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Folly facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

A folly is a special kind of building that is usually built just to look nice. Most buildings are made to give people shelter or a place to live. But follies are different! They are like giant decorations and don't have a normal use.

Follies were first built to add interesting touches to big parks and large estates. The word "folly" here means something fun or light-hearted, not something silly or a bad idea.

Broadway tower edit
Broadway Tower, a famous folly in Worcestershire, England
Wimpole folly
Wimpole's Folly in Cambridgeshire, England, built in the 1700s to look like old ruins
Hietzing - Schönbrunn, römische Ruine
A decorative ruin at Schönbrunn, a royal palace in Vienna, Austria
Arkadia aqueduct01
A decorative aqueduct (water bridge) in Arkadia, Poland

What Makes a Folly a Folly?

Follies usually have these features:

  • They are buildings or parts of buildings. This makes them different from other garden decorations like sculptures.
  • They are only for decoration. Often, they look like a building made for a real purpose, but it's just pretend.
  • They are built on purpose. Follies are planned and built specifically to be decorations.
  • They often have unusual designs. While not always, follies often stand out because they look unique or strange.
  • They might look fake. A great example is a fake ruin. It looks like an old, broken building, but it was actually built that way from the start!

In England, these buildings are sometimes called "eye-catchers." This name shows that their main job is to catch your eye and look pretty.

Follies and Similar Buildings

Follies are part of a group of buildings that are imaginative and not always practical. Sometimes it's hard to decide if a building is truly a folly. But here are some types that are related but different:

  • Fantasy and novelty buildings are almost the opposite of follies. Follies often look like real buildings but aren't used. Novelty buildings *are* used, but they have really wild shapes. For example, many shops in America shaped like everyday items (like a giant shoe) are not follies because they are used as shops.
  • Unusual structures might seem like follies, but just being strange doesn't make a building a folly. Many castles or large houses are very unique, but they are built to be lived in, so they aren't follies.
  • Some buildings are called "follies" because they didn't work out as planned. Their design might have been foolish, but in architecture, they aren't true follies because they *were* meant to be useful.
  • Amusement parks and big fairs often have amazing and strange buildings. Some of these are follies, and some are not. The difference is how they are used. Shops and restaurants in these parks might look very odd, but they are not follies because they serve a purpose. However, fake structures that are just for decoration are follies.

History of Follies

Follies started as decorations on large estates in the late 1500s and early 1600s. But they became very popular in the next two centuries. Many old estates already had beautiful ruins of old monasteries or Roman villas. Estates without these old ruins would build their own fake versions to look romantic.

These buildings were often named after the person who ordered or designed them, like "[Name]'s Folly." However, very few follies were completely useless. Many actually had a purpose at first, like hunting towers, which was later forgotten. The Folly Fellowship, a group that celebrates these buildings, says that follies are often misunderstood.

Follies are often found in the parks or large grounds of big houses and stately homes. Some were even built to look partly ruined on purpose. They were especially popular from the late 16th century to the 18th century.

Famine Follies

The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849) led to the building of several follies in Ireland. At that time, many people believed that the government should not interfere much with the economy or provide welfare. They thought that giving money without work was wrong. However, hiring people for useful projects would take jobs away from existing workers.

So, to give people work without taking jobs, "famine follies" were built. These included roads that went nowhere, walls around estates, and piers built in the middle of bogs (wetlands). These projects gave people jobs during a very difficult time.

Examples of Follies Around the World

Follies can be found all over the world, but there are many in Great Britain.

Bory-var 2006 June
The Bory Castle in Székesfehérvár, Hungary
Swallow's Nest (Crimea) 2007
The Swallow's Nest near Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine (built in 1912)
Blackcastlepub
The Black Castle Public House in Bristol, United Kingdom
Lucy the Elephant
Lucy the Elephant in Margate City, New Jersey, USA

France

  • Désert de Retz, a folly garden near Paris (18th century)
  • Parc de la Villette in Paris has many modern follies by architect Bernard Tschumi.
  • Ferdinand Cheval in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure built what he called an Ideal Palace, a famous example of unique, self-taught architecture.

Hungary

  • Bory Castle at Székesfehérvár
  • Taródi Castle at Sopron
  • Vajdahunyad vára in the City Park of Budapest

India

  • Overbury's Folly, Thalassery, Kerala

Ireland

Italy

  • The Bomarzo Gardens

Russia

  • Ruined towers in Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, Gatchina, and Tsaritsino
  • Creaking Pagoda and Chinese Village in Tsarskoe Selo
  • Dutch Admiralty in Tsarskoe Selo

Ukraine

  • Swallow's Nest near Yalta

United Kingdom

United States

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Capricho (arquitectura) para niños

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