Schnitzturm

Schnitzturm
	Schnitzturm
	Stansstad, Nidwalden in Switzerland
	Schnitzturm Schnitzturm
Coordinates	46°58′51″N8°20′16″E / 46.980929°N 8.337663°E Coordinates: 46°58′51″N8°20′16″E / 46.980929°N 8.337663°E
Site history
Built	Early 14th century

Last updated February 21, 2019

The Schnitzturm is a stone tower in the municipality of Stansstad in the canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland. It is part of the Teller / Palisaden medieval fortifications which are a Swiss heritage site of national significance.^[1]

Municipalities are the lowest level of administrative division in Switzerland. Each municipality is part of one of the Swiss cantons, which form the Swiss Confederation. In most cantons municipalities are also part of districts or other sub-cantonal administrative divisions.

Stansstad is a municipality in the canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.

The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte. Two further major steps in the development of the Swiss cantonal system are referred to by the terms Acht Orte and Dreizehn Orte ; they were important intermediate periods of the Ancient Swiss Confederacy.

History

The first fortification along the lake shore was the Teller, a wooden block building and wall built out in Lake Lucerne and dendrochronologically dated to 1206/07. In the late 13th or early 14th centuries the tower was built on an artificial spit which projected out into the lake as part of the defenses around Stansstad. In addition to the Schnitzturm, a defensive wall or palisade consisting of about 8,000 wooden pillars driven into the lake at a depth of about 2 m (6.6 ft). The palisade had a channel in it, known as the Grendel, to allow boats to enter the harbor.^[2] Exactly when the tower was first built is unknown, but it appears in a 1428 chronicle of the 1315 Battle of Morgarten. According to the chronicle, during an attack of Habsburg troops from Lucerne, an enemy ship was destroyed by a mill stone launched from the tower.^[3] Despite the efforts of the defenders, the attackers broke through and Stansstad was plundered. After the 1315 attack, the defenses were strengthened with earthen and stone walls and ditches along the shore.^[4]

Lake Lucerne lake at Lucerne, Switzerland

Lake Lucerne is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country.

Dendrochronology is the scientific method of dating tree rings to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmospheric conditions during different periods in history from wood.

A spit or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift by longshore currents. The drift occurs due to waves meeting the beach at an oblique angle, moving sediment down the beach in a zigzag pattern. This is complemented by longshore currents, which further transport sediment through the water alongside the beach. These currents are caused by the same waves that cause the drift.

The Schnitzturm and other defenses lost their importance after 1332 when Lucerne joined the Old Swiss Confederacy. The palisade was not repaired as the posts rotted away. After the division of Unterwalden into Obwalden and Nidwalden in the 1350s, both successor half-cantons were responsible for upkeep of the defenses at Stansstad. This arraignment proved to be problematic and by 1587 the tower had fallen into disrepair. In that year, a special Landsgemeinde decided to repair the tower. The project took about two years and completely renovated the tower. The round arch windows were added as was the current entrance on the south side at ground level. The original entrance on the second floor corner was closed off. A flat hipped roof was built on top of the tower.^[4]

Unterwalden is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or Talschaften, now two separate Swiss cantons, Obwalden and Nidwalden.

The Landsgemeinde or "cantonal assembly" is a public, non-secret ballot voting system operating by majority rule, which constitutes one of the oldest forms of direct democracy. Still at use – in a few places – at the subnational political level in Switzerland, it was formerly practiced in eight cantons. For practical reasons, the Landsgemeinde has been abolished at the cantonal level in all but two cantons where it still holds the highest political authority: Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus. The Landsgemeinde is also convened in some districts of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Grisons and Schwyz to vote on local questions.

The roof was damaged by lightning in 1634 and only partly repaired in the following year. The interior was soon destroyed by the leaky roof and the tower began to be used to dry fishing nets.^[3] It was repaired again by Obwalden in 1736. The last military use of the tower was during the 1798 French invasion. The palisade was hastily replaced with floating fir tree trunks and the Schnitzturm was manned. They held off the French fleet for several days, but on 9 April 1798 French troops broke through on the land side and captured the town. The town and the tower were burned by the victorious soldiers.^[3] In 1880 the cantonal authorities repaired the tower, built a staircase and observation platform and readded the crenelations that existed before the 1635 roof.^[4]

1798 was a relatively quiet period in the French Revolutionary Wars. The major continental powers in the First coalition had made peace with France, leaving France dominant in Europe with only a slow naval war with Great Britain to worry about. The leaders of the Directory in Paris feared Napoleon Bonaparte's popularity after his victories in Italy, so they were relieved when he proposed to depart France and mount an expedition to Egypt to gain further glory.

Firs (Abies) are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range. Firs are most closely related to the genus Cedrus (cedar). Douglas firs are not true firs, being of the genus Pseudotsuga.

Battlement part of defensive architecture

A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet, in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals to allow for the launch of arrows or other projectiles from within the defences. These gaps are termed "crenels", and the act of adding crenels to a previously unbroken parapet is termed crenellation. A defensive building might be designed and built with battlements, or a manor house might be fortified by adding battlements, where no parapet previously existed, or cutting crenellations into its existing parapet wall. The solid widths between the crenels are called merlons. A wall with battlements is said to be crenelated or embattled. Battlements on walls have protected walkways behind them. On tower or building tops, the roof is used as the protected fighting platform.

Castle site

The grounds around the tower are open to the public year-round. From 1 May though 30 September the tower is open during daylight hours.^[3] The tower has a 8.8 m (29 ft) square footprint and is 16 m (52 ft) high. The walls are 1.4 m (4.6 ft) thick at the base.^[2]

Gallery

Panoramic view from the top of the tower

View of the Schnitzturm
Stairs going up the tower
Viewing platform

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References

↑ "Kantonsliste A-Objekte". KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
1 2 "Schnitzturm". www.burgenwelt.org. 19 January 2017.
1 2 3 4 "Schnitzturm". Stansstad municipal website. 19 January 2017.
1 2 3 "Nidwalden: Schloss Schnitzturm". www.swisscastles.ch. 17 January 2017.

External links

Stansstad in German , French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland .

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[1] "Kantonsliste A-Objekte". KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2017.

[BW-2] 1 2 "Schnitzturm". www.burgenwelt.org. 19 January 2017.

[Stansstad-3] 1 2 3 4 "Schnitzturm". Stansstad municipal website. 19 January 2017.

[SC-4] 1 2 3 "Nidwalden: Schloss Schnitzturm". www.swisscastles.ch. 17 January 2017.