Online 88 - Castle Moyland - a moated castle Mandala

Now- finally this one is a smaller one !
Here is a link to the group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chatelaineonline-88/

 With a size of 243 x 243 stitches, this design is a lot smaller then my BIG Mandalas, without lacking the detail, motives and intricacy of used Special Stitches... Let me tell you a bit about this particular castle and show you some pictures of the "real thing" as well as my adaptation into cross stitch.

 

The moated castle "Moyland" (which means: Beautiful land) is about 1,5 hours from Duisburg in the Kleve area. This is an area where lots of castles were built, and many of them have been kept alive and restaurated during the centuries.First mentioning of this place is about 1300 - when Moyland was nothing but a fortified farmhouse. But the coming centuries every and each proprietor added buildings, made the fortress stronger.

About 1662 the castle came into possession of Alexander von Spaen, and in the coming decades and centuries it was used as a hunting seat and "love nest" for various more or less noble men or sovereigns.

 

You can easily light your imagination looking at those romantic pictures here, and  think of ladies on horseback and their cavalier, secretly approaching the building for an amorous assignation....

Today this castle is often the setting for marriages as well as country fairs - and the gardens and vast landscape parks are maintained in the state of the late 18th century .

 

 

 

 

In this design I tried to capture some of the romantic attitude of the setting - the beautiful stonework, the intricate window embellishments in gothic shape - the weeping willows as well as the formal garden elements.

 

I added some new Special Stitches for the pathways - and the beading and colors will be different for all 4 corners of the inner garden design.The ducks are still lacking on this preview - but be sure: They will be there once you start stitching.....

Today it is a museum which contains a lot of contemporary and modern art, of which you can see some floating on the moat.