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Nikolai Tower (Görlitz)
The 45m tall Nikolai Tower (, ) probably erected before 1250 is part of the historic fortification of Görlitz. It is located inside the inner part of Görlitz between the old town and the historic nikolai suburb (''Nikolaivorstadt''). Together with the Thick Tower and the Reichenbach Tower three of four fortified towers are still preserved in Görlitz. History Presumably, the Nikolai Tower was already part of the Görlitz city fortification before the first major expansion of the city in 1250. However it was first mentioned in a document from 1348. Like other towers of the city the Nikolai Tower had a fortified gateway with three gates. The inner gate was located between the tower and the nikolai zwinger. The middle passage was covered with a building and had a portcullis. The outer gate was located on the trench, connected via a drawbridge. The access to the tower was through the city wall or through an external staircase. After the town fire in 1717 the slim and steep hood wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortification
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ("strong") and ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large cyclopean stone walls fitted without mortar had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae. A Greek ''Towns of ancient Greece#Military settlements, phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the ancient Roman, Roman castellum or fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Görlitz
Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after Cottbus, and the largest town in the German part of the region of Silesia. Görlitz is the easternmost town in Germany (the easternmost village being Zentendorf, Zentendorf (Šćeńc)) and lies opposite the Poland, Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was the eastern part of Görlitz until 1945. The town has approximately 56,000 inhabitants, which make Görlitz the List of cities in Saxony by population, sixth-largest town in Saxony. It is the seat of the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz. Together with Zgorzelec it forms the Euro City of Görlitz/Zgorzelec, which has a combined population of around 86,000. The town's recorded history began in the 11th century as a Sorbs, Sorbian settlement. Through its history it has been under German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortified Tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fulfil different functions. Shape of towers Rectangular towers Square or rectangular towers are easy to construct and give a good amount of usable internal space. Their disadvantage is that the corners are vulnerable to mining. Despite this vulnerability, rectangular towers continued to be used, and Muslim military architecture generally favoured them.Kennedy (2000). Round towers Round towers, also called drum towers, are more resistant to siege technology such as sappers and projectiles than square towers. The round front is more resistant than the straight side of a square tower, just as a load-bearing arch. This principle was already understood in antiquity. Horseshoe-shaped towers The horseshoe-shaped (or D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on the periphery of the original settlement may have become the town's principal commercial and/or residential hub, leaving the historic "old town" as a secondary focus. There are many places throughout the world referred to as the ''old town'' (sometimes construed as a proper noun and capitalized). This is a list of some famous old towns: Africa Algeria * Casbah of Algiers, UNESCO World Heritage Site * Old Town of Constantine, Algeria, Constantine * Old Town of Oran * Old Béjaïa * Old Tlemcen Egypt * Islamic Cairo, Medieval Cairo, in Cairo, UNESCO World Heritage Site * Rosetta, Old Rashid * Old Town of Alexandria Ethiopia * Old Town of Harar, UNESCO World Heritage Site Ivory Coast * Grand-Bassam, Historic Town of Grand-Bassam, UNE ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thick Tower (Görlitz)
The Thick Tower (, ) erected in 1250 is part of the historic fortification of Görlitz. The tall tower is the most massive tower in the city. Its walls in the lower part reach a thickness of , thus the name of a ''thick'' tower. Apart from it, the Nikolai Tower and the Reichenbach Tower are still preserved. In total, Görlitz had four large watchtowers and defense towers. History The tower was erected in 1250. In 1305 a ''stone tower'' and a ''stone gate'' next to the ''stone street'' were mentioned. The tower guard got a living room and a chamber inside the tower in 1529, which have been abolished in October 1904. The tower kept its appearance throughout the centuries. However the fighting platform was walled up and a new copper hood in Renaissance style was added in the 16th century. The former triple gateway next to the tower has been demolished. Originally the inner gate was connected to the city walls and stood in front of the tower on the ''Stone street''. The middle pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reichenbach Tower (Görlitz)
The Reichenbach Tower (, ) probably built in the 13th century and first mentioned in 1376 is the western part of the historic fortification of Görlitz. With a height of 51m it is the tallest of the three fortified towers in Görlitz. (the other two being Thick Tower and Nikolai Tower). History Probably the history of the tower dates back to the 13th century, when the Upper Market (''Obermarkt'') was laid out. The tower was first mentioned in 1376. Above the cubic lower part an octagon with a monopitch roof was put on. It merges into a cylindrical upper tower. The tower is crowned by circular battlements with Lombard band and the hood. The circular battlements on top of the tower and a wooden hood were added in 1485. The Reichenbach Tower was connected in 1521 with the ''Kaisertrutz'' (another fortified tower erected in 1490) by two walls. The late wooden gothic tower hood had been replaced in 1782 by a baroque copper hood. The gateway and the connecting walls were demolished ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortified Tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fulfil different functions. Shape of towers Rectangular towers Square or rectangular towers are easy to construct and give a good amount of usable internal space. Their disadvantage is that the corners are vulnerable to mining. Despite this vulnerability, rectangular towers continued to be used, and Muslim military architecture generally favoured them.Kennedy (2000). Round towers Round towers, also called drum towers, are more resistant to siege technology such as sappers and projectiles than square towers. The round front is more resistant than the straight side of a square tower, just as a load-bearing arch. This principle was already understood in antiquity. Horseshoe-shaped towers The horseshoe-shaped (or D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zwinger
A () is an open kill zone area between two defensive walls that is used for defensive purposes. s were built in the medieval and early modern periods to improve the defence of castles and town walls. The term is usually left untranslated, but is sometimes rendered as "outer courtyard", presumably referring to the subsequent role of a as a castle's defences became redundant and it was converted into a palace or ''schloss''; however, this belies its original purpose as a form of killing ground for the defence. The word is linked with , "to force", perhaps because the forced an enemy to negotiate it before assaulting the main defensive line. Essenwein states that the "main purpose of this feature was so that the besieging force could not reach the actual castle wall very easily with battering rams or belfries, but had to stop at the lower, outer wall; also that two ranks of archers, behind and above one another, could fire upon the approaching enemy".von Essenwein, "Kriegsba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portcullis
A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. Usage Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, securely closing them off during times of attack or siege. Every portcullis was mounted in vertical grooves in the walls of the castle and could be raised or lowered quickly by using chains or ropes attached to an internal winch. Portcullises had an advantage over standard gates in that they could be closed immediately at a time of crisis by a single guard. Two portcullises to the main Gate, entrance would often be used. The one closer to the inside would be closed first, and then the one further away. This was used to trap enemies, and burning wood or fire-heated sand would usually be dropped onto them from murder-holes or the roof. Early thermal weapons#Hot oil, Hot oi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City Wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls with Fortified tower, towers, bastions and gates for access to the city. From ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China, Walls of Benin, Hadrian's Wall, Anastasian Wall, and the Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose regions or mark territorial boundaries. In mountainous terrain, defensive walls such as ''letzis'' were used in combination with castles to seal valleys from potential attack. Beyond their defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions representing the status and indepen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (in the past often referred to as "late Baroque") and Neoclassicism, Neoclassical styles. It was encouraged by the Catholic Church as a means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant architecture, art, and music, though Lutheran art#Baroque period, Lutheran Baroque art developed in parts of Europe as well. The Baroque style used contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep color, grandeur, and surprise to achieve a sense of awe. The style began at the start of the 17th century in Rome, then spread rapidly to the rest of Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, then to Austria, southern Germany, Poland and Russia. By the 1730s, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Observation Tower
An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and wood. Many modern towers are also used as TV towers, restaurants, or churches. The towers first appeared in the ancient world, as long ago as the Babylonian Empire. Observation towers that are used as guard posts or observation posts over an extended period to overlook an area are commonly called watchtowers instead. Similar instances of observation towers are recognised as Crow's nest, crow's nests, Observatory, observatories, Viewing platform, viewing platforms, etc. Construction and usage Observation towers are an easily visible sight on the countryside, as they must rise over trees and other obstacles to ensure clear vision. Older control rooms have often been likened to medieval chambers. The heavy use of stone, iron, and wood in their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
