A water castle, sometimes water-castle,[a] 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".
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:
castles that are protected by artificial water-filled moats or man-made
ponds, i.e. moated castles
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.
Island castles and
marsh castles 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.[7][8]
^
abFry, Plantagenet Somerset (1980). The David & Charles Book of Castles. David & Charles. p. 89.
General
Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History (2005). Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History, Vol. 41, Part 1. Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History.
Fry, Plantagenet Somerset (1996). Castles of Britain and Ireland: The Ultimate Reference Book. David & Charles.
Gothein, Marie Luise Schroeter and Walter P. Wright (2014). A History of Garden Art. Cambridge: CUP.
Kaufmann, J. E. and H.W. Kaufmann (2004) The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo.
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
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