# Zwinger

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{{Short description|Area between main and secondary walls of a fortification}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Fortezza di Carcassonne - interno-1.jpg|thumb|Gateway leading into the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} in [Carcassonne](/source/Carcassonne). Right: the lower Zwinger wall.]]
thumb|Example of a {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}}: the Minneburg in the Odenwald
[[File:Aerial image of the Coburg Fortress.jpg|thumb|The {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} around [Coburg Fortress](/source/Coburg_Fortress) reinforced by early modern era bastions]]
{{war}}
A '''{{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}}'''{{efn|As a [German noun](/source/German_noun) it is capitalized, but can be written lower case when used as an English common noun.}} ({{IPA|de|ˈt͡svɪŋɐ}}) is an open [kill zone](/source/kill_zone) area between two [defensive walls](/source/defensive_walls) that is used for defensive purposes.<ref>[Piper, Otto](/source/Otto_Piper) (1995). ''Burgenkunde. Bauwesen und Geschichte der Burgen''. Würzburg, 1995, p. 684.</ref> {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}}s were built in the [medieval](/source/Middle_Ages) and [early modern period](/source/early_modern_period)s to improve the defence of [castle](/source/castle)s and [town wall](/source/town_wall)s. The term is usually left untranslated,<ref>Ettel et al. (2002), p. 282.</ref> but is sometimes rendered as "outer courtyard", presumably referring to the subsequent role of a {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} as a castle's defences became redundant and it was converted into a palace or ''[schloss](/source/schloss)''; however, this belies its original purpose as a form of killing ground for the defence. The word is linked with {{lang|de|zwingen}}, "to force", perhaps because the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} forced an enemy to negotiate it before assaulting the main defensive line. Essenwein states that the "main purpose of this feature was so that the besieging force could not reach the actual castle wall very easily with [battering ram](/source/battering_ram)s or [belfries](/source/belfry_(siege_engine)), but had to stop at the lower, outer wall; also that two ranks of archers, behind and above one another, could fire upon the approaching enemy".<ref>von Essenwein, "Kriegsbauk", p. 192, in Otto Piper, ''Burgenkunde: Bauwesen und Geschichte der Burgen innerhalb des deutschen Sprachgebiets'', Hamburg: Severus (2014), reprint of 1905 edition, p. 11, {{ISBN|978-3-95801-028-4}}.</ref>

In the territories of the [Teutonic Order](/source/Teutonic_Order) the terms '''Parkam''' or '''Parcham''' were used instead of Zwinger. These were related to the words ''Park'' ("park") and ''Pferch'' ("pen").<ref name=Piper>Piper (1895), p. 11, footnote 2.</ref>

== Castles ==
The {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} of a castle is sited in front of the main [curtain wall](/source/curtain_wall_(castle)) and is enclosed on the outer side by a second, lower wall, known as the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} wall ({{lang|de|Zwingermauer}}). If attackers succeed in getting past the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} wall, they would be trapped in the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} and were an easy target for the defenders on the main wall ({{lang|de|Hauptmauer}}). Further progress was thus seriously impeded.

In central Europe most {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}} were built in front of older castle walls as a later addition and reinforcement of the defences.

== Town fortifications ==
The {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} in front of a [town gate](/source/town_gate) is a fortified area between the main gate and the outer gate of a medieval town gateway system. Town gates were often built in the shape of a [gate tower](/source/gate_tower), with a second, and sometimes even a third, gate in front of it (so-called double or triple gate systems). In front of the town walls in the area of the town gates there was usually a second wall in which the outer gate was located. An enemy who had breached the outer gate and penetrated the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} would find himself in an enclosed area with very little scope to exploit his initial success. By contrast, the defenders retreating behind the main town walls could easily engage the enemy below them in the killing ground of the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}}.

The [barbican](/source/barbican) is based on a similar concept to the gateway {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} and is found in front of the main wall but separated from it by an additional [moat](/source/moat).

In the [Hussite](/source/Hussite) period (around 1420/30) impressive examples were built that were mainly intended as protection against early [firearm](/source/firearm)s.

The open area of the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} was mainly used in peacetime to keep [animal](/source/animal)s or as a [garden](/source/garden). As their defensive function became superfluous, in many cases [barn](/source/barn)s, [stable](/source/stable)s and storage buildings were erected in {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}}s.

The [Zwinger at Dresden](/source/Zwinger%2C_Dresden) inherited its name from the old {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} in front of the Crown Gate ({{lang|de|Kronentor}}) on the outer wall of the fortress. It was never intended as a fortification, however, but was conceived as the outer courtyard of a new palace.

== Development ==
[[File:Theodosianische Landmauer in Istanbul.jpg|thumb|left|Part view of the [Theodosian Wall](/source/Theodosian_Wall) of the former city of Constantinople. In the foreground: the double {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}}.]]
The development of the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} has not been well researched to date. By the fifth century A.D. a fully developed {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} had been built in front of the Byzantine [walls](/source/Theodosian_Walls) of [Constantinople](/source/Constantinople).

In [early medieval](/source/early_medieval) fortifications, too, a succession of defensive walls can be seen. Especially during the time of the [Hungarian invasions](/source/Hungarian_invasions), defensive castles were protected by [berm](/source/berm)s and outer [ramparts](/source/Rampart_(fortification)) to guard against the cavalry attacks of the [Magyars](/source/Magyars). These were not {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}} in the true sense of the word; often an intermediate moat separated the lines of defence. Such a moat is also frequently part of late medieval {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}}.

Occasionally the narrow outworks of the [Habsburg](/source/Habsburg_(Castle)) (Aargau) or of {{lang|de|italic=no|Alt-Bolanden}} (Rhineland-Palatinate), which date to the late 10th and early 11th centuries, are seen as early {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}}. These fortification elements do not have any direct successors, however.

In central Europe {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}} first reappeared in the first half of the 13th century in front of the ring-walls of small fortifications. Towards the end of that century, the defensive capability of castles was being enhanced in this way far more frequently, for example at [Gnandstein Castle](/source/Gnandstein_Castle) in [Saxony](/source/Saxony); [Château du Landsberg](/source/Ch%C3%A2teau_du_Landsberg) and [Château d'Andlau](/source/Ch%C3%A2teau_d'Andlau) in [Alsace](/source/Alsace). In southern France the heavily restored {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} in the town fortifications of [Carcassonne](/source/Carcassonne) appears to have been built. Initially {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} walls were very close to the main wall.

In the 14th century, the first firearms caused a further growth in the number of {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}}. Countless examples were built, especially during the 15th and 16th centuries. In [Franconia](/source/Franconia) the fortification of late medieval city has largely survived. In [Nuremberg](/source/Nuremberg) a low {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} was built in front of the older ring-wall. In the early 15th century, [Munich](/source/Munich) was fitted with a new double ring of town walls, as depicted in the [Nuremberg Chronicle](/source/Nuremberg_Chronicle). By connecting the inner and the outer ring – to be more exactly, the respective inner and outer (= lower) watch towers – with numerous party walls, a succession of zwinger segments soon encircled the place as a whole.

The first {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} walls of the [High Middle Ages](/source/High_Middle_Ages) were usually not protected by towers. The [artillery](/source/artillery) fortifications of the [Late Middle Ages](/source/Late_Middle_Ages), by contrast, were defended by numerous [flanking](/source/flanking_tower) and, sometimes also, [battery tower](/source/battery_tower)s or [roundel](/source/roundel_(castle))s.

The {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}} of a small group of castles in the Franconian [Haßberge](/source/Ha%C3%9Fberge) date to the [Hussite](/source/Hussite) period. As elsewhere the [territorial lord](/source/territorial_lord)s were reacting to the serious threat of rebels from nearby [Bohemia](/source/Bohemia). These {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}} at the castles of [Altenstein](/source/Altenstein_Castle_(Lower_Franconia)), [Rauheneck](/source/Rauheneck_Castle_(Ebern)) and [Schmachtenberg](/source/Schmachtenberg_Castle) have been well preserved. At Rauheneck Castle the defences are further strengthened by two [bretèche](/source/bret%C3%A8che)s. These features and [hoardings](/source/hoarding_(castle)) ({{lang|de|Kampfhäuser}}) may also be seen as part of other {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}}.

The Hussite period additions of many castles in the endangered regions often went back to innovations that had been developed by the Hussites themselves. A prime example is the town fortification of the south Bohemian Hussite town of [Tábor](/source/T%C3%A1bor). Parts of the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} in front of the main gate have survived even today.

In general the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} walls were markedly lower and less thick that the actual ring walls. Often only a parapet wall was erected around the intended killing ground of the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}}. Occasionally a covered or open [wall walk](/source/wall_walk) was built on the inside of the wall, as at [Trausnitz Castle](/source/Trausnitz_Castle) in [Landshut](/source/Landshut). Even underground wall walks with embrasures for hand guns may be seen, for example, at [Hochhaus Castle](/source/Hochhaus_Castle) near [Nördlingen](/source/N%C3%B6rdlingen).

{{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} walls could fully surround a fortification or just a particularly vulnerable section. There is often a moat in front of them, the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} wall also acting as the [revetment](/source/revetment) of the moat. On hillside castles the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} wall was a supporting wall and often very high to provide static stability of the whole site.

Frequently, small, hidden [sally port](/source/sally_port)s or [postern](/source/postern)s enabled direct combat with an enemy in the moat area. The actual {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} area was also often accessible through sally ports.

== Early high medieval {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} in the Holy Land ==
thumb|The {{lang|fr|italic=no|Krak des Chevaliers}} with its extensive {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} system around the inner ward (artist's reconstruction from 1871)

The [Krak des Chevaliers](/source/Krak_des_Chevaliers) of the [Knights of St. John](/source/Order_of_Saint_John_(Bailiwick_of_Brandenburg)) is generally classified as a [crusader castle](/source/crusader_castle). Just before 1170 the first small {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} was built here around the inner ward. This surprisingly early {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} was replaced in the mid-13th century by the present outer fortification. This {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} is also one of the oldest examples of its type. A building inscription records that the castle governor, [Nicolas Lorgne](/source/Nicolas_Lorgne), had a {{lang|fr|italic=no|barbacane}} built – almost certainly a reference to the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}}. This source enables the second {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} of the {{lang|fr|italic=no|Crac}} to be dated to around 1250. The {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} of the Krak des Chevaliers was extended in around 1270. Despite this reinforcement, the Muslims under Sultan [Baibars I](/source/Baibars_I) succeeded in capturing the fort in 1271, after just a four-week siege.

Other large crusader castles were also surrounded by great {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} systems. The outer ring wall of the castle of [Tartus](/source/Tartus) (Syria) could have been built at the same time as the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} at Krak, i.e. in the middle of the 13th century. By shortly before 1168 the Knights of St. John began remodelling [Belvoir Castle](/source/Belvoir_Castle_(Israel)) in present-day Israel. The outer fortification with its corner towers acts like "a large {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} to the structure" (U. Großmann).

== 13th-century double concentric walls in Wales ==
thumb|Castle site in Beaumaris
The Welsh castles of [Harlech](/source/Harlech_Castle) and [Beaumaris](/source/Beaumaris_Castle) (started 1295 but never completed) have a double defensive wall, the outer wing surrounding the inner one concentrically at a short distance from it. The outer fortification in Beaumaris, with its round wall towers, is particularly massive and comparable to the {{lang|fr|italic=no|Krak des Chevaliers}}.

== Examples of surviving medieval {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwingers}} ==
=== Town and city fortifications ===
*[Amberg](/source/Amberg)
*[Aschersleben](/source/Aschersleben)
*[Carcassonne](/source/Carcassonne)
*[Delitzsch](/source/Delitzsch)
*[Dinkelsbühl](/source/Dinkelsb%C3%BChl)
*[Ingelheim](/source/Ingelheim)
*[Jihlava](/source/Jihlava)
*[Jüterbog](/source/J%C3%BCterbog)
*[Neubrandenburg](/source/Neubrandenburg)
*[Nördlingen](/source/N%C3%B6rdlingen)
*[Nuremberg](/source/Nuremberg)
*[Templin](/source/Templin)
*[Warsaw](/source/Warsaw)
*[Wolframs-Eschenbach](/source/Wolframs-Eschenbach)

thumb|Inner ward and {{lang|de|italic=no|Zwinger}} of Löwenstein Castle (Württemberg)

=== Castles ===
*[Altenstein Castle](/source/Altenstein_Castle_(Lower_Franconia)) ([Hassberge](/source/Hassberge))
*[Burghausen Castle](/source/Burghausen_Castle) (Burghausen/Salzach, [Upper Bavaria](/source/Upper_Bavaria))
*[Giechburg](/source/Giechburg) ([Upper Franconia](/source/Upper_Franconia))
*[Guttenberg Castle](/source/Guttenberg_Castle_(Ha%C3%9Fmersheim)) on the [Neckar](/source/Neckar) (Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis)
*[Hohenurach Castle](/source/Hohenurach_Castle) ([Swabian Jura](/source/Swabian_Jura))
*[Hornberg Castle](/source/Hornberg_Castle_(Neckarzimmern)) on the [Neckar](/source/Neckar) (Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis)
*[Löwenstein Castle](/source/L%C3%B6wenstein_Castle_(W%C3%BCrttemberg)) (Swabian-Franconian Hills)
*[Minneburg](/source/Minneburg) (Odenwald)
*[Nürburg Castle](/source/N%C3%BCrburg_Castle) (Eifel)
*[Otzberg Fortress](/source/Otzberg_Fortress) ([Otzberg](/source/Otzberg))
*[Rauheneck Castle (Ebern)](/source/Rauheneck_Castle_(Ebern))
*[Turaida Castle](/source/Turaida_Castle) ([Turaida](/source/Turaida))
*[Tower of London](/source/Tower_of_London) ([London](/source/London))

== See also ==
*[Zingel](/source/Zingel_(fortification))

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Literature ==
* Ettel, Peter, Anne-Marie Flambard Héricher and T. E. McNeill, eds. (2002). {{lang|fr|italic=no|"Actes du Colloque International: de Maynooth (Irland), 23 - 30 août 2002"}} in ''Chateau Gaillard 21''. Caen: Crahm.
* Thomas Biller. {{lang|de|Die Adelsburg in Deutschland. Entstehung, Form und Bedeutung}}. [Deutscher Kunstverlag](/source/Deutscher_Kunstverlag), Munich, 1993, {{ISBN|3-422-06093-6}}.
* Horst Wolfgang Böhme (ed.): {{lang|de|Burgen in Mitteleuropa. Ein Handbuch.}} Vol. 1: {{lang|de|italic=no|"Bauformen und Entwicklung."}} Deutschen Castlesvereinigung e.V. Theiss, Stuttgart, 1999, {{ISBN|3-8062-1355-0}}.
* Horst Wolfgang Böhme, Reinhard Friedrich, [Barbara Schock-Werner](/source/Barbara_Schock-Werner) (ed.). {{lang|de|Wörterbuch der Burgen, Schlösser und Festungen}}. Reclam, Stuttgart, 2004, {{ISBN|3-15-010547-1}}.
* Georg Ulrich Großmann. {{lang|de|Burgen in Europa}}. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, 2005, {{ISBN|3-7954-1686-8}}.
* Michael Losse. {{lang|de|Kleine Castleskunde}}. Regionalia, Euskirchen, 2011, {{ISBN|978-3-939722-39-7}}.
* [Piper, Otto](/source/Otto_Piper) (1895), ''Burgenkunde'', 1st edn. Munich: Theodor Ackermann.
{{Fortifications}}
Category:Castle architecture

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Zwinger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwinger) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwinger?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.