Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in South Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff. The castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, built between 1267 and 1277. John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the castle ruins in 1848. One of Britain's wealthiest men, he employed the architect William Burges to reconstruct the castle as a summer residence. Burges rebuilt the outside before his death in 1881, and the interior work was finished by his team in 1891; it featured elaborate decorations including extensive use of symbolism drawing on classical mythology and legendary themes. Crichton-Stuart planted a vineyard just below the castle, where wine production continued until the First World War. In 1950 his grandson, the 5th Marquess of Bute, placed the property into the care of the state. Castell Coch is considered to be one of the best surviving examples of Victorian architecture.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell_Coch

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1624:

Cardinal Richelieu became the chief minister to King Louis XIII, and under his supervision, France's feudal political structure transformed into one with a powerful central government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Richelieu

1704:

War of the Spanish Succession: The Duke of Marlborough led Allied forces to a crucial victory in the Battle of Blenheim. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blenheim

1898:

Spanish–American War: After a mock battle for Manila, the Spanish commander surrendered to the U.S. in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manila_(1898)

1942:

Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorized the construction of facilities that would house the Manhattan Project. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project

1996:

Belgian man Marc Dutroux was arrested for the kidnapping of 14 -year-old Laetitia Delhez, revealing a number of other victims and one of Belgium's biggest child molestation cases. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Dutroux

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

oobleck: A mixture of cornstarch and water with unusual physical properties. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oobleck

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The divine in man is our sole ground for believing that there is anything divine in the universe outside of man. Man is the revealer of the divine. At bottom, the world is to be interpreted in terms of joy, but of a joy that includes all the pain, includes it and transforms it and transcends it. The Light of the World is a light that is saturated with the darkness which it has overcome and transfigured.   --Felix Adler https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler