Last (fortress construction)

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A last or Swiss German Letzi is the historical name for a defense system, border , fortification or a barricade where one is held up, for example a pile or fence . It was also used for a mobile defense on the border, a Landwehr .

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The term last is used for the "extreme line of defense of a city, a castle or an area, defense to keep an enemy away". The meaning of the last is the "end of something" or especially "border fortification". The verb “letzen” comes from “lasz” in the sense of something “to stand back, hold back, hinder, inhibit [...] inflict physical damage, a wound” ( injure ). According to Johann Georg Krünitz, there is another possible relationship to the word litz (a sinew or cord). That would indicate a defense with the bow , since the strand as part of the bow (colloquially also Flitzebogen or Flitschbogen, Dutch Flitz ) was also called last in some dialects.

In Switzerland, "Letzi" was used for a border fortification "in mountainous areas and specifically for entire countries, such as for individual valleys, for cities at the end of the soft patch [...] border of a village, urban, rural area". This could consist of natural boundaries (lake, river, rocks) or by fences, hedges, border posts or simple dry stone walls.

The name appears more often as a field name or place name, such as in Letzigraben , Letzibrugg or Lëtzebuerg . In Alemannic, the term is still in use in Swiss as Letzi  [ wall ] 'dam'. The meaning of the barrier is also related to the meaning of 'stop, hold back, inhibit, prevent' from the last .

Boundary stone of the Hauensteiner Letze (Landhag) on ​​the Dogern district. The indicated spruce is the symbol of the county of Hauenstein and L stands for last
example

A Landhag or Letze was first mentioned in the county of Hauenstein in 1544 . It ran from the Albschlucht north of Albbruck to the Schlucht north of Gurtweil and was the property of the county. It consisted of a strip of green up to 50 paces wide made of hornbeams, hawthorns, brambles and similar scrub, which made penetration for both riders and foot soldiers, if not impossible, at least made considerably more difficult. A trench was dug on the attacking side and a wall was built with the excavation. Secured traffic routes, but also secret loopholes, led through the Last to the unnoticed exploration of the other side. The course of the Last was marked by boundary stones. They were marked with the spruce, the symbol of the county, and an L for last.

literature

  • Last. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 12 : L, M - (VI). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1885, Sp. 800-801 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
  • Otto Merkt : Letzen in the Allgäu. In: Allgäu history friend. 1950, p. 1 ff. (= Kurt Bussmann , Nikolaus Grass (Hrsg.): Festschrift, presented to Karl Haff for his seventieth birthday. Wagner University Press, Innsbruck 1950, p. 143–163).
  • Otto Merkt: Castles, jumps, Letzen and gallows in the Allgäu: the Little Allgäu Castle Book. Homeland Service Allgäu, Kempten 1951.
  • Letze, I. and II. In: Former Academy of Sciences of the GDR, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (Hrsg.): German legal dictionary . tape 8 , issue 7/8 (edited by Heino Speer and others). Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1989, ISBN 3-7400-0096-1 , Sp. 1241 ( adw.uni-heidelberg.de ).

Web links

Wiktionary: Origin  - explanations of meanings, word origins , synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Letzi. In: Schweizerisches Idiotikon. Volume III ( digital.idiotikon.ch ).
  2. ↑ Last. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 12 : L, M - (VI). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1885, Sp. 800-801 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
  3. ↑ Letze, I. and II. In: Former Academy of Sciences of the GDR, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (ed.): German legal dictionary . tape 8 , issue 7/8 (edited by Heino Speer and others). Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1989, ISBN 3-7400-0096-1 , Sp. 1241 ( adw.uni-heidelberg.de ).
  4. ↑ last, verb I.. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 12 : L, M - (VI). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1885, Sp. 802-804 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
  5. ↑ Last. In: Johann Georg Krünitz: Economic Encyclopedia . Volume 77: Leipe Light. 1833, p. 304 ( kruenitz1.uni-trier.de )
  6. ↑ last I. to III. In: Former Academy of Sciences of the GDR, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (Hrsg.): German legal dictionary . tape 8 , issue 7/8 (edited by Heino Speer and others). Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1989, ISBN 3-7400-0096-1 , Sp. 1241-1242 ( adw.uni-heidelberg.de ).
  7. ↑ Franz Falkenstein: The front Landhag or Letze. An ancient line of fortifications between the Alb and Schlücht. In: Land between the Upper Rhine and the southern Black Forest. 2011 pp. 131–136 (special edition).