Tower castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reconstruction of a tower castle by Viollet-le-Duc

A tower castle is a small castle that essentially consists of a defensive tower or a tower-like structure that is founded on natural ground. This distinguishes the tower castle from the Motte (tower hill castle), which might look similar, but was built on an artificially raised hill. The tower castle is sometimes referred to as a residential tower castle, residential tower or tower palas castle . Occasionally, in the development of a castle, a change from the tower castle to the moth could take place, if a fortified structure initially laid out at ground level was later converted into a moth by filling up earth. The habitable and at the same time fortified tower castle was built in the 11th / 12th centuries. Century the permanent private residence of numerous gentlemen.

Since many tower castles have at least minor additional structures, such as a ring wall - often only a few meters long - the boundary to the “ordinary” castle is fluid. The transition to the permanent house is also fluid.

The three small neighboring Thuringian ministerial castles of Liebenstein (12th-16th centuries), Ehrenburg (14th-15th centuries) and Ehrenstein (12th-14th centuries) are now classified as tower palaces and therefore special in terms of art history important properties in Thuringia. Your Bergfriede are simultaneously on the wall combined with the connected Palas been substantiated. At the Saxon castle Rabenstein (Chemnitz) the hall is said to have been built later. The Saaleck can be viewed as a double-tower castle; Apart from the two habitable mountain peaks, no other buildings have been found on the narrow rock plateau so far. The "G`schlössl" in Leithaprodersdorf / Austria is one of the few objects in Northern Europe where the medieval re-use of a Roman watchtower as a medieval watchtower / tower castle - here with water gates - could be proven.

  • huge keep / residential tower "Grützpott" of the "tower castle" Stolpe Castle , Brandenburg

  • Ruin of the tower castle Hoher Schwarm , Saalfeld / Saale , residential tower with presumably formerly four round corner towers, Thuringia

  • Hausmannsturm (Bad Frankenhausen) , a typical tower castle with a palace built later, Thuringia

  • Neudek Castle , remains of a tower castle: watch tower / keep on a rock in the middle of the valley with buildings formerly attached to it, only parts of the enclosing wall with gate preserved, Czech Republic

  • preserved upper castle of Rabenstein Castle (Chemnitz) , a classic tower castle, the adjoining hall is said to have been built later, Saxony

  • Tower Palasburg Liebenstein , Bergfried and Palas were bricked up together at the same time, Thuringia

  • Saaleck Castle , a double-tower-palas-castle, apart from the two habitable mountain tombs and a non-preserved palace, there was apparently hardly any space for other buildings on the narrow rock plateau

Examples of tower castles

See also

literature