Boldt Castle, USA

Boldt Castle - an island oasis created to be a symbol of love. Boldt Castle is a beautiful architectural gem that was erected to tell the story of a beautiful love that unfortunately ended sadly. This is the story of George Boldt and his wife Louisa. The multimillionaire is the owner of the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York and the Bellevue-Stratford in Philadelphia. He decided to build the imposing mansion as a token of his purest and most sincere love for his young wife, who never lived to see the completed monument to their love.

Today, Boldt Castle is one of the most interesting tourist attractions in the 1000 Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. This scenic area is located on the border between the United States and Canada, right on Lake Ontario. In fact, the exact number of islands is 1.865, and Boldt Castle is the jewel in the crown and is located on Heart Island, near Alexandra Bay. Geographically, the islands on the Canadian side of the border are considered part of Ontario, while the islands in the United States belong to the state of New York.

The history of Boldt Castle begins in the 19th century. George Boldt arrived in America in 1860 with literally one dollar in his pocket. However, this did not prevent him from becoming one of the most influential people in the country in the following years. Boldt amassed his millions thanks to his organizational skills, daring and imagination, through which he became America's most successful hotel magnate.

George Boldt married his wife when she was at a tender age. She was only 15 when she explored married life, but that didn't stop her from being her husband's support throughout his journey to the top. Inspired by this unrequited love, Drorge Boldt decided to build and gift Boldt Castle to Louisa on Valentine's Day in 1905. Sadly, however, one year before Boldt Castle was completed, Louisa died at the age of 41.

As the story of Boldt Castle unfolds, let's say that the campaign to build it and the luxury complex surrounding it began in 1900. To build one of the largest mansions in America at the time, George Boldt hired over 300 craftsmen, masons, stonemasons, landscape engineers, and other specialists. No expense was spared because the goal was more than clear - of all the buildings in the 1000 Islands region, Boldt Castle was to be the most beautiful.

The most remarkable part of Boldt Castle is the Alster Tower, erected in the manner of the defensive towers along the German Alster River.

The idea behind the architecture of Boldt Castle was for it to be a replica of 16th century European palaces. Boldt's desire was to weave medieval forms from traditional elements picturesquely with modern moments, huge balconies and windows. Boldt's palace is raised on 6 floors, from the lowest level with the covered swimming pool to the high tower. The palace was designed to have 120 rooms served by an elevator. The decoration inside the palace is generous and stylish. There are 365 windows in the Boldt Castle, from which there are beautiful views of the St Lawrence River. It even sounds beautiful. But...along comes misfortune.

The tragic loss devastates Boldt and he stops building Boldt Castle and his foot never sets foot on the island again. Boldt died a few years later, in 1916. The half-finished Boldt Castle was purchased by Edward John Noble. The entrepreneur spared no expense, invested heavily, and his aim was to turn the area over the next 50 years into an excellent and popular tourist destination by building the yacht club attached to the complex.

Nowadays, Boldt Castle is only accessible by water, with special boat tours organized for this purpose. It will surprise no one to say that on the ground floor there is an exhibition about the life of the millionaire Boldt and his wife Louisa.