How to build a medieval castle. Medieval castles: device and siege

Since the seas and rivers provided a great overview for tracking down and attacking foreign invaders.

The supply of water made it possible to maintain ditches and ditches, which were an indispensable part of the castle's defense system. Castles also functioned as administrative centers, and reservoirs helped facilitate the collection of taxes, since rivers and seas were important trade waterways.

Also, castles were built on high hills or in cliffs of rocks that were difficult to attack.

Stages of building a castle

At the beginning of the construction of the castle, ditches were dug in the ground around the location of the future building. Their contents were piled up inside. It turned out a mound or hill, which was called "mott". A castle was later built on it.

Then the walls of the castle were built. Often two rows of walls were erected. The outer wall was lower than the inner one. It had towers for the defenders of the castle, a drawbridge and a lock. Towers were built on the inner wall of the castle, which were used for. The basement rooms were intended to store food in case of a siege. The platform, which was surrounded by an inner wall, was called "bailey". On the site there was a tower where the feudal lord lived. Castles could be supplemented with extensions.

What were castles made of?

The material from which the castles were made depended on the geology of the area. The first castles were built of wood, but later stone became the building material. Sand, limestone, granite were used in construction.

All construction was done by hand.

The walls of castles were rarely made entirely of solid stone. Outside, the wall was lined with processed stones, and on its inside, uneven shapes and different sizes were laid out. These two layers were connected with lime mortar. The solution was prepared right on the site of the future structure, and stones were also whitened with it.

Wooden scaffolding was erected at the construction site. At the same time, horizontal beams were stuck into holes made in the walls. Boards were laid on top of them. On the walls of the castles of the Middle Ages, you can see square recesses. These are the marks from the scaffolding. At the end of the construction, the construction niches were filled with limestone, but over time it fell off.

The windows in the castles were narrow openings. On the tower of the castle, small openings were made so that the defenders could shoot arrows.

What did the locks cost?

If it was a royal residence, then specialists from all over were hired for the construction. So the king of medieval Wales, Edward the First built his ring castles. The masons cut the stones into blocks of the correct shape and size, using a hammer, chisel and measuring tools. This work required a high level of skill.

Stone castles were expensive. King Edward almost ruined the state treasury by spending 100,000 pounds on their construction. About 3,000 workers were involved in the construction of one castle.

The construction of castles took from three to ten years. Some of them were built in the war zone and took longer to complete. Most of the castles built by Edward the First are still standing.

We have indicated before how the churches adapted themselves to the needs of defense, and also what obstacles were created on bridges and roads against the advance of the enemy army; According to the most important monument of military architecture are city fortifications and castles.

The fortifications of the city consist of a wall and a citadel, or castle, which at the same time serves as a defense against the enemy and as a means to keep the population in obedience.

The fence of the city is reduced to curtains, towers and gates, the location of which depends on the terrain and the details of which we have already described. Let's proceed to the review of the lock device. The castle was almost always located closer to the city wall: in this way, the lord better protected himself from rebellion. Sometimes they chose a place even outside the city fortifications - such was the location of the Louvre near Paris.

Just as the fortifications of the city consist of a fence and a castle, so the castle, in turn, is divided into a fortified courtyard and the main tower (donjon), which served as the last stronghold for the defenders when the enemy had already captured the rest of the fortress.

In the beginning, living quarters played no role in defense. They were grouped at the foot of the main tower, scattered in the fence of the courtyard, like pavilions in the fence of a villa.

Choisy's opinion that at first the feudal lord's dwelling was outside the donjon tower, at its foot, is wrong. In the early Middle Ages, in particular in the 10th and 11th centuries, the donjon combined the functions of defense and housing for the feudal lord, while the donjon housed outbuildings. See Michel, Histore de l "art, vol. 1, p. 483.

Choisy refers the castle of Loches to the 11th century, while this castle has an exact date: it was built by Count Fulque Nerra in 995 and is considered the earliest surviving castle (stone) in France. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

In the castles of the 11th century, like Lanzhe, Beaugency, Loches, the entire defense force was concentrated in the main tower, not to mention some secondary structures.

Only by the XII century. extensions are combined with the main tower to form a defensive ensemble. Since then, all structures are located around the courtyard or at the entrances to the courtyard, opposing their walls to the attack. The new plan finds application for the first time in the Palestinian constructions of the crusaders; here we see a courtyard surrounded by fortified buildings with the main tower - a donjon. The same plan was used in the castles of Krak, Mergeb, Tortoz, Ajlun and others, built during the 70 years of Frankish rule in Palestine and representing the most important buildings of the military architecture of the Middle Ages.

Also in the fortresses of Syria, the Franks for the first time used the device of defensive structures, in which the main fortress wall was surrounded by a lower line of fortifications, representing the second fence.

In France, these various improvements appear only in the last years of the XII century. in the castles of Richard the Lionheart, especially in the fortress of Andeli.

At the end of the XII century. in the West, the formation of military architecture is coming to an end. Its most daring manifestations date back to the first quarter of the 13th century; these are the castles of Coucy and Chateau Thierry, erected by major vassals during the period of civil strife, in the infancy of St. Louis.

From the beginning of the XIV century, the era of disasters for France, there are very few monuments of military architecture, as well as religious architecture.

The last castles that can be compared with castles of the 12th and 13th centuries are those that protect the royal power under Charles V (Vincennes, Bastille), and those that the feudal lords oppose to it under Charles VI (Pierrefonds, Ferte Milon, Villers Coterray).

On fig. 370 and 371 are shown in general terms the castles of the two main eras of feudal claims: Cusi (Fig. 370) - the period of infancy of St. Louis, Pierrefonds (Fig. 371) - during the reign of Charles VI.

Consider the main parts of the building.

Main tower (donjon). - The main tower, which sometimes constitutes a whole castle by itself, is arranged in all its parts in such a way that it can be defended independently of the rest of the fortifications. So, in the Louvre and in Coucy, the main tower is isolated from the rest of the fortress by a moat dug in the courtyard itself; the main tower in Kusi was supplied with a special supply of provisions, had its own well, its own bakery. Communication with the castle buildings was maintained by means of removable gangways.

In the XI and XII centuries. the main tower was often located in the center of a fortified fence, on top of a hillock; in the thirteenth century she is deprived of this central position and placed closer to the wall so that she can be helped from outside.

The idea of ​​changing the position of the donjon tower in the castle of the XII and XIII centuries. due to military-defense considerations, it is not substantiated by Choisy. The central position of the donjon tower in the castle, more precisely inside the fence-wall of the castle, in the 11th-12th centuries, as well as the change in this position in the 13th century, can be explained not only by defense considerations, but also by architectural, artistic order. In such. the position of the donjon in the XI and XII centuries. one can see the presence of compositional features of the monuments of Romanesque art (architecture, painting, etc.), where we often see the coincidence of semantic and compositional centers with geometric ones. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Square towers are found in all eras, and from the XI and XII centuries. there are no others left (Loches, Falaise, Chambois, Dover, Rochester). The round tower appears in the 13th century. Since that time, round and square towers have been built on a par, with or without corner turrets.

It is believed that round donjons begin to appear only in the 13th century. and that from the 11th and 12th centuries. only square towers survived - wrong. From the 11th and 12th centuries. kept donjons both square and oblong shape - rectangular. Usually, vertically arranged flat and wide buttresses (or blades) went along the outer walls; a square turret with a staircase adjoined the walls. In the earlier towers, the stairs were attached, leading directly to the second floor, from where it was already possible to get through the internal stairs to the upper and lower floors. In case of danger, the ladders were removed.

By the XI-XII centuries. French castles include: Falaise, Arc, Beaugency, Brou, Salon, La Roche Crozet, Cross, Domfront, Montbaron, Saint Susan, Moret. The later ones (XII century) include: Att Castle in Belgium (1150) and French castles: Chambois, Chauvigny, Conflans, Saint-Emillion, Montbrun (c. 1180), Montcontour, Montelimar and others.

At the end of the XI century. there is a polygonal tower: by 1097, the hexagonal donjon of the Gizor castle (Héré department) belongs; it is possible that this tower was rebuilt. This also includes the polygonal donjon of the 12th century. v. Carentane (now in ruins), as well as a slightly newer donjon - in Chatillon. The donjon of the Saint Sauveur castle has the shape of an ellipse. Round donjon towers have castles of the 12th century. Chateaudin and Laval. By the middle of the XII century. includes the donjon of the castle in Etampes (the so-called Ginette tower), which is a group of four round, as if fused towers; The donjon of Houdan Castle, built between 1105 and 1137, is a cylinder with four round turrets adjoining it. Chateau Provins has an octagonal keep with four round turrets adjoining it. Some castles have two donjons (Nior, Blank, Verno). Of the donjons of the second half of the 12th century, which retained a rectangular shape, we note Niort, Chauvigny, Chatelier, Chateaumur. Finally, in the XII century. appear in the enclosure of the keep of the turret. See Michel, op. cit., vol. 1, p. 484; Enlart, Manuel d "archeologie francaisi, vol. II. Architecture monastique, civile, militaire et navale, 1903, p. 215 ff.; Viollet le Duc, Dictionnaire raisonne de l" architecture francaise, 1875. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The main round tower - Kusi; square shape - Vincennes and Pierrefonds. The main towers at Etampes and Andely have a scalloped shape (Fig. 361, K).

In the XIII century. the main tower serves exclusively as a shelter (Kusi), in the XIV century. it is adapted for habitation (Pierrefonds).

The evolution of the purpose of individual structures of the castle went from the combination in the donjon of the functions of housing, defense and household (more precisely, the functions of storage, storerooms) - in the period of Romanesque architecture, to the differentiation of these functions - in the Gothic era. Later, towards the end of the Gothic-beginning of the Renaissance (from the end of the 14th century), due to a shift in all areas of culture, in particular in connection with the advent of artillery, a new redistribution of functions takes place. The donjon and other fundamental buildings of the castle are given over to housing, that is, the castle begins to turn into a palace, and the defense is transferred to the approaches to the castle - walls, ditches and bastions. Finally, in the era of absolutism, the castle is completely (or with the smallest exceptions) deprived of defensive functions, ceases to be a fortress and finally turns into a palace or a manor house; along with this, the fortress gains its independence as a military-defense structure, which is part of a single system of offensive and defense of the noble and noble-bourgeois state. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Rice. 372 shows a section of the main tower at Kusi. For defense, they serve: a ring-shaped fence around the tower, encircling a wide ditch and including a gallery for counter mines, at the top - stocks of projectiles for mounted firing, laid on the upper platform. The walls are not cut through with loopholes, like the walls of ordinary towers, and the halls, located inside the floors, are barely lit; this tower is not suitable for permanent habitation, nor for defense with light weapons: it is a redoubt, where, obviously, small means of defense were neglected and everything was prepared for the last defensive effort.

Castle buildings. - The buildings located in the fence are the barracks for the garrison, a large gallery that serves as a place for court and meetings, a hall for festivities and gala dinners, a chapel and, finally, a prison.

The gallery, the "great hall", is the main room. The vaults make it ice-cold vaults, the thrust of which throughout is perceived only by vertical walls, would be fragile when digging with glanders; the large hall is covered only with a wooden roof (Kushi, Pierrefonds).

When the hall is two-story, then for the same reasons that we spoke about the towers, vaults are allowed only on the lower floor.

To make the expansion of the vaults the least dangerous, it is reduced by the introduction of intermediate abutments; these abutments never have supporting elements in the form of buttresses protruding outward, which could facilitate access for the enemy. If there are buttresses, they are placed from the side of the courtyard. From the outside, a blank wall serves as a support.

The chapel is located in the courtyard of the castle: this location reduces the inconvenience resulting from its vaults. In the castle of Coucy and in the palace in the ancient part of Paris (Palais de la Cite), the chapels were two-story, with one floor being on the same level as the living quarters.

Prisons are usually placed in cellars; in most cases, these are dark and unhealthy rooms.

With regard to the halls and wells for torture, only in a few cases can this purpose be established with accuracy: usually, torture rooms are mixed with kitchen buildings, and simple cesspools are mistaken for rooms for imprisoned.

In residential premises, as well as in fortifications, the architect strove primarily for the independence of individual parts: as far as possible, each room has a separate staircase, which completely isolates it. This independence, combined with a certain complexity of the plan, which is easy to confuse, served as a guarantee against plots and surprise attacks; all complex transitions were made intentionally.

Rice. 370.

Rice. 371.

Rice. 372.

The convenience of housing has long been sacrificed for defense. The living quarters were cramped, had no external windows, except for small openings that looked out into the courtyard, gloomy from the high walls.

Finally, in the last years of the XIV century. the need for comfort takes precedence over the precautions of defense: the lord’s dwelling begins to be illuminated from the outside.

The lighting of the lord's dwelling (castle) with windows pierced in the outer fortress wall is explained not only by the fact that the feudal lords' need for comfort received in the 14th century. superiority over the precautions of defense, and a change in the defense system - when earthen fortifications begin to be erected in front of the castle, etc., to which the main functions of defense are transferred when artillery is put into action. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

In the castle of Coucy, both large halls were redone under Louis d'Orleans: windows were made in them to the outside. The same lord who built the castle of Pierrefonds gave the living rooms located in the main tower a convenient location.

The Louvre, built under Charles V by the architect Raymond du Temple, was one of the first castles - with a library and a monumental staircase.

The plan of the Château de Vincennes seems to be mainly for defensive purposes. Castles Chateaudun, Montargis - at the same time I am comfortable dwellings and fortresses. Such are the palace in the ancient part of Paris, built under Philip the Handsome, the palaces-residences of the Dukes of Burgundy in Dijon and Paris, and the palace of the Comtes de Poitiers.

Krak des Chevaliers Castle (French Crac des Chevaliers - "Castle of the Knights"). Syria

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEFENSE SYSTEM IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Let us return to the review of fortresses in the proper sense of the word. We have already considered them from the point of view of the defense system; let us try to establish precisely the origin of this system and the changes that it undergoes as we approach the new time, when firearms also begin to take part in the attack.

Origin. - The most ancient fortresses, which sharply differ in their appearance from the monuments of the Byzantine Empire, are located in Normandy or in areas subject to its influence: Falaise, Le Pen, Donfront, Loches, Chauvigny, Dover, Rochester, Newcastle.

There are reports of the existence of wooden fortifications-castles in the territory of France and Germany in the 9th and 10th centuries, i.e., in the so-called Carolingian time, but we have no reason to consider them a product of the influence of Byzantium and talk about their similarity with the corresponding structures of Byzantium IX-X centuries, especially all. Choisy wants to establish three stages in the development of Western European fortifications, taking as a basis a very shaky and methodologically incorrect criterion for borrowing.

Linking the appearance of early castles in Western Europe with the influence of Byzantine culture, Choisy reflects the theory that existed in Western European science, which recognized the influence of Byzantine culture and art as the main or essential factor in the formation of Romanesque art. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

These castles are from the 11th and 12th centuries. consist of only one square tower (donjon), surrounded by walls. It is the embodiment in durable materials of those palisadeed blockhouses which Norman pirates erected as shelters and strongholds on the coasts where they made their pirate raids.

Although the Norman fortresses impress with their size, at the same time they testify that the military defense art was at that time in its infancy. Only towards the end of the XII century. in the fortresses built by Richard the Lionheart, skilful designs first appear.

Andely Castle creates an era in Western military architecture. It implements a skillfully designed plan of the tower without "dead corners"; in it we find the earliest application of the machicolation idea, which took another two centuries or so to become widespread.

The time of the construction of Andeli Castle coincides with the return of Western European chivalry from the Third Crusade, that is, with the era of the formation of defensive art in Syria.

Krak and Margat even earlier than Andeli Castle had fences with double lines of fortifications, methodically coordinated, walls with machicolations and an impeccable system of flank cover. The fence of the castle of the Counts of Ghent, built in 1180, as Dieulafoy noted, is reminiscent of Iranian art with its architectural details. Dieulafoy sees in these rapprochements proof of Eastern influences; and everything seems to confirm this continuity.

Choisy is a supporter of the theory of borrowings and influences, which, in the field of medieval culture and art, stood, in the person of its largest representatives, on orientalist positions: these researchers were looking for the sources of the emergence and development of medieval culture in the East. From the point of view of the conclusions of this theory, they are trying to resolve the issue of the origin and formation of the medieval castles of Dieulafoy, and after it Choisy. Both the first and the second completely bypass the theory of the origin of the medieval castle from late Roman turres or burgi, i.e. towers (see note 1), which had various shapes: square, round, elliptical, octagonal and complex - semicircular on the outside, but tetrahedral on the inside . Some of these towers, or rather their foundations, were used in the construction of feudal castles, some were turned into church towers, some were preserved in ruins (see Otte, Geischen. Baukunst in Deutschland, Leipzig 1874, p. 16).

The theory of the origin of the medieval castle from burgi, operating on a number of valuable facts and interesting considerations, nevertheless suffers from schematism and does not take into account the cultural interactions with which the development of a medieval castle is associated. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

We have already given a description of a fortified front with two lines of defense. It applies equally to the French fortifications of Andeli and Karkassoya, to the Syrian castles of Krak and Tortosa, and to the Byzantine fortifications of Constantinople, or, going back to antiquity, to the fortified places of Iran and Chaldea. All data suggests that. these building techniques - as ancient as Asiatic civilization itself - were carried over by the crusaders.

local options. - However, different countries, inspired by the traditional principles of the East, have managed to give military architecture their own special character: just as cult art has its schools and successively changing hearths, fortress architecture also has its centers.

In the 11th century, in the era of William the Conqueror, fortification was awakening, apparently, in Normandy. From there it is transferred to Touraine, Poitou and England.

In the 12th century, when the "holy land" was conquered by the crusaders, Palestine was the classical country of fortification. Here, in the most colossal fortresses that the Middle Ages left us, the system, the principles of which were brought to France by Richard the Lionheart, apparently took shape.

Then, during the 13th century, the center moved to Ile de France, from where cult art was already spreading. Here the type of medieval castle finally takes shape, and here we find its fullest application; it was in central France that it was built in the 13th century. Kusi castle, at the end of the 14th century - Pierrefonds and Ferte Milon. The fortifications of Carcassonne and Aigues Mortes, built under the administration of the royal seneschals, belong to the same school.

Choisy establishes three stages, three stages in the development of a medieval castle: the first, as indicated, is the period of influence of Byzantium, the second is the period of spread throughout Europe of the type of castle that developed in Normandy, and finally, the third is the time of the influence of the fortifications of Syria and Palestine, even Iran; local options include the castles of Ile de France (XIII century), the type of which spreads throughout France in the XIII-XIV centuries. Thus, following Choisy, here we can talk about the fourth stage - the period of influence of Ile de France. On the continuity between the indicated structures of the XII-XIII centuries. and buildings of the 11th century. and earlier Choisy is silent, as this would contradict the theory he adopted.

The question of the origin of a medieval castle is one of the particulars of the problem of the formation of medieval architecture and should be resolved in the same plane as questions relating to the formation of other architectural types, in particular religious buildings - Western European basilicas. Mastering the ancient heritage and the heritage of various "new" peoples (in particular, the Normans) who conquered Europe, the new class - the feudal lords - adapted the remaining burgi to the needs of housing and to the tasks of defense and attack in a feudal war. Among the typological diversity of burgi or turres, the square tower begins to displace other forms, but at the same time, it itself changes its shape: the type of rectangular tower with its own characteristics becomes predominant. In this essentially new type, medieval castles began to be built in the 9th-10th centuries; at first these were predominantly wooden structures, then stone ones, which, during their development, could not but master a number of features of similar structures in other countries (cf. the change of the T-shaped basilica, the so-called early Christian, into a cruciform basilica of the Romanesque style). The successive connection (but not borrowing) of the medieval castle and the late Roman castella and burg is emphasized in the names of the castle: in Germany "Burg", in England - "Castle". approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Fortifications closest to the French type are found in the German countries: in Landeck, Trifels and Nuremberg. Flanking covers are more rare here; with this exception, the general system remains the same.

In England, the castle at first adhered to the form of a tower (donjon) of a Norman fortress. But, as the feudal regime gives way to the authority of the central government, the castle turns into a villa, the buildings of which are located in a barely fenced area and which, since the XIV century. retains only the decorative side of the defense structures.

In Italy, the fortress has a simpler appearance: the towers are usually square or octagonal, the plans are correct, as in the castle of Frederick III, known as Castel del Monte; in the latter, all buildings are inscribed in an octagonal plan, with towers at eight corners.

The Neapolitan castle was a square fort with adjoining towers. In Milan, where the dukes were related to the great builder of fortresses, Louis of Orleans, there was a castle, the plan of which, on the whole, was close to the French type. In general, Italy from the 15th century. is an agglomeration of small republics. The monuments of its military architecture are predominantly city walls and fortified municipal town halls, rather than castles.

The Milan castle, whose plan is close to a square (rectangular), is equipped with towers both in the corners and in terms of flank defense. When establishing the distance between the towers and in other features, the instructions of Vitruvius were apparently used, but taking into account the new conditions of defense in connection with the introduction of firearms. Vitruvius in "De Architectura", book 1, chapter V. says:

"2. Further, the towers must be taken out of the outer part of the wall, so that during the attack of the enemies it was possible to hit their sides facing the towers with projectiles from the right and left. why encircle it along the edge of the steep in such a way that the roads to the gates do not lead directly, but on the left. For if this is done, the attackers will find themselves facing the wall with their right tank, an uncovered shield. The outline of the city should not be rectangular and not with protruding corners, but rounded so that the enemy can be observed from several places at once.Cities with protruding corners are difficult to defend, since the corners serve more as a cover for enemies than for citizens.

3. The thickness of the walls, in my opinion, should be made such that two armed men walking along them towards each other could disperse without hindrance. Then, through the entire thickness of the walls, beams of burnt olive wood should be laid as often as possible, so that the wall, connected on both sides by these beams, like staples, forever retains its strength: for such a forest can not be damaged by either rot, or bad weather, or time, but it is both buried in the ground and immersed in water, it is preserved without any damage and remains always fit. So, this applies not only to city walls, but also to retaining structures, and all those walls of them, which should be built in the thickness of city walls, being fastened in this way, will not soon be destroyed.

4. The distances between the towers should be made in such a way that they are separated from one another no further than the flight of an arrow, in order to be able to repulse an enemy attack on any of them with scorpions and other projectile weapons, shooting from the towers both from the right and from left side. And the wall adjoining the inner parts of the towers must be divided by intervals equal to the width of the towers, and the transitions in the inner parts of the towers should be made of stone blocks and without iron fasteners. For if the enemy occupies any part of the wall, then the besieged will break such a platform and, if they manage quickly, will not allow the enemy to penetrate the remaining parts of the towers and the wall without the risk of headlong flying down.

5. Towers should be made round or polygonal, because square ones are more likely to be destroyed by siege weapons, because the blows of rams break off their corners, while when rounded, they, as if driving wedges to the center, cannot cause damage. At the same time, the fortifications of the wall and towers turn out to be the most reliable in connections with earthen ramparts, since neither rams, nor tunnels, nor other military weapons are able to damage them.

For an illustration of the Milan Castle, see the book by S.P. Bartenev, Moscow Kremlin, 1912, v. 1, pp. 35 and 36. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The Italian school seems to have had a fairly strong influence on southern France: the connection between the two countries was established by the Angevin dynasty. The castle of King Rene at Tarascon was built according to the same plan as the Neapolitan castle; the papal palace at Avignon, with its large square towers, is in many ways reminiscent of an Italian fortress.

Influence of firearms. - The defense system we have described, designed almost exclusively for assault, for undermining with grapples or for a frontal attack with ladders, seemed to have to be abandoned. From the moment when firearms made it possible to attack from a distance. But this did not happen. The cannon appears on the battlefields from 1346; but for a whole century the defense system did not take this new force into account, which may be explained by the slow development of siege artillery. The most skilful application of the medieval defense system belongs precisely to this transitional age; the great era of defensive art based on battlements coincides with the period of internal unrest in the reign of Charles VI. Pierrefond dates back to around 1400.

In the castle of Pierrefonds, as can be seen in the illustration in the book of Choisy, there are not only corner towers, but there are also towers in the walls, in the middle of each side of the fortress. These intermediate towers are essential for flank defense and give some reason to believe that Vitruvius' instructions were taken into account not only in Italy, but also in Northern Europe. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The only innovation brought about by the new means of attack was the small earth mounds that covered the guns and were placed in front of the walls with towers and machicules.

At first glance, one method of defense seems to exclude the other, but the engineers of the 15th century. judged differently.

In those days, the cannon was still too imperfect a weapon to destroy walls from afar, despite the enormous size of the shells it threw out. To make a breach, separate blows are not enough, it is necessary to concentrate accurate shooting on a certain point; but the sight was not accurate, and the shooting only caused a concussion, which could destroy the parapet, but not make a breach. They fired only "bombs", and their impact on the wall was of little danger. The high walls were able to withstand the action of this rudimentary artillery for a long time. The means used at Pierrefonds were sufficient: batteries installed in front of the walls kept the attacker at a distance. If the enemy crossed the line of fire of the forward batteries, then he had to put his artillery under fire from the fortress or to dig; in the first case, the advantage of the defenders was given by mounted shooting from the crest of the fortress walls, in the other, the Gothic fortification completely retained its significance.

The resulting combination of the two systems continues until such time as the firearms acquire sufficient aiming fidelity to make holes at a distance.

Among the first fortresses with platforms or casemates for firing guns, it is necessary to name: in France - Langres; in Germany, Lübeck and Nuremberg; in Switzerland, Basel; in Italy, the Milanese castle, in which the bastions with casemates covered the curtains, still equipped with massive towers with machicolations.

In the XVI century. earthen fortifications are considered almost the only serious defense; they no longer count on the towers, and the further they go, the more and more wide windows are cut through in their walls. However, they continue to be preserved - especially in those countries where the feudal system left its deep imprint - the external forms of the defense system, which, in essence, have already been abandoned: the castle of Amboise with massive towers was built under Charles VII, Chaumont - under Louis XII, Chambord - under Francis I.

The traditional parts of the castle are adapted, as far as possible, for another purpose: in the Chaumont castle, inside the round towers, there are more or less well-fitted square rooms; in the castle of Chambord, the towers serve as offices or stairwells; machicules turned into a deaf arcature. These are completely free decorative options based on the motifs of ancient fortress architecture.

A new society has been created, the needs of which are no longer satisfied by medieval art - it needs a new architecture. The general foundations of this new architecture will be created in accordance with the new requirements, and the forms will be borrowed from Italy. It will be the Renaissance.

August Choisy. History of architecture. August Choisy. Histoire De L "Architecture

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Still, medieval architects were geniuses - they built castles, luxurious buildings that were also extremely practical. Castles, unlike modern mansions, not only demonstrated the wealth of their owners, but also served as powerful fortresses that could hold the defense for several years, and at the same time, life in them did not stop.

Even the fact that many castles, having survived wars, natural disasters and the carelessness of the owners, are still intact, suggests that they have not yet come up with a more reliable home. And they are insanely beautiful and seem to have appeared in our world from the pages of fairy tales and legends. Their high spiers are reminiscent of the times when beauties fought for the hearts, and the air was saturated with chivalry and courage.

So that you are imbued with a romantic mood, website collected in this material 20 of the most famous castles that are still on Earth. They will certainly want to visit and, perhaps, stay to live.

Reichsburg Castle, Germany

The thousand-year-old castle was originally the residence of the King of Germany, Conrad III, and then of the King of France, Louis XIV. The fortress was burned down by the French in 1689 and would have sunk into oblivion, but a German businessman purchased the remains in 1868 and spent most of his wealth rebuilding the castle.

Mont Saint Michel, France

The impregnable castle of Mont Saint-Michel, surrounded on all sides by the sea, is one of the most popular attractions in France after Paris. Built in 709, it still looks stunning.

Hochosterwitz Castle, Austria

The medieval castle Hochosterwitz was built in the distant 9th century. Its towers are still vigilantly watching the surrounding area, proudly rising above it at a height of 160 m. And in sunny weather, they can be admired even at a distance of 30 km.

Bled Castle, Slovenia

The castle is located on a hundred-meter cliff, menacingly hanging over Lake Bled. In addition to the magnificent view from the windows of the castle, this place has a rich history - the residence of the Serbian queen of the dynasty, and later Marshal Josip Broz Tito, was located here.

Hohenzollern Castle, Germany

Barciense Castle, Spain

Barciense Castle in the Spanish province of Toledo was built in the 15th century by a local count. For 100 years, the castle served as a powerful artillery fortress, and today these empty walls attract only photographers and tourists.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

The romantic castle of the Bavarian king Ludwig II was built in the middle of the 19th century and at that time its architecture was considered very extravagant. Be that as it may, it was its walls that inspired the creators of the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland.

Methoni Castle, Greece

Since the 14th century, the Venetian castle-fortress of Methoni has been the center of battles and the last outpost of Europeans in these parts in battles against the Turks, who dreamed of capturing the Peloponnese. Today, only ruins remain of the fortress.

Hohenschwangau Castle, Germany

Chillon Castle, Switzerland

This medieval bastille resembles a warship from a bird's eye view. The rich history and characteristic appearance of the castle served as inspiration for many famous writers. In the 16th century, the castle was used as a state prison, as George Byron described in his poem "The Prisoner of Chillon".

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

The castle, located on a rocky island in the Loch Duich fjord, is one of the most romantic castles in Scotland, famous for its heather honey and legends. Many films were filmed here, but the most important thing is that the castle is open to visitors and everyone can touch the stones of its history.

Bodiam Castle, England

Since its founding in the 14th century, Bodiam Castle has gone through many owners, each of whom liked to fight. Therefore, when Lord Curzon acquired it in 1917, only ruins remained of the castle. Fortunately, its walls were quickly restored, and now the castle stands as good as new.

Guaita Castle, San Marino

The castle has been located on the top of the impregnable Monte Titano mountain since the 11th century and, together with two other towers, protects the oldest state in the world, San Marino.

Swallow's Nest, Crimea

Initially, on the rock of Cape Ai-Todor there was a small wooden house. And the Swallow's Nest got its current look thanks to the oil industrialist Baron Steingel, who loved to relax in the Crimea. He decided to build a romantic castle that resembles medieval buildings on the banks of the Rhine River.

Castle Stalker, Scotland

Castle Stalker, which means "Falconer", was built in 1320 and belonged to the MacDougal clan. Since that time, its walls have experienced a huge number of strife and wars, which affected the condition of the castle. In 1965, Colonel D. R. Stewart of Allward became the owner of the castle, who personally restored the structure with his wife, family members and friends.

• Translation

The Norman Conquest of England led to a boom in castle building, but the process of building a fortress from scratch is far from easy.

Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, founded 1385

1) Carefully choose a place to build

Castles were usually built on natural elevations, and were usually equipped with a link to the external environment, such as a ford, bridge or passage.

Historians have rarely been able to find evidence of contemporaries regarding the choice of a site for the construction of the castle, but they still exist. On September 30, 1223, 15-year-old King Henry III arrived in Montgomery with his army. The king, who had successfully led a military campaign against the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, was going to build a new castle in this area to ensure security on the border of his possessions. The English carpenters had been given the task of preparing the timber a month earlier, but the king's advisers had only just now determined the site for the construction of the castle.



Montgomery Castle, when it began to be built in 1223, was located on a hill

After a careful survey of the area, they chose a point on the very edge of the ledge above the valley of the River Severn. According to the chronicler Roger of Wendover, this position "looked unassailable to anyone". He also noted that the castle was created "for the security of the region from the frequent attacks of the Welsh."

Advice: identify places where the topography rises above traffic routes: these are natural places for castles. Keep in mind that the design of the castle is determined by the place of construction. For example, a castle on a ledge of exposed rocks will have a dry moat.

2) Develop a workable plan

Experienced soldiers may have their own ideas about the design of the castle, in terms of the shape of its buildings and their location. But it is unlikely that they will have the knowledge of the level of specialists in design and construction.

To implement the idea, a master bricklayer was required - an experienced builder, whose hallmark was the ability to draw a plan. With a grasp of practical geometry, he used simple tools such as straightedge, square, and compasses to create architectural plans. Master masons submitted a drawing with a building plan for approval, and during construction supervised its construction.

When Edward II ordered the construction of a tower at Knarsborough, he personally approved the plans and demanded construction reports.

When Edward II in 1307 began building a huge residential tower at Naresborough Castle in Yorkshire for his favorite Piers Gaveston, he not only personally approved the plans drawn up by the London master mason Hugh of Titchmarsh - probably made in the form of a drawing - but also demanded regular reports on the construction . From the middle of the 16th century, a new group of professionals called engineers increasingly began to take on a role in planning and building fortifications. They had technical knowledge of the use and power of cannons, both for defense and for attacking castles.

Advice: Plan slits to provide a wide angle of attack. Shape them according to the weapon you are using: longbow archers need large slopes, crossbowmen need smaller ones.

3) Hire a large group of experienced workers

It took a lot of effort to build the castle. We do not have documentary evidence of the construction of the first castles in England since 1066, but from the scale of many castles of that period it becomes clear why some chronicles claim that the English were under the yoke of building castles for their Norman conquerors. But from the later time of the Middle Ages, some estimates with detailed information have come down to us.

During the invasion of Wales in 1277, King Edward I began building a castle in Flint, northeast Wales. It was erected quickly, thanks to the rich resources of the crown. A month after the start of work, in August, 2300 people were involved in the construction, including 1270 diggers, 320 lumberjacks, 330 carpenters, 200 masons, 12 blacksmiths and 10 charcoal burners. All of them were driven from the surrounding lands under an armed escort who watched so that they did not desert from the construction.

From time to time, foreign specialists could be involved in the construction. For example, millions of bricks for the rebuilding of Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire in the 1440s were supplied by a certain Baldwin "Docheman", or Dutchman, that is, "Dutchman" - obviously a foreigner.

Advice: Depending on the size of the workforce and the distance they had to travel, it may be necessary to provide accommodation for them at the construction site.

4) Ensure the safety of the construction site

To build a castle in enemy territory, you need to protect the construction site from attacks. For example, you can enclose the construction site with wooden fortifications or a low stone wall. Such medieval defense systems sometimes remained after the construction of the building as an additional wall - as, for example, in the castle of Beaumaris, the construction of which was begun in 1295.

Beaumaris (Wall. Biwmares) is a city on the island of Anglesey, Wales.

Also important is secure communication with the outside world for the delivery of building materials and provisions. In 1277, Edward I dug a canal to the river Kluid directly from the sea and to the location of his new castle in Rydlane. The outer wall, built to protect the construction site, extended to the piers on the banks of the river.

Rudlan Castle

Security problems can also arise with a radical restructuring of an existing castle. When Henry II rebuilt Dover Castle in the 1180s, all work was carefully planned so that the fortifications provided protection for the duration of the renovation. According to surviving decrees, work on the inner wall of the castle began only when the tower was already sufficiently repaired so that guards could be on duty in it.

Advice: building materials for the construction of the castle are large and voluminous. If possible, it's best to transport them by water, even if that means building a dock or canal.

5) Prepare the landscape

It is often forgotten that the fortifications of the castle were built not only through architectural techniques, but also through landscape design. Enormous resources were allocated for the movement of land. The scale of land works of the Normans can be recognized as outstanding. For example, according to some estimates, the embankment erected in 1100 around Pleshy Castle in Essex required 24,000 man-days.

Some aspects of landscaping required serious skills, especially the creation of water ditches. When Edward I rebuilt the Tower of London in the 1270s, he hired a foreign specialist, Walter of Flanders, to create a huge tidal moat. Digging the ditch under his direction cost £4,000, a staggering amount, almost a quarter of the cost of the entire project.

An 18th-century engraving of a 1597 plan for the Tower of London shows how much land had to be moved to build moats and ramparts.

With the rise of cannons in the art of siege, the earth began to play an even more important role as an absorber of cannon shots. Interestingly, experience in moving large amounts of land has led some of the fortification engineers to find work as garden designers.

Advice: Reduce time and cost by digging out masonry for castle walls from the moats around it.

6) Lay the Foundation

Using ropes of the required length and pegs, it was possible to mark the foundation of the building on the ground in full size. After the foundation ditches were dug, work began on the masonry. To save money, the responsibility for construction was assigned to the senior mason instead of the master mason. Masonry in the Middle Ages was usually measured in rods, one English rod = 5.03 m. At Warkworth in Northumberland, one of the complex towers stands on a lattice of rods, possibly for the purpose of calculating construction costs.

Warkworth Castle

Often the construction of medieval castles was accompanied by detailed documentation. In 1441-42 the tower of Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire was demolished and a plan for its successor was drawn up on the ground. But the Prince of Stafford, for some reason, was not pleased. The king's master stonemason, Robert of Westerley, was sent to Tutbury, where he held a conference with two senior masons to design a new tower at the new site. Westerley then left, and over the next eight years a small group of workers, including four junior masons, built the new tower.

Senior masons could be called in to confirm the quality of work, as was the case at Cooling Castle in Kent, when the royal stonemason Heinrich Javel assessed work carried out from 1381 to 1384. He criticized the deviations from the original plan and rounded the estimate down.

Advice: Don't let the master mason fool you. Make him make a plan so that it is easy to make an estimate for it.

7) Fortify your castle

Until the 12th century, the fortifications of most castles consisted of earth and logs. And although stone buildings were subsequently given preference, wood remained a very important material in medieval wars and fortifications.

Stone castles prepared for attacks by adding special battle galleries along the walls, as well as shutters that could close the gaps between battlements to protect the defenders of the castle. All this was made of wood. Heavy weapons used to defend the castle, catapults and heavy crossbows, springalds, were also built of wood. Artillery was usually designed by a highly paid professional carpenter, sometimes with the title of engineer, from the Latin "ingeniator".

Storming of the castle, drawing of the 15th century

Such experts were not cheap, but could eventually be worth their weight in gold. This, for example, happened in 1266, when Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire resisted Henry III for almost six months with catapults and water defenses.

There are records of camp castles made entirely of wood - they could be transported with you and erected as needed. One such was built for the French invasion of England in 1386, but the Calais garrison captured it along with the ship. It was described as consisting of a wall of logs 20 feet high and 3,000 paces long. There was a 30-foot tower every 12 paces, capable of housing up to 10 soldiers, and the castle also had an unspecified defense for archers.

Advice: Oak wood becomes stronger over the years, and it is easiest to work with it when it is green. The top branches of trees are easy to transport and shape.

8) Provide water and sanitation

The most important aspect for the castle was efficient access to water. These could be wells that supply water to certain buildings, such as a kitchen or a stable. Without a detailed acquaintance with the medieval well shafts, it is difficult to do justice to them. For example, in Beeston Castle in Cheshire there is a well 100 m deep, the upper 60 m of which are lined with hewn stone.

There is some evidence of elaborate plumbing that brought water to the apartments. The tower of Dover Castle has a system of lead pipes that delivers water throughout the rooms. She was fed from a well with a winch, and possibly from a rainwater harvesting system.

Efficient disposal of human waste was another challenge for lock designers. The latrines were assembled in one place in the buildings so that their shafts were emptied in one place. They were located in short corridors that trap unpleasant odors, and were often equipped with wooden seats and removable covers.

Thought Room at Chipchase Castle

Today it is widely believed that latrines used to be called "cloakrooms". In fact, the lexicon for toilets was extensive and colorful. They were called gongs or gangs (from the Anglo-Saxon word for "a place to go"), nooks and jakes (the French version of "john").

Advice: Ask a master mason to plan comfortable and private latrines outside the bedroom, following the example of Henry II and Dover Castle.

9) Decorate as needed

During the war, the castle must be defended - but it also serves as a luxurious home. The noble gentlemen of the Middle Ages expected their dwelling to be both comfortable and richly furnished. In the Middle Ages, these citizens traveled with servants, things and furniture from one residence to another. But home interiors often had fixed decorative features, such as stained-glass windows.

The tastes of Henry III in the setting are recorded very carefully, with interesting and attractive details. In 1235-36, for example, he ordered that his hall at Winchester Castle be decorated with images of a map of the world and a wheel of fortune. Since then, these decorations have not survived, but the well-known round table of King Arthur, possibly created between 1250 and 1280, remains in the interior.

Winchester Castle with King Arthur's Round Table hanging on the wall

The large area of ​​the castles played an important role in the luxurious life. Parks were created for hunting, a jealously guarded privilege of aristocrats; gardens were also in demand. The extant description of the construction of the castle of Kirby Maxloe in Leicestershire says that its owner, Lord Hastings, began laying out gardens at the very beginning of the construction of the castle in 1480.

In the Middle Ages, rooms with beautiful views were also loved. One of the thirteenth-century groups of rooms at the castles of Leeds in Kent, Corfe in Dorset and Chepstow in Monmouthshire has been named

For some reason, at the mention of the word "fairy tale", medieval castles and fortresses first of all come to mind. Maybe because they were built in those ancient times, when wizards freely roamed the fields and meadows, and fire-breathing dragons flew over the mountain peaks.

Be that as it may, even now, looking at the castles and fortresses that have been preserved in some places, one involuntarily imagines princesses sleeping in them and evil fairies conjuring over magic potions. Let's look at the once luxurious housing of the powers that be.

(German: Schloß Neuschwanstein, literally “New Swan Stone”) is located in Germany, near the town of Füssen (German: Fussen). The castle was founded in 1869 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The construction was completed in 1891, 5 years after the unexpected death of the king. The castle is magnificent and attracts curious tourists from all over the world with its beauty of architectural forms.

This is the "dream palace" of the young king, who was never able to see her incarnation in her full glory. Ludwig II of Bavaria, founder of the castle, ascended the throne too young. And being a dreamy nature, imagining himself as the fairy-tale character Lohengrin, he decided to build his own castle in order to hide in it from the harsh reality of the defeat of Bavaria in alliance with Austria in 1866 in the war with Prussia.

Away from state concerns, the young king demanded too much from the army of architects, artists and artisans. Sometimes he set completely unrealistic deadlines, the observance of which required round-the-clock work of masons and carpenters. During the construction, Ludwig II went deeper and deeper into his fictional world, for which he was later recognized as crazy. The architectural design of the castle was constantly changing. So the rooms for guests were excluded and a small grotto was added. The small audience hall was transformed into the majestic Throne Room.

A century and a half ago, Ludwig II of Bavaria tried to hide from people behind the walls of a medieval castle - today they come by the millions to admire his fabulous refuge.

(German: Burg Hohenzollern) - an old castle-fortress in Baden-Württemberg, 50 km south of Stuttgart. The castle was built at an altitude of 855 m above sea level on the top of Mount Hohenzollern. Only the third castle has survived to this day. The medieval castle fortress was first built in the 11th century and completely destroyed after the capture, at the end of a grueling siege by the troops of the cities of Swabia in 1423.

A new fortress was built on its ruins in 1454-1461, which served as a refuge for the House of Hohenzollern throughout the Thirty Years' War. Due to the complete loss of the fortress of strategic importance, by the end of the 18th century, the castle was noticeably dilapidated, and some parts of the building were finally dismantled.

The modern version of the castle was erected in 1850-1867 on the personal instructions of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, who decided to completely restore the family castle of the Prussian royal house. The construction of the castle was led by the famous Berlin architect Friedrich August Stüler. He managed to combine new, large-scale castle buildings in the neo-Gothic style and the few surviving buildings of the former ruined castles.

(Karlštejn), built by decree of the Czech king and emperor Charles IV (named after him) on a high limestone cliff above the Berounka River, as a summer residence and a place of storage of sacred relics of the royal family. The first stone in the foundation of Karlštejn Castle was laid by Archbishop Arnošt, close to the Emperor, in 1348, and in 1357 the construction of the castle was completed. Two years before the end of construction, Charles IV settled in the castle.

The stepped architecture of Karlštejn Castle, which ends with a tower with the Grand Cross Chapel, is quite common in the Czech Republic. The ensemble includes the castle itself, the Church of the Virgin Mary, the Catherine Chapel, the Big Tower, the Mariana and Well Towers.

The majestic Student Tower and the imperial palace, which housed the king's quarters, take tourists back to the Middle Ages, when a powerful monarch ruled the Czech Republic.

Royal palace and fortress in the Spanish city of Segovia, in the province of Castile and Leon. The fortress is built on a high rock, above the confluence of the Eresma and Clamores rivers. Such a good location made it almost impregnable. Now it is one of the most recognizable and beautiful palaces in Spain. Originally built as a fortress, the Alcazar was once a royal palace, a prison, and an artillery academy.

The Alcazar, which was a small wooden fortress in the 12th century, was later rebuilt into a stone castle and became the most impregnable defensive structure. This palace became famous for great historically significant events: the coronation of Isabella the Catholic, her first marriage to King Ferdinand of Aragon, the wedding of Anna of Austria with Philip II.

(Castelul Peleş) was built by King Carol I of Romania near the city of Sinai in the Romanian Carpathians. The king was so fascinated by the local beauty that he bought up the surrounding land and built a castle for hunting and summer recreation. The name of the castle was given by a small mountain river flowing nearby.

In 1873, the construction of a grandiose building began, under the leadership of the architect Johann Schulz. Along with the castle, other buildings necessary for a comfortable life were built: royal stables, guard houses, a hunting house and a power station.

Thanks to the power plant, Peles became the first electrified castle in the world. The castle officially opened in 1883. At the same time, central heating and an elevator were installed in it. The construction was completed in 1914.

It is a symbol of the small city-state of San Marino on the territory of modern Italy. The beginning of the construction of the fortress is considered to be the 10th century AD. Guaita is the first of three San Marino fortresses built on the peaks of Mount Titano.

The construction consists of two rings of fortifications, the inner one has retained all the signs of the forts of the feudal era. The main entrance gate was located at a height of several meters, and it was possible to pass through it only by a drawbridge, now destroyed. The fortress was restored many times in the 15th-17th centuries.

Well, so we looked at some medieval castles and fortresses in Europe, of course, not all of them. Next time we will admire the fortresses on the tops of impregnable rocks. There are so many exciting discoveries ahead!