Castle Castle is one of the core themes ( first / basic themes ) of LEGO introduced in 1978 along with Town and Space . It centers around medieval life , involving knights and castles , but also incorporates popular fantasy elements , as it saw many changes over the years . The theme is the third longest - lived in LEGO history , on par with Town and Trains . The original Castle logo resembled Part 4495 . History . One of the earliest LEGO castle models produced was a retailer display model from a 1959 - 60 retailer brochure . This model was also seen in a 1961 British magazine LEGO ad . It was a white castle that fit onto two gray baseplates taking up an area of 20x20 stud s . The castle , known to LEGO retailers as # 0746 had four towers , with wavy LEGO flags on top of two of the towers . The word " LEGO " embossed on 1x1 white bricks were spelled out on the front of the castle on either side of the entrance . Examples of this model would be glued together , generally the rule among LEGO retailer models . Also coming out in 1960 was LEGO Building Idea Book # 1 , also known as # 238 . This 36 page booklet had a lot of building ideas that were made into actual LEGO display models . One picture was of a blue castle with twin towers and a red roof . It is in a northern European late Renaissance style . This Blue Castle was the first castle seen in a public distributed official LEGO product . The first LEGO castle model available for sale was 0 Weetabix Castle , a promotional set from Weetabix , that was made available in 1970 . Initial sets ( 1978 - 1983 ) . The theme " Castle " began in 1978 , the year minifigure s were introduced . The theme ' s initial release comprised only one set , 375 Castle . The following year brought two other sets , 383 Knight ' s Tournament and 677 Knight ' s Procession . At first those sets were only available in Europe , but they were finally released in the US in 1981 . Factions ( 1984 - 1997 ) . In 1984 the " Castle " theme was totally revamped . Two new factions , the " Crusaders " and the " Black Falcons " ( as well as a sheer flood of new pieces ) , were introduced . Among the new pieces introduced in that year were the wall panels , spears , two new helmets ( the helmets with chin - guard and the face - grill helmets for the knights ) and feather plumes . 1984 also saw the introduction of the horse - figures , which were also featured heavily in " Castle " . From now on , every established faction would feature a unique coat of arms on their shields , flags or even the minifigures themselves . During the 1980 s , " Castle " wasn ' t just about castles and knights but also featured some civilian minifigures , such as a peasant or a blacksmith , and also civilian buildings , like 6067 Guarded Inn , a direction that would later be lost when the theme focused more on the military aspects of the middle ages . The Guarded Inn also included the second female " Castle " minifigure ( which did not yet feature a dress but instead a normal leg assembly ) . A similar minifigure appeared in the set 6060 Knight ' s Challenge . A new faction was added in 1987 , the " Forestmen " , which did not dwell in castles but rather in hideouts built into hollow trees and rocks . This was also the first time when black - colored corner wall panels were seen . Other black wall panels , which had already appeared in 1985 were brought into wider use when the " Black Knights " , that featured the first mainly black - colored castle , were introduced in 1988 . 1990 brought some new pieces : a new elegant helmet with movable visor and an extra armour piece for knights . Another new addition was the glow - in - the - dark ghost . This year also saw the first castle built on a raised baseplate , a piece first used a year before in " Pirates " sets . That castle , 6081 King ' s Mountain Fortress , which also featured the first female minifigure with a skirt , which was formed by a 2x2x2 sloped brick . This made the princess one plate taller than the men , but her tall pointed medieval headdress helped to obscure the height difference . After the discontinuation of the " Forestmen " faction , which included outlaws that could just as well be the good guys , since they largely resemble Robin Hood and his merry men , LEGO added a new faction in 1992 , the " Wolfpack " , which was basically a band of robbers . This was also the first year in which " Castle " minifigures were equipped with the new diversified printed head pieces , that were first introduced in 1989 for the debut of the new " Pirates " line , and added more personality to the characters than the simple smiley faces . . While the " Black Knights " used dragons merely as crests and ornaments , a new faction introduced in 1993 , the " Dragon Masters " , would move " Castle " more into the realms of fantasy and mythology by adding actual dragon s and wizard s to the complement of subjects covered by this theme , thus setting a direction that would still be followed by future " Castle " themes . The wizard Majisto was also one of the first minifigures that were given a name . " Dragon Masters " also brought some interesting new pieces , such as a new helmet and a large halberd , as well as several new faces . For the time being the fantasy elements were not further developed . In 1995 , the all new " Royal Knights " theme introduced the first distinct king minifigure that wore an actual crown . Another notable addition was the skeleton . 1996 saw a short - lived revival of " Forestmen " when " Dark Forest " was released . Fantasy was Back in 1997 , when " Fright Knights " brought along witches and dragons , as well as an eerie looking villain with a bat as his symbol of choice . This theme did not only venture into more fantastic directions , It also featured some rather out - of - place flying machines . The discontinuation of " Fright Knights " in 1998 also marked the end of the basic concept of the " Castle " theme from 1984 onwards , where the different subthemes also represented several factions that coexisted in a consistent environment and would often appear together in one set . The themes of the following years were self contained subthemes with different factions of their own that did not not have any connection to those of other subthemes . Subthemes ( 1998 - present ) . What followed in 1998 was a rather unique interlude . With the introduction of " Ninja " , the " Castle " theme left it ' s traditional European setting and visited medieval Japan , featuring Samurai and Ninjas . Many new pieces were introduced as well , such as Japanese swords ( Katana ) , ninja hoods and samurai armor and helmets . " Ninja " also included cannons and muskets , a novelty for " Castle " , and was apparently set in the 16th century . In 2000 , " Castle " went back to a more conventional setting with the release of the new " Knights ' Kingdom " theme , which involved two factions that were at odds with each other , King Leo and his knights on one side , and Cedric the bull with his evil minions on the other . The minifigures were elaborately designed and featured new torso pieces , faces , helmets and armor pieces . The buildings , however , had a rather simplified design , which was also seen in other themes of that era , e . g . in " Town Jr . " , a method of building later called " Juniorization " . This theme was the first " Castle " theme to feature two female minifigures : Queen Leonora and Princess Storm . " Knights ' Kingdom " was discontinued in the following year , and there would be no new " Castle " sets until 2004 . " Knights ' Kingdom II " , introduced in 2004 , was a radical departure from any previous " Castle " themes . It featured colourful knights ( in red , green , purple , and light blue armour ) who all had individual names and personalities , much like superhero teams such as the " Power Rangers " . The normal sets were also accompanied by the release of canned action figure versions of the new characters , in a style similar to " BIONICLE " . " Knights ' Kingdom II " was more action - oriented , and also introduced some new helmets , swords and shields . In 2005 , LEGO released a new " Vikings " line which was more realistic than the contemporary " Knights ' Kingdom II " theme , but it nevertheless featured mythological aspects by adding dragons and other creatures from Norse myths , such as the Midgard Serpent . A new technique that was used to make these creatures that is still used today is building large monsters ( such as dragons ) out of a combination of normal bricks and " TECHNIC " parts . A fairly important new piece introduced in this theme was the separate axe blade that had to be attached to a brown stick in order to form a complete battle axe . The theme was intended to be simply a short interlude before the launch of the new " Castle " theme , but proved popular enough that it was continued for another year . The " Castle " theme was relaunched in 2007 as " Castle ( 2007 ) " and abandoned some of the aspects featured in " Knights ' Kingdom II " but also reprises earlier established fantasy elements such as dragons and sorcerers , but also added some new ones , which were originally known from the " Lord of the Rings " novels or " Warcraft " computer games , such as Skeleton Warriors , Trolls and Dwarves . Another difference is the fact that it does not involve humans fighting each other . The humans are represented by one unified kingdom that has to fight against groups of non - human antagonists . In 2009 the biggest entirely civilian " Castle " set ever has been released , 10193 Medieval Market Village , which also included the first cow figure as well as a rare turkey piece . Kingdoms , is successor to " Castle ( 2007 ) " . It returns to a more traditional and realistic medieval setting . The theme features the good knights of the Lion Kingdom defending themselves against the evil warriors of the invading Dragon Kingdom . The only fantasy elements are the Dragon wizard and his pet dragon . " Kingdoms " was launched in June 2010 , with several sets , including a large castle , and followed by four more sets in 2011 . Early 2012 saw the release of 10223 Kingdoms Joust , the final Kingdoms set before The Lord of The Rings was released . Castle 2013 ( 2013 - 14 ) was the replacement theme for Kingdoms . It featured the Blue Lion Knights fighting the Red Dragon Knights . The theme was discontinued in 2015 after releasing 5 sets and 2 battlepacks . Audio Dramas . There were two Audio Dramas released for the theme in 1995 Notes about the Audio Dramas : External links . k