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A hill castle or mountain castle is a
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles are thus distinguished from lowland castles (''Niederungsburgen''). Hill castles may be further subdivided depending on their situation into the following: *
Hilltop castle A hilltop castle is a type of hill castle that was built on the summit of a hill or mountain. In the latter case it may be termed a mountaintop castle. The term is derived from the German, ''Gipfelburg'', which is one of a number of terms used ...
(''Gipfelburg''), that stands on the summit of a hill with steep drops on all sides. A special type is the
rock castle A rock castle (german: Felsenburg) 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 cl ...
or ''Felsenburg''. * Ridge castle (''Kammburg''), that is built on the crest of a
ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
. * Hillside castle (''Hangburg''), that is built on the side of a hill and thus is dominated by rising ground on one side. * Spur castle (''Spornburg''), that is built on a hill spur surrounded by steep terrain on three sides and thus only needs to be defended on the one remaining side. When in the 10th and 11th centuries castles lost their pure
fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
character and were increasingly built as residence castles for the kings and the nobility, the hill castle was the preferred choice owing to its better defensive capability. In Germany, almost 66 percent of all medieval castles (''Burgen'') known today are of the hill castle type.F.-W. Krahe: ''Burgen und Wohntürme des deutschen Mittelalters'', p. 22. In the earliest centuries of castle construction only great nobles and kings had the power to build them. From the 12th century, however, the higher imperial ministeriales also built representative hill castles. This pattern was followed in the 13th century by the lesser nobility. Today hill castles primarily serve as tourist attractions, mainly because they often have good views − albeit in some cases for the cost of an entrance fee. They also often have restaurants or kiosks. In some cases, where they are preserved, the interior of the castle may be visited. Examples of hill castles are
Kriebstein Castle Kriebstein Castle (german: Burg Kriebstein) is a castle in Kriebstein near the town of Waldheim in the German state of Saxony. Location The castle rises above steep crags over the River Zschopau. Within the topographical grouping of hill ca ...
(spur castle), the Marksburg (hilltop castle), Ehrenfels Castle (hillside castle) and
Schachenstein Castle The ruins of Schachenstein Castle (german: Burg Schachenstein) are located in the municipality of Thörl, above the village not far from the Thörlbach stream and north of Bruck an der Mur in the Styria, Austria. Schachenstein Castle was the l ...
(rock castle). File:Marksburg-Braubach.jpg, The Marksburg in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
is a typical example of a hill castle File:Ljubljana_BW_2014-10-09_13-59-37_1.jpg, The
Ljubljana Castle Ljubljana Castle ( sl, Ljubljanski grad, german: Laibacher Schloss) is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town. Originally a medieval fortress, it was probably ...
in
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
is Medieval fortress, built in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 12th century File:Burg Hohenzollern 10-2016.jpg, alt=A castle atop a mountain, a very usual position to defend it from a higher position.,
Hohenzollern Castle Hohenzollern Castle (german: Burg Hohenzollern ) is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the ...
at a height of 855 m in the
Swabian Jura The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
File:Castello_di_montechino.jpg, The Montechino castle in Montechino, example of an Italian castle built on a hill


See also

*
Lowland castle The term lowland castle or plains castle (german: Niederungsburg, Flachlandburg, Tieflandburg) 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 ...
* Rocca, an Italian term for fortified houses or small castles built on higher ground above a town as refuge or protection.


Literature

* Horst Wolfgang Böhme, Reinhard Friedrich, Barbara Schock-Werner (ed.): ''Wörterbuch der Burgen, Schlösser und Festungen''. Reclam, Stuttgart 2004, , p. 156. * Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe: ''Burgen und Wohntürme des deutschen Mittelalters''. Vol. 1. Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2002, , pp. 21–23.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohenburg Castles by type ca:Quer (orografia)