A water castle, sometimes water-castle, is a castle which incorporates a natural or artificial body of water into its defences.[Forde-Johnston (1979), p. 163.][Lepage (2023), p. 331: "Water castle: A medieval castle in which natural or artificial water was part of the defences."] It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled ( moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle studies, mainly German Burgenkunde.[Kaufmann & Kaufmann (2004), p. 229.][ 12 Wonderful Water Castles at theworldgeography.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.] Some interpretations of the category emphasise that the use of water extends beyond a defensive purpose.[Plowman (2005), p. 44.] 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".
Description
Forde-Johnston describes such a site as "a castle in which water plays a prominent part in the defences."
[ Apart from hindering attackers, an abundant supply of water was also an advantage during a siege. Topographically, such structures are a type of lowland 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.
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There is a further distinction between:
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castles that are protected by artificial water-filled moats or man-made , i.e. moated castles
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castles whose primary means of protection is from natural water bodies such as river courses, or which stand on islands or peninsulas in a natural marshland, pond, lake or sea. and are such examples.
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.[ Water castle routeat aachen-tourismus.de. Retrieved 12 March 2021. ][ Water Castles Route at nrw-tourism.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.]
Examples
Austria
Baltic
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Āraiši ( Arrasch)
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Trakai Island Castle
Belgium
Czech Republic
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Blatná Castle
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Červená Lhota Castle
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Švihov Castle
Denmark
Finland
France
Please notice that in French "", literally 'water castle', means water tower.
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Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil
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Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers
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Château de Pirou
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Château du Plessis-Bourré
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Château de Trécesson
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Château de Suscinio
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Château de Sully
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Château de Sully-sur-Loire
Germany
Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Berlin
Brandenburg
Bremen
Hamburg
Hesse
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Friedewald Water Castle in Friedewald
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Fürstenau Palace near Steinbach
Lower Saxony
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
North Rhine-Westphalia
Rhineland-Palatinate
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Alte Burg (Boppard)
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Alte Burg (Koblenz)
Saarland
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Gustavsburg in Homburg
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Kerpen Castle near Illingen
Saxony
Saxony-Anhalt
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Calvörde Castle
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Köthen Castle
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Reinharz Water Castle
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Flechtingen water castle
Schleswig-Holstein
Thuringia
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Kapellendorf Water Castle
Greece
Hungary
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Sárvár Castle
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Tokaj (ruined)
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Lebanon
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
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Parič Castle (ruined)
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Šintava Castle (ruined)
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Štítnik Water Castle
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Vranov Castle (vanished)
Slovenia
Sweden
Romania
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Făgăraş Castle
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Oradea fortress
Switzerland
Turkey
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Kızkalesi (castle), formerly Gramvoussa (Greek) and Gorygos (Armenian)
United Kingdom
England
Scotland
Wales
Notes
Citations
General
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Fry, Plantagenet Somerset (1996). Castles of Britain and Ireland: The Ultimate Reference Book. David & Charles.
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Gothein, Marie Luise Schroeter and Walter P. Wright (2014). A History of Garden Art. Cambridge: CUP.
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Kaufmann, J. E. and H.W. Kaufmann (2004) The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo.
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Lepage, Jean-Denis (2023). Dictionary of Fortifications: An Illustrated Glossary of Castles, Forts and Other Defensive Works from Antiquity to the Present Day. Barnsley, UK and Havertown, PA, USA: Pen & Sword Books.
External links
