbelgalf → u/overlydelicioustea]

Most castles are not nearly in that condition and may castles we're little more than a fortified Farm.

Often you ony See the foundations or even Just a ditch

[u/KuriboShoeMario → u/overlydelicioustea]

They're undoubtedly just using an insanely broad term and counting everything that remotely applies. A pile of rubble that's been designated the site of a castle centuries ago probably still counts, for example.

[u/usemarne__ → u/KuriboShoeMario]

Yet, we should just accept that a McDonald's counts as a restaurant? How many of those are above the "piles of rubble" and "basically just a ditch" classifications? /jk

[u/venom121212 → u/AC-Daniel]

I appreciate the honesty. We have a McDonalds on most highway exits and in most town centers so they're a very common sight here unfortunately.

[u/fluchtpunkt → u/AC-Daniel]

The trick is to include all the Schlösser you open with a key.

[u/rtxa → u/venom121212]

there are definitely not 20k castles in Germany

20k units of nobility estate, sure, but hardly all of them fortified castles

[u/Sea-Tomorrow2583 → u/venom121212]

He was talking about chess sets

[u/Hyrikul → u/venom121212]

Half of what France have

[u/bagheera369 → u/Otaraka]

350-380,000 churches in the US.....so 26 churches per McDonald's.

If you believe in anything closely resembling a secular reason-based society, those numbers should terrify you.

[u/Butterjoelni → u/bagheera369]

You just blew my mind so hard, it's never gonna be the same

[u/queuedUp → u/Otaraka]

I honestly would have guessed higher than that.

There must me some areas of the US with very few or no McDonalds.

[u/scouserontravels → u/Otaraka]

Genuinely feels really really low for some reason

[u/TACOlogy → u/Otaraka]

At least 14k broken ice cream machines.

[u/Warmbly85 → u/Otaraka]

The US has more post offices than McDonald’s and Starbucks combined. 33,000 vs 13,600+16,900

[u/vkrty → u/Warmbly85]

The US has 10 libraries for every McDonalds

[u/Werewulf_Bar_Mitzvah → u/Otaraka]

I thought this headline was bullshit when I first read it. Not because I don't think Germany has a lot of castles, but because there are a fuck ton of McDonald's in the US. That's crazy.

[u/4_fortytwo_2 → u/Werewulf_Bar_Mitzvah]

It is kinda bullshit. Like germany has a couple of hundred maybe a thousand nice castles people might actually call a castle / castle ruin if they saw it.

The 20k numbers comes from counting essentially every single brick that is still lying around somewhere as a castle. Or sometimes even just a ditch that is left over. Or even just castles we think have existed from historical records but we dont know where they were anymore. And a very broad definition of castle that includes things that people would probably usually call mansion or palace or farmhouse with a thick wall.

[u/Jackieirish → u/Otaraka]

I have a feeling people vastly overestimate the number of McDonalds in the United States. There's a lot, no doubt. But they're not as ubiquitous as you think. For reference, we have 125K libraries in America. Way more than the number of castles in Germany. The McDonalds comparison is arbitrary and specious.

[u/norsurfit → u/Otaraka]

But can you order McNuggets at a German castle?

[u/John_Wotek → u/Otaraka]

So there are more police agency in the US than there are MC Donald...

[u/Lego--Yoda → u/Otaraka]

My ~20K municipality has alone 4 castles/ chateaus in germany

[u/PaleAffect7614 → u/Otaraka]

Germany has roughly 4000 functional castles.

[u/Ok-Two-1827 → u/Otaraka]

I didnt even believe you and had to Google it. Thats insane lol

[u/Pseudochthonic → u/Otaraka]

1.6 million karma and two posts showing? Karma-farming user/bot.

[u/ZombieLibrarian → u/Otaraka]

There are more public libraries in the US than McDonalds as well, if you would line some more encouraging comparisons.

[u/molecular_fart → u/Otaraka]

They are exaggerating by relying on technicalities. Technically some old stone tower is a castle.

[u/FaZaCon → u/Otaraka]

At one time, there were three McDonald's in my town, until a Chic-Fil-A took one out.

[u/bophed → u/Otaraka]

I know right. The first thing I did was pull up google, then copilot, then google again.

[u/Rathbane12 → u/Otaraka]

There’s six McDonalds in my city I can name off the top of head alone. I’m shocked it isn’t more then 14k

[u/NEX4TE → u/Otaraka]

Now look up how many churches there are in the US

[u/Head-Ad9893 → u/Otaraka]

Crazy when you think of all the ties to terrible people these things are. Now and then.

[u/BrushYourFeet → u/Otaraka]

OP clickbaited us with a broad definition if castle.

[u/looking4myclASSm8s → u/Otaraka]

I thought that wasn’t enough tbh. But only because I know there’s 31,000 post offices and I figured there’d be at least 1:1

[u/Zealousideal-Deer101 → u/Otaraka]

14k McDonalds seems like an undergeration or whatever the opposite of exaggeration is.
14k McDonalds seems way to low for Texas alone!

[u/OGB → u/Otaraka]

They are absolutely exaggerating and it isnt even close.

If the picture above is your standard for a castle, its probably at best closer to 2-3 thousand.

An old manor house, a thirty foot stone wall with a fifteen foot tower, and a pile of historical rubble are all different types of "castles" counted in the figure that reach over 20 thousand.

[u/skoorb1027 → u/Otaraka]

What qualifies as a castle? I’m guessing nearly 100% of them look nothing like the obvious castle OP chose.

[u/Nethias25 → u/Otaraka]

But what about Subways?