1.
Spangenberg Castle (Rhineland-Palatinate)
–
Spangenberg Castle is the partially rebuilt ruin of a rock castle in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Together with the castle of Erfenstein, it is linked to the legend of the Leather Bridge. Spangenberg Castle was probably built in the 11th century, in 1100 it came into the possession of the Prince-Bishopric of Speyer as a castle in fee granted by the bishop. The knight, Diether of Zoller, was entrusted with the castle in 1317 as its castellan, in 1431, Eberhard of Sickingen became the vassal of the castle and Henry of Remchingen after him, in 1439. Erfenstein has since lain in ruins, in 1505 a stud garden was laid out in the nearby woods. Spangenberg Castle, made again, acted for just under 100 years as the residence of the master of the stud. But in the Thirty Years War the castle was destroyed in the very first year of the war by army commander and it was destroyed again at the start of the War of the Palatine Succession and finally again by troops of Louis XIV, the King of France. Around 1900 the ruins came into municipal ownership, today they are owned by the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Of the inner ward on the rocks, the ruins of the fortified palas, the castle gateway of the inner ward. According to one legend, the castle was built by a knight, Caspar. He and the daughter of the emperor were in love one another. Because no-one knew of the existence and location of the castle, when they had all fallen asleep, replete and drunk, Caspar set fire to the hut. All those who knew of the construction of the castle died in the fire and he took the emperors daughter to the castle and they lived there for years. One day a pilgrim was walking through the Speyerbach valley and discovered the castle there, when he knocked on the door to ask for shelter for the night he paled on seeing the emperors daughter when she opened the door. He was invited inside and treated royally and he and Wild Caspar complained about the emperor. The next morning the pilgrim wanted to be on his way, but the pilgrim was the emperor himself. He called up his army and marched up the Speyerbach valley to Spangenberg Castle, just before could seize the castle, Caspar and the emperors daughter threw themselves from the castle walls into the depths of the valley. They wanted to die together and escape retribution, as they fell their robes acted like parachutes and they landed uninjured
Spangenberg Castle (Rhineland-Palatinate)
–
Spangenberg Castle seen from
Erfenstein Castle to the north
2.
Rumkale
–
Rumkale was a powerful fortress on the river Euphrates,50 km west of Şanlıurfa. It is called Hromkla or Kela zêrîn in Kurdish, Qalah Rumita in Syriac, قلعة الروم Qalat al-Rum in Arabic, Rumkale in Turkish, Հռոմկլա in Armenian and its strategic location was already known to the Assyrians, although the present structure is largely Hellenistic and Roman in origin. The site was occupied by various Byzantine and Armenian warlords during the Middle Ages, during the 12th c, it also became the seat of an Armenian bishop. In 1179, a synod took place in Rumkale, attempting a compromise between the Greeks and the Armenians, from 1203 to 1293, it served as the residence of the Catholicos of the Armenian Church. In 1293 it was captured by the Mamluks of Egypt following a protracted siege who then named it Qalat al-Muslimin, as of March 2017, it was not possible to land at the site, extensive building is under way inside the fortress and on the external walls. Reuven Amitai-Preiss, Mongols and Mamluks, The Mamluk-Īlkhānid War, 1260-1281, angus Stewart, Hromgla, in Alan V. Murray, The Crusades, An Encyclopaedia, II, p.607
Rumkale
–
The Rumkale Fortress
3.
Turkey
–
Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Assyrian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black. The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has also been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
Turkey
–
Some
henges at
Göbekli Tepe were erected as far back as 12,000 BC, predating those of
Stonehenge,
England by almost ten millennia.
Turkey
–
Flag
Turkey
–
The Lion Gate in
Hattusa, capital of the
Hittite Empire. The city's history dates back to the 6th millennium BC.
Turkey
–
The
Library of Celsus in
Ephesus was built by the
Romans in 135 AD. The
Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, built by king
Croesus of
Lydia in the 6th century BC, was one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
4.
Sicily
–
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
Sicily
–
Mount Etna rising over suburbs of Catania
Sicily
–
Sicily Sicilia
Sicily
–
Sicilian landscape
Sicily
–
Location of the
Salso
5.
German language
–
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
German language
–
Old Frisian (Alt-Friesisch)
German language
–
The widespread popularity of the
Bible translated into German by
Martin Luther helped establish modern German
German language
–
Examples of German language in
Namibian everyday life
German language
–
German-language newspapers in the U.S. in 1922
6.
Castle
–
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. Usage of the term has varied over time and has applied to structures as diverse as hill forts. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with different features, although some, such as curtain walls. A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures served as centres of administration. Many castles were built from earth and timber, but had their defences replaced later by stone. Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits, in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire, many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castles firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to a mixture of castle technology from the Crusades, such as concentric fortification, not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape, while castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible. From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture. The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum, which is a diminutive of the word castrum, meaning fortified place. The Old English castel, Old French castel or chastel, French château, Spanish castillo, Italian castello, the word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this type of building, which was then new to England. In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is a fortified residence. Feudalism was the link between a lord and his vassal where, in return for service and the expectation of loyalty. Castles served a range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, as well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory
Castle
–
The
Alcázar of Segovia in Spain overlooking the city
Castle
–
Bodiam Castle in
East Sussex, England, surrounded by a water-filled
moat
Castle
–
The
Norman "White Tower", the
keep of the
Tower of London, exemplifies all uses of a castle including city defence, a residence, and a place of refuge in times of crisis.
Castle
–
Windsor Castle in England was founded as a fortification during the
Norman Conquest and today is one of the principal official residences of Queen
Elizabeth II.
7.
Hill castle
–
A hill castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a derived from the German Höhenburg used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles are thus distinguished from lowland castles, hill castles may be further subdivided depending on their situation into the following, Hilltop castle, that stands on the summit of a hill with steep drops on all sides. A special type is the castle or Felsenburg. Ridge castle, that is built on the crest of a ridge, hillside castle, that is built on the side of a hill and thus is dominated by rising ground on one side. Spur castle, that is built on a spur surrounded by steep terrain on three sides and thus only needs to be defended on the one remaining side. In Germany, almost 66 per cent of all medieval castles known today are of the hill castle type, in the earliest centuries of castle construction only great nobles and kings had the power to build them. From the 12th century, however, the imperial ministeriales also built representative hill castles. This pattern was followed in the 13th century by the lesser nobility, today hill castles primarily serve as tourist attractions, mainly because they often have good views − albeit in some cases for the cost of an entrance fee. They also often have restaurants or kiosks, in some cases, where they are preserved, the interior of the castle may be visited. Examples of hill castles are Kriebstein Castle, the Marksburg, Ehrenfels Castle, lowland castle Rocca, an Italian term for fortified houses or small castles built on higher ground above a town as refuge or protection. Horst Wolfgang Böhme, Reinhard Friedrich, Barbara Schock-Werner, Wörterbuch der Burgen, reclam, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-15-010547-1, p.156. Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe, Burgen und Wohntürme des deutschen Mittelalters, thorbecke, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-7995-0104-5, pp. 21-23
Hill castle
–
The
Marksburg in
Germany is a typical example of a hill castle
Hill castle
–
The
Ljubljana Castle in
Slovenia is Medieval fortress, built in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 12th century.
Hill castle
–
Hohenzollern Castle at a height of 855 m in the
Swabian Jura,
Germany.
Hill castle
–
The
Montechino castle in
Montechino, example of an Italian castle built on a hill
8.
Rock formation
–
A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock, the term rock formation can also refer to specific sedimentary strata or other rock unit in stratigraphic and petrologic studies. Erosion later exposes them in their current form, an example is Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Metamorphic rocks are created by rocks that have transformed into another kind of rock, usually by some combination of heat, pressure. An example are the Seneca Rocks in West Virginia, igneous rocks are created when molten rock cools and solidifies, with or without crystallization. They may be either plutonic bodies or volcanic extrusives, again, erosive forces sculpt their current forms. An example is Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, geologists have created a number of terms to describe different rock structures in the landscape that can be formed by natural processes, Inselberg or monadnock is a residual relief feature. It can be a hill, a knob, ridge or small mountain that rises abruptly, like an island. Inselberg is a German word that means island mountain, uluru/Ayers Rock in Australia is a noted example. Peak Stack Mesa Butte Escarpment Gorge Sea cliff River cliff Stone run Crag Tor Promontory is a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water, here is a list of rock formations by continent
Rock formation
–
Rocks formations and the Dedo de Deus (God's Finger) peak in the background,
Serra dos Órgãos National Park,
Rio de Janeiro state,
Brazil
Rock formation
–
Raouché or Pigeons' Rock in
Beirut,
Lebanon
Rock formation
–
Druid Arch,
Canyonlands National Park,
Utah,
USA
Rock formation
–
View of
Meteora, Greece
9.
Sandstone
–
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earths crust, like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, quartz-bearing sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure, usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. They are formed from cemented grains that may either be fragments of a rock or be mono-minerallic crystals. The cements binding these grains together are typically calcite, clays, grain sizes in sands are defined within the range of 0.0625 mm to 2 mm. The formation of sandstone involves two principal stages, first, a layer or layers of sand accumulates as the result of sedimentation, either from water or from air. Typically, sedimentation occurs by the settling out from suspension. The most common cementing materials are silica and calcium carbonate, which are derived either from dissolution or from alteration of the sand after it was buried. Colours will usually be tan or yellow, a predominant additional colourant in the southwestern United States is iron oxide, which imparts reddish tints ranging from pink to dark red, with additional manganese imparting a purplish hue. Red sandstones are seen in the Southwest and West of Britain, as well as central Europe. The regularity of the latter favours use as a source for masonry, either as a building material or as a facing stone. These physical properties allow the grains to survive multiple recycling events. Quartz grains evolve from rock, which are felsic in origin. Feldspathic framework grains are commonly the second most abundant mineral in sandstones, Feldspar can be divided into two smaller subdivisions, alkali feldspars and plagioclase feldspars. The different types of feldspar can be distinguished under a petrographic microscope, below is a description of the different types of feldspar. Alkali feldspar is a group of minerals in which the composition of the mineral can range from KAlSi3O8 to NaAlSi3O8. Plagioclase feldspar is a group of solid solution minerals that range in composition from NaAlSi3O8 to CaAl2Si2O8. Lithic framework grains are pieces of ancient source rock that have yet to weather away to individual mineral grains, accessory minerals are all other mineral grains in a sandstone, commonly these minerals make up just a small percentage of the grains in a sandstone
Sandstone
–
Cut slab of sandstone showing
Liesegang banding
Sandstone
–
Devonian Sandstone at Suur Taevaskoda,
Põlva County,
Estonia
Sandstone
–
Alcove in the
Navajo Sandstone
Sandstone
–
Sandstone Rock-cut tombs (
Kokhim) in
Petra,
Jordan
10.
Palatinate (region)
–
The Palatinate, historically also Rhenish Palatinate, is a region in southwestern Germany. It occupies more than a quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the west, the Palatinate borders on Saarland, historically also comprising the states Saarpfalz District. In the northwest, the Hunsrück mountain range forms the border with the Rhineland region, in the south, the German-French border separates the Palatinate from Alsace. One-third of the region is covered by the Palatinate Forest, including the Palatinate Forest Nature Park popular with hikers and it is Germanys largest contiguous forested area with about 1,771 km2 and is part of the Franco-German Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve. The western and northern part of the Palatinate is densely forested and its highest mountain is the Donnersberg with a height of 687 m, situated in the North Palatine Uplands near Kirchheimbolanden. Most of the major Palatinate towns lie in the eastern part of the Upper Rhine Plain down to the River Rhine. Here the German Wine Route passes through the renowned Palatinate wine region, major rivers include the Upper Rhine tributaries Lauter, Queich and Speyerbach, as well as Schwarzbach and Glan in the west. Historically the Electoral Palatinate and several territories were part of the Palatinate. The Palatinate is divided into four non-administrative sub-regions, comprising the rural districts and independent towns and cities, North Palatinate. Like most of Europe, the Palatinate is part of the climate zone influenced by the Atlantic. Wet air from the westerly and southwesterly winds leads to precipitation in the Mittelgebirge ranges. Here the clemency of the weather permits the cultivating of almond and fig trees, stone pines, Mediterranean Cypress, palms, the lower hilly regions are known for their extended chestnut forests, sometimes referred to as German Tuscany in tourist advertising. Formerly a Celtic region, this area was conquered by the Roman Empire under Emperor Augustus in about 12 BCE, during the decay of the Empire, Alamanni tribes settled here, their territory was conquered by Francia under King Clovis I about 496. From 511 onwards the area belonged to the part of Frankish Austrasia. From the Middle Ages until 1792, the Palatinate was divided into 45 secular and ecclesiastical territories, the largest and most important of these was the Electorate of the Palatinate, a number of territories on both sides of the Rhine formerly held by the Counts palatine of Lotharingia. In 1214 the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was enfeoffed with these estates and they lost control with the reunification with Bavaria under Elector Charles Theodore in 1777. The major ecclesiastical territory in the region was the Bishopric of Speyer, the Imperial city of Landau joined the Alsacien Décapole in 1521 to preserve its status. Nevertheless, it was seized by France after the Thirty Years War, other larger regional entities included the Duchy of Zweibrücken and the Prince-Bishopric of Speyer
Palatinate (region)
–
Vineyards near the Deutsche Weinstrasse (German Wine Route)
Palatinate (region)
–
Palatinate Lion
Palatinate (region)
–
Typical vineyard landscape in front of the Palatinate Forest
Palatinate (region)
–
Medieval frame houses in a Palatinate village. (Ilbesheim, South Palatinate)
11.
Palatinate Forest
–
The Palatinate Forest, sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The forest is a nature park covering 1,771 km2. Together with the part of the adjacent Vosges Mountains in France it forms the UNESCO-designated Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve. This landscape forms, in turn, the part of the very extensive eastern scarplands of France, which, on German soil, take in large parts of the Palatinate. The low mountain range of the Palatinate Forest is continued northward by the hilly landscape of the North Palatine Uplands. In the south it is continued by the part of the Vosges Mountains in France. The eastern end of the forest is adjacent to the Palatinate wine growing region, here the German Wine Route stretches through the undulating area that lies between the Palatinate Forest and the Upper Rhine valley. The hill country between the Haardt mountains and the Upper Rhine Plain, where Palatine wine is grown, is known as the Weinstraße, the German Wine Road runs through this area. West of Kaiserslautern is the lowland of Landstuhl. The Palatinate Forest can be divided into three areas and this often goes unrecognized as a result of the French border, hence the French southern part of the natural region is often, wrongly, counted as part of the North Vosges. Despite that, some deviation in the used by the handbook has prevailed. The most important subordinate landscapes are listed with the aid of a map and its use was extended when, in 1902, the Palatinate Forest Club was founded, Fritz Claus, one of the pioneers of the PWV, in particular, strove to promote the name. A more precise, scientifically-based definition of the Palatinate Forest as an independent natural region was introduced in 1911 by Daniel Häberle, a Palatine geographer and local historian. Prior to 1850, there was no name for the Palatines bunter sandstone mountains Historical territorial factors, rather than geographical ones. The range was named after the Celtic forest god Vosegus and is recorded in many Roman manuscripts as silva vosegus or mons vosegus. It was from this linguistic root that, during the Middle Ages and this led to the Palatinate Forest and Vosges being defined as separate and distinct landscapes. However, in recent decades, in the context of European integration, evidence of this changed attitude can be seen, for example, in the establishment in 1998 of the first cross-border biosphere reserve, the Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. g. Through the establishment of such as the Cistercian abbeys of Otterberg and Eußerthal
Palatinate Forest
–
Hardenburg Castle near
Bad Dürkheim
Palatinate Forest
–
Lake
Eiswoog,
Ramsen
Palatinate Forest
–
St. James' Church, ruins of Höningen Abbey (1120-1569)
Palatinate Forest
–
The countryside near
Eisenberg
12.
Alsace
–
Alsace is a cultural and historical region in eastern France now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Alsace is located on Frances eastern border and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany, from 1982 until January 2016, Alsace was the smallest of 22 administrative regions in metropolitan France, consisting of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departments. Territorial reform passed by the French legislature in 2014 resulted in the merger of the Alsace administrative region with Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine to form Grand Est. The predominant historical language of Alsace is Alsatian, a Germanic dialect also spoken across the Rhine, but today most Alsatians primarily speak French, the political status of Alsace has been heavily influenced by historical decisions, wars, and strategic politics. The economic and cultural capital as well as largest city of Alsace is Strasbourg, the city is the seat of several international organizations and bodies. The name Alsace can be traced to the Old High German Ali-saz or Elisaz, an alternative explanation is from a Germanic Ell-sass, meaning seated on the Ill, a river in Alsace. In prehistoric times, Alsace was inhabited by nomadic hunters, by 1500 BC, Celts began to settle in Alsace, clearing and cultivating the land. It should be noted that Alsace is a surrounded by the Vosges mountains. It creates Foehn winds which, along with irrigation, contributes to the fertility of the soil. In a world of agriculture, Alsace has always been a region which explains why it suffered so many invasions and annexations in its history. By 58 BC, the Romans had invaded and established Alsace as a center of viticulture, to protect this highly valued industry, the Romans built fortifications and military camps that evolved into various communities which have been inhabited continuously to the present day. While part of the Roman Empire, Alsace was part of Germania Superior, with the decline of the Roman Empire, Alsace became the territory of the Germanic Alemanni. The Alemanni were agricultural people, and their Germanic language formed the basis of modern-day dialects spoken along the Upper Rhine, Clovis and the Franks defeated the Alemanni during the 5th century AD, culminating with the Battle of Tolbiac, and Alsace became part of the Kingdom of Austrasia. Under Clovis Merovingian successors the inhabitants were Christianized, Alsace formed part of the Middle Francia, which was ruled by the eldest grandson Lothar I. Lothar died early in 855 and his realm was divided into three parts, the part known as Lotharingia, or Lorraine, was given to Lothars son. The rest was shared between Lothars brothers Charles the Bald and Louis the German, the Kingdom of Lotharingia was short-lived, however, becoming the stem duchy of Lorraine in Eastern Francia after the Treaty of Ribemont in 880. Alsace was united with the other Alemanni east of the Rhine into the duchy of Swabia. Alsace experienced great prosperity during the 12th and 13th centuries under Hohenstaufen emperors, Frederick I set up Alsace as a province to be ruled by ministeriales, a non-noble class of civil servants
Alsace
Alsace
Alsace
Alsace
13.
Vosges
–
The Vosges, also called the Vosges Mountains, are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and it runs in a north-northeast direction from the Burgundian Gate to the Börrstadt Basin, and forms the western boundary of the Upper Rhine Plain. The Grand Ballon is the highest peak at 1424 m, followed by the Storkenkopf, and the Hohneck. The elongated massif is divided south to north into three sections, The Higher Vosges or High Vosges, extending in the part of the range from Belfort to the river valley of the Bruche. The rounded summits of the Hautes Vosges are called ballons in French, in addition, the term Central Vosges is used to designate the various lines of summits, especially those above 1000 metres in elevation. The French department of Vosges is named after the range, erosive glacial action was the primary catalyst for development of the representative highland massif feature. Geographically, the Vosges Mountains are wholly in France, far above the Col de Saverne separating them from the Palatinate Forest in Germany, the latter area logically continues the same Vosges geologic structure but traditionally receives this different name for historical and political reasons. From 1871 to 1918 the Vosges marked the border between Germany and France, due to the Franco-Prussian War, the Vosges in their southern and central parts are called the Hautes Vosges. These consist of a large Carboniferous mountain eroded just before the Permian Period with gneiss, granites, in the north, south and west, there are places less eroded by glaciers, and here Vosges Triassic and Permian red sandstone remains are found in large beds. The grès vosgien, are embedded sometimes up to more than 500 metres in thickness, the Lower Vosges in the north are dislocated plates of various sandstones, ranging from 300 to 600 metres high. The Col de Saales, between the Higher and Central Vosges, reaches nearly 579 m, both lower and narrower than the Higher Vosges, with Mont Donon being the highest point of this Nordic section. Both areas exhibit steeper slopes towards the Rhine River and a gradual descent on the other side. This occurs because both the Vosges and the Black Forest were formed by uplift, in a response to the opening of the Rhine Graben. The Rhine Graben is an extensional basin. When such basins form, the thinning of the crust causes uplift immediately adjacent to the basin, the temperature is much lower in the west front of the mountains than in the low plains behind the massif, especially in summer. On the eastern slope economic vineyards reach to a height of 400 metres, on the hand, in the mountains, it is a land of pasture. The Moselle, Meurthe and Sarre rivers and their numerous affluents all rise on the Lorraine side, in the High Moselle and Meurthe basins, moraines, boulders and polished rocks testify to the former existence of glaciers which once covered the top of the Vosges. Over the centuries, settlement increased gradually, as was typical for a forested region, forests were cleared for, inter alia, agriculture, livestock and early industrial factories and the water mills used water power
Vosges
–
Typical landscape of the Vosges (Chajoux valley,
La Bresse, France)
Vosges
–
Location of the Vosges
Vosges
–
Waterfall in the eastern Vosges
Vosges
–
Lac de Schiessrothried, a
glacial lake in the Vosges
14.
North Bohemia
–
North Bohemia, is a region in the north of the Czech Republic. North Bohemia roughly covers the present-day NUTS regional unit of CZ04 Severozápad, from an administrative perspective, North Bohemia is made up of the present day Ústí nad Labem Region, Karlovy Vary Region and Liberec Region. It is a popular tourist destination, much of which had been inaccessible until recently, the Jizera and Lusatian Mountains are protected landscape areas. The summits of the Jizera Mountains climb to heights of about 1,000 metres above sea level, the national nature reserve of the Jizera Mountain Beechwood Forest contains the largest beech woodland in the Czech Republic, covering 27 square kilometres. Major cities and towns in North Bohemia include Česká Lípa, Děčín, Jablonec nad Nisou, Liberec, Litoměřice, Most and Teplice. In the administrative system of the former Czechoslovakia there was a North Bohemia province from 1960-1990 that consisted of the region of Ústí nad Labem. Bohemia Central Bohemian Uplands North Bohemian Basin
North Bohemia
–
Towns and rivers of North Bohemia
North Bohemia
–
St. Stephan's Cathedral in
Litoměřice with
Hazmburk in the background
15.
Saxon Switzerland
–
Saxon Switzerland is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, Saxon Switzerland alone has some 1,000 climbing peaks, as well as several hollows. The area is popular with Dresden locals and international climbers, the administrative district for the area is Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The fortress of Königstein is a well-known landmark, the German name for Saxon Switzerland, Sächsische Schweiz, appeared in the 18th century. Two Swiss artists, Adrian Zingg and Anton Graff, were appointed in 1766 to the Dresden Academy of Art, from their new, adopted home they look eastwards and saw, about a days walk away, a hill range. Previously, the Saxon part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains had merely been referred to as the Meissen Highlands, the description became popular through the publication of the name by Wilhelm Lebrecht Götzinger. In his books he described the area as Saxon Switzerland and made the term known to a wide audience, in English the usual translation is Saxon Switzerland. However other sources call it Saxony Switzerland or even Swiss Saxony, to the east, Saxon Switzerland transitions into the Lusatian Highlands and, to the west, into the Ore Mountains. The adjacent Czech part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains is known as the Bohemian Switzerland, the highest elevation in Saxon Switzerland is the Großer Zschirnstein at 562 m above sea level. See Elbe Sandstone Mountains As a rule, two types of hill may be distinguished, numerous rock formations in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in both Saxon Switzerland and Bohemian Switzerland, are known locally in this region as Steine. Prominent examples are the Königstein, the Lilienstein, the Gohrisch and this description does not, however, include the dome-shaped Kuppen such as the Waitzdorfer Höhe or the Großer Winterberg, whose bedrock is made of volcanic basalt or granitic material. The Cretaceous sandstone formations soar above the levels of their surrounding area, the former level of the River Elbe. Morphologically harder sections of strata, that resisted karstification longer and more successfully, generally form the uppermost layers, the collapse of rock structures is usually therefore a result of erosion from below or from the flanks. During the Dark Ages, the region was settled by Slavs and was part of the Kingdom of Bohemia during the Middle Ages, about 1000 years ago Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland was the borderland of three Slavic tribes. The Nisane tribe, the Milzane tribe and in the south the Dacine tribe shaped the political, the development of the area for tourism began in earnest in the 19th century. In the Nazi era the description of German territories as Schweiz was officially banned, when Germans began to settle in the 13th century, there was a systematic banishment of Bohemian influence and numerous local military conflicts erupted around strategically important fortifications. These fortifications primarily serve to protect the border and trading routes, due to a lack of central power this protective function was left to local knights. The progressive division of the due to the hereditary distribution of estates upset the economic balance of the region
Saxon Switzerland
–
Bastei bridge in Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland
–
Sunset in Saxon Switzerland from the top of the
Papststein. The three large hills are
Gohrisch (l), the
Königstein Fortress (c) and the
Lilienstein (r).
Saxon Switzerland
–
The
Barbarine at
Pfaffenstein
Saxon Switzerland
–
The
Lilienstein at dusk
16.
Slighted
–
Slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition, to render it unusable as a fortress. In England during the Middle Ages, adulterine castles, if captured by the king, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, King Robert the Bruce adopted a strategy of slighting Scottish castles to prevent them being occupied by the English. A strategy of slighting castles in the Levant was also adopted by the Mamluks in their wars with the Crusaders and these included the recent fortifications at Dunbar Castle, Leith and Eyemouth. On the island of Inchkeith a token garrison of 60 French soldiers were allowed to remain for a time, Inchkeith and Dunbar were finally slighted in 1567. During the English Civil War many castles and fortified houses were slighted by the Parliamentarians to stop them being used by the Royalists, most of the destruction was in Wales, the Midlands, and Yorkshire e. g. Pontefract Castle. The coastal fortifications were spared by the Commonwealth, as they might have been useful for hindering a Royalist or foreign invasion, situated on the left bank of the Rhine, Rheinfels Castle was started in 1245 by Diether V, Count of Katzenelnbogen. By the late 17th century it was a fortress complex and it was the only Rhineland fortress to hold out against the French in the War of the Palatine Succession. During the French Revolutionary Wars, the bank of the Rhine was annexed by the French Republic. Under the orders of the French Revolutionary government, Burg Rheinfels was slighted in 1797, in the 19th century many of the obsolete fortifications were slighted in order to provide more space in the area for growing cities. This process of eliminating urban fortifications is specifically referred to as defortification, the resulting slag bricks, clinker, boulders, etc. served as building material for construction. The slighting was carried out by the removal of walls and ramparts. Most of the time, the land on which the fortifications stood was used as parks, the term boulevard is an Old French word meaning fortification. Walking the River Rhine Trail, Germany, perry, David R. Blackburn, Mark A. S. Castle Park, Dunbar, two years on a fortified headland. Monograph, Society of Antiquaries of Scot land, discovering Fortifications, from the Tudors to the Cold War. Goode, Dominic, ed. Fortified Places, Edinburgh, the Walls of Edinburgh, A short guide. A general history of Scotland from the earliest accounts to the present time, understanding the Castle Ruins of England and Wales, How to Interpret the History and Meaning of Masonry and Earthworks. The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, the Yorkshire Countryside, a landscape history
Slighted
–
Corfe Castle was partially demolished (slighted) during the
English Civil War so that its defences could not be reused.
17.
Neuwindstein Castle
–
The Château du Nouveau-Windstein is a ruied castle located on a hill west of the commune of Windstein in the Bas-Rhin département of France. Previously it was assumed that the castle had been built after 1332, probably in 1339 and this record of the construction of a castle, however, probably refers to one on the northern site of Vieux-Windstein. The late Romanesque and early Gothic style of Vieux-Windstein by contrast, the lords of Windstein was extinguished when Hans Ostertags of Windstein died in 1480. Today there are extensive ruins, such as the keep of the upper ward with its shield wall, the remains of buildings in the lower ward. Unlike many other castles, only a few elements have been hewn out of the Bunter sandstone rock on which it is built. The foundation rock is not as large as that of a typical rock castle. As a result there are still massive walls made of rusticated ashlar and it has been classified since 1983 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. List of castles in France Thomas Biller, Die Burgengruppe Windstein und der Burgenbau in den nördlichen Vogesen, publication by the Department of Architecture of the Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Cologne, Cologne,1985. Marco Bollheimer, Felsenburgen im Burgenparadies Wasgau–Nordvogesen, Karlsruhe, Selbstverlag, pp.136 f, ISBN 978-3-9814506-0-6 Michel Vogt, Ministry of Culture listing for Château du Nouveau-Windstein Ministry of Culture photo
Neuwindstein Castle
–
Keep in the upper ward
Neuwindstein Castle
–
The inside of the keep
18.
Berwartstein Castle
–
Berwartstein Castle is a castle in the Wasgau, the southern part of the Palatinate Forest in the state Rhineland-Palatinate in southwestern Germany. It was one of the castles that were part of defences of the Palatinate during the Middle Ages. This castle is noted in the publication Works of Preservation of Monuments of Rheinland-Pfalz, although the Berwartstein appears more complete when compared to the ruins of neighbouring castles, it is only a restoration of the original rock castle. It is the castle in the Palatinate that was rebuilt. There is no record of the origins of the castle or its name. The name Berwartstein Castle is mentioned for the first time in a document dating from 1152, during the 13th century, feudal tenants, who carried the name von Berwartstein inhabited the castle, which they used as a base for raids in the manner of robber barons. The imperial cities of Strasbourg and Hagenau joined forces against the von Berwartsteins, following several weeks of futile attacks against the castle, they succeeded in taking it in 1314, with the help of a traitor. A large amount of booty and about 30 prisoners were taken to Strasbourg, the knights of Berwartstein were permitted to buy the prisoners back for a large ransom. The knights of Berwartstein were forced to sell their castle to the brothers Ort, four years later the castle became the property of Weissenburg Abbey. The monastery at Weissenburg placed the castle in stewardship and established a feudal system and this allowed for the dismissal of vassals who became too presumptuous. Thus the monastery possession of the castle for some time. This could have continued indefinitely had the last steward of the castle not gone too far, when he began feuding with the knights of Drachenfels, the Elector of the Palatinate took the opportunity to bring the Berwartstein Castle under his control. Because of his ambitions, the Elector of the Palatinate wanted to bring all of the Weissenburg estate under his control. To accomplish this, in 1480 he ordered the knight, Hans von Trotha, in this way he could enlarge the property at a cost to the Monastery of Weissenburg. For the quarrelsome knight this was a pleasure to fulfil, since this gave him a chance to take revenge on the Abbot of Weissenburg. Years before, Abbot Heinrich von Homburg had imposed a fine on his brother. As a starting point for this expedition, this experienced warrior first renovated the castle to improve its appearance. He built strong ramparts and bastions as well as the outwork, during this time, the castle was destroyed by fire in 1591, and, since there is no mention of any attacks, it is presumed that the castle was hit by lightning
Berwartstein Castle
–
Berwartstein as seen from the tower of "Little France"
Berwartstein Castle
–
Underground passageways of the Berwartstein
19.
Trifels Castle
–
Trifels Castle is a reconstructed medieval castle at an elevation of 500 m near the small town of Annweiler, in the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany. It is located high above the Queich valley within the Palatinate Forest on one peak of a red sandstone mountain split into three. Trifels Castle is on the peak of the Sonnenberg, and on both of the two rock elevations there are castle ruins, Anebos Castle and Scharfenberg Castle. Trifels Castle has been restored since the 19th century and today replicas of the Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire are on display here. It is—together with Hambach Castle—one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the castle in Rhenish Franconia was first mentioned in a 1081 deed of donation, when it was held by a local noble Diemar, a relative of Archbishop Siegfried I of Mainz. From him Trifels passed to the Imperial Salian dynasty, Emperor Henry V in 1113 made it a Reichsburg, rejecting the inheritance claims raised by Archbishop Adalbert of Mainz. The archbishop, allied with Henrys opponent Lothair of Supplinburg, had to several years of imprisonment at Trifels. Handed over to Emperor Henry VI of Hohenstaufen, a period of three weeks of captivity at Trifels from 31 March to 19 April 1193 is well documented. According to one legend, Richard was found by the trobador Blondel de Nesle, Trifels Castle lost its importance with the Interregnum. After the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the castle was pledged several times, in 1330, it was mortgaged to the Electoral Palatinate. It finally fell to the Dukes of Palatinate-Simmern and Zweibrücken in 1410, deserted and derelict, the ruin served as a stone quarry, as a result of which the late-Romanesque residential building almost completely disappeared and the outer bailey for the most part. From about 1840, the Wittelsbach kings of Bavaria had the castle rebuilt, the present-day castle is in large parts not true to the medieæval original. It is characterized by a well tower outside the ring wall. The surrounding rocky landscape is a venue for mountaineers
Trifels Castle
–
Trifels Castle
Trifels Castle
–
Copies of the Imperial Regalia
Trifels Castle
–
Castle hall
20.
Nazi era
–
Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
Nazi era
–
Hitler became Germany's head of state, with the title of
Führer und Reichskanzler, in 1934.
Nazi era
–
Flag
Nazi era
–
Joseph Goebbels,
Reich Minister of Propaganda
Nazi era
–
Ethnic Germans in
Saaz, Czechoslovakia, greet German soldiers with the
Nazi salute, 1938
21.
Rotenhan Castle
–
Rotenhan Castle is a castle ruin about two kilometres north of the village of Eyrichshof in Lower Franconia in the south German state of Bavaria. Eyrichshof lies within the borough of Ebern in the district of Haßberge, the castle is the ancestral home of the House of Rotenhan, a family of imperial knights. The Rotenhan family has its roots in three von Langheim brothers, who were the co-founders of Langheim Abbey in 1132, later the name de Rotha was used. In 1229, reference is made to a Winther and Wolfram de Rotenhagen in connexion with a holding of the family rather than a fief. The doorway to the staircase entrance belongs to the late Romanesque-early Gothic period, after it was finally captured, the structure was destroyed and, according to a treaty of 1324, was never to be rebuilt. Later, the House of Rotenhan built a new castle, Eyrichshof, genealogisches Handbuch des in Bayern immatrikulierten Adels. Degener, Neustadt an der Aisch/Mittelfranken 1988, P. 567-578, genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Vol.125, Adelslexikon,2001, C. A. Starke Verlag, ISBN 3-7980-0825-6 Die Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Bayern, III,15, Bezirksamt Ebern, P. 197-201. Munich,1964 Joachim Zeune, Burgen im Eberner Land, Ebern 2003, Eberner Heimatblätter,2 volumes Bitha Rotenhan, bamberg,1988 Gottfried Frhr. von Rotenhan, Die Rotenhan. Genealogie einer fränkischen Familie von 1229 bis zum Dreißigjährigen Krieg, Neustadt an der Aisch,1985 Julius Frhr. von Rotenhan, Geschichte der Familie von Rotenhan älterer Linie. 2 volumes,1865 Siegfried Frhr. von Rotenhan, Geschichte der Familie Rotenhan
Rotenhan Castle
–
Rotenhan Castle
Rotenhan Castle
–
Site plan
22.
Otto Piper
–
Otto Piper was a German architectural historian who, with August von Cohausen, is regarded as one of the two founders of scientific research into castles. Otto Piper was born on 22 December 1841 in Röckwitz, the youngest of five children of the Evangelical pastor, Wilhelm Piper and he was born at Röckwitz near Stavenhagen in Prussia. He attended the school in Neubrandenburg from 1851 to 1862 and passed his Abitur in 1862. During his time at Neubrandenburg, about which he wrote as part of his school recollections, he met Fritz Reuter, Johannes Schondorf. After studying law at Munich, Berlin and, from May 1864, Rostock, there he came to know Sophie Krüger, the woman who was later to become his wife. Soon after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, Piper went to Strasbourg in Alsace where he became the editor of the Niederrheinischen Kurier, later he was the editor of newspapers in Trier and Düsseldorf, before returning to Mecklenburg in 1879. From 1879 to 1889 he was the mayor of Penzlin, afterwards he settled in Konstanz on Lake Constance and, in 1893, moved to Munich. His main work, Burgenkunde is still one of the works on German castle research. His great rival was Bodo Ebhardt, the well known German castle researcher at the turn of the century. Otto Piper had three children, including the publisher, Reinhard Piper and he died on 23 February 1921 in Munich. 1911 honorary doctor of the University of Rostock 1911 Gold Medal for Art and Science Das Recht der Sponsalien besonders nach dem Particularrechte der Stadt Rostock, IV. des Rostocker Stadtrechtes v. J.1757. Rostock, Stiller 1871 Zu den commissarisch-deputatischen Verhandlungen über die Reform unserer Verfassung, Rostock, Stiller 1872 Zur Baugeschichte der Burg Stargard i. M. In, Verein für Mecklenburgische Geschichte und Altertumskunde, Jahrbücher des Vereins für Mecklenburgische Geschichte und Altertumskunde, forschungen über gesamtes Bauwesen und Geschichte der Burgen innerhalb des deutschen Sprachgebietes. Theodor Ackermann, Munich,1895 Von der glücklichen mecklenburgischen Verfassung, vienna, Erster Theil 1902, Zweiter Teil 1903, Dritter Teil 1904, Vierter Teil 1905, Fünfter Teil 1907, Sechster Teil 1908, Siebenter Teil 1909, Achter Teil 1910 Burgenkunde. ISBN 3-8035-8316-0 Reinhard Piper, Otto Piper, februar 1923, in, Mecklenburgische Monatshefte, 7th annual,1931, pp. 67–70. In, Grete Grewolls, Wer war wer in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, edition Temmen, Bremen,1995, ISBN 3-86108-282-9, p.332. Wer war wer in Mecklenburg und Vorpommern, sabine Bock, Piper, Otto Karl Christoph Heinrich, Pseudonym, P. Sincerus, in, Biographisches Lexikon für Mecklenburg, Vol.7. Schmidt-Römhild, Rostock,2013, ISBN 978-3-7950-3752-9, pp. 243–244
Otto Piper
–
Hagenwil Castle, drawing by Otto Piper
23.
Fleckenstein Castle
–
Château de Fleckenstein is a castle in the commune of Lembach, in the Bas-Rhin département of France. This fortress, built in the shape of 52 m long boat, has a long history, the castle was built on a sandstone summit in the Middle Ages. An ingenious system for collecting rainwater fed a cistern and a hoist allowed water and other loads to be moved to the upper floors, a castle is known to have existed on the site in 1165. It is named after the Fleckenstein family, owners until 1720 when it passed to the Vitzthum dEgersberg family, the family had had a lordship that consisted of four separate small territories in the Bas-Rhin département. In 1807, it passed to J. -L, apffel and in 1812 to General Harty, baron of Pierrebourg. In 1919, it became the property of the French state, the rock and the castle have been modified and modernised many times. Of the Romanesque castle, remains include steps cut into the length of the rock, troglodyte rooms, the lower part of the well tower dates from the 13th or 14th century, the rest from the 15th and 16th. The inner door in the lower courtyard carries the faded inscription 1407, the stairwell tower is decorated with the arms of Friedrich von Fleckenstein and those of his second wife, Catherine von Cronberg. The 16th-century castle, modernised between 1541 and 1570, was shared between the two branches of the Fleckenstein family, documents from the 16th century describe the castle and a watercolour copy of a 1562 tapestry shows its appearance in this period. Towards the end of the 17th-century Fleckenstein was captured twice by French troops, in 1674 the capture was achieved by forces under Marshall Vauban, who encountered no resistance from the defenders. The castle was completely destroyed in 1689 by General Melac. Major restoration work was carried out after 1870, around 1908, the nearest more substantial town is Wissembourg, approximately 20 km /12 miles to the east. The castle, is accessible by road or via hiking trails, château de Fleckenstein has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1898. List of castles in France www. culture. gouv. fr, accessed 1 Jan 2010 Ministry of Culture listing Ministry of Culture photos Map of Alsace with the Lordship of Fleckenstein
Fleckenstein Castle
–
The castle seen from
Hohenbourg
Fleckenstein Castle
–
Drawing of Fleckenstein by
Specklin
24.
Altwindstein Castle
–
The Château du Vieux Windstein is a ruined castle in the commune of Windstein, in the Bas-Rhin département of France. The first documented mention of the Château de Windstein is dated 1205 and it was built at the end of the 12th century by the Hohenstaufens to protect their imperial palace at Haguenau. The castle was a fief of the Empire, in the possession of the Windstein family, later, the castle was split in two with the lords of Sickingen and Schmalenstein each owning a part. Some buildings were constructed in the 13th century but it became a haunt of brigands and was razed in 1332. Despite a ban on rebuilding, it was again during the course of the 14th century. Burned in 1515, it passed into the possession of the Durkheims, the castle was finally ruined at the end of the 17th century, destroyed by the artillery of General Joseph de Montclar in 1676 during the wars against Louis XIV. The castle is on top of a sandstone outcrop and comprises two groups of buildings, separated by a ditch formed from an old fault enlarged when the castle was divided. There are a number of troglodytic elements, access to the lower courtyard of the southern castle is by a stone staircase cut into the rock. A house has been built on the site of the common buildings, a platform has been laid out, halfway up the rock, preceded by cave rooms and a cistern. There is a 41 metres deep well cut into the rock, the foundations of a Romanesque chapel are visible. On the summit, traces exist of a keep, on the northern summit are remains of parts of a wall, the only remnants of a keep built against the south castle. This part also has vestiges of a habitable tower, as well as parts of a manor house. The Château du Vieux Windstein has been listed since 1984 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture, list of castles in France Ministry of Culture listing for Château du Vieux Windstein
Altwindstein Castle
–
The Château du Vieux-Windstein, c. 1900
25.
Cave castle
–
A cave castle or grotto castle is a residential or refuge castle that has been built into a natural cave. It falls within the category of hill castles, unlike other types of castle, a cave castle can only be assaulted from the front. The castle gateway is located in the middle of a rock face. Archaeological discoveries have revealed that caves were used as places of refuge as early as the Stone Age, the first medieval cave castles emerged in the 11th and 12th centuries. In the 14th and 15th centuries this type of castle became more widespread, especially in parts of France. The actual cave castle was built at the foot of a high rock face. In several regions in Switzerland and France, however, soft rock material provides a basis for the construction of cave. There are considerably more castles of this type in Graubünden, Ticino, Valais or the Dordogne than, for example, the domestic buildings and stables were generally sited in the valley bottom beneath the castle, because the cave was often only accessible over steep and narrow paths. Most cave castles, for reasons, had no bergfried or other towers. One exception is Loch Castle near Eichhofen in Bavaria, that has an imposing, in many cases, the cave or grotto was simply sealed by a frontal wall and divided internally by stone or wooden partition walls. Several castles were, however, later turned into representative seats and expanded accordingly, for example Stein Castle, from an engineering perspective the cave castle is closely related to the rock castle, here, too, natural or artificially widened rock openings were incorporated into the structure. In the technical literature a distinction is made between cave and grotto castles, in popular usage, both terms are used more or less interchangeably. Weltbild, Augsburg 1994, ISBN 3-89350-554-7, p. 554–559, in, Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde. 65,1965, ISSN 0067-4540, p. 53–62
Cave castle
–
Predjama grotto castle near
Postojna (Adelsberg),
Slovenia
Cave castle
–
Kropfenstein Castle near
Waltensburg /
Vuorz,
Graubünden, Switzerland
Cave castle
–
Natoli Castle,
Sperlinga,
Italy
Cave castle
–
Rappenstein Castle near
Untervaz,
Graubünden, Switzerland
26.
Putlock hole
–
Putlog holes or putlock holes are small holes made in the walls of structures to receive the ends of poles or beams, called putlogs or putlocks, to support a scaffolding. Putlog holes may extend through a wall to provide staging on both sides of the wall, a historically common type of scaffolding, putlog holes date from ancient Roman buildings. The term putlock and the newer term putlog date from the 17th century and are used today. Putlogs may be supported on the ends by vertical poles, cantilevered by one end being firmly embedded in the wall. Putlogs may be sawn off flush with the if they cannot be removed. Interior putlog holes may be open, particularly if not in a finished space
Putlock hole
–
Putlog holes in Cardiff castle
Putlock hole
–
Putlog holes for
hoardings can be seen running along the top of the
wall at
Aigues-Mortes,
France.
Putlock hole
–
Most of the putlogs are still in place in this scaffolding, the putlog holes are easy to see.
Putlock hole
–
A German plasterer at work with putlogs going into the half-timbered (fachwerk) walls.
27.
Lichtenstein Castle (Bavaria)
–
Lichtenstein Castle is a high to late medieval hill castle,380 m above sea level, about six kilometres north of Ebern in the Lower Franconian county of Haßberge in Bavaria. It is located in the municipality of Pfarrweisach, of the originally four sub-castles of this great joint-fief or Ganerbenburg only one, the South Castle, is still occupied. The North Castle only survives as ruins, on the site of the now vanished third castle the Protestant Church of the Eternal Flame was built in the Baroque era. In the southwestern part of the site lie the ruins of a fourth joint-vassal castle seat, Die Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Bayern III,15, Bezirksamt Ebern. Schnell & Steiner Kunstführer 2364, Regensburg 1998, joachim Zeune, Burgen im Eberner Land. Ludwig Bechstein, Der Sagenschatz des Frankenlandes, george Winter, Das Schneidersloch, Das verlorene Kind, Die Gründung des Klosters zu Fürstenfeldbruck… - Fünfzehn Sagen aus dem Bayernlande
Lichtenstein Castle (Bavaria)
–
The ruins of North Castle with its
bergfried and the Pfeilscharte tower
28.
Mussomeli
–
Mussomeli is a town and comune in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy. The name of the town is derived from Arabic, the most common surname in Mussomeli is Messina. Mussomeli is claimed to have founded in the 14th century by Manfredo III Chiaramonte with the name Manfredi. In 1549 it became a county under the Lanza family, a feast is held every September for the Madonna of the Miracles. A similar feast is held simultaneously in Buffalo, NY, which has a number of Mussomeli émigrés. Many townspeople emigrated to the UK, to London and Woking and it stands on a high crag, elevation 778 metres,2 kilometres outside the town. It has large halls, dungeons and torture cells, and a chapel with a precious alabaster depicting the Madonna dell Catena, near the castle are the ruins of a Greek-Italic village. The Santuario della Madonna dei Miracoli The Chiesa Madre of San Ludovico and it was restored along Baroque lines in the 17th century. The Renaissance church of San Francesco, the 17th Palazzo Trabìa, with a noteworthy art gallery. The church of St. Anthony History and traditions of Mussomeli MUSSOMELI LIVE
Mussomeli
–
Mussomeli
Mussomeli
–
The Castle of Mussomeli.
29.
Altdahn Castle
–
Altdahn Castle is a castle ruin in the Palatinate Forest, the German part of the Wasgau region, and is located near the town of Dahn in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It stands 337 metres above sea level, the rock castle of Altdahn belongs to the group of castles at Dahn, which also includes Grafendahn and Tanstein. Although the three castles are sited next to one another on a low, rocky ridge, they were not built at the same time. A similar type of arrangement is also found e. g. in the nearby French Vosges in the upper Alsace where there is a cluster of three castles at Husseren-les-Châteaux. Other sights nearby include the castle of Neudahn and the rock formation of Jungfernsprung. Altdahn was probably built in the early 13th century, certainly in 1236 the castle was being run by Frederick of Dahn as a vassal of the Bishop of Speyer who, at that time, was Conrad IV of Dahn and may well have been a relative. The subsequent history of the castle is characterized by many wars and frequent destruction, Altdahn was first destroyed in 1363 in the course of a feud between the Dahns and the Fleckensteins. In the end a squire took possession of the castle and carried out temporary repairs, in 1372 it was destroyed again and the squire driven out. In 1406 the castle was destroyed in the War of the Four Lords, in 1426 and 1438 the castle caught fire without being caused by any military action. After two centuries of relative prosperity Altdahn suffered further damage during the Thirty Years War, and right at the start of the War of the Palatine Succession the castle was finally destroyed in 1689 by French troops under General Mélac. On 11 May 1820 a rockfall occurred, that caused the majority of the ruins to collapse. Mendelssohn, the composer and artist, visited the ruins on 5 August 1844 in order to paint them. The originals are in Oxford, but copies may be seen in the museum and its access is in the northeast, where the gateway and a small, water-filled neck ditch have survived. The lower ward is dominated on the side by a horseshoe-shaped turret and, on the south side. The southern part of the palas was destroyed in the rockslide of 1820 and this also opened the remains of a round cavern, in the rock in the shape of an inverted cone, that has been identified as a cistern or dungeon. On the remains of the side, rusticated ashlar stonework is visible. The isolated eastern castle rock is accessible over a narrow gangway and it used to support a small tower. In 1877 the first conservation work was carried out by the Dahn Conservation Society under the Bavarian government, in 1936, during the Nazi era, restoration work was restarted
Altdahn Castle
–
The castle group at Dahn
Altdahn Castle
Altdahn Castle
–
Spoon found at the castle engraved with the Dahn coat of arms
Altdahn Castle
–
View of the surviving northern wall of the palas and tower
30.
Grafendahn Castle
–
Grafendahn Castle lies in the southern Palatine Forest, the German part of the Wasgau region, just under 1 kilometre east of the small town of Dahn in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The rock castle of Grafendahn belongs to the group of castles at Dahn, although the three castles are sited next to one another on a rocky ridge, they were not built at the same time. A similar type of arrangement is also found e. g. in the nearby French Vosges in the upper Alsace where there is a cluster of three castles at Husseren. Grafendahn was built in 1287 by Conrad of Mursel, who was a Lehnsmann or vassal of the bishops of Speyer, the castle was conceived from the outset as a so-called Ganerbenburg - a castle in which several families or family lines lived and worked at the same time. As early as 1288, there were five other heirs, besides Conrad Mursel, in 1339, Count John II of Sponheim purchased all parts of the site from the various parties concerned and thus became the sole owner. However its defences were not robust enough to withstand a siege by Prince Elector Frederick the Victorious and it was clearly not rebuilt in a systematic way. In 1480 Hans von Trotha, who was already the liegeman of Berwartstein Castle, was also given Grafendahn as a fief by the prince elector, nevertheless, around 1500, the castle was described as uninhabitable. Until 1637 the ruined castle belonged to the lords of Fleckenstein, in 1642 it changed hands again and was acquired by the tavern at Waldenburg, where it remained for about 150 years. In 1793 the site went back to the Bishopric of Speyer as Lehnsherr, Grafendahn Castle is the smallest of the three Dahn castles and is located on the middle of the five castle rock outcrops. The development of the ward is rather unclear today due to its modern parapet walls. In the west of the ward are the striking ruins of a shield wall. Parts of it have survived at its original height and it was built of rusticated ashlars. Against the shield wall there was a small palas as well as several domestic buildings, in the lower ward, which is situated on two narrow rock terraces, several chambers, cattle troughs and a well shaft have survived. The castle museum has been house in a stable block since 1987. Edition Burgen, Schlösser, Altertümer Rheinland Pfalz, ein Führer zu den schönsten Burgen der Pfalz und des elsässischen Wasgau. Weinbrenner, Braun, Karlsruhe,2004, ISBN 3-7650-8286-4, peter Pohlit, Alexander Thon, Jürgen Keddigkeit, Alexander Thon, Rolf Übel, eds. 12.2, pp. 213–223, ISBN 3-927754-48-X, ISSN 0936-7640 Elena Rey, günter Stein, Burgen und Schlösser in der Pfalz. Alexander Thon. wie eine gebannte, unnahbare Zauberburg, schnell + Steiner, Regensburg,2005, pp. 18–25, ISBN 3-7954-1570-5
Grafendahn Castle
–
The castles of Dahn
Grafendahn Castle
–
View from Tanstein over Grafendahn to Altdahn
Grafendahn Castle
–
View in the opposite direction: from the tower of Altdahn Castle of Grafendahn (foreground) and Tanstein (behind).
Grafendahn Castle
–
Castle rocks of Grafendahn from the east. Foreground: the castle museum.
31.
Tanstein Castle
–
Tanstein Castle is the ruin of a rock castle in the southern Palatine Forest, the German part of the Wasgau region. It lies just under 1 kilometre east of the town of Dahn in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Tanstein is one of the three castles at Dahn, the others being Altdahn and Grafendahn, although the three castles are sited next to one another on a hill ridge, they were not built at the same time. A similar cluster of castles is also found e. g. in the Vosges in nearby Alsace, Tanstein is the oldest of the three castles in the group. An 1127 document refers to an Anshelmus de Tannicka as the owner or governor, in 1189, in a deed by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, a Henry von der Than is mentioned and the castle designated as an immediate imperial fief. In the period followed, Ulrich of Dahn and Conrad of Dahn are named as imperial ministeriales. In 1328 the castle became a fief of the bishops of Speyer, until 1464 there were frequent changes of ownership, which suggests that the fief was still not inheritable during this phase, but was always re-enfeoffed. In 1512 Frederick of Dahn purchased the castle, because he was an ally of the knight, Franz von Sickingen, he was involved in his battles against the imperial princes in southwest Germany. After Sickingens defeat and death in 1523, Tanstein, too and its occupation by troops of the Archbishop of Trier lasted until 1544 and probably led to irreparable damage to the structure of the castle, because it was finally abandoned in 1585. In 1689, at the start of the War of the Palatine Succession, Tanstein Castle is located on the two westernmost rock outcrops of the Dahn castle cluster. Both were originally linked by a bridge, on the rocks today are modern parapet walls that have been rather arbitrarily added and do not give any real idea of the old castle buildings. On the western rock outcrop there were apparently domestic-like buildings, that were built against the rocks and this is evinced by putlock holes and other marks on the rocks as well as a large cistern, in which water from the roofs was gathered and stored. The lower ward on the rock outcrop still shows traces of the original walls dating to the 15th century. These include the ruins of a smithy and a smelting furnace, ISBN 3-7954-1461-X Walter Herrmann, Auf rotem Fels. Ein Führer zu den schönsten Burgen der Pfalz und des elsässischen Wasgau, weinbrenner, Braun, Karlsruhe,2004, ISBN 3-7650-8286-4 Elena Rey, Burgenführer Pfalz. Superior, Kaiserslautern 2003, ISBN 3-936216-15-0 Günter Stein, Burgen und Schlösser in der Pfalz, weidlich, Frankfurt,1976, ISBN 3-8035-8356-X Alexander Thon, Peter Pohlit, Grafendahn. Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg,2005, pp. 18-25, ISBN 3-7954-1570-5 Dahner Felsenland, Altdahn–Grafendahn–Tanstein
Tanstein Castle
–
The castles of Dahn
Tanstein Castle
–
View from Tanstein over Grafendahn to Altdahn
Tanstein Castle
–
View from the lower ward to the south.
Tanstein Castle
–
Cistern in the western rock outcrop
32.
Scharzfels Castle
–
Scharzfels Castle is the medieval ruin of a fortification located east of the village of Scharzfeld in the borough of Herzberg am Harz in central Germany. It lies in a wood on a ridge about 150 m above the Oder valley, for centuries after its construction in the 10th or 11th century it remained an impregnable fortress. The inner ward is built on a rock outcrop about 20 m high. The castle was first captured after a siege in 1761 during the Seven Years War, of the fortifications of the former outer ward nothing visible remains apart from a well house. The lower or outer ward is now a flat terraced area with a tourist restaurant, from the outer ward a stairway, built in the 19th century, leads to the upper ward on the 20 metre high dolomite rock. The rock has an area of about 20 x 60 metres and this eyrie-like position with its vertical rock faces made the castle impregnable. The stone castle buildings were built on top of the rock or in gaps, according to contemporary accounts, there was at least a palas and a tower. Of the buildings and the wall only preserved fragments remain that have now been restored. In contrast, the tunnels and rooms hewn out of the rock still exist, several hundred metres away from the castle ruins is the rock known as the Frauenstein which was once an observation tower and an outwork. The castle of Scharzfels was probably built in the 10th or 11th century and it only became of historical significance through Emperor Lothair of Süpplingenburg who acquired it in 1131 and turned it into an imperial fort. This purchase is witnessed by the document in which the castle is mentioned in writing for the first time. From that time the castle was home to several lines of counts, after they had become extinct, the castle went in 1300 as a fief of the Principality of Grubenhagen into the possession of the counts of Hohnstein. After the extinction of the Harz-based line of the House of Hohnstein in 1593, in 1596 Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel inherited the fortress. Later it passed into the possession of the Hanover line of the House of Welf, in 1627 the castle was expanded, occupied by a garrison and heavily fortified. In the centuries after the construction of the castle no enemy power was able to capture it, despite conflicts such as the Peasants War, in the 17th century Scharzfels became a state gaol. From 1695 Eleonore of the Knesebeck resided here, who came from a prestigious ancient Lüneburg family and she became the maid to Princess Sophia of Ahlden after Sophias marriage in 1682. The family of Eleanor of the Knesebeck tried again and again to initiate a legal process, the prisoner remained incarcerated in a tiny room, only being allowed to see an old nurse once a day. Her family eventually bribed the roofer, Veit Rentsch, previously, he had made an opening in the roof of the room where the prisoner was held and hauled her out with a rope
Scharzfels Castle
–
The
upper ward on a dolomite rock outcrop and its access stairway
Scharzfels Castle
–
1654
Merian copperplate of the castle
Scharzfels Castle
–
Castle entrance at the top of the stairway at a height of around 20 metres
Scharzfels Castle
–
Ca. 1900: Around the castle gate; postcard by Karl Friedrich Wunder
33.
Harz
–
The Harz is a Mittelgebirge that has the highest elevations in Northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart, the Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz with an elevation of 1,141.1 metres above sea level. The Wurmberg is the highest peak located entirely within the state of Lower Saxony, the Harz has a length of 110 kilometres, stretching from the town of Seesen in the northwest to Eisleben in the east, and a width of 35 kilometres. The following districts fall wholly or partly within the Harz, Goslar and Osterode am Harz in the west, Harz and Mansfeld-Südharz in the north and east, and Nordhausen in the south. The districts of the Upper Harz are Goslar and Osterode, whilst the Lower Harz is on the territory of Harz and Mansfeld-Südharz districts. The Upper Harz is generally higher and features fir forests, whilst the Lower Harz gradually descends into the area and has deciduous forests interspersed with meadows. The dividing line between Upper and Lower Harz follows approximately a line from Ilsenburg to Bad Lauterberg, which separates the catchment areas for the Weser. Only on the perimeter of the Upper Harz, which is also called the High Harz. Its highest peak is the Brocken, its peaks are the Heinrichshöhe to the southeast. Other prominent hills in the Harz are the Acker-Bruchberg ridge, the Achtermannshöhe, in the far east, the mountains merge into the East Harz foothills, which are dominated by the Selke Valley. Part of the south Harz lies in the Thuringian district of Nordhausen, the Harz National Park is located in the Harz, the protected area covers the Brocken and surrounding wilderness area. Approximately 600,000 people live in towns and villages of the Harz Mountains, because of the heavy rainfall in the region the rivers of the Harz Mountains were dammed from an early date. Examples of such dams are the two largest, the Oker Dam and the Rappbode Dam. The clear, cool water of the streams was also dammed by early mountain folk to form the various mountain ponds of the Upper Harz waterways. The 17 dams in the Harz block a total of twelve rivers, because the Harz is one of the regions of Germany that experiences the most rainfall, its water power was used from early times. Today the dams are used to generate electricity, to provide drinking water, to prevent flooding. Modern dam-building began in the Harz with the construction of the Söse Valley Dam, the dams of the Upper Harz lakes are some of the oldest dams in Germany that are still in operation. → See List of dams in the Harz The largest rivers in the Harz are the Innerste, the Oker and the Bode in the north, the Wipper in the east, the Innerste merges into the Leine and its tributaries are the Nette and the Grane
Harz
–
Panorama in the Harz Mountains. From left to right: the peaks of the Rehberg, the Achtermannshöhe, the Brocken and the Wurmberg.
Harz
Harz
–
Sender Brocken at the summit in winter
Harz
–
Reservoir behind the
Wendefurth Dam
34.
Neurathen Castle
–
Neurathen Castle, which was first mentioned by this name in 1755, is located near the famous Bastei rocks near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in the German Free State of Saxony. In the years 1982–1984 parts of the castle were used to build the open-air museum. List of castles in Saxony Anne Müller, Matthias Weinhold, Felsenburgen der Sächsischen Schweiz, reihe Burgen, Schlösser und Wehrbauten in Mitteleuropa Band 23, Verlag Schnell und Steiner, Regensburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-7954-2303-2 Richard Vogel, Gebiet Königstein Sächsische Schweiz. Reihe Werte unserer Heimat Band 1, Akademie Verlag, Berlin,2, auflage 1985 Description of Neurathen Artists impression by Wolfgang Braun
Neurathen Castle
–
Neurathen Rock Castle
35.
Lusatian Mountains
–
The Lusatian Mountains are a mountain range of the Western Sudetes on the southeastern border of Germany with the Czech Republic. They are a continuation of the Ore Mountains range west of the Elbe valley, the mountains of the northern, German, part are called the Zittau Mountains. The northwestern foothills of the Lusatian Mountains are called the Lusatian Highlands, the range is largely made up of sandstone sedimentary rocks leaning on a Precambrian crystalline basement. The northern ridge is marked by the Lusatian Fault, a geological disturbance zone separating the Bohemian sandstones from the Lusatian granodiorite, during the Tertiary volcanic magma streams broke through the sandstone layer and solidified into basalt and phonolite. Several sandstone contact areas were also hardened to columns and distinct rock formations, both the German and the Czech parts nowadays are protected areas according to IUCN guidelines. The highest peak is the Lausche, other notable peaks include the Pěnkavčí vrch, Jedlová, Klíč, Hochwald and Studenec
Lusatian Mountains
–
Cross-country skiing route along the Lusatian Mountains' main ridge. The background peak is
Mt. Luž (Lausche).
Lusatian Mountains
–
Mt. Lausche from the north
Lusatian Mountains
–
Pěnkavčí vrch
Lusatian Mountains
–
View of Klíč in winter
36.
Bohemian Switzerland
–
Bohemian Switzerland, also known as Czech Switzerland, is a picturesque region in the north-western Czech Republic. It lies on the Czech side of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains north of Děčín on both sides of the Elbe River and it extends eastward into the Lusatian Mountains and westward into the Ore Mountains. Its highest elevation is the mountain Děčínský Sněžník at 726m above sea level and it has been a protected area since 1972. The region along the side of the Elbe became a national park on January 1,2000. The National Park is adjacent to the Saxon Switzerland National Park in Germany, the concept of Bohemian Switzerland developed in the 18th century as an extension of the Saxon Switzerland, the part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Germany. The name was inspired by the Swiss artists Adrian Zingg and Anton Graff, a large number of castles were built in the Bohemian Switzerland region in order to guard the trade routes. Several of these castles were used as medieval robber baron hideouts. The region had been sparsely populated since ancient times by a few Germanic, Slavic and Celtic tribes. Until the end of the Second World War it was home to German Bohemians, since its German population was driven out after 1945, the area has been almost exclusively settled by Czechs. The area first began to draw tourists in large numbers in the 19th century, artistis of the Romantic era were inspired by the wild beauty of the rocks. For example, the artist, Ludwig Richter or the composer, Carl Maria von Weber, as early as 1972, the whole of Bohemian Switzerland was placed under protection. A plan devised in 1991 envisaged that this would include the Růžovský vrch. This plan was resisted by various groups, such as the owners of hunting land. A compromise proposal also fell on stony ground, in 1999 the Czech government decided to create the Bohemian Switzerland National Park to its originally envisaged extent. On 1 January 2000 the valuable forest and rock landscape, the gorges of the Kamnitz, the headquarters of the national park authority is located in Krásná Lípa, and there are information offices in Hřensko and Jetřichovice
Bohemian Switzerland
–
The symbol of Bohemian Switzerland,
Pravčická brána, the largest sandstone arch in Europe.
Bohemian Switzerland
–
The Marienfels rock
Bohemian Switzerland
–
Core zone in the national park: The
Wilde Klamm near
Hřensko
Bohemian Switzerland
–
Typical wood and rock landscape (view from the Wilhelminenwand)
37.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
38.
Fortification
–
Fortifications are military constructions or buildings designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and also used to solidify rule in a region during peace time. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs, the term is derived from the Latin fortis and facere. From very early history to modern times, walls have been a necessity for cities to survive in a changing world of invasion. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were the first small cities to be fortified, in ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae. A Greek Phrourion was a collection of buildings used as a military garrison. These construction mainly served the purpose of a tower, to guard certain roads, passes. Though smaller than a fortress, they acted as a border guard rather than a real strongpoint to watch. The art of setting out a camp or constructing a fortification traditionally has been called castramentation since the time of the Roman legions. Fortification is usually divided into two branches, permanent fortification and field fortification, there is also an intermediate branch known as semi-permanent fortification. Castles are fortifications which are regarded as being distinct from the fort or fortress in that they are a residence of a monarch or noble. Roman forts and hill forts were the antecedents of castles in Europe. The Early Middle Ages saw the creation of towns built around castles. Medieval-style fortifications were made obsolete by the arrival of cannons in the 14th century. Fortifications in the age of black powder evolved into much lower structures with greater use of ditches and earth ramparts that would absorb, Walls exposed to direct cannon fire were very vulnerable, so were sunk into ditches fronted by earth slopes. The arrival of explosive shells in the 19th century led to yet another stage in the evolution of fortification, steel-and-concrete fortifications were common during the 19th and early 20th centuries. However the advances in warfare since World War I have made large-scale fortifications obsolete in most situations. Demilitarized zones along borders are arguably another type of fortification, although a passive kind, many military installations are known as forts, although they are not always fortified. Larger forts may be called fortresses, smaller ones were known as fortalices
Fortification
–
Krak des Chevaliers is one of the best-preserved Crusader
castles.
Fortification
–
Bourtange star fort, restored to 1750 situation,
Groningen (province),
Netherlands.
Fortification
–
The well preserved
Bulgarian medieval fort
Baba Vida.
Fortification
–
Fortifications on the Iraq-Iran Border, viewed from the
ISS, 2014
39.
Ancient history
–
Ancient history is the aggregate of past events from the beginning of recorded human history and extending as far as the Early Middle Ages or the Postclassical Era. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with Sumerian Cuneiform script, the term classical antiquity is often used to refer to history in the Old World from the beginning of recorded Greek history in 776 BC. This roughly coincides with the date of the founding of Rome in 753 BC, the beginning of the history of ancient Rome. In India, ancient history includes the period of the Middle Kingdoms, and, in China. Historians have two major avenues which they take to better understand the ancient world, archaeology and the study of source texts, primary sources are those sources closest to the origin of the information or idea under study. Primary sources have been distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on. Archaeology is the excavation and study of artefacts in an effort to interpret, archaeologists excavate the ruins of ancient cities looking for clues as to how the people of the time period lived. The study of the ancient cities of Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, the city of Pompeii, an ancient Roman city preserved by the eruption of a volcano in AD79. Its state of preservation is so great that it is a window into Roman culture and provided insight into the cultures of the Etruscans. The Terracotta Army, the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in ancient China, the discovery of Knossos by Minos Kalokairinos and Sir Arthur Evans. The discovery of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann, most of what is known of the ancient world comes from the accounts of antiquitys own historians. Although it is important to take account the bias of each ancient author. Some of the more notable ancient writers include Herodotus, Thucydides, Arrian, Plutarch, Polybius, Sima Qian, Sallust, Livy, Josephus, Suetonius, furthermore, the reliability of the information obtained from these surviving records must be considered. Few people were capable of writing histories, as literacy was not widespread in almost any culture until long after the end of ancient history, the earliest known systematic historical thought emerged in ancient Greece, beginning with Herodotus of Halicarnassus. He was also the first to distinguish between cause and immediate origins of an event, the Roman Empire was one of the ancient worlds most literate cultures, but many works by its most widely read historians are lost. Indeed, only a minority of the work of any major Roman historian has survived, prehistory is the period before written history. The early human migrations in the Lower Paleolithic saw Homo erectus spread across Eurasia 1.8 million years ago, the controlled use of fire occurred 800,000 years ago in the Middle Paleolithic. 250,000 years ago, Homo sapiens emerged in Africa, 60–70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa along a coastal route to South and Southeast Asia and reached Australia
Ancient history
–
Khafre's Pyramid (
4th dynasty) and
Great Sphinx of Giza (c. 2500 BC or perhaps earlier)
Ancient history
–
The Mediterranean in c. the 4th century BC. Phoenician cities are labelled in yellow, Greek cities in red, and other cities in grey.
Ancient history
–
Eastern Hemisphere in 500 BC.
40.
Abatis
–
An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced or tied with wire, abatis are used alone or in combination with wire entanglements and other obstacles. There is evidence it was used as early as the Roman Imperial period, a classic use of an abatis was at the Battle of Carillon during the Seven Years War. The 3,600 French troops defeated an army of 16,000 British. The British found the defences almost impossible to breach and were forced to withdraw with some 2,600 casualties, an important weakness of abatis, in contrast to barbed wire, is that it can be destroyed by fire. An important advantage is that an improvised abatis can be formed in forested areas. This can be done by cutting down a row of trees so that they fall with their tops toward the enemy. An alternative is to place explosives so as to blow the trees down, abatis are rarely seen nowadays, having been largely replaced by wire obstacles. However, it may be used as a replacement or supplement when barbed wire is in short supply, a form of giant abatis, using whole trees instead of branches, can be used as an improvised anti-tank obstacle. Though rarely used by conventional military units, abatises are still officially maintained in United States Army. Furthermore, it is recommended that the trees remain connected to the stumps, US military maps record an abatis by use of an inverted V with a short line extending from it to the right. Zasechnaya cherta Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier includes large and authentic reproduction of abatis used in the U. S. Civil War
Abatis
–
Abatis improvised by Japanese troops during
World War II
Abatis
–
Giant abatis, made from entire trees, can make an effective anti-vehicle obstacle. This formation can be achieved by use of explosives—note the splintered stumps
41.
Agger (ancient Rome)
–
An agger is an ancient Roman embankment or rampart, or any artificial elevation. The agger was an embankment that gave Roman roads the proper draining base, basically the agger is a ridge that supports the road surface. The material used to build the aggers was dug from lateral ditches, once the material was dug out of the ditches that were known as scoop ditches, they were used as the storm drain for that road. These ditches could also be used for soldiers to hide in if they ever were under attack from enemies, on the most important road routes, the agger could be 4 to 5 feet high and 45 to 50 feet wide. Along less important routes the road is set directly on the levelled ground surface with stones laid to provide drainage with the lateral ditches barely visible. The material was found locally, though the Romans would not hesitate to bring in the material from other places if they could find no suitable stone. The course of a Roman road can often be traced today by the line of the agger across the landscape. A well-known example is the Agger Servianus, a part of the Servian walls of Rome, which protected the city on its most vulnerable side and it consisted of a double rampart bearing formidable fortifications
Agger (ancient Rome)
–
Remains of the agger of
Ardea, Italy
42.
Broch
–
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification complex atlantic roundhouse devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s and their origin is a matter of some controversy. The theory that they were defensive military structures is not accepted by modern archaeologists. Although most stand alone in the landscape, some examples exist of brochs surrounded by clusters of smaller dwellings, the word broch is derived from Lowland Scots brough, meaning fort. In the mid-19th century Scottish antiquaries called brochs burgs, after Old Norse borg, place names in Scandinavian Scotland such as Burgawater and Burgan show that Old Norse borg is the older word used for these structures in the north. Brochs are often referred to as duns in the west, antiquaries began to use the spelling broch in the 1870s. A precise definition for the word has proved elusive, brochs are the most spectacular of a complex class of roundhouse buildings found throughout Atlantic Scotland. Researcher Euan MacKie has proposed a smaller total for Scotland of 104. The origin of brochs is a subject of continuing research and this view contrasted, for example, with that of Sir Lindsay Scott, who argued, following Childe, for a wholesale migration into Atlantic Scotland of people from southwest England. Meanwhile, the increasing number – albeit still pitifully few – of radiocarbon dates for the use of brochs still suggests that most of the towers were built in the 1st centuries BC. A few may be earlier, notably the one proposed for Old Scatness Broch in Shetland, Caithness, Sutherland and the Northern Isles have the densest concentrations, but there are also a great many examples in the west of Scotland and the Hebrides. Although mainly concentrated in the northern Highlands and the Islands, a few occur in the Borders, on the west coast of Dumfries and Galloway. In a c.1560 sketch there appears to be a broch by the next to Annan Castle in Dumfries. This small group of southern brochs has never been satisfactorily explained, the original interpretation of brochs, favoured by nineteenth century antiquarians, was that they were defensive structures, places of refuge for the community and their livestock. They were sometimes regarded as the work of Danes or Picts, from the 1930s to the 1960s, archaeologists like V. Gordon Childe and later John Hamilton regarded them as castles where local landowners held sway over a subject population. The castle theory fell from favour among Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s, once again, however, there is a lack of archaeological proof for this reconstruction, and the sheer number of brochs, sometimes in places with a lack of good land, makes it problematic. Brochs close groupings and profusion in many areas may indeed suggest that they had a defensive or even offensive function. Often they are at key strategic points, in Shetland they sometimes cluster on each side of narrow stretches of water, the broch of Mousa, for instance, is directly opposite another at Burraland in Sandwick
Broch
–
Dun Carloway broch,
Lewis, Scotland
Broch
–
Broch of Mousa
Broch
–
The remains of Kilphedir broch,
Sutherland, are surrounded by massive earthworks.
Broch
–
The remains of Feranch broch,
Sutherland
43.
Castra
–
In the Roman Empire, the Latin word castrum was a building, or plot of land, used as a fortified military camp. Castrum was the used for different sizes of camps including a large legionary fortress, smaller auxiliary forts, temporary encampments. The diminutive form castellum was used for fortlets, typically occupied by a detachment of a cohort or a century, in English, the terms Roman fortress, Roman fort and Roman camp are commonly used for castrum. However, scholastic convention tends toward the use of the camp, marching camp. For a list of known castra see List of castra, the term castrum appears in three Italic languages, Oscan, Umbrian and Latin. g. Castrum Album, Castrum Inui, Castrum Novum, Castrum Truentinum, Castrum Vergium. The plural was used as a place name, as Castra Cornelia. Castrorum Filius was one of names used by the emperor Caligula, the terms stratopedon and phrourion were used by Greek language authors to translate castrum and castellum, respectively. A castrum was designed to house and protect the soldiers, their equipment and this most detailed description that survives about Roman military camps is De Munitionibus Castrorum, a manuscript of 11 pages that dates most probably from the late 1st to early 2nd century AD. Regulations required a major unit in the field to retire to a properly constructed camp every day, to this end a marching column ported the equipment needed to build and stock the camp in a baggage train of wagons and on the backs of the soldiers. They could throw up a camp under enemy attack in as little as a few hours. Judging from the names, they used a repertory of camp plans, selecting the one appropriate to the length of time a legion would spend in it, tertia castra, quarta castra. A camp of three days, four days, etc, more permanent camps were castra stativa, standing camps. The least permanent of these were castra aestiva or aestivalia, summer camps, in which the soldiers were housed sub pellibus or sub tentoriis, under tents. For the winter the soldiers retired to castra hiberna containing barracks and other buildings of solid materials. The camp allowed the Romans to keep a rested and supplied army in the field, neither the Celtic nor Germanic armies had this capability, they found it necessary to disperse after only a few days. The largest castra were legionary fortresses built as bases for one or more whole legions, previously, legions were raised for specific military campaigns and subsequently disbanded, requiring only temporary castra. From then on many castra of various sizes were established many of which became permanent settlements, from the most ancient times Roman camps were constructed according to a certain ideal pattern, formally described in two main sources, the De Munitionibus Castrorum and the works of Polybius
Castra
–
Reconstructed gateway of a Castra Stativa. Note the battlements, the Roman arches, the turres.
Castra
Castra
–
Reconstruction of the specula or vigilarium (Germanic burgus), "watchtower", a type of castrum, of
Fectio. An ancient watchtower would have been surrounded by wall and ditch.
Castra
–
The reconstructed porta praetoria of the castle Pfünz,
Germany, near the Raetian Limes.
44.
Circular rampart
–
The period during which these structures appeared stretches from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. The key feature of a rampart is the embankment forming the primary means of the defensive fortification. It can be constructed in ways, as a simple earth embankment, as a wood. Circular ramparts usually have a moat or ditch in front of them, often several concentric rings were built, which produced a more effective defensive position against attackers. The interior of such sites often shows evidence of such as halls, barns. They are often hidden in woods and discovered by aerial photography, archaeological profiles through the defences and excavations of the interior enable analysis of the period the site was occupied, the pottery used and the type of food consumed
Circular rampart
–
Artist's impression of the circular rampart of Burg, near
Celle, Germany
Circular rampart
–
Varbola ruins in
Estonia
Circular rampart
–
External view of the Burg site
Circular rampart
–
Top of the rampart at Burg
45.
City gate
–
A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. City gates were built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods. The city gate was also used to display diverse kinds of public information such as announcements, tax and toll schedules, standards of local measures. City gates, in one form or another, can be found across the world in cities dating back to ancient times to around the 19th century. Many cities would close their gates after a certain curfew each night, for example a bigger one like Prague or a smaller one like Flensburg, in the north of Germany. With increased stability and freedom, many walled cities removed such fortifications as city gates, although many still survive, many surviving gates have been heavily restored, rebuilt or new ones created to add to the appearance of a city, such as Bab Bou Jalous in Fes. With increased levels of traffic, city gates have come under threat in the past for impeding the flow of traffic, ireland, St. Laurences Gate, 13th Century, in Drogheda, Co
City gate
–
The
Brama Młyńska in
Stargard Szczeciński one of a few water gates in Europe
City gate
–
Michael's Gate in
Bratislava, Slovakia
City gate
–
The
Ishtar Gate in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin
City gate
–
Roshnai Gate from Hazuri Bagh (
Lahore)
46.
Crannog
–
A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Scotland and Ireland. Crannogs have been interpreted as free-standing wooden structures, as at Loch Tay, although more commonly they exist as brush. However, in such as the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. As a result, completely stone crannogs supporting drystone architecture are common there, today, crannogs typically appear as small, circular islets, often 10 to 30 metres in diameter, covered in dense vegetation due to their inaccessibility to grazing livestock. The Irish word crannóg derives from Old Irish crannóc, which referred to a structure or vessel, stemming from crann. The modern sense of the term first appears sometime around the 12th century, its popularity spread in the period along with the terms isle, ylle, inis. There is some confusion on what the term originally referred to. The additional meanings of crannog can be related as structure/piece of wood, wooden pin, crows nest, pulpit, drivers box on a coach. The Scottish Gaelic form is crannag and has the additional meanings of pulpit, Crannogs are widespread in Ireland, with an estimated 1,200 examples, while Scotland has 347 sites officially listed as such. Previously unknown crannogs in Scotland and Ireland are still being found as underwater surveys continue to investigate loch beds for completely submerged examples, the largest concentrations of crannogs in Ireland are found in the Drumlin Belt of the Midlands, North and Northwest. In Scotland, crannogs favour a western or Atlantic distribution, with concentrations in Argyll and Dumfries. In reality, the Western Isles contain the highest density of lake-settlements in Scotland, one lone Welsh example at Llangorse Lake exists, likely a product of Irish influence across the Irish Sea. Crannogs took on different forms and methods of construction based on what was available in the immediate landscape. The classic image of a prehistoric crannog stems from both post-medieval illustrations and highly influential such as Milton Loch in Scotland by C. M. The Milton Loch interpretation is of a small islet surrounded or defined at its edges by timber piles, Crannogs are traditionally interpreted as simple prehistorical farmsteads. A strict definition of a crannog, which has long been debated, sites in the Western Isles do not satisfy this criterion, although their inhabitants shared the common habit of living on water. The visible structural remains are traditionally interpreted as duns, or in more recent terminology as Atlantic roundhouses and this terminology has recently become popular when describing the entire range of robust, drystone structures that existed in later prehistoric Atlantic Scotland. In some early digs, labourers merely hauled away tons of materials with little regard to anything that was not of immediate economic value
Crannog
–
Reconstructed crannog near
Kenmore, Perth and Kinross, on
Loch Tay,
Scotland
Crannog
–
Replica Crannóg on
Loch Tay
Crannog
–
Loughbrickland Crannóg in
Northern Ireland.
47.
Ditch (fortification)
–
A ditch in military engineering is an obstacle, designed to slow down or break up an attacking force, while a trench is intended to provide cover to the defenders. In medieval fortification, a ditch was constructed in front of a defensive wall to hinder mining. When filled with water, such a defensive ditch is called a moat, however, moats may also be dry. Today ditches are obsolescent as an obstacle, but are still often used as anti-vehicle obstacles. A fence concealed in a ditch is called a ha-ha, scarp, the inner side of the ditch is called the scarp slope. This may be revetted with masonry or brickwork, in which case, cordon, a course of protruding masonry along the top of a scarp wall, intended to make it harder for an enemy to stand a ladder against it. Rampart, the wall of the fort which can be made of earth or masonry, is topped by a parapet for the defenders to fire over. Berm, a ledge between the wall and the exterior slope of the rampart, designed to increase the stability of the rampart. Faussebraye, a parapet between the rampart and the inner edge of the ditch. Carnot wall, a wall between the rampart and the inner edge of the ditch. Chemin de ronde, a pathway running along the berm, behind the faussebraye or Carnot wall, cunette, a narrow channel that runs along the floor of the ditch for drainage purposes. Bartardeau, a type of dam across a ditch that is part wet. Counterscarp, the slope or wall of the ditch. Sally port, a door allowing the defenders to enter the ditch should it be occupied by the enemy. Caponier, a masonry or brick structure extending into the ditch or traversing across it, it is pierced with loopholes to enable the defenders to fire along the floor of the ditch. Counterscarp gallery, a passage constructed behind the wall and pierced with loopholes. Glacis, an earth slope angled away from the ditch, the height and angle of the glacis was calculated to protect the rampart from direct fire but to allow the defenders to fire over it. Place-of-arms, an area of the covered way at an angle of the ditch
Ditch (fortification)
–
A ditch and earth bank at
Old Sarum, near
Salisbury in
England, dating from the
Iron Age.
Ditch (fortification)
–
Ditch of
Valletta, which was built between 1566 and the 1570s.
48.
Defensive wall
–
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements, beyond their defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions – representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced. Existing ancient walls are almost always masonry structures, although brick, depending on the topography of the area surrounding the city or the settlement the wall is intended to protect, elements of the terrain may be incorporated in order to make the wall more effective. Walls may only be crossed by entering the city gate and are often supplemented with towers. Simpler defensive walls of earth or stone, thrown up around hillforts, ringworks, early castles, from very early history to modern times, walls have been a near necessity for every city. Uruk in ancient Sumer is one of the worlds oldest known walled cities, before that, the city of Jericho in what is now the West Bank had a wall surrounding it as early as the 8th millennium BC. The Assyrians deployed large labour forces to build new palaces, temples, some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were also fortified. By about 3500 B. C. hundreds of small farming villages dotted the Indus floodplain, many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets. Mundigak in present-day south-east Afghanistan has defensive walls and square bastions of sun dried bricks, babylon was one of the most famous cities of the ancient world, especially as a result of the building program of Nebuchadnezzar, who expanded the walls and built the Ishtar Gate. Exceptions were few — notably, ancient Sparta and ancient Rome did not have walls for a long time, initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones piled on top of each other without mortar. In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified settlements which the Romans called oppida, the fortifications were continuously expanded and improved. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, in classical era Greece, the city of Athens built a long set of parallel stone walls called the Long Walls that reached their guarded seaport at Piraeus. Large tempered earth walls were built in ancient China since the Shang Dynasty, although stone walls were built in China during the Warring States, mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin in earnest until the Tang Dynasty. The large walls of Pingyao serve as one example, likewise, the famous walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing were established in the early 15th century by the Yongle Emperor. The Romans fortified their cities with massive, mortar-bound stone walls, the most famous of these are the largely extant Aurelian Walls of Rome and the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, together with partial remains elsewhere. These are mostly city gates, like the Porta Nigra in Trier or Newport Arch in Lincoln, apart from these, the early Middle Ages also saw the creation of some towns built around castles. These cities were only protected by simple stone walls and more usually by a combination of both walls and ditches. From the 12th century AD hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded all across Europe and these cities are easy to recognise due to their regular layout and large market spaces
Defensive wall
–
Part of the
Great Wall of China, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Defensive wall
Defensive wall
Defensive wall
