Fliehburg
As Fliehburg (also a refuge , people Castle , peasant fortress or Vryburg ), a castle-like referred surrounded mostly by ramparts defense system, which was not permanently inhabited, but served a locally resident population as a temporary retreat in danger of war. In terms of their construction, they are mostly wall castles .
In past centuries, such complexes were often referred to with historically incorrect, legendary names, such as Hünenburgen , the creation of which was attributed to Hünen , or as Heidenburgen, since Heiden was supposed to be the builder, or Hun castles , in connection with the Hun Storm .
history
In Europe, archaeological excavations have proven a large number of large ramparts (mostly more than 100 m in diameter) from prehistoric times , which as refuges mainly from the Hallstatt period (from around 800 BC), especially the Latène period (450 BC) . up to the time of the birth of Christ). About the ancient historiography , among other things, the refuges of the Gauls and other Celts , which Caesar called oppidum , are known, but they could also be permanent settlements; The Celtic Oppida are often larger, urban-like and fortified settlements from the La Tène period (late Iron Age). Similar ring ramparts ( ramparts ) were also built by the various Germanic and Slavic peoples, the latter well into the Middle Ages , either as places of escape or permanent settlement. The main building material used was earth, but also wood and stone in various construction methods.
The refuges built by the Romans themselves from the time around 300 AD, when the Limes was overrun and Germanic tribes raided Roman Germania ( Limesfall ), corresponded to the highly developed Roman military architecture .
The transition from refuges to permanently inhabited places has often been fluid or in alternating phases, depending on the threat situation. The water supply, the proximity or distance to fertile plains or trade routes, the altitude with a panoramic view or forest, for defense or as a hiding place in times of war or as a place of retreat for valley dwellers during floods were also decisive. The spectrum ranges from simple ramparts with palisades , in which people and cattle could briefly escape to safety, to hut villages within the ramparts that are inhabited for a longer period of time. The hilltop settlements during the migration period , especially in the 4th and 5th centuries AD, sometimes even took on a city-like character. In Italy such hilltop settlements are often inhabited to this day, in the Eastern Roman Empire they are called castrones . Refugee castles were built during the migration of the peoples by the advancing Germanic tribes as well as by the Roman citizens who protected themselves from them , including the Romanized Germanic population in the Roman Empire . Roman refuges can be found around the Ardennes and Eifel, those of the Alamanni in southwest Germany, the Thuringians in central Germany , the Romanized Celts in the Alps, Italy and the Roman population in the Balkans. After the end of the Western Roman Empire, these facilities were partially used by the invading Goths and Lombards .
In the 8th century, the conflicts between Franconia and Saxony (the Saxon Wars of Charlemagne ) led to the construction of refuges, often on ridges that had been settled in pre-Christian times. At the foot of mountains with Saxon walls, such as Syburg or Eresburg, Franconian royal courts were often laid out. Soon afterwards the Normans invaded all of Europe (9th / 10th century AD), at the same time the Saracens in the Mediterranean area (from around 700 AD) and between 899 and 955 the Hungarian invasions followed , also throughout Europe , and again, refuges were built or old refuges and settlements on hills were re-fortified. The Hungary ramparts , however, emerged unlike previous refuges, not spontaneous, but rather centrally planned due to the castle order that King Henry I on the court day of Worms (926) issued. In addition to the expansion of older ramparts, previously defenseless cities and markets were fortified with walls.
The Slavic ramparts are to be seen in connection with the simultaneous construction of castles in the neighboring German areas, as defensive measures against the German settlement in the east . They only occur where independent Slavic societies existed, so they are absent despite Slavic settlement in Thuringia , in the Main-Regnitz area ( Bavaria Slavica ) and in Lower Austria , because this is where the Slavs settled within Eastern Franconia .
Even later in the Middle Ages, refuges were built by farmers. These peasant castles served the rural population as protection from marauding war hordes. The fortifications usually did not have much in common with the permanently inhabited castles built by the nobility , but often consisted only of earth fortifications and wooden palisades on easily defended heights.
The medieval fortified churches and fortified churches also served as refuges. They were primarily used as a village church, but thanks to the fortifications, they were also suitable as a temporary refuge for the villagers. The wall of the churchyard, which served in its actual function as a cemetery, was expanded into a defensive wall in fortified churches , and the church tower could also take on a defensive function.
Shape of the plants
Refugee castles consisted mostly of earthworks and ramparts ( ramparts ), were sometimes laid out as square entrenchments and often had palisades . As a rule, refuges have no towers, but sometimes gate tower- like superstructures (see Bennigser Burg ) occur. Refugee castles of this type belonged to unfortified rural settlements and offered protection to the population of a region in the event of an enemy attack, while the settlements mostly fell prey to looting and destruction by the attackers. In the event of a siege , the extensive refuges could also be equipped with provisions. Since refuges were mostly not permanent settlements, archaeological excavations often found only a few remains.
Refugee castles in Germany (with time indication)
- Allersburg near Loiperstätt, between Dorfen and Velden (Vils)
- Amelungsburg ( Weser Uplands ), from the pre-Roman Iron Age around 400 BC Chr.
- Babilonie ( Wiehengebirge ), pre-Roman Iron Age
- Barenburg near Eldagsen , probably pre-Roman Iron Age
- Borlinghausen
- Büraburg (Hessen), Franconian large castle around 680 AD on an older settlement
- Bumannsburg in Bergkamen , around 800 AD ( Saxon Wars of Charlemagne )
- Döben near Leipzig, the Zetten , Slavic rectangular wall on a Bronze Age cult site
- Ring wall installation Dünsberg (Hesse), Iron Age oppidum, settled from the 8th century BC. BC, inner wall 3rd century BC BC, outer wall around 120 BC Chr.
- Eresburg , Sauerland, (old) Saxon people's castle (7th / 8th century AD) on an older settlement site (since 400 BC)
- Eringaburg near Holzminden, probably early Iron Age, also in the 11th – 12th centuries. Century used
- Eiringsburg or Iringsburg south of Bad Kissingen , 7th century AD
- Falkenburg , Thuringia, undated
- Fliehburg near Merheim in Cologne-Merheim
- Grotenburg (at the Hermannsdenkmal in the Teutoburg Forest ), late pre-Roman Iron Age
- Heidenburg near Gimmeldingen, Rhineland-Palatinate, 9./10. Century AD ( Norman invasions)
- Heidenlöcher near Deidesheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, 9./10. Century AD
- Heidenschanze near Sievern , district of Cuxhaven, from 50 BC. Used until the late 1st century AD (disputes between Romans, Frisians, Marcomanni, Cheruscans and Saxons)
- Heidenschuh near Klingenmünster, Rhineland-Palatinate, 9./10. Century AD (Norman Invasions)
- Herlingsburg near Schieder-Schwalenberg , on a fortified settlement site from the older Latène period, a Saxon rampart from the 8th century AD with an outer and inner double wooden shell wall (used until the beginning of the 10th century)
- Hohensyburg near Dortmund, Saxon ring wall around 700 AD
- Hünenburg near Bielefeld , pre-Roman Iron Age from 200 BC Chr
- Hünenburg (Ohle) , Sauerland, time not known, probably Saxon 8th century AD, possibly on a place of escape or settlement from the Latène period
- Isenburg near Hanover, 10th to 11th century AD ( Hungary Wall )
- Jansburg near Coesfeld in the Münsterland , around 100 AD
- Katzenberg, late Roman fortification near Mayen, around 300 AD ( Limesfall )
- Kukesburg near Hanover, first plant 3rd century BC BC, later a Saxon ring wall 8th to 12th century AD
- Mellingburg near Hamburg, 8./9. Century AD (Norman Invasions)
- Ring wall Mettermich in Mettermich (Rhön), finds from the La Tène period , possibly also Celtic cult complex and refugee castle
- Monraburg , Thuringia, late Bronze Age hill fort, probably re-fortified by the Franks during the Merovingian period
- Plößnitz , Saxony-Anhalt, double moat from the pre-Roman Iron Age
- Reitling fortifications in the Elm near Braunschweig (Krimmelburg, Brunkelburg, Wendehai walls), settlement site from the Latène period (5th century BC), ramparts from the pre-Roman Iron Age, third construction phase in the early Middle Ages (7th and 8th centuries .), as well as the guard station of the Teutonic Order around 1300
- Ringgenburg (Schmalegg) near Ravensburg, Hallstatt period
- Ring wall of the Marienburg near Nordstemmen , settlement site of the Bronze Age, age of the wall unclear (probably from the 8th century)
- Ringwall Venne in Kottenforst near Bonn, 10. – 12. Century
- Robischwall , Dohna (Saxony), Bronze Age settlement (2000–800 BC) with Sorbian ramparts from the 10th to 12th centuries.
- Castle Schlosseck near Bad Dürkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, 9./10. Century AD (Norman Invasions)
- Tönsberg (Teutoburg Forest), hill fort from the Latène period (4th century BC), used as a Saxon camp in the early Middle Ages
- Vogtsberg Castle near Würzburg
- Waldschlössel near Klingenmünster, Rhineland-Palatinate, between 880 and 920 (Norman incursions), as well as tower hill castle around 1030
- Wartberg near Heilbronn, Bronze Age ring wall and moat
- Wittekindsburg near Porta Westfalica, pre-Roman Iron Age with expansion in the Saxon-Franconian period
Refugee castles in Austria
- Fliehburg near Duel / Paternion (Carinthia):
- The Fliehburg on a hill is a late antique fort built around 400 AD, which had the task of securing the road crossing into the Gailtal, i.e. it was not primarily built as a refuge. During excavations, an early Christian church was uncovered next to the fortifications inside the fort.
- Castle Kreuzen / Bad Kreuzen (Upper Austria), according to tradition, built as a refugee castle around 900.
See also
- Wallburg
- Oppidum (Celts)
- Migration period hilltop settlement
- Slavic ramparts
- Hungary walls
- Cave castle