Hunger tower (building)

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Medieval city wall with hunger tower in Tauberbischofsheim

The hunger tower , also known as the digestion tower , is a name for a prison tower that was in use in the Middle Ages and early modern times . In today's Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania area , such towers are usually called Fangelturm .

Hunger Tower in Bernau near Berlin , on the left in the picture

Development and forms

The use of towers in both castles and city walls as a prison is documented in the sources from the late Middle Ages . A distinction must be made between dungeons and prisons: the former is accessible from above through a so-called fear hole , the latter through a door .

The condemned man was locked in the hunger bunker or hunger tower and only supplied with bread and water. The idea that prisoners were allowed to starve to death in these towers as a punishment stems, however, predominantly from 19th century romanticism . Nevertheless, not a few died after several months of exhaustion (also: cachexia ) and weak immune system , caused by a lack of nutrients and light.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Hunger Tower (building)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files