A ''Letzi'' (plural: ''Letzinen'', also known in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

as a ''Talsperre'' in the sense of a fortification, not a dam) or ''Letzimauer'' refers to defensive barriers whose purpose is to protect the entrance into a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

. The term is Swiss, and such stone barriers were particularly common in medieval

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 ...

but were also built in

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 ...

and

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 ...

Location

''Letzis'' usually consisted of: *

hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle 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 a ...

s on the valley sides or on heights either side of the valley *

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

s, often in combination with other

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s, running transversely across the valley in order to seal it completely. Because these parts of the position were typically unable to use the advantage of height, they had some of the character of lowland castles. Because they had a combination of elements of hill and lowland castles, ''letzis'' did not fall neatly into either category. The walls were often several kilometres long, for example in Rothenthurm SZ, and were often combined with ditches. Such defensive valley barriers were still being built in the 19th century, for example the Forte della Chiusa and Buco di Vela.

Purpose

Researchers have not been united in all respects about whether these fortifications actually served as protective lines of defence or whether, in most cases, they were just intended as border marcations and defence against cattle thieves. What is certain is the ''Letzis'' were used to force merchants to adhere to specified routes (''Straßenzwang'') and thus to enable the collection of customs duties (''Wegzoll'') and money to pay for the maintenance of the roads.

Examples with hill castles

* Castles of Bellinzona,

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 ...

* Castelmur Castle,

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

* Ehrenberg Castle,

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 ...

* Fernstein Castle, Tyrol * Fracstein Castle, Grisons * Klamm Castle (

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

) above Schottwien * Mauterndorf Castle,

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

* Schlossberg Castle (

Seefeld in Tirol Seefeld in Tirol is an old farming village, now a major tourist resort, in Innsbruck-Land District in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol with a local population of 3,312 (as of 1 January 2013). The village is located about northwest of Inn ...

) * Castle ruins in the Mühlbacher Klause,

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 ...

* Hohenwerfen Fortress, Salzburg * Fortini della Fame, Ticino * Karlsfried,

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

* La Serra, Zernez, Grisons * Letzi and ruins of Mülenen Castle, Berne * Serravalle, Ticino * Schloß-Nauses Castle,

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Castelmur Talsperre.jpg, Castle and ''letzi'' of Castelmur Mühlbacher Klause 1.jpg, The castle ruins in the Mühlbacher Klause, which guards the western Pustertal Letzi Mülenen1.JPG, Letzi of Mülenen Castle Trento-Forte_Bus_de_Vela-northwest.jpg, Buco di Vela

Free-standing examples

* Hadnmauer (a ''letzi'' near Rattendorf in the Gailtal valley, which presumably guarded Gurina) * Landmauer Gamsen, Wallis * Letzis of Arth and Oberarth,

Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...

* ''Letzimauer'' in Näfels,

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.Rothenthurm, Schwyz * Letzi Tower,

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

* Letzi Tower in Morgarten, Schwyz * Porta Claudia, Tyrol * Türkenschanze,

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

* Hardturm,

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Näfels Letzimauer.JPG, ''Letzimauer'' at Näfels Oberarth_Letzi_11.JPG, ''Letzimauer'' at Oberarth Picswiss SZ-20-04.jpg, ''Letzi'' Tower in Morgarten PortaClaudiaPano2.jpg, Porta Claudia

Name

The Swiss German word, ''Letzi'', comes from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

"letze", i. e. a barrier, obstacle, defensive wall or border fortification.Weiteres siehe Schweizerisches Idiotikon, Vol. III, Col. 1558 f., Articl
''Letzi'', Bed. 1a
(with remarks, col. 1562). Even today many

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

s include the words ''Letzinen'', ''Letzimauern'' or ''Letzitürme''. Remains of such defensive fortifications may still be seen in many places today. Examples of ''Letzi'' in place names: * ''Letzigasse'' in

Zofingen Zofingen () is a city in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of Zofingen. Zofingen is a walled city and home to an ancient monastic settlement. History In ancient times Zofingen was a settlement of the Celtic ...

* Letzigraben and ''Letzistrasse'' in Zürich *

Letzigrund Letzigrund () is a stadium in Zurich, Switzerland, the home of the football (soccer), football clubs FC Zürich and Grasshopper Club Zürich, as well as the Sport of athletics, athletics club . The original stadium was constructed by members of FC ...

Stadium in Zürich

References

External links

* * Neue Zürcher Zeitung (14 July 2012)
Eine chinesische Mauer in Schwyz?
{{Authority control Castles by type Walls Medieval defences