houses around the world

[rockhopper]

There are some in other countries some in America which brought over to our land. We got a travel magazine today and there was a picture of a castle. I looked it up and thought it might make a good thread. I have added some history with a link if what to view the castle and read more about it.

This is the Chateau de chillon in Switzerland

http://www.chillon.ch/images/chateau-haut.jpg

Excavations carried out from the end of the 19th century, in particular by the archeologist Albert Naef (1862-1936), affirm that this site has been occupied since the Bronze Age.
In its current state, the Castle of Chillon is the result of several centuries of constant building, adaptations, renovations and restorations.
The rocky island on which the castle is built, was both a natural protection and a strategic location to control the passage between northern and southern Europe.
The history of the castle was influenced by three major periods:

The Savoy period (http://www.chillon.ch/en/index-La%2Bgrande%2Bhistoire-0-0.html#p-savoy) (12th century to 1536)
The oldest written document mentioning the castle dates from 1150; it says that the House of Savoy already controlled the route along the shores of Lake Geneva.


The Bernese period (http://www.chillon.ch/en/index-La%2Bgrande%2Bhistoire-0-0.html#p-bern) (1536-1798)
The Swiss, more precisely the Bernese, conquered the Pays de Vaud and occupied Chillon in 1536. The castle retained it's role as a fortress, arsenal and prison for over 260 ans.


The Vaudois period (http://www.chillon.ch/en/index-La%2Bgrande%2Bhistoire-0-0.html#p-vaud)(1798 to the present)
The Bernese left Chillon in 1798 at the time of the Vaudois Revolution. The castle became the property of the Canton of Vaud when it was founded in 1803. The restoration of the historical monument began at the end of the 19th Century and continues to this day.
http://www.chillon.ch/en/index-La%2Bgrande%2Bhistoire-0-0.html

[7deadlyplugs]

I never heard of anyone building a house in a cave before. That is pretty remarkable. Glad to hear they get to keep it.

Loan should allow Mo. family to stay in cave home


ST. LOUIS – An eastern Missouri family expects they'll be able to stay in their home built inside a cave after accepting an offer of a private mortgage contract. Curt Sleeper said Tuesday that a New Jersey-based business offered a 15-year loan with a low interest rate that should allow the family to keep their home in Festus, about 30 miles south of St. Louis.

"We're excited about it." To celebrate: "We're throwing a party at a friend's cave," he said.

Curt and Deborah Sleeper fell in love with the unique geography of an old mining cave in 2004 and figured out how to build a house inside of it. But they were having trouble making a large payment that was coming due on the property, prompting them to put their home up for auction on eBay.

They no longer plan to auction the home through the Web site, but Sleeper says the house will remain there until paperwork is completed on the loan.
Jon Demarest, owner of Logical Source Inc., confirmed that his the Fairfield, N.J.-based archiving and medical record company offered the Sleepers a mortgage.
"I was intrigued by it," Demarest said. "Someone who has put that much into it shouldn't lose it."

The Sleepers built their cave home with the help of friends. A gray timber frame exterior was constructed in the 37-foot-tall opening of the cave. Thirty-seven sliding glass doors also are used as windows throughout the three-story, three-bedroom home, allowing natural light throughout the finished sections of the home.
The walls and ceiling are natural cave stone, but it has amenities including a large soaking tub in one bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen.

Sleeper said his family's struggle to keep their home has resonated with many, including some who have been unable to pay their own mortgages.

"I've got 8,000 e-mails in my inbox. Everyone wants to wish me luck, but also tell me their heartache," he said.
"It's certainly been almost life changing — except I'm keeping my cave, so not that life changing," he said. "I'd love to hear the end of the story read, 'and they lived happily ever after.

http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F2009031 0%2Fcapt.3349b38f25e34895a3947ed5a4dba3b0.cave_hom e_mojr101.jpg?v=2

http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F2009022 6%2Fcapt.2811bd5ea9ba4729b15f4c2c3e271d81.cave_hom e_motg105.jpg?v=2


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090310/ap_on_re_us/cave_home

[lostatsea]

Iconic NJ beach house ready to sail to NY

By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer Wayne Parry, Associated Press Writer – Thu Mar 12, 9:14 pm ET

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090312/capt.e6ec9703e7a34bd2aa7f078700fd96e2.moving_histo ric_house_njme104.jpg?x=213&y=136&xc=1&yc=1&wc=409&hc=261&q=85&sig=KIk52JVip98nBcNU2lRj1A-- (http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/beach-house-Robert-Venturi/photo//090312/480/e6ec9703e7a34bd2aa7f078700fd96e2//s:/ap/20090313/ap_on_re_us/moving_historic_house)AP – A beach house sits on a barge after workers moved it Thursday, March. 12, 2009, in Barneget Light, N.J., …


BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J. – Sure, housing prices are falling. But how's this for a bargain for a Long Island, N.Y. couple: An iconic beach house, designed by a world famous architect, for just $1.
The catch? They have to pay at least $100,000 to move it on a barge from the Jersey shore to their home.
But that's just fine with Robert Gotkin and Deborah Sarnoff, who run a husband-and-wife dermatology and plastic surgery practice in New York. They already live in one house designed by architect Robert Venturi, and plan to use the newest addition as a guest cottage.

The house set sail from a marina in Barnegat Light, on Long Beach Island, just before 8 p.m. Thursday and is expected to arrive in Glen Cove, N.Y., Friday afternoon after a 95-mile waterborne trip.
"We're really excited about this," said Sarnoff, who began researching Venturi and his work after she and her husband moved into a boat-shaped Venturi home on Long Island. "It became an obsession. He really shook things up and broke a lot of conventional ideas."

The house Venturi built in Barnegat Light in 1967 is best known for the huge number 9 on its front, and the sailboat-shaped window on one side.
But new owners recently bought the land it sat on, and planned to tear it down to make way for something newer and bigger. They told the architect's son, Jim Venturi, he could have it for free if he could get it off the land soon.

The Venturis turned to Gotkin and Sarnoff, with whom they had become friendly. They quickly struck a deal and made plans for the voyage.
"This is a wonderful opportunity, that we can get it of the site safely," said Denise Scott Brown, Venturi's wife who designed it with him. "It became a campaign for a wonderful house that was designed with lots of love. It's very unusual; it looks like a little radio rather than a house."

Robert Venturi said he was concerned that the house might be demolished, but prepared for that possibility.
"Architecture is the most fragile of mediums," he said. "You don't repaint a painting or change sculpture, but architecture often is demolished. I'm just glad it worked out."

The house, which was removed from its original location several weeks ago and stored in a bay-side marina, was jacked up and lifted onto a huge marine barge Thursday morning. Work crews had hoped to have it on its way by 9 a.m., but they delayed the departure to take advantage of more favorable tides on Long Island on Friday.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090313/ap_on_re_us/moving_historic_house