In September 2016, for their first gathering after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, leaders headed to the dramatic hilltop castle of Bratislava overlooking the Danube.
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the European Council met in December 2001 at Château de Laeken, the official residence of the Belgian royal family. The secluded location offered the security required for sensitive discussions on terrorism.
Going back further still, in December 1991 the European Council summit that paved the way for the Maastricht Treaty took place at the Provinciehuis Limburg — not a castle. However, a side event took leaders to the nearby Château Neercanne, where, during a lunch hosted by Queen Beatrix, they symbolically signed their names on a cave wall.
On rare occasions, turrets give way to cloisters. The Treaty of Lisbon was signed on Dec. 13, 2007 at the 16th century Jerónimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“Castles emerged in Europe largely in the wake of the collapse of Charlemagne’s empire. They were a reaction to the uncertainty of a power vacuum and the fear of what it might mean for those who held any power,” said medieval historian Matt Lewis.
“The appeal of holding significant international occasions with castles and palaces remains strong today,” Lewis added. “Modern politicians are, at least in part, using the very same playbook as their medieval forebears. At the same time, this retreat speaks to a level of fragility, a moment upon which so much might depend, that is firmed up by the centuries-old defences of a castle.”
Considering how Trump famously loves hosting guests at his own resort, Mar-a-Lago, one can only speculate whether, had Thierry Breton ever become European Commission president, meetings might have taken place at Château de Gargilesse — which Breton purchased in 2023.