Trelleborg (castle)
The Trelleborg is a Viking fortress in the southern Swedish Trelleborg . Nowadays, partially reconstructed, the facility is freely accessible and the buildings can also be viewed during the opening times in the summer months. In addition, in 2007, for the 750th anniversary of Trelleborg, there is a small museum with a shop and a cafeteria. Several times a year, festivals and events such as a midsummer festival , Viking camp , etc. take place on the site . Ä. instead.
history
Trelleborg was built in the Viking Age around 980 during the reign of Harald Blue Tooth. After only about 20 years, around the year 1000, the castle was abandoned due to the increasing number of raids by the Wends on the area and fell into disrepair in the centuries that followed. When the attacks of the Wends, caused by their Christianization and submission, stopped at the beginning of the 13th century, the southern Swedish coast was repopulated. The city name Trelleborg goes back to this time, as the remains of the ramparts were still standing when the population was resettled. Within a few years the place was densely populated. The trenches were used as rubbish pits and the ramparts were removed to drain the wetlands east of the castle. Towards the end of the 14th century, the old castle area was finally built on, so that there was nothing to indicate the former complex.
Excavations in the area of the former castle in 1988 revealed the traces of the northern and western gates, as well as the wall and moat section in between. Furthermore, the eastern gate was examined and parts of the trench were recorded in the south-eastern and southern areas. The rest of the castle is now inaccessible under the surrounding streets and houses. After the excavations were completed, the north-western quarter of the complex, as well as a courtyard with outbuildings and a half-timbered house from the 14th century, were reconstructed by 1995.
description
The Trelleborg was a ring castle surrounded by an oak trunk palisade with a diameter of 140-143 m and originally had a gate in all four directions. Due to the structure and taking into account the fact that north of the Trelleborg both the pagan temple of Uppåkra and the Borgeby Castle was another Viking castle , it was assumed that the north gate acted as the main gate. A trough-shaped trench 2 m deep and 4 m wide led around the palisade, which served as a dry or wet ditch depending on the season. The moat was connected to the sea in the west of the castle via a lagoon of Ståstorpsån , so that when the water level was sufficient, the ships could go straight to the castle.
The castle was similar to Trelleborg near Slagelse on the Danish island of Zealand . In contrast to the Viking castles of Slagelse , Aggersborg and Fyrkat , however, it was not exactly circular, but rather appears to be slightly indented in the plan in the south-western quarter. Since the castle was built in two phases, the indentation could also have resulted from consideration for an older development. The first phase was smaller with a narrow wall. It seems to have been enlarged later, and the wall was also widened. The wall was later probably 6 m high and 16-17 m wide. No buildings could be found inside, which may also be due to the later construction work, which destroyed all evidence. But outside the complex towards the beach one found extensive contemporary buildings, which however disappeared around 1000.
reconstruction
The reconstruction was carried out on the basis of the archaeological finds, old craft traditions and well-founded modern ideas. The area represents a historical miniature landscape with wet meadows and a brook, in order to offer the visitor a landscape like around 1000 years ago.
The reconstruction of the entire complex, like the construction of the castle a good 1000 years ago, required a large amount of earth and wood. Machines were used for the rougher work, but all visible parts were only machined with ax , chisel and knife .
Special care was taken in the construction of the west gate. Still, there was some ambiguity. One knew z. B. not whether the Vikings actually used portcullis or what exactly the superstructure over the gates looked like. Most likely this consisted of a small gatehouse for the guards, but could theoretically only have been a kind of bridge connecting the ramparts. Since, unlike the Viking castle in Slagelse, there were no longhouses for the guards inside, it was assumed that Trelleborg had gatehouses for this.
The mix of styles at the Torhaus cannot only be traced back to ambiguities. Like the stave churches , it was built in stick construction, but the balcony was built in the Romanesque arched style. This rather alien style was introduced by the Viking trade trips to Norway and Sweden and was also found in some Scandinavian stone churches from 10/11. Century application. The roof, with oak shingles and a finely modeled firewood, was in turn modeled on that of the church of Garde .
etymology
There are two different interpretations of the name "Trelleborg":
- Traditionally the name Trelleborg has been explained as a fortress built by slaves (the Danish word for slave is træl ).
- On the other hand, the name could be derived from the design. The split beams used to clad the inner and outer walls of the circular rampart, built using bar construction, were formerly known as "treller". So the name would be something like "Stabburg".
literature
- Sten Wulff Andersen: Trelleborg. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 31, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2006, ISBN 3-11-018386-2 , pp. 157-160.
- Days E. Christiansen: Trelleborgs Alder. Arkæologisk Datering . Aarbøger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie 1982. Nationalmuseet København 1984. ISSN 0084-585X pp. 84-100 (Danish with pictures), The Age of Trelleborg. Archaeological Dating. Pp. 100–110 (English without images)
- Niels Bonde, Kjeld Christensen: Trelleborgs Alder. Dendrokronologisk catering . Aarbøger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie 1982. Nationalmuseet København 1984. ISSN 0084-585X pp. 111-139 (Danish with pictures), The Age of Trelleborg. Dendrochronological Dating. Pp. 139–152 (English without images)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b History of Trelleborg , wadbring.com, Swedish, accessed August 25, 2010
- ↑ Fredrik Svanberg: Vikingatiden i Skane. Lund 2000, p. 80 ff.
- Section "History" based on an information board at the main house half-timbered house.
- Section "Reconstruction" based on an information board in front of the west gate of the castle.
Coordinates: 55 ° 22 ′ 35 ″ N , 13 ° 8 ′ 50 ″ E