List of early medieval castles in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein

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The list of early medieval castle complexes in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein contains Frisian , Saxon- Franconian and Abodritic castles (ramparts) and Danish fortifications, which were mainly built in the early Middle Ages , but also into the early High Middle Ages , in the area of ​​today's federal states of Hamburg and Schleswig- Holstein were established.

The beginning of the castle building is to be seen in the context of the changes and ethnic regroupings in the course of the 8th and 9th centuries. Numerous castles were built in the period from the 8th to the early 12th century.

Slavic tribes had taken possession of the south-eastern part of Holstein from 700 AD . In the Schleswig part of the country , a Danish population consolidated on the Schlei . In the North Sea coastal areas were Frisians immigrated. At the end of the 8th century, the northern Albingian Saxons were included in the Frankish sphere and the western part of Holstein up to the Eider was incorporated into the Frankish Empire around 810. This event found expression with the construction of the Domburg in Hamburg and the construction of the Franconian Esesfelth Castle on the western edge of Itzehoe . Probably during the reign of Charlemagne, a border between the Saxons and Slavs was established, the Limes Saxoniae , the course of which Adam of Bremen described in the 11th century. It ran as a wasteland zone from Kiel via Bad Segeberg , accompanied the Travelauf to Bad Oldesloe and led via the Billequelle to the Elbe in the area of Lauenburg . This boundary followed natural cuts in the terrain.

The castles of Holstein are similar in appearance on both sides of the Limes. None of these castles can be dated to the earlier early history or a prehistoric epoch. Common to both populations is the predominantly single -gate ring wall with an average internal dimension of 80 to 100 meters as the predominant layout type . The circle can be reduced to a semicircle wall if it was built against a steep slope or a body of water. A Slavic hilltop castle near Stöfs in the Plön district, which cannot be precisely dated, consists of two concentric semicircular walls. Several Saxon and Slavic ramparts are preceded by one or more straight or sickle-shaped ramparts that enclose a bailey. They can form a building that is isolated from the main castle or are connected to the main castle wall at one or both ends. On the whole, the suburbs seem to be of greater importance in the Slavonic area than in the Saxon area. In the young moraine area, which is rich in lakes, there are several island castles fortified by weaker walls or palisades (e.g. Warder , Plön and Eutin ), which were connected to the land by bridges.

list

Castles in North Frisia


Systems in the border area with Denmark


Saxon / Franconian castles


Slavic castles

literature

  • Karl Wilhelm Struve : Saxon and Slavic castles in Holstein. In: Guide to Prehistoric and Protohistoric Monuments. 10 Hanseatic City of Lübeck, Ostholstein, Kiel. v. Zabern, Mainz 1972, p. 43ff.
  • Karl Wilhelm Struve: Directory of the early medieval fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein. In: Guide to Prehistoric and Protohistoric Monuments. 10 Hanseatic City of Lübeck, Ostholstein, Kiel. v. Zabern, Mainz 1972, pp. 44–45 (map and table).
  • Arthur Dähn, Susan Möller Wiering: Ring walls and tower mounds: Medieval castles in Schleswig-Holstein. Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Husum 2001, 435 pp. ISBN 3-88042-850-6