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Güntersburg
The ruined castle of Güntersburg stands about southwest of Güntersberge in the Harz mountain range of central Germany.''Die Burgruine Güntersburg'' at www.harzlife.de. Accessed on 5 Dec 2010. Condition The ruins are located on the Kohlberg hill above the Selke valley. The castle site is very large and has an area of about . It probably included a fortified settlement, possibly preceding modern Güntersberge, beside the proper castle. To the northwest the site was protected by a and a long |
Güntersberge
Güntersberge () is a village and a former town in Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It holds the status of an officially recognized resort town since 2001. Güntersberge, together with the other municipalities of the former ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ("collective municipality") Unterharz, merged into the town of Harzgerode as of 1 August 2009. Geography The settlement is located in the upper Selke Valley, in the lower eastern part of the Harz mountain range close to the border with Thuringia. In the northwest, down the scenic Selke Valley Trail, is the abandoned village of Selkenfelde. In the southwest is the Katzsohlteich reservoir of the Katzsohlbach, a right tributary of the Selke river. The Steinfurtbach and other numerous mountain brooks run through the area. Güntersberge station is a stop on the Selke Valley Railway, part of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways network, running from Quedlinburg up the Harz range to Hasselfelde. The ''Bundesstraße 242'' highway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harz
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German word ''Hardt'' or ''Hart'' (hill forest). The name ''Hercynia'' derives from a Celtic name and could refer to other mountain forests, but has also been applied to the geology of the Harz. The Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz with an elevation of above sea level. The Wurmberg () is the highest peak located entirely within the state of Lower Saxony. Geography Location and extent The Harz has a length of , stretching from the town of Seesen in the northwest to Eisleben in the east, and a width of . It occupies an area of , and is divided into the Upper Harz (''Oberharz'') in the northwest, which is up to 800 m high, apart from the 1,100 m high Brocken massif, and the Lower Harz (''Unterharz'') in the east which is up to aroun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it covers an area of , with a population of almost 84 million within its 16 constituent states. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In 962, the Kingdom of Germany formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selke (river)
The Selke is a river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a right-hand tributary of the Bode that starts in the Harz Mountains before breaking out onto the northeastern Harz Foreland. It has a length of , of which lie in the forested mountains of the Harz and the rest on the agricultural lowlands of the Harz Foreland. Course The Selke rises near the village of Friedrichshöhe in the borough of Güntersberge at a height of about above NN. From Friedrichshöhe to Mägdesprung in the borough of Harzgerode, it is accompanied by the Selke Valley Railway for a distance of . The Selke has cut deeply into the Harz Mountains in some places whilst in others it runs in a broad valley, depending on the bedrock. In Meisdorf on the northeastern edge of the Lower Harz, the Selke leaves the forested mountain region and winds across a cultivated plain, continuing to flow in an easterly or northeasterly direction as far as Ermsleben. Beyond Ermsleben the river swings through 90° to the nort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defensive Wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates for access to the city. From ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China, Walls of Benin, Hadrian's Wall, Anastasian Wall, and the Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose regions or mark territorial boundaries. In mountainous terrain, defensive walls such as ''letzis'' were used in combination with castles to seal valleys from potential attack. Beyond their defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced. Existing ancient walls are almost always masonry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices. In older fortifications, such as hillforts, they are usually referred to simply as ditches, although the function is similar. In later periods, moats or water defences may be largely ornamental. They could also act as a sewer. Historical use Ancient Some of the earliest evidence of moats has been uncovered around ancient Egyptian castles. One example is at Buhen, a castle excavated in Nubia. Other evidence of ancient moats is found in the ruins of Babylon, and in reliefs from ancient Egypt, Assyria, and other cultures in the region. Evidence of early moats around settlements has been discovered in many archaeological sites throughout Southeast Asia, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifically distinguished from buildings in that they are built not to be habitable but to serve other functions using the height of the tower. For example, the height of a clock tower improves the visibility of the clock, and the height of a tower in a fortified building such as a castle increases the visibility of the surroundings for defensive purposes. Towers may also be built for observation tower, observation, leisure, or telecommunication purposes. A tower can stand alone or be supported by adjacent buildings, or it may be a feature on top of a larger structure or building. Etymology Old English ''torr'' is from Latin ''turris'' via Old French ''tor''. The Latin term together with Greek language, Greek τύ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kneitlingen
Kneitlingen is a municipality in the Wolfenbüttel district in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is part of the ''Samtgemeinde'' Elm-Asse. The most recent German census counted a population of just 853 people. Geography Kneitlingen is situated in Brunswick Land between the Elm and Asse hill ranges. The municipality consists of the following four villages: * Ampleben * Bansleben * Eilum * Kneitlingen History Kneitlingen in the medieval Duchy of Saxony was first mentioned in an 1135 deed issued by Emperor Lothair III, whereby he granted the estates to the newly established Benedictine abbey of Königslutter. The Romanesque parish church was erected by the Knights Templar about 1141; its apse and groin vault are preserved in the original condition. From 1235 onwards, the area belonged to the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the lordship was enfeoffed to various local noble families. The village of Kneitlingen is known as the birthplace of the legendary trickster Till Eulenspiegel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Of Stolberg
The County of Stolberg (german: Grafschaft Stolberg) was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz mountain range in present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. The town of Stolberg was probably founded in the 12th century as a mining settlement. The Counts of Stolberg (''Grafen zu Stolberg'') probably derived from a branch of the counts of Hohnstein castle near Nordhausen in Thuringia. The castle of Stolberg was first mentioned in 1210 as ''Stalberg'', then the seat of one count Henry originally from nearby Voigtstedt. It remained a property of the comital family until its expropriation in 1945. The Stolberg lands, which were located mostly east of the Harz, included Stolberg, Hayn, the lower County of Hohnstein (1417), as well as Kelbra and Heringen (1413/17), the two latter territories being ruled alongside the House of Schwarzburg. The Counts of Stolberg could significantly enlarge their territory when they inherited t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robber Baron (feudalism)
A robber baron or robber knight (german: Raubritter) was an unscrupulous feudal landowner who, protected by his fief's legal status, imposed high taxes and tolls out of keeping with the norm without authorization by some higher authority. Some resorted to actual banditry. The German term for robber barons, ''Raubritter'' (robber knights), was coined by Friedrich Bottschalk in 1810.Klaus Graf, "Feindbild und Vorbild: Bemerkungen zur stadtischen Wahrnehmung des Adels", ''ZGO'' 141 (1993), pp. 121–154, at 138 Some robber barons violated the custom under which tolls were collected on the Rhine either by charging higher tolls than the standard or by operating without authority from the Holy Roman Emperor altogether. During the period in the history of the Holy Roman Empire known as the Great Interregnum (1250–1273), the number of such tolling stations exploded in the absence of Imperial authority. Medieval robber barons most often imposed high or unauthorized tolls on rivers or ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castles In Saxony-Anhalt
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; from a ''pleasance'' which was a walled-in residence for nobility, but not adequately fortified; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Use of the term has varied over time and has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th-20th century homes built to resemble castles. Over the approximately 900 years when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
