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A cave castle () or grotto castle (German: ''Grottenburg'') is a residential or refuge castle that has been built into a natural
cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
. It falls within the category of hill castles. Unlike other types (such as
water castle 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. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbo ...
s), such castles can only be assaulted from the front, or by drilling through the rock above; the gateway is usually located in the middle of a rock face, which makes it much more difficult to penetrate. Archaeological discoveries have revealed that caves were used as places of refuge as early as the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
. The first
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
cave castles emerged in the 11th and 12th centuries. In the 14th and 15th centuries this type became more widespread, especially in certain parts of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.


Location and layout

The actual cave castle was generally built at the foot of a high rock face and at the level of one or more steep scree slopes; they are however quite rare in mountainous regions, for example in
North Tyrol North Tyrol, rarely North Tirol (), is the main part of the Austrian federal state Tyrol, located in the western part of the country. The other part of the federal state is East Tyrol, which also belongs to Austria, but doesn't share a border wi ...
only four sites are known to date: Altfinstermünz in the Upper Inn valley, Loch near Unter-Pinswang, Lueg am Brenner and one in the Herrenhauswand near Schwendt/Kössen. In several regions in Switzerland and France, soft rock material provides a good basis for the construction of cave and grotto castles. There are considerably more of this type in Graubünden,
Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...
,
Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...
or the
Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...
than, for example, in
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
or the
Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...
. The domestic buildings and stables were generally sited in the valley bottom beneath, because the cave was often only accessible over steep and narrow paths; excavations have revealed the relatively high
standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...
in several cave castles, other sites may only have been inhabited part of the time and guarded mountain passes or important road links. For similar reasons, most of them had no '' bergfried'' or other towers, one exception is Loch Castle near Eichhofen in Bavaria, that has an imposing round one at the front. In many cases, the
cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
or
grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...
was simply sealed by a frontal wall and divided internally by stone or wooden partitions, however several were later turned into representative seats and expanded accordingly: for example Stein Castle and Predjama Castle. From an engineering perspective the cave castle is closely related to the rock castle; here too natural or artificially widened rock openings were incorporated into the structure. In Central Europe, many such rock castles have been preserved in the sandstone regions of south and central Germany or Bohemia, including those in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, the
Palatinate Forest The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...
and in the Haßberge Hills.


Cave castles and grotto castles

In the technical literature a distinction is made between cave and grotto castles. In the case of the latter an entire castle was built in front of, or within, a natural grotto (e.g. Predjama Castle), whilst in the case of a cave castle, the cave was only closed off with a front wall and divided internally by wooden or stone partitions, although in popular usage both terms are used more or less interchangeably.


Other examples

* Wolkenstein Castle in Gröden,
South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
* Stein Castle in Stein an der Traun,
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
* Predjama Castle, Slovenia * Puxerloch (cave castles ''Luegg'' and ''Schallaun'') near Frojach in the
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
* Kronmetz Castle, Italy * Luegstein Castle near
Oberaudorf Oberaudorf () is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim (district), Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Inn (river), Inn. Oberaudorf is the birthplace of Maria Ratzinger (née Peintner), the mother of German Pope Benedict XVI ...
, Bavaria, Germany * Wichenstein Castle near Oberriet,
St Gallen St. Gallen is a Swiss city and the capital of the canton of St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 167,000 inhabitants in 2019) and rep ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
* Qal'at Ibn Maan, 17th-century,
Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
:''Castles from the Crusader states in the Middle East'' * Cave de Sueth ( Cave de Suète) or Habis Jaldak, Yarmouk Valley, Jordan * Magharat Fakhr ad-Din, inland of
Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
, Lebanon * Fortress of Niha, or Cave de Tyron / Tirun an-Niha, stood at the centre of the Lordship of Sidon, Lebanon *
Jebel Quruntul Mount of Temptation, in Palestinian Arabic (), is a mountain over the city of Jericho in the West Bank, in the State of Palestine; ancient Christian tradition identifies it as the location of the temptation of Christ, temptation of Jesus descri ...
(Docus, castellum Abrahami), Templar cave castle on the mountain overlooking
Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...
,
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
,
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
File:Rappenstein.jpg, Rappenstein Castle near Untervaz, Graubünden, Switzerland File:Grottenburg Balm.jpg, Balm Castle near Balm, Solothurn, Switzerland File:Burg Loch 02.jpg, Loch Castle near Eichhofen,
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
File:Grottenstein_aussen.jpg, Grottenstein Castle near Haldenstein, Graubünden, Switzerland File:Fracstein Mauer.jpg, Fracstein Castle near Seewis, Graubünden, Switzerland


Literature

*
Otto Piper Otto Piper (1841–1921) was a German architectural historian who, with August von Cohausen (1812–1896), is regarded as one of the two founders of scientific research into castles. Life Otto Piper was born on 23 December 1841 in Röckwitz, the ...
: ''Burgenkunde''. Nachdruck der Ausgabe von 1912. Weltbild, Augsburg 1994, , p. 554–559. * Maxi Zier: ''Mittelalterliche Höhlenburgen''. In: ''Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde''. No. 65, 1965, , p. 53–62.


See also

*
Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
* Rock castle


References

{{Authority control Castles by type