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Kerpen Castle (Eifel)
Kerpen Castle (german: Burg Kerpen) is a spur castle standing on a dolomite hill spur at a height of above the Eifel village of Kerpen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History The precise origins of Kerpen Castle are hidden by the mists of time. It is very likely that it was built by ''Sigibertus de Kerpene'', first mentioned in 1136, or his son, Henry I (1142-1177). However, it is not yet possible to give an exact date of construction. In 1265, Theodoric II of Kerpen converted the castle into a fief of the Archbishop of Cologne, Engelbert II of Falkenburg. The estate was later divided between him and his brother, William II. In 1299, a 'Theodoric III' is recorded as Lord of Kerpen. His sons later founded the three family lines of Kerpen-Linster, Kerpen-Mörsdorf and Kerpen-Illingen ( Lit.: Losse, 2003), who remained the owners of their ancestral castle and turned it into a jointly-owned inheritance or ''Ganerbenburg''. In 1446, Conrad of Kerpen-Mörsdorf sold h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hill Castle
A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles are thus distinguished from lowland castles (''Niederungsburgen''). Hill castles may be further subdivided depending on their situation into the following: * Hilltop castle (''Gipfelburg''), that stands on the summit of a hill with steep drops on all sides. A special type is the rock castle or ''Felsenburg''. * Ridge castle (''Kammburg''), that is built on the crest of a ridge. * Hillside castle (''Hangburg''), that is built on the side of a hill and thus is dominated by rising ground on one side. * Spur castle (''Spornburg''), that is built on a hill spur surrounded by steep terrain on three sides and thus only needs to be defended on the one remaining side. When in the 10th and 11th centuries castles lost their pure fortress charact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schloss
''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate word ''slot''/''slott'' is normally used for what in English could be either a palace or a castle (instead of words in rarer use such as ''palats''/''palæ'', ''kastell'', or ''borg''). In Dutch, the word ''slot'' is considered to be more archaic. Nowadays, one commonly uses ''paleis'' or ''kasteel''. But in English, the term does not appear, for instance, in the United Kingdom, this type of structure would be known as a stately home or country house. Most ''Schlösser'' were built after the Middle Ages as residences for the nobility, not as true fortresses, although originally, they often were fortified. The usual German term for a true castle is ''burg'', that for a fortress is ''festung'', and — the slightly more archaic term — ''v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roundel (fortification)
The roundel is an artillery fortification with a rounded or circular plan of a similar height to the adjacent defensive walls. If the fortification is clearly higher than the walls it is called a battery tower. Design The design of a roundel, which was massive in comparison with a normal defensive tower, enabled the deployment of heavy cannon. Roundels were built of both earth and brickwork; in the latter case, vaulted rooms (casemates) were built on the inside. History Emergence Roundels appeared in the 15th century when cannon gradually developed into an effective siege weapon. Roundels are the oldest permanent artillery fortifications. Their heyday was in the 15th and early 16th centuries. Early examples of artillery roundels are in the town fortifications of Tábor before 1433 and Sion Castle, that around 1426/27, and certainly before the siege of 1437 were modified. Other early central European examples that have survived include roundels at Sigmundskron Castle near ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castle Well
A castle well was a water well built to supply drinking water to a castle. It was often the most costly and time-consuming element in the building of a castle, and its construction time could span decades. The well – as well as any available cisterns – provided a protected source of drinking water for the castle garrison in peace and war and also for any civil population seeking refuge during a siege. In medieval times, external wells were often poisoned, usually with a decomposing body, in order to force a garrison to surrender. But wells sunk within the castle itself could not be poisoned from outside during a siege. Construction Wells often had to be sunk a considerable depth in order to tap the nearest geological stratum holding sufficient water, the actual depth depending on the height of the castle and level of the groundwater. This was particularly challenging in the construction of hill castles. In addition, there was also the problem of providing sufficient oxygen fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern history, modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early Middle Ages, Early, High Middle Ages, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from french ''oublier'' meaning to ''forget'') or bottle dungeon is a basement room which is accessible only from a hatch or hole (an ''angstloch'') in a high ceiling. Victims in oubliettes were often left to starve and dehydrate to death, making the practice akin to—and some say an actual variety of—immurement. Etymology The word ''dungeon'' comes from French ''donjon'' (also spelled ''dongeon''), which means "keep", the main tower of a castle. The first recorded instance of the word in English was near the beginning of the 14th century when it held the same meaning as ''donjon''. The proper original meaning of "keep" is still in use for academics, although in popular culture it has been largely misused and come to mean a cell or "oubliet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neck Ditch
A neck ditch (german: Halsgraben), sometimes called a throat ditch, at www.roadstoruins.com. Accessed on 3 Jan 2012. is a dry that does not fully surround a , but only bars the side that is not protected by natural obstacles. It is often an important element in the defensive system of s, especially in Germany and other parts of Central Europe. Originally, the term ''neck ditch'' was only applied to |
Rhein-Kreis Neuss
Neuss is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Nearby are the urban districts Mönchengladbach, Krefeld, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne, the districts Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Düren, Heinsberg and the district Viersen. History In 1816 the districts Grevenbroich and Neuss were created when the whole area became part of Prussia. The city Neuss left the district in 1913 to become an urban district. In 1929 the two districts were merged into the new district Grevenbroich-Neuss, which was renamed to Grevenbroich in 1946. In 1975 the urban district of Neuss lost its independent status and was merged into the Grevenbroich district, which was renamed to ''Kreis Neuss'' to represent the new administrative seat. On May 26, 2003, it changed its name, and is now officially called ''Rhein-Kreis Neuss''. Geography The main rivers of the district is the Rhine which forms most of the north-eastern border of the district, as well as the Erft. In the southern part of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demag
Demag Cranes AG is a German heavy equipment manufacturer now controlled by Japan-based Tadano via a $215 million deal. The roots of Demag date back prior to its formation, but became Märkische Maschinenbau-Anstalt, Ludwig A.-G in 1906 as the biggest crane building company in Germany employing 250-300 people. The company was a manufacturer of industrial cranes that included types like, bridge cranes, hoist (device), overhead cranes, Gantry crane to name a few. In 1910 came the hour of the Deutsche Maschinenfabrik in Duisburg – known worldwide by its telegram abbreviation Demag (now ''Demag Cranes & Components GmbH''). In 1973 The Mannesmann group assumed ownership of Demag. Since that time the company has continued to grow and change. Parts of the company under core business structuring moved from its ownership to focus the main concept of the company. Founding The Demag company was formed finally 1910 in Duisburg through the union of the ''Märkische Maschinenbau-Anstalt L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Von Wille
Friedrich Gustav August Julius Philipp Rudolf von Wille, known as Fritz (21 April 1860, Weimar - 16 February 1941, Düsseldorf), was a German landscape painter and art professor; associated with the Düsseldorf School. Biography He was born into a Hessian family that had been raised to the nobility in 1780. His father, August von Wille, and his mother Clara, were both painters. From 1879 to 1882, he attended the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he initially studied with Andreas Müller and Heinrich Lauenstein, then took specialized courses from Peter Janssen. At first, he was heavily influenced by his father's works, and was concerned that the two would become confused; signing his paintings with "Jr.". In the late 1880s, he made numerous trips throughout Germany. In 1885 and 1886, he visited the Italian Riviera. His experiences there led to a change in his approach to color, and he came under the influence of Eugen Dücker. In 1886, he also became a member of "Malkasten" ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bergfried
''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German influence. Friar describes it as a "free-standing, fighting-tower".Friar (2003), p 36. Its defensive function is to some extent similar to that of a keep (also known as a ''donjon'') in English or French castles. However, the characteristic difference between a bergfried and a keep is that a bergfried was typically not designed for permanent habitation. Overview The living quarters of a castle with a bergfried are separate, often in a lower tower or an adjacent building called a ''palas'' (an English-style keep combines both functions of habitation and defence.) Consequently, a bergfried could be built as a tall slender tower with little internal room, few vaults and few if any windows. The bergfried served as a watchtower and as a ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals to allow for the launch of arrows or other projectiles from within the defences. These gaps are termed " crenels" (also known as ''carnels'', or ''embrasures''), and a wall or building with them is called crenellated; alternative (older) terms are castellated and embattled. The act of adding crenels to a previously unbroken parapet is termed crenellation. The function of battlements in war is to protect the defenders by giving them something to hide behind, from which they can pop out to launch their own missiles. A defensive building might be designed and built with battlements, or a manor house might be fortified by adding battlements, where no parapet previously existed, or cutting crenellations into its existing parapet wall. A d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
