How medieval castles were built. What is a castle: meaning and definition of the word

When large landowners appeared in Europe, they began to build fortified estates for themselves. The house, outbuildings, barns and stables were surrounded by high wooden walls. A wide ditch was usually dug in front of them, into which water was diverted from a nearby reservoir. This is how the first castles appeared. But they were fragile, since the wood began to rot over time. Therefore, the walls and buildings had to be constantly updated. In addition, such buildings could easily be set on fire.

The first real knightly castles made of stone, which are well known in our time, began to be built at the end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th centuries. In total, 15 thousand such structures were built in Europe. They were especially fond of similar buildings in England. In these lands, a construction boom began during the time of William the Conqueror in the second half of the 11th century. The stone structures rose at a distance of 30 km from each other. This proximity was very convenient in case of attack. Cavalry detachments from other castles could quickly arrive at the defenders.

In the 10th-11th centuries, defensive stone structures consisted of a high multi-tiered tower. It was called donjon and was home to the knight and his family. It also housed food, servants, and armed guards. A prison was set up in which prisoners were kept. They dug a deep well in the basement. It was filled groundwater. Therefore, the inhabitants of the donjon were not afraid of being left without water in the event of a long siege.

From the second half of the 11th century, the dungeons began to be surrounded by stone walls. Since that time, the defensive capabilities of the castle have increased significantly. The enemies first had to overcome high, strong walls, and then also take possession of a multi-tiered tower. And from it it was very convenient to pour hot resin on the heads of the invaders, shoot arrows and throw large stones.

The most active construction of reliable stone structures began in 1150-1250. It was during these 100 years that it was built greatest number locks Kings and rich nobles built magnificent structures. Small nobles erected small but reliable stone fortresses.

At the beginning of the 13th century, towers began to be made not square, but round.. This design was more resistant against throwing machines and rams. In the 90s of the 13th century, one central tower was abandoned. Instead, they began to make many towers, and surrounded them with 2 or even 3 rows of walls. Much more attention was paid to strengthening the gates.

Previously, knightly castles were protected only by heavy doors and a rising bridge over a moat. Now they have placed a powerful force behind the gates. metal grill. She could go down and up, and was called gers. Its tactical advantage was that it could be used to shoot arrows at attackers through it. This innovation was supplemented barbican. It was a round tower located in front of the gate.

Therefore, the enemies first had to take possession of it, then overcome the drawbridge, break the metal grating of the castle, and only after that, overcoming the fierce resistance of the defenders, penetrate into the interior of the castle. And on top of the walls, the builders made stone galleries with special openings to the outside. Through them, the besieged fired bows and poured hot tar on their enemies.

Medieval knight's castle and its defensive elements

In these practically impregnable stone fortresses, everything was subject to maximum security. But they cared much less about internal comfort. There were few windows, and they were all narrow. Instead of glass, mica or the intestines of cows, bulls, and buffaloes were used. Therefore, even on a bright sunny day there was twilight in the rooms. There were a great many different staircases, corridors and passages. They created drafts. And this had a negative impact on the health of residents.

The rooms had fireplaces, and the smoke escaped through chimneys. But it was very difficult to heat rooms made of stone. Therefore, people have always suffered from lack of heat. The floors were also stone. They were covered with hay and straw on top. Furniture included wooden beds, benches, wardrobes, tables and chests. hung on the walls hunting trophies in the form of stuffed animals and weapons. And this is how noble families lived with their servants and guards.

Attitudes towards comfort and convenience began to change at the beginning of the 14th century. Knights' castles began to be built from brick. Accordingly, they became much warmer. Builders stopped making narrow window openings. They expanded significantly, and multi-colored glass replaced mica. The walls and floors were covered with carpets. Carved wooden furniture and porcelain dishes imported from the east appeared. That is, the fortresses turned into quite tolerable places to live.

At the same time, the locks retained such important functions as storage for products. They had basements and cellars. Grain, smoked meats, dried fruits and vegetables were stored in them. There were stocks of wine and fish in wooden barrels. Honey was stored in clay jugs filled with wax. Lard was salted in stone containers.

The halls and corridors were illuminated by oil lamps or torches. Candles made of wax or tallow were used in residential areas. A separate tower was intended for hay. It was kept for horses, of which there were a lot at that time. Each fortress had its own bakery. Bread was baked daily for the masters and their servants.

Ordinary people settled around these majestic buildings. In case of enemy attack, people hid behind strong walls. They also sheltered their livestock and property. Therefore, gradually, first villages and then small towns began to appear around the knights’ castles. Markets and fairs were held right under the walls. The owner of the fortress did not object to this at all, since such events promised him a good profit.

TO XVI century many knights' castles were completely surrounded by residential buildings. As a result of this, they lost their military defensive significance. At this time powerful artillery began to appear. It negated the importance of strong and high walls. And gradually the once impregnable fortresses turned only into places of residence for rich people. They were also used for prisons and warehouses. Nowadays, the former majestic buildings have become history and are of interest only to tourists and historians..

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INTRODUCTION

Choosing a theme "Medieval castle: secrets of fortification" was no coincidence.

The Middle Ages is a majestic mystery, largely unsolved by medievalists. One of the components of the Mystery is medieval castles: magnificent monuments of architecture and fortification art.

These citadels, which arose as a refuge for the feudal lord, his family and at the same time indicators of the wealth and strength of the owner, which became widespread from the first half of the era, gradually turned into fortresses during numerous wars for the most part were destroyed.

We really wanted to learn more about these impregnable structures than what is written in textbooks, and to answer the question: what allowed the defenders of the castles to withstand a long siege and what secrets of castle architecture helped them in this.

Relevance: from Today, medieval castles and their fortification architecture are becoming objects close attention not only scientists and tourists, but also authors of computer games, strategies, books and films in the “fantasy” style, where events develop in ancient fortified palaces and fortresses. This develops our interest and curiosity, the desire to learn more than is written in educational literature about the castles of the Middle Ages surrounded by mystery.

At the same time, the castle becomes for us not only a place of exciting adventures and battles together with the heroes of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine, Kings of War, Confrontation, “Games of Thrones”, “Robin Hood”, “The Lord of the Rings” and other fantasy novels, films and wargames, but also that business card Middle Ages, which helps to comprehend its content by revealing one of most interesting pages stories.

This judgment is justified, since the Middle Ages went down in history as a period of endless wars, not only interstate, but also internecine and feudal. Under these conditions, the knight's (feudal) castle became a reliable fortification, and the features of its fortification structure helped the owner and the garrison withstand a long siege of the enemy.

As we can see, from the point of view of relevance, the study acquires a special meaning. And if earlier researchers and authors of projects talked mainly about the castle - a masterpiece of medieval architecture, today - about the secrets of architecture for special, military purposes, turning a home, the center of civilization of a single feudal estate into a citadel.

Object of study

A medieval castle as a dwelling, refuge and palace of a feudal lord.

Subject of study

Elements of castle fortification architecture and the secrets contained in them.

Purpose of the study

Find out the structure of the most important parts of a medieval castle-fortress and their special purpose in defense against the enemy.

To achieve this goal, the following were set: tasks:

Study literature containing information about medieval castles, the history of their construction, and purpose.

Find out the features of the fortification purpose of the elements of a knight's castle.

Educational (problematic) question

1. What fortification secrets allowed the defenders of the castles to withstand a long siege?

Research methods: collection and study of information; generalization and description of the fortification features of the medieval castle.

Research Products

1. Model of a medieval castle.

2. Book - manual "Medieval castle: secrets of fortification."

3. Medieval castle (crossword puzzle “on the contrary”).

The work consists of an Introduction, three sections, a Conclusion, a list of references and an Appendix.

The Introduction substantiates the relevance of the study, defines the purpose, objectives, object and subject of the study.

Section 1, “Knight’s Castle of the Middle Ages: a bit of history,” discusses the general idea of ​​the time and necessity of the appearance of knight’s castles in Europe, the general principles of location and arrangement.

Section 2, “The most important elements of a castle and “traps” for the enemy,” discusses fortification details, tricks and their purpose.

Section 3, “Approbation of research materials and conclusions,” presents diagrams illustrating students’ knowledge indicators before and after familiarization with the research materials we prepared (Manual book “Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification”).

The “Conclusion” summarizes the general results of the work, outlines the conclusions, and substantiates the practical application and significance of the work.

The “Bibliography” reflects the sources that we used to conduct our research.

The “Appendix” contains testing materials, separately - the book-guide “Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification”, diagrams reflecting the level of knowledge of students BEFORE and AFTER getting acquainted with our work, as well as a “crossword puzzle in reverse” as material for reflection.

SECTION 1. Medieval knight's castle: secrets of fortification

Medieval castle: a little history

Our history teacher often repeats that the causes of phenomena and events must be sought not only in the era contemporary with the event, but in what preceded it, even if such a connection is hidden behind the curtain of many years...

Indeed, slavery and Antiquity were born from primitiveness, which had outgrown itself, and the distant Middle Ages - from Greco-Roman civilization, when it had exhausted its capabilities...

But it would seem that it is either impossible or very difficult to find similarities between Roman times and the European Middle Ages in particulars and details. What if you take a closer look?

And if you look closely, the theme of our work “A medieval castle and its fortification features” in the main detail - “the purpose of the castle” - takes us back to the structure of a Roman camp, the direct purpose of which was to protect its inhabitants.

Judge for yourself, the site of the Roman legionnaires is a fenced area, inside of which there is a tent camp. A medieval fortification is a complicated version of such a shelter.

Based on the experience of defensive structures of the past, aware of the danger of the Norman invasion, people at the beginning of the 12th century began to build shelters that could protect him from external invasion. At first, he fences a fortress house on a hill with a palisade, digs a ditch around it and supplies water to it, and then, realizing that wood and limestone are unreliable materials, he begins to build a fortress out of stone and surround it not just with a fence - with a wall, the height and thickness of which is now measured in meters.

With each new castle on the map of Europe, a new design of its structure appears, the main purpose of which is not only to prevent enemy plans, but also to stop the enemy, defeat him, if not on the approaches to the citadel, then inside it, using the tricks of fortification architecture.

Today, playing computer games, empathizing with the heroes of fantasy films, putting together puzzles, we partially delve into the meaning of the construction of huge defensive structures, analyze the internal structure and system of fortifications, often asking ourselves: what is there, behind the stone barrier standing in the way of the conquerors? Why did the knights build not just beautiful and solid houses, but shelters and fortresses?

The conclusion suggests itself: the wars prompted them to do this! With whom? With everyone! In particular, and among themselves for land, peasants, wealth, prestige, honor...

The 12th century came to Europe as a time of disasters and great bloodshed and made you think about whether a rival of superior strength might come and take a fancy to your home, forest, river, fields?

And then, like mushrooms after a good warm rain, such castles appear that even today inspire awe, respect, and sometimes serious fear: will a ghost in armor emerge from the wall with a rusty sword in his hands?..

The owner of the citadel clearly knew what he wanted: the castle should be inaccessible to the enemy, provide surveillance of the area (including the nearest villages belonging to the owner of the castle), have its own source of water (in case of a siege) and show the power and wealth of the feudal lord.

The location was chosen based on these requirements: mountain, high rock, on extreme case a hillock, it would be nice not far from the water. The construction of the main dwelling, the donjon, began. The matter is troublesome, slow, and carefully planned. While the builders were erecting walls and digging a well (a source of water, and therefore life!), local people (from the owner's artisans, warriors, peasants) guarded the approaches to the future fortification and paved roads to it. The road necessarily contained numerous obstacles that only a knowledgeable person could overcome (camouflaged pits, false crossings across rivers and large streams, ambushes with cleared sectors for shelling the enemy...). A prerequisite is that the road must twist so that a horseman or foot warrior certainly ends up with his right, unprotected side towards the citadel.

Having completed the construction of the donjon, they began to build defensive walls. The richer owners built several obstacle walls, the poorer ones made do with one, but it was always powerful, high, with towers and loopholes, strong gates, a protruding barbican, a drawbridge over a moat filled with water.

It also happened the other way around: they started with a moat and walls, and ended with a donjon. But, most importantly, the outcome was always the same: another fortress appeared, an impregnable citadel, striking in its power, beauty or architectural inventiveness. Take a look at these European castles.

Amazing, isn't it?

SECTION 2. “The most important elements of the castle and “traps” for the enemy”

Loopholes, their types and purpose

A medieval castle with its fortifications, which had a specific defensive purpose, is not today’s rich “antique” house. A medieval castle is a formidable, often gloomy fortress with towers and sentries warily surveying the surroundings from their eye sockets.

The towers were built hollow; inside they were divided into floors by floors made of wooden planks with a hole in the center or on the side. A rope passed through them to lift shells to the upper platform in case of defense of the castle.

The stairs were hidden behind partitions in the walls. Take a look: each floor is a separate room in which the soldiers were located. For heating, a fireplace was often built in the thickness of the wall, in which, by the way, it was possible to cook game on a spit...

The only openings in the tower that connected with the outside world were loopholes for archery. Long and narrow openings, they expanded into the room. Typically, the height of such loopholes is 1 meter, and the width is 30 cm on the outside and 1 meter and 30 centimeters on the inside. This design prevented enemy arrows from getting inside, and the defenders had the opportunity to shoot in different directions.

For archers, the loopholes were long narrow slits in the wall, and for the crossbowman there were short loopholes that widened to the sides. They were often called keyholes.

There were also loopholes of a special shape - spherical. These were freely rotating wooden balls with a slot fixed in the wall. They provided the shooter with maximum protection.

The number of loopholes should have frightened the enemy, who understood that the more loopholes, the more defenders, the stronger the defense, of course.

As contemporaries of the Middle Ages, historians and even tourists write, the presence of loopholes became especially important during a war or siege, since in a narrow vertical hole it was not visible whether the shooter was behind it or not. The height of some loopholes was even calculated taking this circumstance into account.

What is interesting for us is the fact that loopholes in walls were not common in Europe until the 13th century, as it was believed that they could weaken their strength. But, regardless of their purpose, loopholes became a mandatory attribute of medieval castles starting from the 13th century.

Secrets of the spiral staircase. Knight's swords*.

Secrets of the spiral staircase.

The Middle Ages are considered to be the time when the technique of constructing a spiral staircase appeared and then flourished. Trying in every possible way to complicate the lives of their enemies, the knights adapted spiral staircases to all structures, and the screw always tightened clockwise.

When advancing to the top of the tower along such a staircase, attackers faced a large number of troubles: steps turning around their axis, a narrow passage, lack of space to swing a sword, open space for an attack from above, repeated at every bend. Under such conditions, even a very modest garrison is able to hold its positions without losses, which would be impossible on an ordinary ladder. You couldn’t shoot through a crossbow or a bow, you couldn’t pierce the steps of the stairs with a spear or a sword, but the holes in the steps made it possible to assess the situation, watch the besieging enemies making their way up, and finally break their legs.

However, there is a castle in Europe in which the stairs twist counterclockwise. This is the ancestral seat of Count Wallenstein in Bohemia. The fact is that this ancient and warlike family became famous not only for its great victories and commanders, but also for its left-handed warriors...

In the Middle Ages, only privileged guilds of craftsmen had the right to build a spiral staircase. Drawings, sketches of stairs and even indirect indications who and where built the “cunning” structure were kept in the strictest confidence by the artisans.

*Knight's swords (for the most curious). From the 12th century The girdling of a sword and the blessing of this weapon became a mandatory part of the rite of knighting. Like the king, the knight was entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the world from foreign conquerors, protecting the church from pagans and enemies of the Christian faith. It's no coincidence on blades medieval swords sacred inscriptions and religious symbols appeared, reminiscent of the high service of the Christian warrior, his duty to God and civilians, and the hilt of the sword often became an ark for relics and relics. Throughout almost the entire Middle Ages general shape The sword changed little: it invariably resembled one of the main symbols of Christianity - the cross. The question of geometry, blade profile and its balancing was inherently very important: swords can be adapted for piercing or chopping fighting techniques. The cross-sectional shape of the blade also depended on the use of this sword in battle.

Donjon. Secret passages and chambers in medieval castles

Donjon. Despite the external diversity, all castles are built according to the same plan. Most often they are surrounded by a strong wall with massive square towers at each corner. Well, inside there is a tower - donjon. Initially, these towers had a quadrangular shape, but over time, polygonal or round structures began to appear in order to increase their stability. After all, one of the few ways to take an impregnable fortress was undermining followed by undermining the foundation at the corner of the building. Some towers had a dividing wall in the middle.

An additional level of protection included bars, strong doors and strong locks. The dungeons were very carefully thought out.

Such towers were erected from stone. Wooden fortresses could no longer provide adequate protection from fire, throwing and siege weapons. In addition, the stone structure was much better suited to the nobility: it became possible to make large and safe rooms that were well protected from bad weather and the enemy.

Architects always took into account the terrain during construction and chose the most advantageous places for defense for future castles. The donjons, in turn, rose high even above the level of the fortress, which not only improved visibility and gave an advantage to archers, but made them practically inaccessible to siege ladders.

There was only one entrance to the tower. It was raised above ground level and a ladder or even a ditch with a drawbridge was built so that attackers could not use a ram. The room immediately after the entrance was sometimes used to disarm visitors. The guards were also stationed here. Food was stored in the basement of the tower, and it was also one of the safest places to store the treasures of the nobility.

On the second floor there was a room for meetings and feasts.

There could have been more floors, but this always depended on the wealth of the owner of the castle and on the ability to separate one floor from another in such a way as to make the upward movement of unwanted guests long and completely unsafe. In addition, some owners of the citadel ordered the construction of entire underground passages leading far beyond the castle... And then the formidable and impregnable structures were overgrown with new creepy stories that chilled the blood...

Secret passages in medieval castles. Medieval castles had ingeniously designed fortifications, which used many ingenious and creative ways protect the castle residents from enemy attacks. Literally everything - from the outer walls to the shape and placement of the stairs - was very carefully planned to ensure maximum protection for the inhabitants of the castle.

Almost every castle had secret passages that only the owners knew about. Some of them were made so that the inhabitants of the castle could flee in case of defeat, and some so that during a siege the defenders would not be cut off from food supplies. Secret passages also led to secret chambers where people could hide or food could be stored and an additional well was dug for water.

One of bright examples A castle with many secret rooms and passages is Benrath Castle in Germany. There are as many as seven invisible passages hidden in the walls of the building!

Yes, a medieval castle was much more than just a big glamorous palace with massive stone walls around it. It was a structure designed down to the smallest detail to protect its inhabitants. And each castle was full of its own little secrets.

Ditch and zwinger

Moat. The first barrier guarding the castle was a deep ditch. It was often connected to a river to fill it with water. The ditch made it difficult to access the fortress walls and siege weapons. It could be transverse (separating the castle wall from the plateau) or crescent-shaped (curved forward). Could encircle the entire castle in a circle. Very rarely, ditches were dug inside the castle to make it difficult for the enemy to move through its territory. If the soil under the castle was rocky, then a ditch was not made at all. It was possible to cross the ditch only by a drawbridge hanging on iron chains.

Zwinger. Often the castle was surrounded by double walls - a high external one and a small internal one. An empty space appeared between them, which received the German name zwinger. The attackers, having overcome the outer wall, could not take additional assault devices with them. And, once in the zwinger, they became an easy target for archers (there were small loopholes in the walls of the zwinger for archers). Within the walls of the zwinger, which was also the inner wall of the moat, semicircular towers or bastions were often built to facilitate observation of the moat.

Main defensive wall of the castle

... In previous blessed times, when neighbors peacefully drank wine at the same table, hunted and competed in strength and dexterity, everything was simpler: a small house surrounded by a palisade. Then a larger house and a wall made of clay and lime blocks. And then, when the war of each against all came knocking on our door, the houses turned into fortresses, and the fences into walls of stone!

Both the castle and the wall were now built in such a way as to withstand a long siege, save from captivity and shame, and stop the enemy! And each element played its important role. This also applied to the main wall of the fortress.

It should be of such a height that attackers could not climb it using ladders or using siege towers, and, of course, very wide and thick. Then you can give up trying to quickly make a hole in it - time will be spent not only in vain, but a lot without an obvious result. Powerful trebuchets can, of course, collapse the roofs of towers or break fortress battlements. Most likely, the enemy will use soldiers with pickaxes, but here the defenders of the castle will be helped by loopholes in which arrows are hidden, and machicolations, from which both boiling water and hot tar will pour on the enemy...

At the top of the wall is laid combat move. All possible weapons will be used here by the defenders of the fortress, hiding behind the battlements of the wall, in order to prevent the enemy from setting up assault ladders, making a tunnel, or breaking through a niche for an explosion.

The builders strongly recommended to fit protruding forwards into the wall. towers with loopholes and walkways. The towers also served to strengthen the corners - the weakest point of the wall, since it was in the corners of the fortress that the most enemy forces and the least defensive forces could be concentrated.

Barbican and wolf pits

Barbican. No matter how strong the castle gates were, they still remained a weak link. Therefore, the builders of the glorious Middle Ages figured out how to protect the entrance to the citadel. And this structure guarding the gate was the barbican - the outer fortification of the city or fortress.

What is the secret of the Barbican? The fact is that you cannot bypass it, if you are going to break open the gates of the citadel, you must go through it!

And here was the cunning of the barbican - the gate tower: this powerful stone structure had a platform at the top on which throwing weapons were placed. Moreover, the barbican had two floors. On the first there is a through passage slightly wider than the size of the cart. The small detachment, having got here, found itself cut off from the main one by an iron grate falling from above, on the outside, and by a strong gate, locked with a powerful bolt, on the inside!

The guards serving on the second floor, opening the hatches in the floor, could (and did!) pour hot tar or boiling water on the enemies rushing to the main gate.

In fact, the barbican was the only way into the castle and, of course, it was well guarded.

Wolf pits. Another terrible obstacle on the way to the castle were wolf pits - cunning and cruel structures that were invented by the ancient Romans. The pit was arranged in such a way that, firstly, it had inclined (inward) walls. Therefore, getting out of it was not so easy. Secondly, short pointed stakes were driven into its bottom in several rows. Having fallen into this disguised trap, a person almost always lost the opportunity to stay alive, and his soul flew off to God after severe torment of the body.

Enemy infantry was doomed if they fell into the locations of wolf pits. And they were waiting for the victim on the approaches to the castle, and at its walls, and at the gates of the barbican and the fortress itself, and even on the approaches to the donjon.

Medieval castle - main gate

The gate, the most vulnerable part of the castle, was installed in the gate towers. Most often, the gates were double-leaf, and the doors were knocked together from two layers of boards. To prevent them from being set on fire from the outside, they were lined with iron. In one of the gate wings there was a small narrow door through which one could only go through by bending over. An additional strengthening of the gate was a transverse beam, which was inserted into hook-shaped slots on the walls.

Behind the gate was a lowering grate. Most often it was made of wood, with lower ends bound in iron. But there were also iron gratings made from steel tetrahedral rods.

The grate hung on ropes or chains, which in case of danger could be cut off so that it would quickly fall down, blocking the path of the invaders. From the point of view of defense and protection of the castle, the gate was of great importance. Therefore, the medieval castle was built for a long time, painstakingly, taking into account all the features of the enemy’s military operations.

Drawbridge

The drawbridge, thrown over the moat, rose in case of danger and, like a door, closed the entrance, disconnecting the castle from the outside world. The bridge was driven by mechanisms hidden in the building. From the bridge to the lifting machines, ropes or chains wound around the gates went into the wall holes. The ropes were sometimes equipped with heavy counterweights, taking part of the weight of this structure on themselves. Another way to lift the bridge is with a lever. Both designs facilitated the rapid lifting of the bridge.

The craftsmen who built the bridge, which worked on the principle of a swing, were especially skilled. One of them lay on the ground under the gate, and the other stretched across the ditch. When the inner part rose, covering the entrance to the castle, the outer part (which the attackers sometimes already managed to run into) sank down into the moat, into the “wolf pit”, invisible from the side while the bridge was lowered.

In the middle of the century, the defensive value of drawbridges was very great, but later lost its importance due to the advent of new siege weapons.

In order to understand the role played by the material on the research topic collected, processed and prepared by us in the form of an illustrated book-guide, we invited all those who participated in our survey at the end of 2017 to get acquainted with it and solve the crossword puzzle “Medieval castle” , compiled taking into account the need to know the terms and concepts on the topic. The positive results obtained are presented in diagrams (indicators are indicated in percentages) in the Appendix and give a clear idea of ​​the role and significance of our research in the learning process.

2.2. conclusions

As a result of processing and analyzing the results obtained, we received evidence of the effectiveness of using our research materials in the educational process.

The level of knowledge and understanding of educational material by students of grade 6B of the ANO SCHOOL PRESIDENT who participated in testing the research materials increased significantly, as can be seen from a comparison of the diagrams. (See also Appendix).

CONCLUSION

The work we did turned out to be very interesting. We were able to answer all the questions that interested us and tried to examine in detail not so much the history of the emergence of knightly castles, but rather the fortification secrets laid down by the architects during their construction.

To touch the Middle Ages, a model of the castle was made. It can be used in lessons about the surrounding world and history. But the most important result of our work was, of course, the illustrated book “The Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification”, for the writing of which we collected and systematized material over the course of six months, using available literature and the capabilities of the Internet.

Unraveling the mystery of the fortification of Medieval castles, we reasonably assumed that the research product could be used in the history lessons of the Middle Ages, MHC and in extracurricular activities. Consequently, the book written by us will contribute to the development of students’ cognitive activity, the formation of their life position, and the development of interest in History.

Thus, we believe that the goals and objectives set before us in the study have been realized, the hypothesis has been confirmed, and the answer to the educational (problematic) question has been received.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ionina N.I. “100 Great Castles”, Veche, Moscow, 2004.

Lavisse E. and Rambaud A. “The Age crusades", Polygon, St. Petersburg 2003.

Razin E.A. “History of Military Art”, Polygon, St. Petersburg 1999.

Taylor Barbara “Knights”, Series “Learn and Make!”, Publisher: Moscow OLMA Media Group 2014, 64 p.

Philippe Simon, Marie Laure Bouet, “Knights and Castles” Series “Your First Encyclopedia”, Publisher: Moscow “Makhaon” 2013, 128 p.

Funken L. and Funken F. “Encyclopedia of weapons and military costume of the MIDDLE AGES”, Astrel, Moscow 2002.

Shpakovsky Vyacheslav Olegovich, “Knights” Series “Discover the World”, Publisher: LLC “Baltic Book” 2014, 96 p.

Internet materials

Architecture of castles. goo.gl/RQiawf

How castles were built in the Middle Ages. goo.gl/Auno84

Main elements of a medieval castle. goo.gl/cMLuwn

Knightly traditions. Who are the knights? goo.gl/FXvDFn

Medieval castle: structure and siege. goo.gl/5F57rS

Medieval castle. goo.gl/LSPsrU

If you are a fan of traveling to places with a centuries-old history that reek of archaism, take a look at which ancient castles are still inhabited by people and even ghosts.

Modern skyscrapers and designer exhibition centers are gradually displacing traditional architecture from cities. Given their popularity, the desire to live in a secluded castle seems extravagant. However, in every corner of Europe you can find old houses, preserved thanks to the efforts of loving owners. And even if they are not as comfortable as those equipped with last word technology penthouses – castles have their own charm.

1. Chateau Plessis-Bourret, France

Its appearance is so severe that the castle rather resembles a defensive fortress. Its interior decoration will amaze even the most sophisticated person accustomed to luxurious decorations. It has not undergone any modifications: what makes the chateau truly unique is the absolute preservation of the original design. Plessis-Bourret was built in 1472 by Jean Bourret, who served as Minister of Finance under King Louis XI. The bribe-taker Bure was so afraid of the uprising of the inhabitants of the lands belonging to him that he ordered the palace to be surrounded by the widest ditch in France. The drawbridge, which makes it possible to exit from it, is still used for its intended purpose.

Modern owners do not hide the historical monument that belongs to them either from curious tourists or from film directors. In 2003, Penelope Cruz spent several unforgettable weeks at the castle, filming the film “Fanfan Tulip” with Vincent Perez. Today, anyone can follow her example by renting one of Plessis-Bourret's rooms as a hotel room. For those who prefer five-star hotels, free and individual guided tours lasting several hours are provided.

2. Residence of the Queen of Great Britain in Berkshire, England

Windsor Castle is the largest and most famous among its fellow castles that are still considered residential. Its splendor and scale are frightening and amazing at the same time: on an area of ​​45 thousand m² there is a complex of buildings with 1000 residential premises. For 900 years, Windsor has belonged to the ruling dynasty and all its members have the right to modernize the estate to their taste. Each new monarch expanded and expanded the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe property, until the adjacent deciduous forest was considered Berkshire Park. At the end of the last century, the queen's residence was urgently reconstructed due to a massive fire.

The Queen of England today uses Windsor as a means of defeating heads of other states and other distinguished guests. She invites them to stay in rooms decorated with originals by Rembrandt and Rubens, antique candlesticks and gilded ceiling moldings. After this, who can refuse a royal person’s political request?

3. Berkeley Castle, England

The second most populous palace in England after Windsor. At the end of the 12th century it was bought by the surname Berkeley, which is in the title of lords. In 1327, members of an influential family became reluctant prison guards in own home. Opponents of King Edward II deposed him and placed him in Berkeley, demanding from his owners an obligation to prevent any attempt to escape. That same year, the estate began to be distinguished from other castles in the area by a high fence instead of the moat with water that was familiar to the eye in those days. Within six months, the prisoner tried to leave Berkeley twice, after which he was executed by the new ruler.

The castle's heirs inhabit only 20% of its area: the rest is used as a hotel and museum. But the main source of their income is cinema. Berkeley's interiors can be seen in the TV series "Wolf Hall", "Castle in the Country" and the film "The Other Boleyn Girl".

4. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

Built on an extinct volcano, the palace rises 120 meters above sea level. Scientists have found that the first walls appeared here in the Iron Age: they were built by warriors planning a raid on the English tribes. Over the course of many centuries, Edinburgh Castle passed from English to Scottish ownership and vice versa. Ten years ago, the British Ministry of Defense finally abandoned it. Residents of Scotland's biggest tourist attraction are not affected by the decision. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the castle has been home to a dynasty of caretakers, whose only duty remains the hourly firing of a cannon during daylight hours.

5. Warwick Castle, England

The vast majority of residents of the house are television and Youtube stars. The estate, built back in 1068 by William the Conqueror, is a regular participant in shows with psychics, “ghost hunters” and magicians. It even made it into the book Haunted Houses of Great Britain and Ireland. Anyone can find footage of internal surveillance cameras with evidence of their existence on video hosting sites.

Extreme temperature fluctuations, light anomalies and mysterious rustling noises are caused by the “Gray Lady” and her assistants. The pensioner, who is the heiress of the Earl-owner of Warwick, is also familiar with her. For 100 years, her figure has been bumping into the inhabitants of the palace in its long corridors and fearfully shying away at the sight of children. She can't walk through walls, so people in Warwick are used to doors suddenly opening. Those who have seen it up close say it is a ghost old woman dressed in a gray dress. The “Grey Lady” is assisted by the poet with the title of earl Fulk Greville, who was strangled in the Water Tower in 1628. His soul-chilling screams are heard from the Tower several times a week. In addition to this couple, more than 10 unidentified ghosts live in Warwick.

6. Rock of Cashel, Ireland

In the castle on the rock of Cashel lives the caretaker of the cemetery that spontaneously arose near its walls. A group of medieval buildings dating from the 12th to 15th centuries adjoins the Cormac Chapel, a small Romanesque church that houses the sarcophagus of the fortress's first owner, after whom it is named. During an unexpected enemy attack, local residents tried to take refuge in the church, but everyone was brutally killed. They were buried there, and soon new graves began to appear around the graves of the unfortunate victims. According to legend, dozens of spirits also live there.

7. Kronborg Estate, Denmark

Built in 1420, the castle on the outskirts of Copenhagen is officially listed world heritage UNESCO. In order to protect against capture by the Swedes, it was designed in the form the most complex system labyrinths and underground passages. Creative personalities live in Kronborg - directors, actors, screenwriters. Every spring they create a new interpretation of the theatrical production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet and present it to the audience.

8. Bran Palace, Romania

In picturesque Transylvania there is the estate of the bloodiest Romanian of all times - Count Dracula. Bran is a famous tourist attraction in the country, as well as a hotel with rooms in the form of wooden log houses decorated with tiles. The legendary vampire loved to stay there during his lifetime, but he left no reminders of himself in Bran. Interior decoration the castle has been preserved since the time of Queen Mary: she lived in it after the count and decorated it big amount books, porcelain and icons. The latter, according to rumors, she needed to prevent nightly visits from the vampire.

9. Pfalzgrafenstein Estate, Germany

Even native Germans are unable to pronounce the name correctly the first time. It is located in the middle of the Rhine River: the island of Pfalzgrafenstein used to be completely deserted and uninhabited. A fortress was built on it as a royal customs house, inspecting ships passing by. Later it became the residence of the local nobility. In the 20th century, a national need arose to use Pfalzgrafenstein as a lighthouse. Now a caretaker lives there, and to visit him, you will have to cross the Rhine by boat the old fashioned way.

10. Fortification of Castel del Monte, Italy

Author of this building could not be discovered. In the 15th century it was created as an astronomical calendar, in each room of which you can find out the time by sundial or date according to the light calendar. Castel del Monte has 8 floors, each with 8 rooms. Modern astronomers have been able to prove that the location of the fortress is truly ideal for observing the starry sky. It was equipped as an observatory in which scientists live year-round.

What is a castle? This word has several meanings, and they depend on which syllable the stress falls on. However, the origin of the “locks” in both cases is the same, and in meaning they are very close to each other. We will talk about what the word “castle” means.

Castle in dictionaries

Dictionary S.I. Ozhegova gives this definition of a castle.

Castle (with emphasis on the first syllable):

1. Palace and fortress belonging to a medieval feudal lord.
2. Names of some of the palace buildings.
3. An obsolete name for a prison.

Castle (with emphasis on the second syllable):

1. A special device designed to lock something with a key.
2. A device used to connect moving parts of machinery.
3. In a firearm, a device used to ignite a charge when fired.
4. A type of fastening of beams or logs in which one fits into the recess of the other.
5. The part of an arch or vault that closes at the top.

The etymological dictionary of Semenov A.V. says that this word came into the Russian language from Polish in the 17th century. Next, let's look at some of the meanings of the word “castle” in more detail.

Castle as a fortification

What is a castle (with the stress on the first syllable) as a fortification? In this case, a castle refers to one or more buildings and structures that together make up a single complex that solves residential and defensive problems. These were the dwellings of large feudal lords in the Middle Ages in Europe. Then they defended themselves from attacks by the Hungarians and Vikings. Quite a large number of them have survived to this day; they are architectural and historical monuments.

The feudal castle and its suburbs performed the following main functions:

1. Military. The castle was the center of military operations and a means of control over the entire district.
2. Political-administrative. The district control center was located here, where the political life of the feudal entity was concentrated.
3. Economic and cultural. The castle was a trade and craft center in the area, as well as a place where cultural achievements, both popular and elite, were concentrated.

Main characteristics

Castles should be distinguished from fortresses and cities surrounded by walls, such as Antioch and Constantinople.

• Firstly, castles were not public buildings, but private possessions of local nobles and were intended for the feudal lord and his overlords.
• And secondly, the castle is a single complex, which includes residential buildings, walls, towers, ditches, and bridges. Whereas a fortress is, in its essence, land plot which was surrounded by walls and towers. The territory of the fortress can accommodate several compacted buildings (houses, warehouses, churches), or it can be empty. In the second case we are talking about a fortress courtyard.
• Thirdly, fortresses usually had significantly big sizes than castles, which made it possible to accommodate many different buildings in them.

Other uses of locks

In addition to those listed above, the locks had other functions. Thus, they were often used as prison premises for criminals. No less important was their function as a place where knights could gather for feasts and tournaments.

The meaning of castles has changed over time. Along with the defensive function, the aesthetic component comes to the fore. In architecture great importance given to the appearance and size of the building. This happens because the castle becomes an object of prestige, a symbol of demonstrating the power of its owner.

It should be noted that these structures existed not only in European countries, but also in the Middle East, where they began to be built with the arrival of the Crusaders. They also appeared in Japan in the 16th-17th centuries.

Components

When studying the question of what a castle is, it would be advisable to consider the elements of which it consists. These include:

1. Hill with a tower - consisting of bulk earth mixed with gravel, peat, brushwood. Height - 5 (rarely 10) meters. The top was covered with clay or wood flooring and had a round or square shape. The tower was wooden, and later - stone. A ditch was dug around the hill, which was filled with water or left dry. Access to the tower was via a folding bridge or staircase built into the hillside.
2. Courtyard. It had an area of ​​no more than two hectares, contained residential and outbuildings, and a well.
3. Fortress walls. They were erected around the courtyard and were quite high (up to 12 m) and thick (up to 3 m). Since the 15th century, artillery began to be included in them. Until the 13th century, loopholes were not common, as they were believed to harm the strength of the walls.
4. Moat. It was part of the defensive system and made it difficult to access walls and guns. It was filled with water in order to prevent digging. Sometimes the bottom was equipped with stakes, which made it difficult to overcome by swimming.
5. Gates could perform various functions, such as: control of entry and exit, defense, protection, trading function. They were guarded by guards and closed at night. The gates were equipped with many security devices. So, for example, there was a gersa - a lattice that lowered, made of wood with metal stitching, as well as loopholes from which archery was fired.

Castle as a mechanism

Let's consider what a lock is (with emphasis on the second syllable) as a mechanical device. It is used to lock doors, lids, various containers, as well as to block objects in order to limit access to them and prevent their theft.

This fixation device has three varieties (according to the operating principle of the drive) - mechanical, electronic and combined. Based on the type of fastening, they are divided into built-in (mortise), hinged, and overhead. There are other varieties depending on the type of fastening, for example, jewelry locks.

Types of locks by type of fastening

Let's take a closer look at the types of locks that differ in fastenings:

• Mortise. They are located directly on the inside of the door. They have the greatest protection against forced entry. The security of a mortise lock primarily depends on how strong the door itself is. It should be taken into account that the locking mechanism is located near the outside of the door, therefore, to ensure reliable protection, it may be necessary to install an additional armor plate. If the door does not have a special seat for such a lock, installing it will be difficult.
• Mounted. They are often also called hanging ones. Installing and replacing them is as simple as possible, but they do not provide reliable protection against forceful hacking. Usually, to break such a lock, only a nail puller may be enough. As a rule, padlocks are installed on gates and garages.
• Invoices. They are mounted on the inside of the doors. From hacking using physical strength such a lock is much more secure. Its reliability increases with increasing strength of the lock's attachment to the door.

A little history

Considering the question of what a lock means as a device, let us delve a little deeper into its history. People invented castles when they made the transition to a sedentary lifestyle. They had a need to make strong doors, as permanent dwellings and property appeared, which was by no means equal. Castles did not become widespread where there was a low population density, where close relatives or groups of like-minded religious people lived.

The very first castles were invented in Mesopotamia, China, and Egypt. The economy and government institutions were significantly developed there, and, consequently, there were large supplies of food and treasures that needed to be protected, as well as the lives of rulers and wealthy people. Although castles are believed to date back to the Bronze Age, they were originally made of wood. The oldest specimen to date was found on the territory of modern Iraq in 1843 during excavations of the palace that belonged to the Assyrian king Sargon II, who lived in the 8th century BC.

The first fortifications in the form medieval castles appeared in IX - X centuries. at a time when the countries of Central Europe ( France, Germany and Northern Italy) began to be threatened by aggression and invasion of barbarian tribes and Vikings. This greatly hindered the development of the empire created Charlemagne. To protect the lands, they began to build fortifications from wooden buildings. This kind of architecture" durable wood"for more reliable protection, it was added by surrounding an earthen ditch and rampart. A suspension bridge was overturned through the ditch on chains or strong ropes, along which they entered a residential village. A palisade was installed on the crest of the rampart. The top of its trunk was sharpened with tools and dug into the ground for a sufficient high altitude, safe from penetration inside the fortification. In the 11th century, castles began to be built on artificial hills. Such hills were poured next to the yard, fenced with a high palisade.
Sometimes there was also a log gate tower. Inside the wooden fortification there were craft workshops, a barn, a well, a chapel and the very home of the leader and his retinue. For even more reliable and additional defense, a high hill was raised (about 5 m), on which an additional defensive fortification was built. The hill could be constructed using an artificial method, by pouring earth onto a given surface. The material for construction was always chosen from wood, because... the stone was too heavy, which meant it could fall down due to its greater weight.

Knight's castles

Locks- these are stone buildings that protected from enemies and served as the home of one or another owner of the estate. In the most common meaning of the word, it is the fortified dwelling of a feudal lord in medieval Europe.
The architecture of medieval castles was significantly influenced by Ancient Roman Fortifications and Byzantine structures, from where 9th century penetrated into Western Europe. The castles of noble feudal lords, in addition to housing, also performed defensive functions. They tried to build them in areas inaccessible to humans (rocky ledges, hills, islands). Inside castles and fortresses there was a main tower called donjon, in which its most important inhabitants (mostly the feudal nobility) took refuge. They tried to make the walls of the castles strong and high enough to protect the buildings from the assault of enemies (siege works, artillery and stairs). A typical wall was 3 meters thick and 12 meters high. Various recesses on the tops of the walls made it possible to conduct less safe fire on the enemy who was below, and even to throw heavy objects and pour tar towards the storming gates. To make the castles difficult to pass, ditches were dug out, which blocked access to the castle walls and gates (the gates were lowered on chains across the moat like a bridge, and sometimes a bridge was built at the entrance Gersu- lowering wooden-metal grille). The ditches were deep holes filled with water (sometimes with stakes) to prevent enemies from swimming and digging through them.

Donjon

Donjon It was the main building during the defense and was a high stone tower, where the most important people of the castle took refuge in the event of an attack by enemies. The construction of such a building was taken very seriously. This required experienced artisans who were very good at erecting and building reliable stone structures. Estate owners began to take a particularly serious attitude towards such construction towards XI century, where it was attempted to build such defensive towers.
The thickest and most inaccessible dungeons first appeared in Normans. In the later period, almost all high towers were built of stone, which replaced buildings made of wood. In order to completely and completely capture the donjon, its enemies needed to destroy the stones with special assault installations, or dig a tunnel under the building in order to get inside. Over time, tall, defensive towers acquired a round and polygonal shape during construction. This external design provided more comfortable shooting for the defenders of the dungeons.
The internal architecture of the tall, defensive towers consisted of a garrison, a main hall and chambers for the owner of the castle and his family. The walls were covered with brick and stone masonry. Sometimes the walls were lined with cut stone. In the upper part of the donjon there was a spiral staircase leading to a watchtower, where there was a sentinel guard, and next to him was the banner of the owner of the castle with the coat of arms.

Medieval castles

For more reliable protection, the owners of some castles preferred to build additional fortifications for their walls. Ultimately, after the completion of such buildings, a double barrier was obtained, one of which was higher than the other and located at the rear of the defense. This strategic architecture allowed for double fire for the riflemen defending the castle. If the enemy took one of the walls by storm, they would stumble upon the next one or find themselves completely trapped, since the construction of the walls was connected to a high tower - the donjon.

Medieval castles were the mainstay and most reliable defense of the feudal lord from enemies. Their appearance varies from country to country.

Castles of France

Castles of France. Numerous constructions of architectural structures in France began in the Loire River valley. The oldest of them is donjon fortress Due-la-Fontaine. In the historical era King Philip II Augustus (1180-1223 ) medieval castles were built with fairly reliable dungeons and fences.
A distinctive feature of French castles is the rounded roof of hip material, cone-shaped, which fits evenly over the tower with a neat surface design. The upper part of the towers has an angular surface of concave openings of loopholes with windows, merging with the tops of the “triangles” and “trapezoids”. The location of the middle windows for daylight is large enough for full penetration of sunlight into the interior of the room. Sometimes large windows are located in the attic compartment of the roof, most likely to illuminate a particularly important room. In some sections of the buildings you can see continuous, clearly defined holes of loopholes, because... France's constant pre-modern wars forced these defensive structures to cost. In a later period of time, castle designs began to evolve into palace-like architecture.
The entrance to the castle was via stone steps, flanked by two merging towers. Above the head of the rising guest, in the wall, there were three loopholes in the event of a siege or storming of the building. On the right side of the stairs there were solid and flat slopes for convenient lifting and lowering of various loads.
The most mysterious and shrouded in the secrets of legends was the castle Saumur. In medieval times, it was constantly restored and eventually acquired an unimaginably fabulous appearance. This architecture was so highly valued that many parts of the buildings were lined with gold materials.
In the courtyard of Sumor Castle there was a well with a huge underground reservoir. A house was built above the well (above), and there was a well gate in it, with the help of which a large bucket of water could be raised. The lifting mechanism consisted of wooden wheels connected by a separate tooth and groove.
IN XVII century The western part of the castle began to collapse, which was the reason for its abandonment. The building began to be used as a prison and barracks, but soon the architecture was restored and again “raised” to the pedestal of honor.
The main distinguishing feature of French castles- These are high, pointed roofs with a cone-shaped appearance.

Castles of Belgium

Castles of Belgium began to be erected in the Middle Ages with 9th century first millennium. The most outstanding castles are Arenberg, Castle of the Counts of Flanders, Beløy, Vev, Gaasbeek, Stan And Anweng. In appearance they are small in size, but subjectively they are very cute and attractive. Their main distinguishing feature is the presence of an arched bend in the area of ​​the lower parts of the roofs and the presence of upper domes on some types of castles. The cone-shaped tops have pronounced vertical edges, which also give a distinctive style to Belgian architecture. On high tips sharp knitting needles you can see emblazoned coats of arms and various figures, adding additional uniqueness. To some extent, the castles of Belgium are very similar in external design to the English ones, but the British kingdom emphasizes a more rectangular architecture. The windows are tall and large, quite elongated in size. They are most often located in palace-type castles.
The most unique in their beauty are the castles Arenberg And Gravensteen (Count's Castle of Flanders). The first one is very similar in external design to a Catholic church, which is complemented by 2 black domes on the sides. The center is lined with a ladder-like roof and an acute-angled, small tower, which fits very nicely into the interior. The Count's Castle also stands out with its peculiarly unusual shape. Its defensive wall has convex cylindrical towers, the top of which is much thicker than the bottom. And in the walls there are perforated recesses and additional shutters for the round architectures placed on them.

Castles in Germany

Castles in Germany They are inherently varied in design, but most have shapes similar to pointed tops and tall, oblong towers with a flat surface. The most outstanding of them are Maxburg, Meshpelbrunn, Cochem, Palatinate And Liechtenstein. Many buildings are very similar to French ones, but German architecture has many more numerous extensions on the side walls. Some upper castle roofs consist of ladder-like forms of descent of the side coverings. The sharp and elongated ends of the skyscrapers have various symbols, statues or bell towers, which adds even more interest to German architecture. Loop holes ( machicoul) locks have a fairly wide diameter. Apparently the medieval Germans loved to defend their castles not only with a bow and crossbow, but also with other methods of heavily armed attributes.
The extensions sometimes included residential, utility and church premises, which were lined mainly with brick and formed rectangular courtyards. The main entrance of the castles was blocked by an iron-wooden grate with a lowering mechanism. The design of the movement of the grate down and up was ensured using the outer wall on stone brackets. In some buildings in other countries, such a rise at the entrance was realized by a narrow sliding gap inside the portal.
In Germany, they tried to build all castles on mountainous and hilly areas. This ruled out a full-fledged enemy assault; convenient shooting from siege weapons and digging, which was hampered by the rocky rock below the architecture. In some types of buildings, the Germans used the principle of the Tower of Babel, when the height of the building rushed high up, and the celestial plane was lined with many loopholes around the area.

Castles of Spain

Castles of Spain. The architectural structures of Spain were originally built by the Arabs, since this land was under their dominance in the early medieval period. They had a luxurious, fortified palace on one of their hills - the Alhambra with openwork arches of the courtyard. But in 1492, Europeans recaptured Southern Spain from the Muslims and with it - last city Grenada. Initially, Muslims erected buildings very similar to garrison fortresses (alcazabas) with square and acute-angled towers. Later, Europeans began to build tall, round dungeons with alternating structures.
The appearance of Spanish castles has a repeating combination of multiple, tall, elongated towers with a flat surface, reminiscent of numerous chess pieces and very similar to a rook. At the top tips of skyscrapers there are octagonal, small towers. From a distance they look more like rectangular, jagged slabs. The side surface of the walls has a wavy relief, which gives additional originality to the castles. The middle part of the stone covering of high towers was sometimes covered with an additional layer of convex alternations of huge cobblestones. This cunning arrangement of buildings served to prevent the penetration of enemy installations and stairs. As a decoration, an image of a shield with a coat of arms was driven into the stone wall. Just above the middle, there were guard corridors, which were decorated with curved patterns and various curves, including wide, arched windows.
An example of the described external image of the Moorish style is the castle-palace of El Real de Manzanares, built north of Madrid in 1475 by the first Duke of Infantado. This unique architecture had a square structure, which was surrounded by 2 rows of walls with round towers at the corners. Later, the Duke's heir in 1480 added to the outstanding gallery and decorated the palace with turrets and stone hemispheres.

Castles of the Czech Republic

Castles of the Czech Republic. The construction of Czech castles was widespread in XIII-XIV centuries. The most famous of them are Hluboka, Bezdez, Bouzov, Bukhlov, Zvikov, Coast, Karlstein And Křivoklát. Their architectural appearance is more reminiscent of palaces than seriously fortified defense against enemy onslaught. Jagged rectangular slabs and blocking, high walls are practically absent from the defensive functions of former castle buildings. The main distinctive feature of Czech architecture is the large triangular and polygonal roofs, with pointed towers and stone chimneys embedded in them. The attics have arched windows for daylight and access to the top of the roof. Large, dial chimes were sometimes built into the central towers of castles. Many palaces were built in the Renaissance, Classicism and Gothic styles. Some views were rebuilt and restored, after which they became picturesque, elegant and even more beautiful.

But there are some types of castles that are completely different from the standard design of the local medieval buildings. For example, a castle Gluboka(previously Frauenberg ) has an appearance more reminiscent of the Spanish style of architecture. Because it contains a large number of the same high towers, reminiscent of dungeons and a rook chess piece with numerous jagged rectangular slabs. And in addition to everything, such elongated buildings have windows. This is one of the most beautiful castles in Europe, although not particularly large. It looks more like a huge mansion than a large palace. From the inside, the architecture contains 140 rooms, 11 towers and 2 rectangular courtyards. The outside of the white castle is decorated with elaborate carvings of various figures, deer heads and hanging, antique lanterns.

Castles of Slovakia

Castles of Slovakia. The construction of Slovak castles began in XI century, but most of them were built in XIII century. The most outstanding of them are Bitchjanski Castle, Boinitsky, Bratislava Castle, Budatinsky, Zvolensky, Orava Castle, Smolenitsky, Spiš Castle And Trenčiansky Castle locks. Architectures inherently have diverse designs. The size also varies in large and small forms. The roofs of large castles are stretching huge size with polygonal shapes. The towers have elongated, acute-angled ends with thin, long, spherical spokes. Windows are located quite less often than in other state castles, but most often they are found in large numbers in small buildings. In some architectures you can find convex, perforated slits of stripes, which are an additional decoration, emphasizing a pronounced design. They can mainly be seen on the rounded ends of elongated cylinders. Some castles in Slovakia have small balconies. They feature arched windows and vertical railings. The buildings have practically no protective walls. They can only be found near mountain buildings in the highlands.

The most impressive and unique in their structure castles of Slovakia- This Bratislava Castle (square shape and towers located at each corner), Orava Castle (built with a gradually rising foundation) , Trečiansky Castle (having a huge, powerful tower in the center), Zvolensky (with jagged square slabs on its roof) And Smolenitsky (possessing three prominent roofs in the middle, green and red in color) locks.

Castles of England

Castles of England. Many castles in England were built in XI century, but most of them today are in a dilapidated state. The main distinguishing feature is the solid rectangular towers, which consisted of narrow, elongated buildings. Their roofs are covered with jagged square slabs, which can extend along the entire perimeter surrounding the architecture. Only a few buildings have triangular and cone-shaped tops. If there are any, then such tips form a continuous row of acute-angled limbs in some raised row. For beauty, many architectures were treated with long, elongated pits along the entire circumference of the towers. This appearance emphasizes the unusual originality of English castles. Another unusual feature is the presence of large and large windows in the walls, more like semi-palatial buildings. Sometimes elongated windows are located in wide arched arches, which further emphasize the extraordinary style. In many, even small, square castles, the British constructed and strengthened dial clocks with melodic chimes. They still attach great importance to exact time in their upbringing and culture.

England is a huge island, which means it first of all needed the defense of coastal territories and a powerful fleet. Maybe that’s why her castles did not have a particularly reliable and protected architecture from enemies.

Castles in Austria

Castles in Austria laid the foundation for their construction in VIII-IX centuries last millennium. The most famous of them are Artstetten, Hochosterwitz, Graz, Landskron, Rosenburg, Shattenburg, Hohenwerfen And Ehrenberg. Their main characteristic feature is the tall and very thick, rectangular towers with huge triangular and polygonal roof domes. The side surfaces are too wide due to the fact that the buildings of high castles have many floors, which means that this requires a full climb up the spacious spiral staircase. At the highest height, at the base of the sharp pins, the builders placed artificial sculptures of various figures in the form of angels with wings. Near high bases in architectural buildings, additional convex structures are sometimes added in the form of patterns and dimples running along the perimeter or circle. Some types of castles have railings at the top with various vertical structure. The architecture of the huge roofs is added by small, sharp-angled towers, designed not so far from each other. On them you can also see attic windows and an exit to the upper part of the ceiling. The windows have a small oval and square shape. In some places, the side walls of the towers are decorated with healthy, arched glass with patterns.
Some castles served not only as a home and defense for noble society, but soon turned into a prison, barracks, museum and even a restaurant. One such example is Schattenburg Castle.

Castles of Italy

Castles of Italy. Most of the castles in Italy began to be built in X-XI century second millennium. The most famous of them are Aragonese (Ischia), Balsiliano, Bari, Carbonara, Castello Maniace, Corigliano, Holy Angel, San Leo, Forza, Otranto,Ursino And Estense.

The huge, thick width of the walls and the healthy circumference of the towers are the main distinguishing features of Italian castles. They are primitive and absolutely simple to the analyzing eye of a traveler or tourist. Judging by their appearance, many of their species are very well adapted for defensive defense against enemies. Watchtowers are located quite high in the central parts of the castle architecture. They have many windows and a significantly convex projection in relation to the lower part of the stone tower.
The square tops of the walls have cuts in the form of tendrils, thereby significantly emphasizing the originality from other state castles. Under the jagged rectangular slabs of Italian castles there are numerous, pronounced oval depressions that stretch across the entire width of the rectangular and round stone towers. On some architectures you can also notice the presence of balconies with vertical, white railings on them. Doorways in the lower parts of the castle they have huge, arched shapes. This is most likely due to the fact that in case of alarm, the defenders of the castle do not crowd, but fully run out in large detachments from their barracks. Similar factors include the presence of signal bells in the upper parts of the towers. The construction of castles and fortresses in Italy was a militarized vision of noble rulers and their architects.

Castles of Poland

Castles of Poland. The most intensive growth in the construction of Polish castles dates back to 1200-1700. second millennium. The most outstanding of them are Grodno, Kschenzh, Kurnicki, Krasicki, Lenchicki, Lublin, Marienburg, Stettin and Chęcinski. According to their structure, they have a variety of designs in large and small sizes. Most castles have a palace appearance and only a small part of them have serious defensive architecture. Polish castles are characterized by long, curvaceous domes, shaped like an elephant chess piece or an umbrella-shaped projection. These also include huge trapezoid-like roofs that extend across the entire width of the architectural top. Small, sharp-angled towers contain bell towers, while large ones contain rectangular windows for sentinel observation. The windows in the side parts of the walls have a variety of shapes, but most of them are rectangular and arched, as are their arched frames, emphasizing the distinctive appearance.

The architectural style of Poland is quite unique. The buildings were erected from the donjon style to the neo-Gothic style. This rather elegant type of building structure includes Kurnitsky Castle, very nice external design.
Some types of castles are so tiny that they resemble a small mansion rather than a heavily defensive fortress. An example would be Szymbark Castle. And if you compare him with such a giant as Marienburg, then the first one will seem like an absolute highlight compared to the thug.

The appearance of the architecture was Gothic and Renaissance style. But all Belarusian castles have different designs, uniquely different from each other. The largest of them is Mir Castle. Its main distinguishing feature is its large size and the presence of defensive walls. They contain a number of small windows (loopholes) designed for camouflaged observation and protection of the castle. The entire architecture consists mainly of red brick, covering the entire perimeter of the building. Rectangular windows and loopholes are surrounded by white, arched frames. The roofs have a triangular shape at the tips of the spokes of which there are patterns of balls and flags. Entrance inside is through oval arches located in several parts of the castle.
Gomel Castle It was also quite large in area, but consisted of separate buildings and a very low defensive wall. There were small towers with oval domes on it. Rather, this architecture resembled more a monastery of free-standing buildings than a castle for defense. The tall towers had pointed, black roofs with varied shapes. Even a single pipe on the roof had a unique, colorful pattern.

At first, buildings were built from wood, but with the advent firearms a much stronger material such as stone was needed. Solid fortifications held back the onslaught of bullets and igniting fire much better.
Castles were built on hills, pouring artificial hills and covering them with cut stone. To ensure the reliability of the fortifications, strategically tricky areas with seas and lakes were chosen. Sometimes the defense was supplemented with deep ditches with water, to further isolate land penetration into buildings. The many courtyards in the castle made it difficult for the enemy to reach the main tower. To get close to it, the attackers had to wander through them for a long time, like through a labyrinth, in search of a way out. It was easy to get lost. Some castles served as barracks for samurai warriors, built by daimyo - the owners of the provinces on the site of small fortresses. Such buildings could be constructed in cities and serve as fortified administrative centers.
The appearance of Japanese castles resembled solid, upwardly curved layered blocks of roofs, superimposed on one another. From the outside they looked quite primitive and were very similar to each other. But the interior of the premises was attractive and varied. At the very top of the towers there was a high, carved pediment of the castle - a sign of the power of its owner. The roofs were multi-tiered, like a pagoda, with wide slopes. Their surfaces were covered with wooden shingles. The outer walls were plastered and painted white. Their side coverings had slit-like windows and loopholes. The lower floors were faced with stone slabs.
Sometimes a castle had several towers, and the defenders fired at the enemy from different sides. Often a one-story tower was placed above the gate. And in the very center of the castle stood a multi-tiered main tower, erected on an embankment hill. Later, the base of the tower began to be covered with stone, while other parts remained wooden. To reduce the risk of fire, the walls were covered with a thick layer of plaster, and the gates were bound with iron plates. The towers served simultaneously as a headquarters, observation tower and huge warehouses. The owner's chambers were located on the upper floors. Wooden buildings could be a combination of entrance halls, upper rooms, huts, corridors and towers with numerous rooms. Most often, only noble princes, nobles and boyars could afford such luxurious dwellings. Their rooms were located on the top floors. Below, there were rooms for servants and subjects.
The mansions were divided into resting , restless And outbuildings . Premises chamber architectures had separate dwellings, in one of which the owner lived, and in the other his wife and children. Their rooms were connected by common corridors, through which one could go to the desired room. Unrested mansions served for meetings, special events and holidays. They built huge halls for large numbers of people. Household mansions used for everyday needs in crafts and households. They looked like stables, barns, laundries and workshops.