Water castle

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Plan of Doorwerth Castle (Gelderland, the Netherlands) Kasteel doorwerth plattegrond-2.jpg
Plan of Doorwerth Castle (Gelderland, the Netherlands)
Bodiam Castle (Sussex, England) Bodiam Castle fromthe north.jpg
Bodiam Castle (Sussex, England)
Mespelbrunn Castle (Bavaria, Germany) Wasserschloss Mespelbrunn, 6 edit01.jpg
Mespelbrunn Castle (Bavaria, Germany)

A water castle, sometimes water-castle, [lower-alpha 1] is a castle where natural or artificial water is part of its defences. [2] [3] It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle studies, mainly German Burgenkunde. [4] [5] [6] When stately homes were built in such a location, or a Wasserburg was later rebuilt as a residential manor, the German term becomes Wasserschloss, lit. "water palace/manor".

Contents

Description

Forde-Johnston describes such a site as "a castle in which water plays a prominent part in the defences." [2] Apart from hindering attackers, an abundant supply of water was also an advantage during a siege. Topographically, such structures are a type of low-lying castle. Such a castle usually had only one entrance, which was via a drawbridge and that could be raised for protection in the event of an attack.[ citation needed ] To some extent these water castles had a fortress-like character.[ citation needed ]

There is a further distinction between:

Legacy

In many places in Central Europe castles that had formerly been fortified changed their role or were converted over the course of time so that they became largely representational and residential buildings. The characteristic moats thus lost their original security function, but were retained in some cases as an element of landscaping. Today, in monument conservation circles, they are often described as burdensome, cost-intensive "historic legacies" because of the water damage caused to their foundations. As a result, many moats around castles in Germany have been drained, or more rarely filled, especially since the 1960s.

In Germany, the Wasserburgroute or "Water Castle Route" has been established in the triangle formed by the cities of Aachen, Bonn and Cologne which links 120 castles and palaces. [7] [8]

Examples

Austria

Baltic

Trakai Castle Trakai Island Castle, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg
Trakai Castle

Belgium

Kasteel van Wijnendale (Wijnendale Castle) 87491 kasteel wijnendale.jpg
Kasteel van Wijnendale (Wijnendale Castle)

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Chateau de Sully-sur-Loire Chateau Sully sur Loire5.jpg
Château de Sully-sur-Loire

Please notice that in French "château d'eau  [ fr ]", literally 'water castle', means water tower.

Germany

Bad Rappenau BadRappenauWasserschloss reworked.jpg
Bad Rappenau
Brennhausen BrennhausenMorningLakeSmall.jpg
Brennhausen
Friedewald water castle Burgruine friedewald.jpg
Friedewald water castle
Schwerin Castle Schwerin 2002 12.jpg
Schwerin Castle
Vischering Castle Burg Vischering Fluegel.jpg
Vischering Castle
Klaffenbach Castle, (16th century, Saxony) Wasserschloss-Klaffenbach.jpg
Klaffenbach Castle, (16th century, Saxony)
Gommern Water Castle Gommernburg.jpg
Gommern Water Castle
Moritzburg Castle Schloss Moritzburg-003.jpg
Moritzburg Castle
Glucksburg Castle Kulturdenkmal Schloss Glucksburg 4.1g Wasserschloss NO-Ans Schleswig-Holstein Foto Wolfgang Pehlemann DSCN0197.jpg
Glücksburg Castle

Baden-Württemberg

Bavaria

Berlin

Brandenburg

Bremen

Hamburg

Hesse

Lower Saxony

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

North Rhine-Westphalia

Rhineland-Palatinate

Saarland

Saxony

Saxony-Anhalt

Schleswig-Holstein

Thuringia

Greece

Hungary

Indonesia

Italy

Japan

Imabari Castle Imabari castle.JPG
Imabari Castle

Lebanon

Netherlands

Cannenburgh Castle Vaassen, de Cannenburch RM15361 positie2 foto2 2013-08-01 14.55.jpg
Cannenburgh Castle

Poland

Portugal

Slovakia

Slovenia

Otocec Castle Otocec-Hotel1.JPG
Otočec Castle

Sweden

Kalmar Castle Kalmar Slott 2, Kalmar.jpg
Kalmar Castle
Vittskovle Castle Vittskovle slott 2012-4.jpg
Vittskövle Castle
Chillon Castle The Castle and the Mountain.jpg
Chillon Castle
Caerlaverock Castle Caerlaverock Castle from the air.jpg
Caerlaverock Castle
Caerphilly Castle Caerphilly aerial.jpg
Caerphilly Castle

Romania

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

England

Scotland

Wales

Notes

  1. See e.g. Gothein (2014) [1]

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The term lowland castle or plains castle describes a type of castle that is situated on a lowland, plain or valley floor, as opposed to one built on higher ground such as a hill spur. The classification is extensively used in Germany where about 34 percent of all castles are of the lowland type.

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A rock castle is a type of medieval castle that directly incorporates natural rock outcrops into its defences to such an extent that the rock formations define the structure of the castle. Topographically, rock castles are classified as hill castles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island castle</span> Water castle which is built upon an island

The island castle, or insular castle, is a variation of the water castle. It is distinguished by its location on an artificial or natural island. It is a typical lowland castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visconti Castle (Pagazzano)</span> Castle in northern Italy

The Visconti Castle of Pagazzano is a moated, late-medieval castle located in Pagazzano, a town in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy. The castle in the current form was probably erected between 1450 and 1475, at the initiative of the Visconti di Brignano transforming the previous 14th-century quadrangular fortification with a surrounding moat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chateau des Marais, Guernsey</span>

The Chateau des Marais is a protected chateau in Saint Sampson, Guernsey. The colloquial name is Ivy Castle. A moated medieval castle dating from before the 12th-century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medieval Louvre Castle</span> Demolished castle in Paris, France

The Louvre Castle, also referred to as the Medieval Louvre, was a castle begun by Philip II of France on the right bank of the Seine, to reinforce the city wall he had built around Paris. Over time it was expanded but was generally demolished above ground in stages between 1528 and 1660 to make way for expanding the Louvre Palace, while some parts of the castle's foundations were incorporated in construction of the later palace.

References

Citations

  1. Gothein (2014), pp. 22, 52, etc.
  2. 1 2 Forde-Johnston, James L. (1979). Great Medieval Castles of Britain. Bodley Head. ISBN   978-0-370-30236-2.
  3. Lepage (2023), p. 331: "Water castle: A medieval castle in which natural or artificial water was part of the defences."
  4. Kaufmann & Kaufmann (2004), p. 229.
  5. 12 Wonderful Water Castles at theworldgeography.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  6. Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History (2005), p. 44.
  7. Water castle route at achen-tourismus.de. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  8. Water Castles Route at nrw-tourism.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  9. 1 2 Fry, Plantagenet Somerset (1980). The David & Charles Book of Castles. David & Charles. p. 89.

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