Slavic ramparts

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Reconstruction of a Slavic hill fort in the Groß Raden open-air museum
Castle wall Clausdorf on the Great Varchentiner See

Slavic ramparts ( castle towns , Gard or Grad) are a characteristic form of settlement of the Middle Ages in eastern Central Europe . They have a central local function within Slavic settlement chambers , but are not a compulsory ethnic characteristic, because they owe their emergence to certain social structures that can also be found among Germanic peoples. Around 3,000 systems are known, of which around 2,000 are in Poland , around 700 in Germany (mostly east of the Elbe - Saale line; see Germania Slavica ) and around 300 in Bohemia , Moravia and Slovakia .

designation

The names in the Slavic languages ​​of the area in question are all derived from the Kentum language common word g'herdh- ( Old Norse garðr , Welsh -gardd ; Danish -gaard ; similar to Burg Stargard , Białogard ). The Czech name is hrad / hradiště , in Slovak hrad / hradisko , in Polish gród / grodzisko and in the two Sorbian languages hrodźišćo ( upper Sorb . ) And groźišćo ( lower Sorb . ).

Origin and Distribution

The reconstruction of castle walls depends on written sources and archaeological findings . According to later written sources, there seem to have been ramparts among the Western Slavs since the 8th century; the Wogastisburg is even mentioned in the early 7th century. Archaeologically, Slavic ramparts have only been detectable since the 9th century. The beginning of the castle construction differed from region to region; it corresponded with other (economic, social and political) differentiations.

Castle walls are not an imported building type. First of all, certain settlement and social structures had to be established for the Slavic population who had immigrated as part of the migration . They were not infrequently created on the site of an older, unfortified Slavic settlement. In some cases, dilapidated Young Bronze and Iron Age facilities were even used (e.g. the “ Römerschanze ” near Potsdam ).

The Slavic ramparts can be seen in connection with the simultaneous construction of castles in the neighboring German areas. They only occur where independent Slavic societies were able to develop, 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 the Frankish Empire .

Taking into account multiple transitional forms, three phases can be identified: The oldest systems tend to have the character of refuges and therefore require a larger area; but at the same time they also served the demonstration and representation of domination . With the consolidation of hierarchical social structures (Slavic nobility ), they are increasingly turning into domination castles that are smaller and fewer in number. With the development of economic forces, the rulers ' castles are supplemented by suburbia- like suburbs , in which craft and trade are located. The more important their central location function, the larger they become and develop into Slavic early cities . The largest become the starting point for large-scale rulers, e.g. B. Brandenburg an der Havel and Gnesen . A large number of early German cities in Brandenburg emerged from Slavic ramparts, e.g. B. Brandenburg an der Havel, (Berlin-) Koepenick , (Berlin-) Spandau , Jüterbog , Mittenwalde , Treuenbrietzen and Zossen .

function

Slavic castle
Slavs building an island castle 10th century

The central location function is more important than the military one, because there are no “border castles” to defend a territory . Only in the context of the formation of the empire on 10/11 In the early 20th century, strategic aspects for the construction of castle walls can also be identified. Nevertheless, in order to secure rule, in addition to the ducal castles, dependent castle walls are created within the framework of the “castellan constitution”, which are entrusted to representatives ( castellans , governors ) of the princes . This system shows striking parallels to the Ottonian Burgward system . They formed a kind of administrative district with a fortification as the center. Often, after the conquest, the early German castle guardians were linked to the Slavic ramparts. Since Christianity had become an important binding agent of rule in the West Slavic region , the central ramparts of the Slavic princes had always had a church building since the 9th and 10th centuries .

The ramparts represent not only political, but also economic and cultic central locations. In some cases there are distinct cult castles such as B. Arkona and Rethra . In addition to the characteristic ramparts, there are also special, different forms of fortification, the so-called “manor houses”, especially in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia.

Temple castle

A number of Slavic ramparts are known as temple castles, as they are said to have contained places of worship for the worship of Slavic deities. This is certainly known from the Jaromarsburg at Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen, whose cult site was dedicated to the god Svantovite . Another temple castle is said to have been either in Garz or in the castle wall of Venz near Gingst . In this god Rugievit was worshiped. Another documented Slavic temple castle was Rethra , which up to now could not be located with certainty.

Location and floor plan

The location and layout of the ramparts depend on the respective topographical conditions; no regional or temporal priorities can be determined. Elevations and island settlements were easier to fortify. The latter required sophisticated bridge constructions, as described by Ibn Yaqub and Saxo Grammaticus and corresponding to the archaeological findings of Behren-Lübchin . Large castles are more likely to be found in the lowlands because of the space requirements. A special type are small, circular to oval ring walls with an inner diameter of only 20–30 m. Century. Their design may have been based on the Saxon ramparts at the same time. They occur more frequently in Lower Lusatia , where they form a closed landscape of castles. This is possibly due to the fact that the Ottonian rule in Lower Lusatia did not perish in the Great Slav uprising of 983 . Castle 5 in Spandau , in which the excavators suspect a moth based on the French model, could also indicate (interim) German rule.

construction

Construction of a Slavic rampart
Possible appearance of a small Middle Slavonic castle from the 9th / 10th century

All of the early and high medieval fortifications had so-called wood-earth walls, connected to an outside ditch, the excavation of which also provided the filling material. The criss-cross (rust-like) laying of barely processed timber at irregular intervals is the simplest and most common way of providing stability to an earth wall by means of retracted timber. The box construction was initially interpreted by prehistoric and early historical research as a further development of the grate construction , but dendrochronological studies show that the box construction was already widespread in the Elbe area before the grate construction. The boxes could stand in several rows and were filled with soil. Technically speaking, grate structures represent an inner framework; Box structures form an outer shell. Inner anchor beams can hold the boxes together and can be understood as a transition form between the two construction types.

Plank walls can be attached to the box structures . The plank walls resemble attached palisades . Occasionally there are also wickerwork associations that hold the wood-earth wall together inside. In the low mountain range, dry stone masonry was used to protect the lower wall outside from fire . So it can be seen a considerable flexibility in the construction.

To date, too few gate systems have been excavated, which - if they are tunnel gates - have probably often been expanded into more complex systems ( gate towers ), as reported by Saxo Grammaticus in particular. Archaeological evidence of the burned or collapsed towers is difficult, however.

Significant ramparts

Possible appearance of a middle Slavic small castle of the Lusatians; 9/10 century

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

to reprimand

Berlin-Brandenburg

Saxony

Gold tip
  • Leckwitzer Schanze ⊙ in Leckwitz , district of Nünchritz in the district of Meißen
  • Löbsal Castle Hill , Diera-Zehren municipality
  • Ringwall Goldkuppe near Diesbar-Seusslitz
  • Wall system Göhrisch near Hirschstein
  • Alter Wall near Neuhischstein on the Elbe

Upper Lusatia (Bautzen / Löbau area):

Skalenburgen / Slavic castles from the time 500 BC Until 1000 AD

Saxony-Anhalt

Lower Saxony

Schleswig-Holstein

Bavaria

Austria / Lower Austria

Czech Republic

Poland

swell

See also

literature

  • Sebastian Brather : Archeology of the Western Slavs. Settlement, economy and society in the early and high medieval East-Central Europe (= supplementary volumes to the Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Volume 30). Berlin 2001, pp. 119-140.
  • Joachim Herrmann : The prehistoric and early historical castle walls of Greater Berlin and the Potsdam district (= manual of prehistoric and early historical ramparts and weir systems. Volume 2). Academy, Berlin 1960.
  • Jens Schneeweiß: Introduction: Slavic and Saxon castles from the 8th to 10th centuries - types, construction, function In: Rainer-Maria Weiss, Anne Klammt (ed.), Mythos Hammaburg , pp. 317–317. ( Online )

Web links

Commons : Slavic ramparts in Germany  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rerik and Cape Arkona are the only ramparts on the German Baltic coast
  2. ↑ The Blanke Burg - The castle wall in Blankenburg
  3. ↑ Leckwitzer Schanze ( Memento from August 4, 2014 in the web archive archive.today )
  4. ↑ Elbe valley and Loesshügelland near Meißen (= values ​​of our homeland . Volume 32). Slavic ramparts. Edition. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1979, p. 15.