Castle Town

A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, and England particularly, it is common for cities and towns that were not castle towns to instead have been organised around cathedrals.

Towns organized around Japanese castles are called jōkamachi (城下町?).

Famous quotes containing the words castle and/or town:

    If, in looking at the lives of princes, courtiers, men of rank and fashion, we must perforce depict them as idle, profligate, and criminal, we must make allowances for the rich men’s failings, and recollect that we, too, were very likely indolent and voluptuous, had we no motive for work, a mortal’s natural taste for pleasure, and the daily temptation of a large income. What could a great peer, with a great castle and park, and a great fortune, do but be splendid and idle?
    William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863)

    And oh, I knew, I knew,
    And said out loud, I couldn’t bide the smother
    And heat so close in; but the thought of all
    The woods and town on fire by me, and all
    The town turned out to fight for me that held me.
    Robert Frost (1874–1963)