A half tower (sometimes half-tower), open tower,Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. (2001). ''The Medieval Fortress. Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages'', Da Capo, Cambridge, MA, p. 27. . or open-gorged towerHull, Lise. ''Understanding the Castle Ruins of England and Wales: How to Interpret the History and Meaning of Masonry and Earthworks.'' London: MacFarland, 2009. p. 137. . (german: Schalenturm, ''Halbschalenturm'' or ''Schanzturm'') is a fortified stone tower in an external wall or castle

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. Fo ...

that is open, or only lightly constructed, at the rear. Towers of this type were used, for example, in city walls. City gates can also be incorporated into a type of half tower.

Description

Unlike closed towers, which were fully enclosed by walls, half towers were open on the inside, typically the side facing the city or the

inner bailey The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...

of a castle. On this side, a wooden railing on individual floors stopped people or objects from falling off. Sometimes the open side was sealed with wooden planking or weaker

timber framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

walls. Towers that are fully open at the top and rear are ''open towers'', whilst those only open on the lower floors (i.e., the top floor is walled and roofed) are ''partially open towers''. Most half towers were semi-circular in plan, but some were rectangular.

Examples

;Semi-circular half towers * Bergerschanzturm in Aachen, Germany * Endingerturm in Rapperswil, Switzerland * Haldenturm in Rapperswil * Karlsturm in Aachen * Schildturm in Aachen *

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the ...

, Kent, England *

Framlingham Castle Framlingham Castle is a castle in the market town of Framlingham in Suffolk in England. An early motte and bailey or ringwork Norman castle was built on the Framlingham site by 1148, but this was destroyed (slighted) by Henry II of England in ...

, Suffolk, England *

Orford Castle Orford Castle is a castle in Orford in the English county of Suffolk, northeast of Ipswich, with views over Orford Ness. It was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II of England to consolidate royal power in the region. The well-preserved ...

, Suffolk, England (possible) * Wehrturm am Gänsbühl in Ravensburg, Germany City or town wall towers *

Dinkelsbühl Dinkelsbühl () is a historic town in Central Franconia, a region of Germany that is now part of the state of Bavaria, in southern Germany. Dinkelsbühl is a former free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. In local government terms, Dinkelsb� ...

, Germany *

Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southe ...

, Germany * Einbeck, Germany *

Freiburg im Üechtland Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, Switzerland File:Ahrweiler Bitzenturm 428.JPG, Bitzenturm, Ahrweiler File:Dinkelsbühl 3595.jpg, Dinkelsbühl File:Ravensburg Wehrturm Gaensbuehl.jpg, Ravensburg File:Sisteron -211.jpg, Sisteron (South France) ;Rectangular half towers * Krichelenturm in Aachen * Schänzchen in Aachen * Porte d'Orange in

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...

, France Town wall towers in * Payerne, Switzerland *

Ston Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. History Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ant ...

, Croatia *

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, Poland * Avignon and

Aigues-Mortes Aigues-Mortes (; oc, Aigas Mòrtas) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitania region of southern France. The medieval city walls surrounding the city are well preserved. Situated on the junction of the Canal du Rhône à Sète a ...

(illustrated) File:Picswiss VD-49-27.jpg, Payerne File:Ston-Fort-08.jpg, Ston File:Glogow Mury 2005 3.JPG, Głogów File:Tour.Avignon.png, Avignon, Aigues-Mortes

References

Literature

*
Online version, pdf, 6.61MB

External links

{{Fortifications City walls Fortified towers by type Types of gates Castle architecture