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Shield Wall (fortification)
A shield wall, also shield-wall or , refers to the highest and strongest curtain wall, or tower of a castle that defends the only practicable line of approach to a castle built on a mountain, hill or headland. German sources may refer to a shield wall that protects two or more sides as a or , which is variously translated as "mantle-wall", "mantle wall" or "high screen-wall". There is often no clear, definitive distinction between a shield wall and a mantle wall. Occurrence Shield walls are found on many German and Austrian hill castles, but are not common in Great Britain or Ireland where the terrain of the rocky hills on which castles were built did not favour such constructions. However some castles in those areas built on headlands such as Tantallon and Old Head do have a similar feature. Origin and description The construction of shield walls was common in the late 12th century in Germany and Austria and may have been a reaction to the increasing use of heavy siege en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allure (fortification)
A ''chemin de ronde'' ( French, "round path"' or "patrol path"; ), also called an allure, alure or, more prosaically, a wall-walk, is a raised protected walkway behind a castle battlement. In early fortifications, high castle walls were difficult to defend from the ground. The ''chemin de ronde'' was devised as a walkway allowing defenders to patrol the tops of ramparts, protected from the outside by the battlements or a parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ..., placing them in an advantageous position for shooting or dropping. References External links * Castle architecture {{castle-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bran Castle
Bran Castle (; or ; ) is a castle in Bran, southwest of Brașov. The castle was built by Saxons in 1377 who were given the privilege by Louis I of Hungary. It is a national monument and landmark in Transylvania. The fortress is on the Transylvanian side of the historical border with Wallachia, on road DN73. Marketed outside Romania as Dracula's Castle, it is presented as the home of the title character in Bram Stoker's ''Dracula''. There is no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle, which has only tangential associations with Vlad the Impaler, voivode of Wallachia, whose byname 'Drăculea' resembles that of Dracula. Stoker's description of Dracula's crumbling fictional castle also bears no resemblance to Bran Castle. The castle is now a museum dedicated to displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie. Tourists can see the interior on their own or by a guided tour. At the bottom of the hill is a small open-air museum exhibiting traditional Romanian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schönburg (Rhine)
The Schönburg is a castle above the medieval town of Oberwesel in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. History Schönburg Castle was first mentioned in history between the years 911 and 1166. From the 12th century, the Lords of Schönburg ruled over the town of Oberwesel and had also the right to levy customs on the Rhine river. The most famous was Friedrich von Schönburg - a much-feared man known as "Marshall Schomberg" - who in the 17th century served as a colonel and as a general under the King of France in France and Portugal and later also for the Prussians and for William Prince of Orange in England. The Schönburg line died out with the last heir, the son of Friedrich of Schönburg. The castle was burned down in 1689 by French soldiers during the War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers. Its highest peak is the Feldberg (Black Forest), Feldberg with an elevation of above sea level. Roughly oblong in shape, with a length of and breadth of up to , it has an area of about . Historically, the area was known for forestry and the mining of ore deposits, but tourism has now become the primary industry, accounting for around 300,000 jobs. There are Baroque fortifications in the Black Forest, several ruined military fortifications dating back to the 17th century. History In ancient times, the Black Forest was known as , after the Celtic deity, Abnoba. In Roman times (Late antiquity), it was given the name ("Marcynian Forest", from the Germanic word ''marka'', "border"). The Black ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berneck (Altensteig)
Berneck may refer to: * Berneck, St. Gallen, a municipality in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland *Bad Berneck im Fichtelgebirge, a spa town in Bavaria, Germany *Berneck (river) The Schiltach (in its upper course also: ''Berneck'') is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is a tributary of the Kinzig in the town Schiltach. See also *List of rivers of Baden-Württemberg A list of rivers of Baden-Württemberg, Ger ..., a river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany * Berneck Castle, a castle near the village of Kauns, Austria * Christopher Berneck (born 1992), German figure skater See also * Bernecker, surname {{disambiguation, surname, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liebenzell Castle
Liebenzell Castle () is a hill castle on a sloping hill spur on the sides of the ''Schlossberg'' ("castle hill") above the town of Bad Liebenzell in the district of Calw in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg. The fortification was once the most important castle in the Württemberg part of the Black Forest. History The castle was built in the 12th century by the counts of Calw. In 1196 the counts of Eberstein were recorded as the castle's owners. From 1220 to 1230 the castle was extended. It was destroyed in the 16th century and in 1692 and rebuilt in 1954. Today the castle is owned by the International Forum of Liebenzell Castle. It is used as a youth training centre for the Bad Liebenzell International Youth Forum and has a restaurant. Layout The castle comprises an irregular, pentagonal fortification with a mighty shield wall, into which a square '' bergfried'' with a garderobe has been integrated. The great hall (''Palas'') is decorated with ornamental ogival ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France, and forty kilometres (twenty-five miles) north-east of Strasbourg, France. In 2021, the town became part of the transnational World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Great Spa Towns of Europe", because of its famous spas and architecture that exemplifies the popularity of spa towns in Europe in the 18th through 20th centuries. Name The springs at Baden-Baden were known to the Roman Empire, Romans as "" ("The Waters") and "" ("Aurelia (name), Aurelia-of-the-Waters") after M. Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus. In modern German, "" is a noun meaning "bathing", but "Baden", the original name of the town, derives from an earlier plural, plural form of ' (Bathing, "bath"). (Modern Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alt Eberstein
The ruins of Alt-Eberstein are the remains of the former Schloss Eberstein (Eberstein Castle), located on a hill near the town of Ebersteinburg and directly upstream of the modern city of Baden-Baden, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu .... The original structure was built in 1100 as the primary residence of the Counts of Eberstein, but by the end of the 16th century had been abandoned and much of the castle was torn down to provide materials for other structures. Presently it is a German national monument and a State Palace of Baden-Wuerttemberg. History A spur castle situated on a once-strategic mountain peak, the fortress was constructed as the seat of the Counts of Eberstein perhaps as early as 1100. The oldest part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westerwald
The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the States of Germany, German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish Slate Mountains). Its highest elevation, at 657 m above sea level, is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald. Tourist attractions include the (394 metres), site of some Celts, Celtic ruins from La Tène culture, La Tène times (5th to 1st century BC), found in the Dornburg, Hesse, community of the same name, and Limburg an der Lahn, a town with a Middle Ages, mediaeval centre. The Geology, geologically old, heavily Erosion, eroded range of the Westerwald is in its northern parts overlaid by a Volcano, volcanic upland made of Neogene basalt layers. It covers an area of some , and therefore roughly , making the Westerwald one of Germany's biggest mountain ranges by area. In areas of subsidence, it has in its flatter w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sporkenburg
The Sporkenburg is a late medieval castle ruin about one kilometre south of Eitelborn in the district of Westerwaldkreis in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The ruins of the spur castle lie within the parish of the village of Eitelborn in the Westerwald hills above the '' L'' 329 between Bad Ems and Arzbach. Located in the middle of the forest, the Sporkenburg is not easy to find. The easiest option is to follow the signs along the castle path (''Burgweg'') into the woods from the eastern exit of the village of Eitelborn aus (''Erlenweg'', near the cemetery). Pass through the barrier and take the right hand path from the crosstracks which leads gently downhill. Alternatively take the ascent from the L 329 from where the castle can be seen above the valley. The ruins are not managed and are freely accessible at any time. Layout The tower castle (''Turmburg'') is located on a roughly rectangular hill spur above the stream of Emsbach. The spur drops stee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
