Castle Well
A castle well was a water well built to supply drinking water to a castle. It was often the most costly and time-consuming element in the building of a castle, and its construction time could span decades. The well – as well as any available cisterns – provided a protected source of drinking water for the castle garrison in peace and war and also for any civil population seeking refuge during a siege. In medieval times, external wells were often poisoned, usually with a decomposing body, in order to force a garrison to surrender. But wells sunk within the castle itself could not be poisoned from outside during a siege. Construction Wells often had to be sunk a considerable depth in order to tap the nearest geological stratum holding sufficient water, the actual depth depending on the height of the castle and level of the groundwater. This was particularly challenging in the construction of hill castles. In addition, there was also the problem of providing sufficient oxygen fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brunnen Festung Koenigstein 2007 04 22
Brunnen is a resort on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, part of the municipality Ingenbohl (Canton of Schwyz), at . Brunnen railway station, on the Gotthard railway, is served by hourly InterRegio trains, and by lines S2 of the Stadtbahn Zug, which operates hourly between Zug, Arth-Goldau and Erstfeld, and S3 of the S-Bahn Luzern, which operates hourly to Lucerne. Brunnen also has a cablecar that goes to the Urmiberg, a part of the Rigi offering views of Lake Lucerne and the Alps. History Winston Churchill spent his honeymoon in Brunnen. J.M.W. Turner painted several views from Brunnen, among his late watercolours, in the 1840s.Shanes, Eric (2012) The Life and Masterworks of J.M.W. Turner, Parkstone International, page 225 In 1947, the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature organised an international conference on the protection of nature in Brunnen. It resulted in the creation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1948. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Homberg (Efze)
Homberg () is a small town in the northern part of Hesse, a state in central Germany, with about 15,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Schwalm-Eder district. In 2008, the town hosted the 48th Hessentag state festival. Geography Homberg lies in the transitional zone between the West Hesse Depression, a sunken area dating from the Tertiary subera, and the Knüll (or Knüllgebirge), a low mountain range. The town itself stretches over several hills underlain mainly with basalt. The river Efze flows from the Knüll through Homberg, later emptying into the river Schwalm. There exist small coal deposits in the immediate area. Constituent communities Homberg consists of the following communities: History Homberg was founded by the Hessian-Thuringian Landgraves and had its first documentary mention as a town in 1231. The place had indeed been settled earlier, but Homberg still celebrated its 775th anniversary as a town in 2006. The town's name comes from the ''Hohenburg'', the c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (), perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from the Crusades. In 1237, Henry III took over the ownership of Beeston, and it was kept in good repair until the 16th century, when it was considered to be of no further military use, although it was pressed into service again in 1643, during the English Civil War. The castle was slighted (partly demolished) in 1646, in accordance with Cromwell's destruction order, to prevent its further use as a bastion. During the 18th century, parts of the site were used as a quarry. The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument owned and managed by English Heritage. The walls of the outer bailey and the gatehouse and curtain walls of the inner bailey are recorded separately in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade I listed buildings ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zbiroh
Zbiroh () is a town in Rokycany District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,500 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Chotětín, Jablečno, Přísednice and Třebnuška are administrative parts of Zbiroh. Geography Zbiroh is located about northeast of Rokycany and northeast of Plzeň. It lies in the Křivoklát Highlands. The highest point is the hill Kohoutov at above sea level. History The first written mention of Zbiroh is from 1230. It was a market village which was promoted to a market town in 1369. During the rule of the Rosenberg family, Zbiroh developed and acquired various rights. In 1897, Zbiroh was promoted to a town by Franz Joseph I. Sights Zbiroh Castle is the most important monument. The original Romanesque-Gothic castle was built at the end of the 12th century or in the early 13th century, and belongs to the oldest aristocratic residences in the country. At the end of the 16th century, it was rebuilt into its current appearance ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harz Mountains
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German word ''Hardt'' or ''Hart'' (hill forest). The name ''Hercynia'' derives from a Celtic name and could refer to other mountain forests, but has also been applied to the geology of the Harz. The Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz with an elevation of above sea level. The Wurmberg () is the highest peak located entirely within the state of Lower Saxony. Geography Location and extent The Harz has a length of , stretching from the town of Seesen in the northwest to Eisleben in the east, and a width of . It occupies an area of , and is divided into the Upper Harz (''Oberharz'') in the northwest, which is up to 800 m high, apart from the 1,100 m high Brocken massif, and the Lower Harz (''Unterharz'') in the east which is up to aroun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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