Garz Castle is a Slavic fort, of the type known as a
burgwall Burgwall is a word of German origin, literally meaning "fort rampart", and may refer to:
* Gord (archaeology), a typical Slavic settlement type of the High Middle Ages, sometimes called a Slavic burgwall
* ''Burgwall'', the local term for a pre- an ...
, located southwest of the town of
Garz on the German
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
island of
Rügen
Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
. The
earthworks
Earthworks may refer to:
Construction
*Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour
*Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil
*Earthworks (military), mi ...
have an oval shape, are about 200 metres long and 140 metres wide. There is an entrance roughly in the middle of the western side. Towards the lake of
Garzer See to the south (in the direction of
Renz) the ramparts are lower. It lies up to 15 metres higher than the town of Garz.
History
The castle was mentioned in 1165 as ''Borgar Gardz'', when there were small-scale skirmishes with Danish warriors in front of the castle. The castle itself does not appear to have come under attack, but gradually fell into ruins afterwards. In 1300, the Prince of Rügen,
Vitslav III, built a new castle and a chapel inside the original fort. After his death in 1325, the castle finally fell into disrepair. On the ramparts is now a war memorial to those who fell in the First World War and, in its immediate vicinity, is the Ernst Moritz Arndt Museum, where one can learn more about the history of the place.
Today
The Garz fort is now a protected archaeological site. It ranks, in terms of size and degree of preservation, as one of the most important Slavic strongholds.
Originally, it was confused with the castle of
Charenza
Charenza, also Karentia or Karenz, later also Gharense, was a medieval '' Slavic burgwall'' on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. It was the administrative centre of the Rani tribe and of the Principality of Rugia. Today, the remnants are ca ...
, which was reported in historical chronicles. However, recent interdisciplinary research in 2004 and 2005 has shown that the fort at Venz (between
Gingst and
Trent onat the Neuendorfer Wiek) is much more likely to be the prince's castle and temple of Charenza, which was surrendered without a fight on 16 June 1168 to the King of Denmark
Valdemar I and his army commander,
Absalon
Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of Denm ...
of
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
, after negotiations had been held. This was one day after the
conquest of the Jaromarsburg castle and temple on
Cape Arkona.
[Sven Wichert: ''Beobachtungen zu Karentia auf Rügen im Mittelalter.'' In: ''Baltische Studien 2005 – Pommersche Jahrbücher für Landesgeschichte.'' Neue Folge Bd. 91, Verlag Ludwig, Kiel 2006, pp. 31–38, ]
External links
{{LBMV PPN, 35275155X
*Jens Ruge über den Burgwall Gar
Garz Slavic castleSlavic forts in Germany
References
Castles in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Principality of Rügen
Rügen
Early Slavic archaeology
Buildings and structures in Vorpommern-Rügen