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Bergfried
''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Italian: ''torrione''; Castilian: ''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. Stephen Friar in the ''Sutton Companion to Castles'' describes a bergfried 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, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Münzenberg Castle
Münzenberg Castle (German. ''Burg Münzenberg'') is a ruined hill castle in the Münzenberg, town of the same name in the Wetteraukreis, Hesse, Germany. It dates from the 12th century. It is one of the best preserved castles from the High Middle Ages in Germany. History The first lord of nearby Arnsburg Abbey, Arnsburg known by name is Kuno von Arnsburg, who served Emperor Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Heinrich IV as a ''Ministerialis'' in 1057. Around 1064 he married Gräfin Mathilde of the Barony of Bilstein, House of Bilstein. Their daughter, Gertrud (b. c. 1065, d. before 1093) married Eberhard von Hagen (1075-1122), lord of ' near Frankfurt, who moved his seat to Arnsburg and changed his name to "von Hagen und Arnsburg". Under Eberhard's son, Konrad I (1093-1130) the family became the most powerful in the Wetterau and the Rhine-Main region. Konrad II exchanged properties with Fulda Abbey, receiving the land around Münzenberg Castle. The name Münzenberg means ''Mint mountain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle fall to an adversary. The first keeps were made of timber and formed a key part of the motte-and-bailey castles that emerged in Normandy and Anjou during the 10th century; the design spread to England, Portugal, south Italy and Sicily. As a result of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, use spread into Wales during the second half of the 11th century and into Ireland in the 1170s. The Anglo-Normans and French rulers began to build stone keeps during the 10th and 11th centuries, including Norman keeps, with a square or rectangular design, and circular shell keeps. Stone keeps carried considerable political as well as military importance and could take a decade or more t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marksburg
The Marksburg is a castle above the town of Braubach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is one of the principal sites of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fortress was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families. It has a striking example of a bergfried designed as a butter-churn tower. Of the 40 hill castles between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz the Marksburg was one of only two which had never been destroyed (the other being Maus Castle) and at least the only one that had never fallen into disrepair. History Middle Ages A stone keep was built on the spot in 1100 by the Eppstein family and expanded into a castle around 1117 to protect the town of Braubach and to reinforce the customs facilities. It was first mentioned in documents in 1231. The Eppsteins were a powerful family in the region, with several members becoming archbishops in Mainz and Trier. In 1283, Count Eberhard of Katzenelnbogen bought it and throughout the 14th and 15th ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ward and, sometimes also a '' Zwinger'', moats, a curtain wall and other outworks. Depending on topography it may also be called an upper bailey or upper ward. The inner bailey enclosed the most important living quarters and defensive elements for the lord and his family, e.g. the great hall, the ''palas'', the tower house and the keep or '' bergfried''. The castle well or cistern was usually found in the inner bailey, because water supplies were particularly important in the past in order to be able to withstand a siege for any length of time. The inner bailey is usually the oldest part of a castle, because it contains those buildings that were the first to be built during its construction. It often has flanking towers that enabled gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belfry (architecture)
The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing Bell (instrument), bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or Steeple (architecture), steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached to a city hall or other civic building. A belfry encloses the bell chamber, the room in which the bells are housed; its walls are pierced by openings which allow the sound to escape. The openings may be left uncovered but are commonly filled with louvers to prevent rain and snow from entering and damaging the bells. There may be a separate room below the bell chamber to house the ringers. Etymology The word ''belfry'' comes from the Old French, Old North French or , meaning 'movable wooden siege tower'. The Old French word itself is derived from Middle High German , 'protecting shelter' (cf. the cognate ''bergfried''), combining the Proto-Germanic , 'to protect', or , 'mountain, high place', wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katz Castle
Katz Castle () is a castle above the German town of Sankt Goarshausen in Rhineland-Palatinate. The castle stands on a ledge looking downstream from the riverside at Sankt Goar. It was first built around 1371 by Count William II of Katzenelnbogen. The castle was bombarded in 1806 by Napoleon and rebuilt in the late 19th century, in 1896–98. It is now privately owned, and not open for visitors. Description Etymology After the original castle "Burg Katzenelnbogen" (lit. ''Castle fCat's Elbow'') this medieval fortress castle is officially known as ''Burg Neukatzenelnbogen'' (''Castle fNew Cat's Elbow''). It used to be and still is, however, comfortably and commonly contracted to "die urgKatz" ("the astleCat"). As such, it is popularly linked with Burg Maus ("the astleMouse"), which was indeed erected in closest possible vicinity as its military counterpart. Architecture The castle is of compact layout, consisting mainly of a great hall and a massive bergfried, originally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Low German
Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" refers to the altitude of the areas where it is typically spoken. Low German is most closely related to Frisian languages, Frisian and English language, English, with which it forms the North Sea Germanic group of the West Germanic languages. Like Dutch language, Dutch, it has historically been spoken north of the Benrath line, Benrath and Uerdingen line, Uerdingen isoglosses, while forms of High German languages, High German (of which Standard German is a standardized example) have historically been spoken south of those lines. Like Frisian, English, Dutch and the North Germanic languages, Low German has not undergone the High German consonant shift, as opposed to Standard German, Standard High German, which is based on High German langu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bell Tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell towers, often part of a municipal building, an educational establishment, or a tower built specifically to house a carillon. Church bell towers often incorporate clocks, and secular towers usually do, as a public service. The term campanile (, also , ), from the Italian ''campanile'', which in turn derives from ''campana'', meaning "bell", is synonymous with ''bell tower''; though in English usage campanile tends to be used to refer to a free standing bell tower. A bell tower may also in some traditions be called a belfry, though this term may also refer specifically to the substructure that houses the bells and the ringers rather than the complete tower. The tallest free-standing bell tower in the world, high, is the Mortegliano Bell To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crusader Castles
This is a list of castles in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, founded or occupied during the Crusades. For crusader castles in Poland and the Baltic states, see Ordensburg. There were two major phases of the deliberate destruction (slighting) of Crusader castles: in 1187 by Saladin and after 1260 by the Mamluks. The intention was often to prevent the castles being reused by the Crusaders. Of the architecture built by the Crusaders, castles have received more scholarly attention than other forms, such as ecclesiastical architecture. Crusader states Geographic location on today's map *Kingdom of Cyprus: Island of Cyprus (north and south) *County of Edessa: south-east Turkey *Principality of Antioch: north-west Syria, southern Turkey *County of Tripoli: northern Lebanon, north-west Syria *Kingdom of Jerusalem ** Lordship of Sidon: central Lebanon **Principality of Galilee: northern Israel, southern Lebanon, southwest Syria ** County of Jaffa and Ascalon: southern Israel, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. The county town is Maidstone. The county has an area of and had population of 1,875,893 in 2022, making it the Ceremonial counties of England#Lieutenancy areas since 1997, fifth most populous county in England. The north of the county contains a conurbation which includes the towns of Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham, and Rochester, Kent, Rochester. Other large towns are Maidstone and Ashford, Kent, Ashford, and the City of Canterbury, borough of Canterbury holds City status in the United Kingdom, city status. For local government purposes Kent consists of a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and the unitary authority area of Medway. The county historically included south-ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eynsford Castle
Eynsford Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in Eynsford, Kent. Built on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon stone ''burh'', the castle was constructed by William de Eynsford, probably between 1085 and 1087, to protect the lands of Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, from Odo, Earl of Kent, Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux. It comprised an inner bailey, inner and an outer bailey, the former protected by a stone curtain wall (fortification), curtain wall. In 1130 the defences were improved, and a large stone hall built in the inner bailey. The de Eynsford family held the castle until their male line died out in 1261, when it was divided equally between the Heringaud and de Criol families. A royal judge, William Inge, purchased half of the castle in 1307, and arguments ensued between him and his co-owner, Nicholas de Criol, who ransacked Eynsford in 1312. The castle was never reoccupied and fell into ruins, and in the 18th century it was used to hold hunting kennels and stables. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
