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Elmstein Castle
Elmstein Castle (german: Burg Elmstein) is a castle ruin built in the High Middle Ages overlooking Elmstein in the Palatinate Forest in the Germany, German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was built in the 12th century. Location The ruins are on a hill, high, on the northern side of the Speyerbach valley (''Speyerbachtal'') in the Palatinate Forest (''Pfälzerwald''). History In the 12th and 13th centuries, Elmstein was built as a Palatine castle in order to guard the route through the valley. The feoffees held the title of ''Schenk'', a German aristocratic title that originally meant cup bearer. The castle occupied by the Electorate of the Palatinate. Between 1220 and 1230, the lower Curtain wall (fortification), curtain wall was built. Emperor Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Louis IV of Bavaria ceded the castle to his cousin, the Count Palatine. From 1419 to 1437, the castle was occupied by Count John V of County of Sponheim, Sponheim. In 1466, the castle was enfeoffed by Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elmstein
Elmstein is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Elmstein lies in the Palatinate Forest. The municipality belongs to the Lambrecht (Verbandsgemeinde), ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Lambrecht, whose seat is in the Lambrecht, Rhineland-Palatinate, like-named town. Constituent communities Elmstein's ''Ortsteile'' are, besides the namesake one, Appenthal, Erlenbach, Harzofen, Helmbach, Iggelbach, Mückenwiese, Röderthal, Schafhof, Schwabenbach, Schwarzbach, Stilles Tal, Speyerbrunn and Wolfsgrube. Neighbouring municipalities Clockwise from the northwest, these are Waldleiningen, Weidenthal, Esthal, an exclave of Kirrweiler, an exclave of Venningen, an exclave of Rhodt unter Rietburg, an exclave of Edesheim, an exclave of Landau in der Pfalz, Wilgartswiesen, Trippstadt an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim (german: Grafschaft Sponheim, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality of Sponheim, where the counts had their original residence. Geography The territory was located roughly between the rivers Rhine, Moselle, and Nahe, in the present state of Rhineland-Palatinate, around the Hunsrück region. It bordered the Electorate of Trier to the north and west, the Raugraviate, the Electorate of Mainz and the Electorate of the Palatinate to the east and the County of Veldenz to the south and west, among other states. History Beginnings The family of Sponheim, or Spanheim (German: ''Spanheimer''), has been documented since the 11th century. There are two main branches which are certainly related, but whose exact relationship is still debated. The branch of the Dukes of Carinthia descends from Siegfried I, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landmarks In Germany
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or features, that have become local or national symbols. Etymology In old English the word ''landmearc'' (from ''land'' + ''mearc'' (mark)) was used to describe a boundary marker, an "object set up to mark the boundaries of a kingdom, estate, etc.". Starting from approx. 1560, this understanding of landmark was replaced by a more general one. A landmark became a "conspicuous object in a landscape". A ''landmark'' literally meant a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area. For example, the Table Mountain near Cape Town, South Africa is used as the landmark to help sailors to navigate around southern tip of Africa during the Age of Exploration. Artificial structures are also sometimes built to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Castles In Rhineland-Palatinate
Numerous castles are found in the Germany, German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. These buildings, some of which have a history of over 1000 years, were the setting of historical events and the domains of famous personalities; and many still are imposing edifices to this day. This list encompasses buildings variously described in German as ''Burg'' (castle), ''Festung'' (fort/fortress), ''Schloss'' (manor house, palace or Jagdschloss, hunting lodge) and ''Palais''/''Palast'' (palace). Many German castles after the Middle Ages were built as, or converted to, royal or ducal palaces rather than fortified buildings. Landkreis Ahrweiler # Are Castle, Altenahr # Ahrenthal Palace, Sinzig # Alkburg, Brohl-Lützing # Brohleck Manor, Brohl-Lützing # Burgbrohl Manor, Burgbrohl # Landskron Castle (Bad Neuenahr), Landskron Castle, Bad Neuenahr # Marienfels Castle, Remagen # Neuenahr Castle, Bad Neuenahr # Nürburg Castle, Nürburg (Gemeinde), Nürburg # Olbrück Castle, Niederzissen # Rheine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shield Wall
A shield wall ( or in Old English, in Old Norse) is a military formation that was common in ancient and medieval warfare. There were many slight variations of this formation, but the common factor was soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder and holding their shields so that they would abut or overlap. Each soldier thus benefited from the protection of the shields of his neighbors and his own. History Ancient history The formation was known to be used by many ancient armies including the Persian Sparabara, Greek phalanx, and the early Roman army, but its origin and spread is unknown. It may have developed independently more than once. Although little is recorded about their military tactics, the Stele of the Vultures depicts Sumerian soldiers in a shield wall formation during the third millennium BC. By the seventh century BC, shield walls in ancient Greece are well-documented. The soldiers in the shield wall formations were called hoplites, so named for their equi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palas
A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, are "peculiar to German castles". Thanks to 19th-century studies of castles ("castle science"), the term ''palas'' is often used as a generic term used for covered halls in castles; however, the architectural and historical use of the term is restricted by other authors to the Romanesque hall building. Design The stone hall of a ''palas'' has an elongated rectangular floor plan. Frequently, the building has cellars or is provided with a basement. The main floors (usually two, sometimes even more) are well lit by arched windows that are often grouped to form arcades. Rich architectural sculpture is often found here in order to enhance the prestige of the hall. The great hall, located on the first floor, occupies the entire floor area ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Of The Palatine Succession
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy), the Dutch Republic, England, Spain, Savoy, Sweden and Portugal. Although not the first European war to spill over to Europe's overseas colonies, the events of the war spread to such far away places as the Americas, India, and West Africa. It is for this reason that it is sometimes considered the first world war. The conflict encompassed the Glorious Revolution in England, where William of Orange deposed the unpopular James VII and II and subsequently struggled against him for control of Scotland and Ireland, and a campaign in colonial North America between French and English settlers and their respective Native American allies. Louis XIV of France had emerged from the Franco-Dutch War in 1678 as the most powerful monarch in E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early ..., lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of what is now modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Franco-Spanish War, and the Portuguese Restoration War. Until the 20th century, historians generally viewed it as a continuation of the religious struggle initiated by the 16th-century Reformation within the Holy Roman Empire. The 1555 Peace of Augsburg atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Casimir Of The Palatinate-Simmern
John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern (German: ''Johann Casimir von Pfalz-Simmern'') (7 March 1543 – Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition) was a German prince and a younger son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine. A firm Calvinist, he was a leader of mercenary troops in the religious wars of the time, including the Dutch Revolt. From 1583–1592 he acted as regent for his nephew, Elector Palatine Frederick IV. Career Count Palatine John Casimir was born in Simmern as the third son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine, and Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, of the Simmern middle electoral line of the House of Wittelsbach. In 1564 John Casimir suggested himself as a bridegroom for Elizabeth I of England and sent her his portrait via the Scottish courtier Sir James Melville. Elizabeth, however, showed no interest in him. On 26 November 1568 he was engaged to the 16-year-old Lutheran Elisabeth of Saxony, a daughter of Augustus, Elector of Saxony and his first wife Anne of Denma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense opposition from the aristocracy, who slaughtered up to 100,000 of the 300,000 poorly armed peasants and farmers. The survivors were fined and achieved few, if any, of their goals. Like the preceding Bundschuh movement and the Hussite Wars, the war consisted of a series of both economic and religious revolts in which peasants and farmers, often supported by Anabaptist clergy, took the lead. The German Peasants' War was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising before the French Revolution of 1789. The fighting was at its height in the middle of 1525. The war began with separate insurrections, beginning in the southwestern part of what is now Germany and Alsace, and spread in subsequent insurrections to the central and eastern areas of Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegiance, services and/or payments. The fees were often lands, land revenue or revenue, revenue-producing real property like a watermill, held in feudal land tenure: these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms. There never did exist one feudal system, nor did there exist one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations. Terminology In ancient Rome, a "benefice" (from the Latin noun , meaning "benefit") was a gif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick I, Elector Palatine
Frederick I, the Victorious (''der Siegreiche'') (1 August 1425, Heidelberg – 12 December 1476, Heidelberg) was a Count Palatine of the Rhine and Elector Palatine from the House of Wittelsbach in 1451–1476. Biography He was a son of Louis III, Elector Palatine and his second wife Matilda of Savoy. His maternal grandparents were Amadeus, Prince of Achaea and his wife Catherina of Geneva. He ruled the Electoral Palatinate after the death of his brother Louis IV as regent for his nephew Philip, Elector Palatine. He adopted his nephew in 1451 and refused to marry. From this "Arrogation," he claimed the right to be the legitimate elector. As this action was against imperial law, Emperor Frederick III refused to confirm Frederick's status. However, the emperor did not manage to displace Frederick who was an able strategist and allied with Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria. Frederick was also successful against other opponents such as the emperor's party follower Albrecht III Achilles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
