Medieval castles and fortresses in the mountains of Europe. Medieval castles Medieval castles and fortresses

19.08.2023

History of medieval castles

When we hear the phrase “medieval castle,” our imagination immediately pictures a majestic structure, with high towers, battlements, on which stern knights in armor stand guard. And someone may even imagine some kind of dragon flying in the sky above the castle itself and a wise wizard with a long gray beard living in one of the castle towers (usually the tallest). It’s not without reason that the image of a castle is very popular in such genres as fantasy, various fairy tales, and so on. But often real history is no less interesting than various fairy tales, and our today’s article will be devoted to the most real castles, their structure and place in our history.

History of medieval castles

In fact, the history of the appearance of castles does not even begin in the Middle Ages, but in much earlier times, perhaps even prehistoric. And the appearance of castles and fortresses as such is connected with the satisfaction of one of the basic human needs - the need for protection. After all, times have always been turbulent, no, of course, there were times that were relatively more peaceful, but even then there were wars somewhere. And by and large, wars have always been fought as long as humanity has existed. And even if at some time in some place they were not carried out, there was always a certain marginal part of society who wanted to feast on the good of their neighbor (and those far away as well).

That is, castles were originally created as a means of providing protection for themselves and their loved ones, so that in the event of an attack, either by enemy troops, or simply by dashing robbers and bandits, they would have somewhere to hide and successfully repel the attack of uninvited guests.

The first castles in history were completely different from what we mean by them now - they were built of wood and consisted of a space enclosed by a wooden palisade and a ditch dug around this palisade.

This is what similar wooden castles looked like. Of course, they have not survived to our times.

Progress did not stand still, and construction from wood was replaced by construction from stone. The first stone castles began to be built; they often arose in places where the fortified garrisons of the Roman legions were located. With the fall of the Roman Empire and the onset of the Middle Ages, the work of castle building was taken over by numerous counts, barons, feudal lords and, of course, kings of the newly formed European medieval states.

The Middle Ages were a very turbulent time, and the need for protection was especially strong, so castles sprang up like mushrooms after rain - in case of danger, all residents of the surrounding villages fled to the protection of the castle walls. Subsequently, large medieval cities were formed on the site of many castles. For example, the hometown of the author of the article, Lviv, was formed from a castle built by Prince (and later King) Danila Galitsky in the 1240s. And already in 1256 there is the first written mention of the city, which arose from a settlement around this very castle and was named after the son of the founder Lev Danilovich - Lvov. Unfortunately, the Lviv Castle (aka the High Castle) has not survived to this day.

Besieged Morton Castle in Scotland, medieval miniature.

Over time, in the late Middle Ages, castles from ordinary places of refuge and protection turned into an attribute of luxury, power and prestige - it happened that an influential feudal lord with a fortified castle could be beyond the control of even the king himself. In general, European feudal lords often compared their castles (hello to grandfather Freud) to see who had the larger and more impregnable castle.

Construction of a medieval castle

In general, every decent medieval castle had to meet the following basic requirements:

is located in an elevated area that is inaccessible to the enemy, so that it is possible to survey considerable distances from a height and see the approach of a potential enemy from afar (during this time, have time to prepare for defense, close the gate, heat the resin for uninvited guests, and so on),
have a source of water inside - in case of a possible long siege,
perform representative functions, that is, in every possible way to emphasize the wealth and power of the owner of the castle, be it a count, baron, prince or even king.

One of the important details of a medieval castle is a deep moat dug along its perimeter, and in front of it is a rampart of elongated earth. Ideally, the moat completely encircles the walls of the castle, but often the landscape and shape of the soil do not allow this. If the soil around the castle is rocky, then they either don’t dig a ditch at all, or make it small, capable of delaying only the advance of enemy infantry. Some historians classify the types of medieval castles depending on whether they have a moat or, conversely, its absence.

If there is a deep moat, then the entrance to the medieval castle is through a special drawbridge, which is usually driven by mechanisms hidden in the building above it. Also in European castles there were often drawbridges that worked on the principle of a swing - one half of them was inside the castle, the other outside. During an attack on the castle, the inner part of the bridge rose, lowering the outer one, thereby throwing the attackers who managed to climb onto it into a “wolf pit” hidden in the moat. Also, with the gates closed, one could enter the castle through the side gate, which also had its own small drawbridge.

Czech Talmberg Castle, screenshot taken from the recently released excellent historical computer game Kingdom come Deliverance, made by the Prague studio Warhorse (we’ll remember about it later).

The gate of a medieval castle is its most vulnerable part, so those attacking the castle focused their main efforts on first knocking out the gate with a special siege ram and breaking into the castle itself. The defenders of the castle tried with all their might to prevent this, and it was at the gates during the siege that the most furious battles took place. The gates themselves were additionally reinforced with metal bars that went down behind them and steel and iron bolts. On top of the gate tower was equipped with the so-called “resin noses”, through which hot tar poured onto those storming the gate. (By the way, a very effective means of protection against enemies in the Middle Ages).

This is what resin noses look like.

Walls of a medieval castle

The walls of the castle, perhaps, deserve a whole separate section, because, in fact, they form the castle itself. So, first of all, the walls of a medieval castle had to have a deep foundation, so that it would be difficult for opponents to dig under them. The walls themselves were built from processed stone or brick.

Castles often had double walls: a high outer wall and a smaller inner one. Between them there was an empty space, which received the German name “zwinger”. This zwinger was of significant importance for the defenders of the castle, the fact is that if the attackers managed to overcome the outer wall, they found themselves in this very close “zwinger”, sandwiched between two walls, where they became an excellent target for archers.

Also, almost all the walls of medieval castles have battlements on top, behind which the defenders could hide, for example, while loading their crossbows. In addition to the battlements, there were loopholes on the walls through which archers, crossbowmen, and, in later times, musketeers could fire at the enemy.

Lubart's Castle in Lutsk.

At the corners of the castle walls there were small, flanking (protruding outward) towers, located in such a way that it was convenient for the castle defenders to fire along the walls in two directions.

Medieval castle inside

An important part of the internal structure of the castle was the presence of a well in it, and since castles were often built on rocky, upland areas, sometimes the well had to be laid to a depth of more than 100 meters. (For example, the well of Königstein Castle in Saxony was dug to a depth of 140 meters). Due to the fact that water was obtained with such difficulty, issues of personal hygiene and sanitation for the inhabitants of the castle left much to be desired.

Also in the castle there were a number of buildings designed to fully provide for the life of its inhabitants during a long siege: a bakery, a steam bath and a kitchen.

The owner of the castle usually lived in its central tower, which, depending on his wealth and time period, could be either luxuriously furnished or very ascetic.

For example, this is what the chamber in the German castle of Marksburg looks like.

Also, the castle often had a prison, also known as a dungeon, where various commoner criminals were kept, while noble prisoners taken captive for ransom (a common practice in the Middle Ages) were kept in special guarded “VIP chambers” in the main tower of the castle.

Also, a mandatory attribute of the castle was the presence of a small chapel, or even a church (if the castle was larger). And among the inhabitants of the castle there was always a chaplain or priest, who, in addition to his priestly duties, served as a clerk and teacher (in those days, not even every nobleman was literate).

But the toilet in the castle looks so interesting - in the form of such an extension to the wall. It is interesting to know that the toilets in medieval castles were not heated, and visiting them in winter was a particularly unpleasant experience.

And in general, life in a medieval castle, especially from the point of view of us, spoiled by the benefits of modern civilization, was not easy - first of all, in stone castles it was very dark and cold, drafts were frequent guests there. Due to their fortification nature, the windows of a medieval castle let in little sunlight, and often they were not even glazed. Fireplace heating helped a little, but still keep in mind that the walls of medieval castles were covered with various thick carpets and tapestries not only for aesthetic reasons, but also simply to retain more heat.

Decline of castles

With the advent of firearms and the improvement of cannons, medieval castles lost their importance as defensive structures, because it was possible to calmly shoot the castle walls with cannons from afar. Therefore, many castles become simply residences of wealthy feudal lords, and some castles become completely empty. Subsequently, many castles were dismantled into stone for the construction of ordinary houses and therefore have not survived to this day.

Medieval castles of Europe, video

And finally, an interesting documentary about the history of medieval castles in Europe.

P.S. And almost as an advertisement, but the key “almost”, a special inspiration when writing this article was the recently released computer game Kingdom come Deliverance, which is based on real historical events that once took place in the medieval Czech Republic, and is, among other things, an excellent virtual an excursion into the history of the European Middle Ages. In a word, our historical site recommends it to all readers.

You write about a baron in a castle - at least have a rough idea of how the castle was heated, how it was ventilated, how it was lit...
From an interview with G. L. Oldie

When we hear the word “castle,” our imagination conjures up an image of a majestic fortress - the hallmark of the fantasy genre. There is hardly any other architectural structure that would attract so much attention from historians, military experts, tourists, writers and lovers of “fairy-tale” fiction.

We play computer, board and role-playing games where we have to explore, build or capture impenetrable castles. But do we know what these fortifications actually are? What interesting stories are associated with them? What do the stone walls hide behind - witnesses of entire eras, grandiose battles, knightly nobility and vile betrayal?

Surprisingly, it is a fact - fortified dwellings of feudal lords in different parts of the world (Japan, Asia, Europe) were built according to very similar principles and had many common design features. But in this article we will focus primarily on medieval European feudal fortresses, since they served as the basis for the creation of a mass artistic image of a “medieval castle” as a whole.

Birth of a fortress

The Middle Ages in Europe were a turbulent time. The feudal lords, for any reason, organized small wars among themselves - or rather, not even wars, but, in modern language, armed “showdowns”. If a neighbor had money, it had to be taken away. Lots of land and peasants? This is simply indecent, because God ordered sharing. And if knightly honor was affected, then it was simply impossible to do without a small victorious war.

Under such circumstances, the large aristocratic landowners had no choice but to strengthen their homes with the expectation that one fine day their neighbors might come to visit them, and if they don’t feed them bread, let them kill someone.

Initially, these fortifications were made of wood and did not resemble the castles we know in any way - except that a ditch was dug in front of the entrance and a wooden palisade was placed around the house.

The manorial courts of Hasterknaup and Elmendorv are the ancestors of the castles.

However, progress did not stand still - with the development of military affairs, the feudal lords had to modernize their fortifications so that they could withstand a massive assault using stone cannonballs and rams.

The European castle has its roots in antiquity. The earliest structures of this kind copied Roman military camps (tents surrounded by a palisade). It is generally accepted that the tradition of building gigantic (by the standards of that time) stone structures began with the Normans, and classic castles appeared in the 12th century.

The besieged castle of Mortan (withstood the siege for 6 months).

The castle had very simple requirements - it must 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 perform representative functions - that is, show the power and wealth of the feudal lord.

Beaumarie Castle, owned by Edward I.

Welcome

We are heading to the castle, which stands on a ledge of a mountain slope, at the edge of a fertile valley. The road goes through a small settlement - one of those that usually grew up near the fortress wall. Simple people live here - mostly artisans, and warriors guarding the outer perimeter of defense (in particular, guarding our road). These are the so-called “castle people”.

Scheme of castle structures. Note that there are two gate towers, the largest one standing separately.

The road is laid in such a way that the newcomers always face the castle with their right side, not covered by a shield. Directly in front of the fortress wall there is a bare plateau, lying at a significant slope (the castle itself stands on an elevation - natural or embankment). The vegetation here is low so that there is no cover for attackers.

The first obstacle is a deep ditch, and in front of it is a shaft of excavated earth. The moat can be transverse (separates the castle wall from the plateau) or crescent-shaped, curved forward. If the landscape allows, a moat encircles the entire castle in a circle.

Sometimes dividing ditches were dug inside the castle, making it difficult for the enemy to move through its territory.

The bottom shape of ditches could be V-shaped or U-shaped (the latter is the most common). If the soil under the castle is rocky, then ditches were either not made at all, or they were cut down to a shallow depth, preventing only the advance of infantry (it is almost impossible to dig under the castle wall in the rock - therefore the depth of the ditch was not of decisive importance).

The crest of the earthen rampart lying directly in front of the ditch (which makes it seem even deeper) often carried a palisade - a fence made of wooden stakes dug into the ground, pointed and tightly fitted to each other.

A bridge spanning a moat leads to the outer wall of the castle. Depending on the size of the ditch and bridge, the latter is supported by one or more supports (huge logs). The outer part of the bridge is fixed, but the last section (right next to the wall) is movable.

Scheme of the entrance to the castle: 2 - gallery on the wall, 3 - drawbridge, 4 - grate.

Counterweights on the gate lift.

Castle gate.

This drawbridge is designed so that in a vertical position it covers the gate. The bridge is powered by mechanisms hidden in the building above them. From the bridge to the lifting machines, ropes or chains go into the wall openings. To facilitate the work of people servicing the bridge mechanism, the ropes were sometimes equipped with heavy counterweights, taking part of the weight of this structure on themselves.

Of particular interest is the bridge, which worked on the principle of a swing (it is called “tipping” or “swinging”). One half of it was inside - lying 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 ditch, where the so-called “wolf pit” was built (sharp stakes dug into the ground), invisible from the outside until the bridge is down.

To enter the castle when the gates were closed, there was a side gate next to them, to which a separate lift ladder was usually laid.

The gate is the most vulnerable part of the castle; it was usually not made directly into its wall, but was located in the so-called “gate towers”. Most often, the gates were double-leaf, and the doors were knocked together from two layers of boards. To protect against arson, they were lined with iron on the outside. At the same time, in one of the doors there was a small narrow door that could only be passed through by bending over. In addition to locks and iron bolts, the gate was closed by a transverse beam lying in the wall channel and sliding into the opposite wall. The cross beam could also be inserted into hook-shaped slots on the walls. Its main purpose was to protect the goal from being attacked by attackers.

Behind the gate there was usually 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 lattice could descend from a gap in the arch of the gate portal, or be located behind them (on the inside of the gate tower), descending along grooves in the walls.

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.

Inside the gate tower there were rooms for guards. They kept watch on the upper platform of the tower, learned from the guests the purpose of their visit, opened the gates, and, if necessary, could shoot with a bow all those who passed under them. For this purpose, in the arch of the gate portal there were vertical loopholes, as well as “resin noses” - holes for pouring hot resin onto the attackers.

Tar noses.

All on the wall!

The most important defensive element of the castle was the outer wall - high, thick, sometimes on an inclined base. Processed stones or bricks made up its outer surface. Inside it consisted of rubble stone and slaked lime. The walls were placed on a deep foundation, under which it was very difficult to dig.

Often double walls were built in castles - a high external one and a small internal one. An empty space appeared between them, which received the German name “zwinger”. The attackers, when overcoming the outer wall, could not take with them additional assault devices (bulky ladders, poles and other things that cannot be moved inside the fortress). Once in the zwinger in front of another wall, they became an easy target (there were small loopholes in the walls of the zwinger for archers).

Zwinger at Lanek Castle.

At the top of the wall there was a gallery for defense soldiers. On the outside of the castle they were protected by a strong parapet of half human height, on which stone battlements were regularly located. You could stand behind them at full height and, for example, load a crossbow. The shape of the teeth was extremely varied - rectangular, round, swallowtail-shaped, decoratively decorated. In some castles, the galleries were covered (wooden canopy) to protect the soldiers from the weather.

In addition to the battlements, behind which it was convenient to hide, the castle walls were equipped with loopholes. The attackers fired through them. Due to the peculiarities of using throwing weapons (freedom of movement and a certain shooting position), the loopholes for archers were long and narrow, and for crossbowmen they were short, widening on the sides.

A special type of loophole is a ball loophole. It was a freely rotating wooden ball fixed to the wall with a slot for firing.

Pedestrian gallery on the wall.

Balconies (the so-called “machiculi”) were installed in the walls very rarely - for example, in the case when the wall was too narrow for the free passage of several soldiers, and, as a rule, performed only decorative functions.

At the corners of the castle, small towers were built on the walls, most often flanking (that is, protruding outward), which allowed the defenders to fire along the walls in two directions. In the late Middle Ages, they began to be adapted for storage. The inner sides of such towers (facing the castle courtyard) were usually left open so that an enemy who broke into the wall could not gain a foothold inside them.

Flanking corner tower.

Castle from the inside

The internal structure of the locks was varied. In addition to the mentioned zwingers, behind the main gate there could be a small rectangular courtyard with loopholes in the walls - a kind of “trap” for attackers. Sometimes castles consisted of several “sections” separated by internal walls. But an indispensable attribute of the castle was a large courtyard (outbuildings, a well, rooms for servants) and a central tower, also known as the “donjon”.

Donjon at Vincennes Castle.

The life of all the inhabitants of the castle directly depended on the presence and location of the well. Problems often arose with it - after all, as mentioned above, castles were built on hills. The solid rocky soil also did not make the task of supplying water to the fortress any easier. There are known cases of castle wells being laid to a depth of more than 100 meters (for example, Kuffhäuser Castle in Thuringia or the Königstein fortress in Saxony had wells more than 140 meters deep). Digging a well took from one to five years. In some cases, this consumed as much money as the entire interior of the castle cost.

Due to the fact that water had to be obtained with difficulty from deep wells, issues of personal hygiene and sanitation faded into the background. Instead of washing themselves, people preferred to care for animals - especially expensive horses. It is not surprising that townspeople and villagers wrinkled their noses in the presence of castle inhabitants.

The location of the water source depended primarily on natural causes. But if there was a choice, then the well was dug not in the square, but in a fortified room, in order to provide it with water in case of shelter during a siege. If, due to the nature of the occurrence of groundwater, a well was dug behind the castle wall, then a stone tower was built above it (if possible, with wooden passages into the castle).

When there was no way to dig a well, a cistern was built in the castle to collect rainwater from the roofs. Such water needed purification - it was filtered through gravel.

The military garrison of castles in peacetime was minimal. So in 1425, two co-owners of the castle of Reichelsberg in the Lower Franconian Aube entered into an agreement that each of them would provide one armed servant, and pay two gatekeepers and two guards together.

The castle also had a number of buildings that ensured the autonomous life of its inhabitants in conditions of complete isolation (blockade): a bakery, a steam bath, a kitchen, etc.

Kitchen at Marksburg Castle.

The tower was the tallest structure in the entire castle. It provided the ability to observe the surrounding area and served as a last refuge. When the enemies broke through all the defense lines, the population of the castle took refuge in the donjon and withstood a long siege.

The exceptional thickness of the walls of this tower made its destruction almost impossible (in any case, it would have taken a huge amount of time). The entrance to the tower was very narrow. It was located in the courtyard at a significant (6-12 meters) height. The wooden staircase leading inside could easily be destroyed and thereby block the attackers' path.

Entrance to the donjon.

Inside the tower there was sometimes a very high shaft going from top to bottom. It served either as a prison or a warehouse. Entry into it was possible only through a hole in the vault of the upper floor - “Angstloch” (German - terrifying hole). Depending on the purpose of the mine, the winch lowered prisoners or provisions into it.

If there were no prison premises in the castle, then the prisoners were placed in large wooden boxes made of thick boards, too small to stand up to their full height. These boxes could be installed in any room of the castle.

Of course, they were taken prisoner, first of all, to obtain a ransom or to use the prisoner in a political game. Therefore, VIPs were provided with the highest class - guarded chambers in the tower were allocated for their maintenance. This is exactly how Frederick the Handsome “spent his time” at the castle of Trausnitz on Pfeimde and Richard the Lionheart in Trifels.

Chamber at Marksburg Castle.

Abenberg Castle tower (12th century) in section.

At the base of the tower there was a basement, which could also be used as a dungeon, and a kitchen with a pantry. The main hall (dining room, common room) occupied an entire floor and was heated by a huge fireplace (it distributed heat only a few meters, so iron baskets with coals were placed further along the hall). Above were the chambers of the feudal lord's family, heated by small stoves.

At the very top of the tower there was an open (less often covered, but if necessary, the roof could be dropped) platform where a catapult or other throwing weapon could be installed to fire at the enemy. The standard (banner) of the owner of the castle was also erected there.

Sometimes the donjon did not serve as a living space. It could well have been used only for military-economic purposes (observation posts on the tower, dungeon, food storage). In such cases, the feudal lord’s family lived in the “palace” - the living quarters of the castle, standing apart from the tower. The palaces were built of stone and had several floors in height.

It should be noted that the living conditions in the castles were far from the most pleasant. Only the largest palaces had a large knightly hall for celebrations. It was very cold in the dungeons and palaces. Fireplace heating helped, but the walls were still covered with thick tapestries and carpets - not for decoration, but to preserve heat.

The windows let in very little sunlight (this was due to the fortification nature of the castle architecture); not all of them were glazed. Toilets were arranged in the form of a bay window in the wall. They were unheated, so visiting the outhouse in winter left people with a unique feeling.

Castle toilet.

Concluding our “tour” of the castle, we cannot fail to mention that it necessarily had a room for worship (temple, chapel). The indispensable inhabitants of the castle included a chaplain or priest, who, in addition to his main duties, played the role of a clerk and teacher. In the most modest fortresses, the role of a temple was played by a wall niche where a small altar stood.

Large temples had two floors. Commoners prayed below, and gentlemen gathered in a warm (sometimes glassed-in) choir on the second tier. The decoration of such rooms was quite modest - an altar, benches and wall paintings. Sometimes the temple served as a tomb for the family living in the castle. Less often it was used as a refuge (along with the donjon).

There are many tales told about underground passages in castles. Of course, there were moves. But very few of them led from the castle somewhere into the neighboring forest and could be used as an escape route. As a rule, there were no long moves at all. Most often there were short tunnels between individual buildings, or from the dungeon to a complex of caves under the castle (an additional shelter, warehouse or treasury).

War on earth and underground

Contrary to popular misconceptions, the average size of the military garrison of an ordinary castle during active hostilities rarely exceeded 30 people. This was quite enough for defense, since the inhabitants of the fortress were in relative safety behind its walls and did not suffer such losses as the attackers.

To take the castle, it was necessary to isolate it - that is, to block all food supply routes. That is why the attacking armies were much larger than the defending ones - about 150 people (this is true for a war of mediocre feudal lords).

The issue of provisions was the most painful. A person can live without water for several days, without food - about a month (one should take into account his low combat effectiveness during a hunger strike). Therefore, the owners of a castle preparing for a siege often took extreme measures - they drove out all the commoners who could not benefit the defense. As mentioned above, the garrison of the castles was small - it was impossible to feed an entire army under siege conditions.

The inhabitants of the castle rarely launched counterattacks. This simply did not make sense - there were fewer of them than the attackers, and they felt much calmer behind the walls. A special case is forays for food. The latter were carried out, as a rule, at night, in small groups that walked along poorly guarded paths to the nearest villages.

The attackers had no less problems. The siege of castles sometimes lasted for years (for example, the German Turant defended from 1245 to 1248), so the question of logistics for an army of several hundred people arose especially acutely.

In the case of the siege of Turant, chroniclers claim that during all this time the soldiers of the attacking army drank 300 fuders of wine (a fuder is a huge barrel). This amounts to about 2.8 million liters. Either the census taker made a mistake, or the constant number of besiegers was more than 1000 people.

The most preferred season for starving a castle was summer - there is less rain than in spring or autumn (in winter, the inhabitants of the castle could get water by melting snow), the crops were not yet ripe, and old supplies had already run out.

The attackers tried to deprive the castle of a source of water (for example, they built dams on the river). In the most extreme cases, “biological weapons” were used - corpses were thrown into the water, which could provoke outbreaks of epidemics throughout the area. Those inhabitants of the castle who were captured were mutilated by the attackers and released. They returned back and became unwitting parasites. They might not have been accepted at the castle, but if they were the wives or children of the besieged, then the voice of the heart outweighed considerations of tactical expediency.

The residents of the surrounding villages who tried to deliver supplies to the castle were treated no less cruelly. In 1161, during the siege of Milan, Frederick Barbarossa ordered the hands of 25 townspeople of Piacenza who were trying to supply food to their enemies to be cut off.

The besiegers set up a permanent camp near the castle. It also had some simple fortifications (palisades, earthen ramparts) in case of a sudden attack by the fortress’s defenders. For protracted sieges, a so-called “counter-castle” was built next to the castle. Usually it was located higher than the besieged one, which made it possible to conduct effective observation of the besieged from its walls and, if the distance allowed, to fire at them from throwing weapons.

View of Eltz Castle from Trutz-Eltz Counter-Castle.

The war against castles had its own specifics. After all, any more or less high stone fortification presented a serious obstacle to conventional armies. Direct infantry attacks on the fortress could well be crowned with success, which, however, came at the cost of great casualties.

That is why, in order to successfully capture the castle, a whole complex of military measures was necessary (the siege and starvation have already been mentioned above). One of the most labor-intensive, but at the same time extremely successful ways to overcome the castle’s defenses was undermining.

Undermining was done for two purposes - to provide troops with direct access to the castle's courtyard or to destroy a section of its wall.

Thus, during the siege of the Altwindstein castle in Northern Alsace in 1332, a brigade of sappers of 80 (!) people took advantage of the diversionary maneuvers of their troops (periodic short attacks on the castle) and over the course of 10 weeks made a long passage through solid rock into the south-eastern part of the fortress .

If the castle wall was not too large and had an unreliable foundation, then a tunnel was dug under its base, the walls of which were strengthened with wooden struts. Next, the spacers were set on fire - just under the wall. The tunnel was collapsing, the base of the foundation was sagging, and the wall above this place was falling apart.

Storming of the castle (14th century miniature).

Later, with the advent of gunpowder weapons, bombs were planted in tunnels under castle walls. To neutralize the undermining, the besieged sometimes dug counter-undermining. Enemy sappers were doused with boiling water, bees were released into the tunnel, feces were poured into it (and in ancient times, the Carthaginians released live crocodiles into Roman tunnels).

Curious devices were used to detect tunnels. For example, large copper bowls with balls inside were placed throughout the castle. If a ball in any bowl began to tremble, this was a sure sign that a tunnel was being mined nearby.

But the main argument in attacking the castle were siege engines - catapults and rams. The first were not much different from those catapults that were used by the Romans. These devices were equipped with a counterweight, which imparted the greatest force to the throwing arm. With proper dexterity of the “gun crew,” catapults were quite accurate weapons. They threw large, smoothly hewn stones, and the combat range (on average, several hundred meters) was regulated by the weight of the projectiles.

A type of catapult is a trebuchet.

Sometimes the catapults were loaded with barrels filled with flammable materials. To give the castle defenders a couple of pleasant minutes, catapults threw the severed heads of prisoners to them (especially powerful machines could even throw whole corpses over the wall).

Storming a castle using a mobile tower.

In addition to the usual ram, pendulum ones were also used. They were mounted on high mobile frames with a canopy and looked like a log suspended on a chain. The besiegers hid inside the tower and swung the chain, causing the log to hit the wall.

In response, the besieged lowered a rope from the wall, at the end of which steel hooks were attached. With this rope they caught the ram and tried to lift it up, depriving it of mobility. Sometimes an unwary soldier could get caught on such hooks.

Having overcome the rampart, broken the palisades and filled in the ditch, the attackers either stormed the castle using ladders or used tall wooden towers, the upper platform of which was flush with the wall (or even higher than it). These gigantic structures were doused with water to prevent the defenders from setting them on fire and were rolled up to the castle along a plank flooring. A heavy platform was thrown over the wall. The assault group climbed up the internal stairs, went out onto the platform and fought into the gallery of the fortress wall. Usually this meant that in a couple of minutes the castle would be taken.

Silent Sapa

Sapa (from the French sape, literally - hoe, saper - to dig) is a method of digging a ditch, trench or tunnel to approach its fortifications, used in the 16th-19th centuries. The switchback (quiet, secretive) and flying glanders are known. Work with a shift gland was carried out from the bottom of the original ditch without workers going to the surface, and with a flying gland - from the surface of the earth under the cover of a previously prepared protective embankment of barrels and bags of earth. In the 2nd half of the 17th century, specialists - sappers - appeared in the armies of a number of countries to perform such work.

The expression to act “on the sly” means: to sneak, slowly, unnoticed, to penetrate somewhere.

Fights on the castle stairs

From one floor of the tower it was possible to get to another only by a narrow and steep spiral staircase. The ascent along it was carried out only one after another - it was so narrow. In this case, the warrior who went first could only count on his own ability to fight, because the steepness of the turn was chosen in such a way that it was impossible to use a spear or long sword from behind the leader’s back. Therefore, the battles on the stairs were reduced to single combat between the defenders of the castle and one of the attackers. Namely the defenders, because they could easily replace each other, since there was a special extended area behind them.

In all castles, the stairs twist clockwise. There is only one castle with a reverse twist - the fortress of the Counts Wallenstein. When studying the history of this family, it was discovered that most of the men in it were left-handed. Thanks to this, historians realized that such a design of stairs greatly facilitates the work of the defenders. The most powerful blow with a sword can be delivered towards your left shoulder, and a shield in your left hand best covers your body from this direction. Only the defender has all these advantages. The attacker can only strike to the right side, but his striking hand will be pressed against the wall. If he puts his shield forward, he will almost lose the ability to use weapons.

Samurai castles

Himeji Castle.

We know the least about exotic castles - for example, Japanese ones.

Initially, samurai and their overlords lived on their estates, where, apart from the “yagura” watchtower and a small moat around the dwelling, there were no other defensive structures. In case of a protracted war, fortifications were erected in hard-to-reach areas of the mountains, where it was possible to defend against superior enemy forces.

Stone castles began to be built at the end of the 16th century, taking into account European achievements in fortification. An indispensable feature of a Japanese castle are wide and deep artificial ditches with steep slopes that surrounded it on all sides. Usually they were filled with water, but sometimes this function was performed by a natural water barrier - a river, lake, swamp.

Inside, the castle was a complex system of defensive structures, consisting of several rows of walls with courtyards and gates, underground corridors and labyrinths. All these structures were located around the central square of Honmaru, on which the feudal lord's palace and the high central tenshukaku tower were erected. The latter consisted of several gradually decreasing rectangular tiers with protruding tiled roofs and pediments.

Japanese castles, as a rule, were small - about 200 meters long and 500 wide. But among them there were also real giants. Thus, Odawara Castle occupied an area of 170 hectares, and the total length of its fortress walls reached 5 kilometers, which is twice the length of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin.

Ancient charm

Castles are still being built today. Those that were state property are often returned to the descendants of ancient families. Castles are a symbol of the influence of their owners. They are an example of an ideal compositional solution, which combines unity (defense considerations did not allow the picturesque distribution of buildings throughout the territory), multi-level buildings (main and secondary) and the utmost functionality of all components. Elements of castle architecture have already become archetypes - for example, a castle tower with battlements: its image sits in the subconscious of any more or less educated person.

French castle of Saumur (14th century miniature).

And finally, we love castles because they are simply romantic. Knightly tournaments, ceremonial receptions, vile conspiracies, secret passages, ghosts, treasures - when applied to castles, all this ceases to be a legend and turns into history. The expression “the walls remember” fits perfectly here: it seems that every stone of the castle breathes and hides a secret. I would like to believe that medieval castles will continue to maintain an aura of mystery - because without it, sooner or later they will turn into an old pile of stones.

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 one 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 sufficiently large height, safe from penetration inside the fortifications.In the 11th century, castles began to be built on artificial hills.Such hills were poured next to the courtyard, 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 convenient 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 the high tips of the 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 the last city of 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 stretch out to enormous dimensions 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 with a varied vertical structure at the top. 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. The doorways in the lower parts of the castle 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 of 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.

Lots of land and peasants? This is simply indecent, because God ordered sharing. And if knightly honor was affected, then it was simply impossible to do without a small victorious war.

The manorial courts of Hasterknaup and Elmendorv are the ancestors of the castles.

The besieged castle of Mortan (withstood the siege for 6 months).

Beaumarie Castle, owned by Edward I.

Welcome

Scheme of castle structures. Note that there are two gate towers, the largest one standing separately.

Scheme of the entrance to the castle: 2 - gallery on the wall, 3 - drawbridge, 4 - grate.

Counterweights on the gate lift.

To enter the castle when the gates were closed, there was a side gate next to them, to which a separate lift ladder was usually laid.

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.

All on the wall!

Zwinger at Lanek Castle.

A special type of loophole is a ball loophole. It was a freely rotating wooden ball fixed to the wall with a slot for firing.

Pedestrian gallery on the wall.

Flanking corner tower.

Castle from the inside

Donjon at Vincennes Castle.

When there was no way to dig a well, a cistern was built in the castle to collect rainwater from the roofs. Such water needed purification - it was filtered through gravel.

Kitchen at Marksburg Castle.

Chamber at Marksburg Castle.

Abenberg Castle tower (12th century) in section.

War on earth and underground

View of Eltz Castle from Trutz-Eltz Counter-Castle.

Undermining was done for two purposes - to provide troops with direct access to the castle's courtyard or to destroy a section of its wall.

So, during the siege of the Altwindstein castle in Northern Alsace in 1332, a brigade of sappers of 80 (!) people took advantage of the diversionary maneuvers of their troops (periodic short attacks on the castle) and within 10 weeks made a long passage in solid rock to the south-eastern part fortresses

If the castle wall was not too large and had an unreliable wall, then a tunnel was dug under its base, the walls of which were strengthened with wooden struts. Next, the spacers were set on fire - just under the wall. The tunnel was collapsing, the base of the foundation was sagging, and the wall above this place was falling apart.

But the main argument in attacking the castle were siege engines - catapults and rams.

Storming of the castle (14th century miniature).

A type of catapult is a trebuchet.

Storming a castle using a mobile tower.

Silent Sapa

The expression to act “on the sly” means: to sneak, slowly, unnoticed, to penetrate somewhere.

Fights on the castle stairs

Samurai castles

We know the least about exotic castles - for example, Japanese ones.

Ancient charm

French castle of Saumur (14th century miniature).

If you find a typo, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter .

Schaaken was first mentioned in the chronicle of the Teutonic Order in 1258, when, according to an agreement on the division of territories between the Order and the Samland bishop Heinrich von Strittberg, the area around Schaaken remained with the Order. The wooden fortress began to be built in 1261, about 4 km from the Curonian Lagoon. For construction, the Shaaken River (now Bolshaya Moryana) was dammed, and a defensive fortification was built on the marshy marshy soil. The castle was used during the Order's campaigns deep into Prussian territories into Nadravia, Sudavia and further to Shalavia. It was also intended to defend the coast of the Curonian Lagoon, along the ice of which the Prussian tribes of the Skalovs, and later the Litvins, often carried out their raids.

Construction of the stone castle began in 1328. By that time, the Order had developed its own tradition of building castles. As a rule, these were quadrangular castles with from one to four wings with a bergfried and high defensive walls. These castles necessarily had pre-castle fortifications (forburgs). Castle Schaaken, unlike most castles of the Order, had an almost circular perimeter, since due to urgency, the construction of the stone fortress wall was carried out along the old perimeter of the ramparts surrounding it.

After the secularization of the Teutonic Order in 1525, Schaaken Castle briefly fell into the hands of rebel peasants. Since 1526, the castle housed the ducal chamber of justice, and since the mid-16th century, the Samland Land Office.

The ancient fortress was destroyed by a strong fire in 1606. In 1684, the castle began to be restored; during this work, serious architectural changes were made to the appearance of the interior of the castle.

In 1697, part of the Great Russian Embassy, en route to Western Europe, arrived in Schaaken. And on November 11, 1711, Peter I and Catherine stopped for the night in Schaaken on the way to Russia.

In 1815-1819 Schaaken was the seat of the village administration. Probably, during this period the main building, through which the gate passed during the Order's time, was rebuilt. After the reconstruction, the gates were blocked and a new gate was built on the western side of the ancient wall.

The castle was not damaged during the fighting in 1945. On its territory there was a collective farm stable, which existed until the early 1960s. Then the castle was given over to housing, and the outbuildings were used for household needs. In the 1980s, only one family lived in the castle, using the rooms that were still habitable. Lack of timely repairs led to the destruction of the ceiling and walls. Now the castle building and the remaining buildings have turned into ruins. A private museum is organized on the territory of Schaaken Castle.

2 Tapiau Castle (Gvardeysk, Kaliningrad region)

Tapiau Castle was first mentioned in 1258 as the possession of the Prussian noble Zapelle, who converted to the Christian faith and swore allegiance to the Teutonic Order. In 1262, a small wooden and earthen order fortress was built on the banks of the Deima. In 1265 it was captured and destroyed by the Lithuanian army. In the same 1265, the Master of the Teutonic Order Arno von Zangershausen ordered the foundation of a fortress on the northern bank of the Pregel River.

In 1275, the Tapiau fortress was stormed by the Litvin army. The fortress survived, but its position on the ground did not seem entirely favorable to the defenders. It was decided to move it to another place. In 1280-1290, under the leadership of commander Ulrich von Bauer, a new wooden fortress was built on the eastern bank of the Deima. In 1340-1351, under the leadership of Marshal of the Order Siegfried von Danenfelde, a stone two-story castle with four wings and a foreburg, protected by a horseshoe-shaped moat and an earthen rampart, was built in the Pregel bend. This fortification has survived to this day in its rebuilt form.

In the middle of the 16th century, by order of the Duke of Prussia Albrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out at Tapiau Castle.

During the reign of King Frederick William III, starting in 1786, a shelter for the poor operated in Tapiau Castle, and in 1793 the house of contempt received the first decrepit, wretched, sick and orphans. During these years, three wings of the castle were demolished. In 1879, during the restoration of Tapiau Castle, two floors were added, the top floor housed a house church, after which the castle began to be used as an administrative building.

In 1902, a complex of red brick buildings was built on the castle grounds. During the Weimar Republic and under the Nazis, Tapiau Castle housed a prison. Since April 1945, the castle housed a pre-trial detention center for war criminals, and later again a prison.

3 Waldau Castle (Nizovye village, Kaliningrad region)

The first order wooden-earth fortification in Waldau was built in 1258-1264. The expansion of the territory controlled by the Teutonic Order led to the fact that Waldau Castle lost its defensive significance.

In 1457, the old fortifications were rebuilt, after which the castle began to be used as the summer residence of the grand masters of the Teutonic Order. After the secularization of the Order in 1525, Waldau Castle became a ducal domain.

On May 17-18, 1697, the main part of the Great Russian Embassy, headed by Admiral Franz Yakovlevich Lefort, stayed at Waldau Castle, and Tsar Peter I visited the castle on May 17. Since 1720, Waldau Castle was rented out by the royal government of Prussia.

In 1858, an agricultural school was located in the castle. In the 1860s, the building was thoroughly rebuilt, the towers and fortress walls were finally dismantled. Since 1945, the castle building was under the jurisdiction of the agricultural school (SPTU No. 20). The left wing has been used as an agricultural school dormitory since 1947. Currently, there is a museum in the western wing.

4 Lauken Castle (Saranskoye village, Kaliningrad region)

Around 1260, in the town of Lovka, on the site of the future castle, order rampart fortifications were built. Since 1270, the Lauken fortress served as a bridgehead on the right bank of the Laba for the onslaught of the Teutonic Order on Nadrovia.

In 1327 a stone castle was built. Lauken was mentioned in 1466 in the documents of the II Peace of Thorn and the Treaty of Krakow in 1525. During the time of Duke Albrecht, the castle was used as a hunting lodge. At the direction of Duke Georg Friedrich, Lauken was rebuilt by the architect Blasius Berwart in 1581-1584. After this, the castle received the name Friedrichsburg. Soon after perestroika, Georg Friedrich gave an audience to the Swedish ambassador in the castle.

In subsequent years, the castle, becoming a knight's estate, was rebuilt several times. At the end of the 19th century, Lauken became the property of the von Biberstein family, the last owner being Ludwig von Biberstein.

After the end of World War II, the castle building remained in good condition. In the first post-war years it was converted into a school, and later another building was added to the north side. The building remained in this form until the beginning of the 21st century. The cellars from the order's times have been preserved.

5 Georgenburg (Chernyakhovsk, Kaliningrad region)

In 1264, on the high northern bank of the Inster, on the site of the old Prussian fortification of Kapzowin, the knight of the German Order Hartmann von Grumbach built a fortification, named Georgenburg in honor of St. George. In 1337, a castle was founded here; in 1351, by order of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Winrich von Kniprode, its reconstruction in stone began.

In 1364 and 1376 the castle was destroyed by the Lithuanians, in 1385-1390 it was restored, and later a forburg was added on the western side. In 1403, Georgenburg was taken by the Lithuanian army led by Prince Vytautas. In 1657, the castle was severely damaged during a Tatar raid, and in 1679 it was occupied by the Swedes.

Since 1709, the castle and the estate were rented out. From 1752 to 1799, the von Koidell family began breeding horses here. The last owner of Georgenburg Castle, since 1937, was Dr. Martin Gehling.

In 1994-1995, Georgenburg was leased by the Russian Insurance Bank for 99 years to create a cultural and entertainment center. Archaeological excavations were carried out on its territory until the 1997 crisis, when the bank abandoned this project. Currently the castle is on the verge of destruction.

6 Vyborg Castle (Vyborg, Leningrad region)

Vyborg Castle was founded in 1293 during the third Swedish Crusade. The Swedes landed on the coast of the Gulf of Finland in the area of present-day Vyborg and destroyed the Karelian settlement and the Karelian outpost on a small island. The Swedes founded a castle on the island and named it Vyborg (translated from Old Swedish as “Holy Fortress”). A stone wall was built around the central high part of the island. And in the center of the island, a quadrangular stone tower-donjon was erected. The Swedes named it St. Olaf's Tower in honor of King Olaf II Haraldsson, who established Christianity in Norway.

The castle became the residence of the viceroy of the Swedish king. For many years, Vyborg Castle was the main border fortress of Sweden in the east and the administrative center of Vyborg County. Vyborg Castle reached its greatest prosperity in the middle of the 15th century, during the years of the governorship of Karl Knutsson Bunde, who later became King Charles VIII of Sweden. At this time, the main building was rebuilt, where the governor’s chambers and apartments were located, in which kings and high-ranking officials stayed during visits to Vyborg. In front of the main building and St. Olaf's Tower, a southern defensive wall was built with four towers: New, Guard, Fire and Prison. The Shoemaker's Tower was erected on the northeastern side of the island, and the Paradise Tower on the southeast. The main gate was installed in the passage arch of the Fire Tower.

In 1555, Vyborg Castle was visited by King Gustav I Vasa, who personally inspected the royal castles of Sweden. Dissatisfied with the state of the fortifications and towers, the king ordered a large-scale reconstruction of the fortress, which was poorly suited for artillery defense. Work began in 1559. New supporting walls were built on Castle Island, the castle towers and its main building were rebuilt. The reconstruction of the castle donjon began in 1561 and lasted four years. St. Olaf's Tower was dismantled to the level of the second tier, and then built on with brick: the third and fourth tiers were tetrahedral, the top three were octagonal in shape. The height of the tower (without roof) was 38 meters. Large-caliber cannons were installed at the loopholes on the upper floors. In the 1580s, the southern defensive wall underwent reconstruction. In 1582, the construction of a stone outer wall began, encircling the island in an arc from the west and north. In 1606-1608, the Fire Tower and the gate house at the entrance to the island were rebuilt and combined into one building - the Governor's House, which later became the residence of the Vyborg governor.

In 1710, during the siege of Vyborg by the troops of Peter I, the walls and buildings of the fortress were significantly damaged by Russian artillery. Throughout the 18th century, the castle buildings were repeatedly repaired and rebuilt. During this period, the buildings of the Barracks building and arsenals appeared. In 1834 and 1856, two devastating fires occurred at the Vyborg Castle. In 1891-1894, the castle was restored by the Vyborg fortress military engineering department.

From 1944 to 1964, Vyborg Castle was used by the Soviet military. The 71st separate guards communications battalion and the 49th separate guards engineer battalion of the 45th guards division were stationed in the castle. Military families lived in the castle premises. In 1964, the USSR Ministry of Defense transferred the Vyborg Castle to the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Monuments. In 1970, the first exhibitions of the Vyborg Local History Museum opened here.

7 Preussisch-Eylau Castle (Bagrationovsk, Kaliningrad region)

In 1325, by order of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Werner von Orseln, master Arnold von Eulenstein began construction of a fortified house on a hill surrounded by swamps and a river, on the site of the Prussian fortress of Sutvirt, which was called Ile Castle. The Order built a dam with a mill on the river, the water level rose and the castle ended up on an island. By 1330, a square-shaped stone fortification was built, surrounded by a moat, with a drawbridge and a portcullised gate. A forburg was added to the fortification on the eastern side.

In historical documents, the first mention of the castle dates back to 1326, where it is called “Ile”, in the records of 1342 - “Iladiya”, in 1400 - “Prusche Ilov” (Preussisch-Eylau). Until 1347, Preussisch-Eylau was the residence of the order's pfleger, then it housed the administration of the Kammerat, which was part of the command of Balga.

In February 1454, during the Thirteen Years' War, Preussisch-Eylau Castle was captured by the rebel population and partially damaged. The Order organized active resistance, and most of the cities of Natangia again came under its rule. Preussisch-Eylau was occupied by the order's garrison, which consisted of several knights and 60 militia, and all damage was repaired. In 1455 and 1456, Prussian troops tried to take possession of the castle, but they failed.

After the reformation in 1525, the order's castle became the seat of the departmental estate of Hauptmann Preussisch-Eylau. In 1814, the estate was bought by Heinrich Sigismund Valentini. In 1817 it was named Henriettenhof after the owner's wife. The estate was located on the territory of an old forburg, which was still well preserved. Due to the lack of a roof, the castle was actively being destroyed. Living next to the ruins was unpleasant, and soon a new house was built a kilometer northwest of the castle. Almost the entire farm was transferred there.

In 1932, a regional local history museum was opened in an old mansion located near the walls of the former order castle. During World War II, the castle grounds were not badly damaged. After the war, the living quarters of the former mansion gradually fell into complete disrepair and by the early 1960s were no longer in use. The territory of the castle and foreburg was transferred on November 27, 1961, according to an act of the Bagrationovskaya office of the regional consumer union, after which the basements of the castle and the buildings of the forburg were used as warehouses.

In the surviving forburg building, the roof began to collapse due to rotten rafters, and by 1989, holes appeared in the roof. In August 1990, the middle section of the building burned down. In the early 1990s, a decision was made to carry out minor excavations and convert the foreburg into a hotel with a bar. But in the final stages the foreburg was abandoned.