Society for International Castle Studies
The Gesellschaft für Internationale Burgenkunde eV (GIB) deals with medieval castle culture from the Carolingian era to the end of the Middle Ages. The GIB researches European and Mediterranean fortifications and addresses the public through exhibitions with its architectural, ship and figure models.
History of the GIB
The GIB was founded on April 26, 1996 as a non-profit association in Aachen with the participation of the Bundestag member Hans Stercken and the General Manager of the Franco-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Paris , Consul Cornel Renfert and on the initiative of the architect Bernhard Siepen, who has headed it since 2000 . In 1997 she started building the first model, the Donjon von Coucy , which was followed by other models, most recently the Castel del Monte . Initially there were exhibitions about French donjons (well-fortified residential towers), castles and bazaars from the crusader era and about medieval shipbuilding and shipping, the GIB is currently concerned with the Palatinate construction of the Carolingians - up to the Staufer era . A model of the Aachen imperial palace is planned .
Models 1: 25
The focus of the multilingual exhibitions are the architectural models on a scale of 1:25. Thousands of figures made according to historical templates enliven the scenes. The models were created based on our own research in dialogue with experts for the relevant epoch. Many of the objects shown are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The models represent a three-dimensional journey into the Middle Ages in the Orient and Occident.
Donjon of Coucy 1339
With a height of 54 m, a diameter of 31 m and walls up to 7.5 m thick, the main tower of Coucy Castle was the mightiest residential tower in the West. In the vicinity of the famous early Gothic cathedral of Laon , Enguerrand III. In the years 1223 to 1225 the mighty tower was erected on the castle hill of his city Coucy (Picardy) as an impressive manifestation of his power . Under Mazarin, the tower vaults were blown up and the impressive ruins were completely destroyed by German troops in 1917. The model shows the castle in the state of siege in 1339, when, at the beginning of the Hundred Years War, it resisted English troops who tried to storm the mantle wall with siege towers and slingshots. A section through the tower and Pallas opens a view of the halls and the defense platform surrounded by Hurden . The model section includes the entire donjon , half of Pallas, part of the core and the outer bailey.
Design basis: own drawings, plans by Viollet-le-Duc and archive photos from the 19th century.
French knight tournament 14th century
The model, which is characterized by the colors of the coat of arms of the French nobility, illustrates courtly leisure activities in France in the 14th century. Here, too, the central figure is the Lord of Coucy with his court, who has invited princes and knights to his festive tournament.
Aleppo bazaar 16th century
Aleppo in Syria, one of the oldest cities in the world, has the world's largest bazaar, which is still in use today , below the famous citadel and in the immediate vicinity of the Friday Mosque. The Frankincense Route from Arabia and the Silk Route from China met in Aleppo.
The model shows a section of 80 m × 80 m of the bazaar during the Ottoman rule. It shows a caravanserai and a domed double bath ( hammam ) from early Ottoman times , surrounded by narrow souk alleys, in which there is lively bazaar activity .
Design basis: cadastral plans from the French mandate and measurements on site by a Syrian architectural office.
Krak des Chevaliers 1271
In the foothills of the Gebel el-Ansarieh in southern Syria, the most impressive surviving crusader castle is enthroned at a height of 650 m . The Krak des Chevaliers , separated from the ledge in the south by a ditch, still dominates the valley with its two concentric walls. The Johanniter bought the place in 1142 and in the following decades expanded the existing small castle into the existing large fortress. Earthquakes interrupted the construction work between 1156 and 1202 and caused destruction. Sultan Saladin and his successors besieged the castle several times in vain. After a first failed attempt in 1267, the Mamluk Sultan Baibars attacked Krak again in 1271. With huge siege equipment and miners he was able to destroy a tower and convinced the crew to hand over the fortress to him against safe conduct.
The model shows the last phase of this siege, shortly before the south-west tower of the outer bailey collapsed after being undermined. While Muslim attackers and crusaders occupy their posts, pilgrims and rural population flee to the upper castle. On the back of the model, the visitor looks into the cut-open central castle and the dormitory, which can hold up to 2000 people, the vestibule, the knight's hall and the kitchen.
Design basis: total station survey
Muslim weight stone throwers 13th century
This type of large blide appears to have been developed in the Islamic world during the 12th century Crusades. New elements were the long lever arm, the pedal bike and the use of a pulley block and a protractor. One model shows the slingshot under construction, the other in action.
Design basis: Description and sketch by Al-Zardkas around 1375 (Top-Kapi Sarayi, Istanbul)
Crusader ships in the port of Acre 1270
In 1104, Acre , located on a peninsula and secured on the land side by a double ring of walls, is the most important and largest port in the Holy Land and becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and at the same time the headquarters of all Crusader orders . In 1291 the Sultan of Egypt conquered this last great Christian bastion in the Levant .
The model shows a harbor scene in front of the chain courtyard at the inner harbor around the middle of the 13th century. A nave from St. Ludwig's fleet is just leaving the port with 350 pilgrims. Meanwhile, his brother Karl von Anjou's horse transporter, a tarida built like a galley for 108 rowers, is unloading its cargo at the quay. Design basis: City plan based on Petrus Vesconte and Marino Sanudo. Ships according to the building orders of Ludwig IX. and Charles of Anjou and the traditional building methods (partisoni).
Castel del Monte 1240
The famous octagonal Castel of Emperor Frederick II rises at a height of 540 m . Each corner is marked by an octagonal tower. Apparently the construction was never completed. Its function is still puzzling today: fortification, hunting lodge or sacred building?
The model implements one of these hypotheses: with defensive battlements on raised towers, the castle appears from a distance like a crown on its hill. A step cut on the back gives a view of the courtyard and the interior. The figure scenes show Emperor Friedrich II several times: when he receives ambassadors, together with his falconers and with scholars.
Design basis: plans based on construction work by Wulf Schirmer , Karlsruhe
Exhibitions
Since 1998, more than 1 million visitors have seen the GIB exhibitions in various museums in Europe and America. These were:
| place | museum | year | Exhibition name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonn | LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn | 2009 | Castles 1:25 - Middle Ages in the model |
| Washington, DC ( USA ) | The National Geographic Museum | 2006 | Castles of the Crusades, a view in miniature |
| Omaha / Nebraska (USA) | Joslyn Art Museum | 2006 | French Donjons: Castle of Coucy - Medieval Life in Miniature |
| Frankfurt am Main | Archaeological Museum | 2005/06 | Castles and bazaars from the time of the crusaders |
| Sully-sur-Loire ( F ) | Sully-sur-Loire castle | 2005 | Au temps des Donjons |
| Solingen / Wuppertal | Castle | 2005 | The Coucy keep |
| Dusseldorf | House of Architects | 2004/05 | From Aleppo to Coucy - from the Orient to the Occident |
| Kulmbach | Plassenburg | 2004 | French donjons |
| Frankfurt am Main | Archaeological Museum | 2003 | Medieval skyscrapers |
| Mönchengladbach | Rheydt Castle | 2002 | Coucy 1225 |
| Erfurt | Runneburg | 2001 | French castles |
| Washington DC | The National Geographic Museum | 2001 | French Donjon: Castle of Coucy |
| Dresden | Kriebstein Castle | 2000 | French Donjons - French residential and defense towers of the 11th-15th centuries Century |
| Coburg | Veste Coburg | 2000 | Proud castles, firmly assembled, French donjons |
| Meissen | Albrechtsburg | 2000 | French donjons, French residential and defense towers of the 11th – 15th centuries Century |
| Soissons (F) | Musée de Soissons: St. Léger Abbey Church | 1999 | Château de Coucy, image he mémoire |
| Strasbourg (F) | Hôtel du Département | 1999 | Les donjons français |
| Loches (F) | Loches Castle | 1998 | Les Donjons de l'ouest de la France |
| Aachen | Customer hall Münsterplatz of the Sparkasse Aachen | 1998 | French donjons |
GIB activities in brief
- Production of castle models based on building measurements on the object on a scale of 1:25.
- Modeling and painting of figures on a scale of 1:25 to illustrate an authentic castle environment according to historical specifications, e.g. B. Miniatures.
- Organization of multimedia shows and slide shows, seminars, conferences.
- Presentation of important castle complexes in models, drawings and on display boards.
- Excursions and study trips to representative castles and exhibitions.
- Promotion of research and craft work.
- Courses on historical secular buildings in cooperation with training cities (museum, school, university)
- Accompaniment of the exhibition preparation by scientific advisory boards.
Publications
- French donjons , publisher Bernhard Siepen, Aachen 2002, ISBN 3-00-007776-6
- Apartment towers , published by Heinz Müller, Langenweißbach 2002, ISBN 3-930036-76-2
- Ile de France gothique - 2 - Les demeures seigneuriales , published by Jean Mesqui, Paris 1988, ISBN 2-7084-0374-5
- Châteaux et enceintes de la France Médiévale , editor Jean Mesqui, Paris 1991, ISBN 2-7084-0419-9
- Les programs résidentiels du château de Coucy du XIIIe au XVIe siècle , published by Jean Mesqui, Paris 1994
- Castles and bazaars from the time of the crusaders , publishers Hans Altmann and Bernhard Siepen, Fulda 2005, ISBN 3-86568-046-1 (exhibition book)
- Castles and bazaars from the time of the crusaders , publishers Bernhard Siepen, Karina Kisza and Nina Radermacher (coloring book), Fulda 2005, ISBN 3-86568-059-3
- Traces of the Crusaders - Models , publishers Bernhard Siepen and Ulrich Alertz, Aachen 2009, ISBN 978-3-927535213
- Damascus - Aleppo - 5000 years of urban development in Syria, publisher Mammoun Fansa , Heinz Gaube, Jens Windelberg, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2694-7
- Castel del Monte - research results from 1990 to 1996, editor Wulf Schirmer , Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2657-2
- Science and technology in Islam, introduction to the history of the Arabic-Islamic sciences , editor Fuat Sezgin, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-8298-0072-X
Web links
- Multilingual website of the Society for International Castle Studies with short films about the models and press reports at http://burgenkunde.de
- Multilingual website for exhibition acquisition at museums with short films at http://burgenkunde.de/museum
Individual evidence
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↑ Washington Post of August 18, 2006: Crusades: Storming the Castle
Washington Times of July 16, 2006: Secrets of medieval Castles
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of January 28, 2003: The birth of science from the vividness
EL INFORMADOR, Sección Artes, 19. March 2001: Coucy, Un castillo que cruzó los mares
L'aisne nouvelle de September 2, 1999: Le château de Coucy dans tous ses états
further reports http://burgenkunde.de/public/index_publik_ger.htm (press), http: //burgenkunde.de/main/main_fernseh.htm (TV) - ↑ As part of the exhibition Les donjons francais at the Musée de Soissons, the Journée de la Fédération des Sociétés d'Histoire et d'Archéolgie de L'Aisne took place in Soissons and Coucy under the direction of Jean Mesqui as President of the Société francaise d 'Archeology and Bernhard Siepen took place as a speaker. As part of the exhibition Castles and Bazaars of the Crusader Period in Frankfurt / Main from January 27th to 29th, 2006, a symposium took place at the Marksburg between the Deutsche Burgenvereinigung eV, the European Castle Institute and the GIB: Castles and Towns of the Eastern Mediterranean / Burgen und Cities of the crusader era in the Middle East.
- ↑ The exhibition French Donjons was based on 10 years of research on 130 donjons by the architects Dip.-Ing. Bernhard Siepen and Sibert von Lovenberg. The exhibition Castles and Bazaars from the Crusader Period was accompanied by a 17-member advisory board consisting of castle researchers, historians, building historians and architects.
- ↑ Colloquium 28-30. September 2001 by the German Castle Association on the subject of residential towers with a contribution by Bernhard Siepen on the variety of floor plans of French donjons pp. 149 - 158 and 171 - 174.
- ^ Extrait du Congrès de l'Aisne méridionale (Société française d'archéologie)