A ''Muthaus'', also ''Mushaus'' or ''Moshaus'' (~

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, ...

) is the German term for a residential, storage or refectory (dining) building connected with a

castle 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 r ...

. It is sometimes also called a ''Turmhaus'' (literally:

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

). In the 19th century German encyclopaedia, '' Meyers Konversationslexikon'', under the entry for "castle" it states: An important function of a ''Muthaus'' was its role as a dining hall. In

South Lower Saxony South Lower Saxony (german: Südniedersachsen) refers to the southern part of the German federal state of Lower Saxony. The region so described is neither historically nor geographically clearly defined to the north within Lower Saxony. It cuts acr ...

and

East Westphalia Ostwestfalen-Lippe (, literally ''East(ern) Westphalia-Lippe'', abbreviation OWL) is the eastern region of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, congruent with the administrative region of Detmold and containing the eastern part of Westph ...

six such buildings have survived from the 14th century: # Hardeg Castle in

Hardegsen Hardegsen () is a town in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km southwest of Northeim, and 15 km northwest of Göttingen. Burg Hardeg is a medieval castle in Hardegsen. The castle was fo ...

, built in 1324. It is the oldest, profane structure of its size in the whole of Lower Saxony. The rectangular, over 30-metre-high building of

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

blocks is especially well preserved. Formerly it was the main building of Hardeg Castle, later used as a grain store. Today it houses an event centre. # Lindau Castle in Lindau (Eichsfeld), probably built in 1322. Lindau Castle was destroyed in the

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 (80 ...

; only the ''Mushaus'' has survived. Its walls are up to five metres thick. # Beverungen Castle in

Beverungen Beverungen () is a town in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Beverungen lies in the Weser Uplands on the side of the Weser opposite Solling roughly 10 km south of Höxter. In parts of the eastern mu ...

. The castle was built in 1332 by the Principality of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

. In 1632 it was almost totally destroyed by the Hessians, but was largely rebuilt in 1650. Since 1986 it has housed the chair museum. # Lichtenau Castle in

Lichtenau (Westfalen) Lichtenau is a municipality in the district of Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Lichtenau is situated on the western slope of the Eggegebirge, approx. 15 km south-east of Paderborn. Division of the town After the ...

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

in Marienmünster. The tower house (family castle of the counts of Schwalenberg) dates to the 2nd half of the 14th century. # Dreckburg Castle near Salzkotten, probably built between 1347 and 1357. File:Mushaus Lindau (Eichsfeld).jpg, The ''Mushaus'' of Lindau Castle File:Lichtenau (Westf) Burg.jpg, Tower house of Lichtenau Castle File:Oldenburg Marienmuenster.jpg, The Oldenburg near Marienmünster File:Salzkotten Dreckburg.jpg, The Dreckburg near Salzkotten A particularly fine example of a tower house is the 1508

lowland castle The term lowland castle or plains castle (german: Niederungsburg, Flachlandburg, Tieflandburg) describes a type of castle that is situated on a lowland, plain or valley floor, as opposed to one built on higher ground such as a hill spur. The cla ...

of Radolfshausen in Ebergötzen. Tower-like houses are also found in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, e.g. the ''Turmhaus'' of Altenburg Castle.

References

Literature

* Stadtverwaltung Hardegsen (publ.): ''Burg Hardegsen und das Muthaus''. Geiger-Verlag, 2003,

External links

{{Commonscat, Muthaus
The ''Mushaus'' in Lindau

Photograph of the ''Turmhaus'' in Beverungen

Castle architecture