The Lost Fort

My Travel and History Blog, Focussing mostly on Roman and Mediaeval Times


28 Jul 2010
  The Kugelsburg - Part 1: The Rise of the Counts of Everstein

Like so many other German castles, the Kugelsburg near Volkmarsen was built on a hill in order to protect a road or crossing. In this case it was the ford across the Twiste river on the road from Fritzlar to Paderborn, both important towns in the 11-12th century.

The Kugelsburg changed hands several times, and there are traces of Romansque and Gothic styles mixed together.

Kugelsburg, hall with the round keep

The land was held by the family of Everstein as fief from Corvey Monastery. The main seat of the Counts of Everstein (first documented appearance in 1122) was Castle Everstein at the Weser, but few remains of that are left, so the Kugelsburg makes for much better illustrations. They obtained the lands around Volkmarsen by marriage: in 1120 Konrad of Everstein married Mechthild of Itter, daughter of a noble Saxon family that existed since the time of Charlemagne. It was the first step to a nice little realm of allodial and feudal possessions at the Weser and in northern Hessia.

Kugelsburg, the square keep

The male line of the Itter family had died out in 1123, and the heiresses of Folkmar of Itter gave their allodial land to Corvey - a good way to get protection with no men around. As feudal overlord now Corvey was bound to assisst them.

Corvey at that time enjoyed imperial immediacy (Reichsfreiheit; it was under the direct authority of the emperor) and was a very powerful Benedictine monastery with possessions in several parts of northern Germany. This worked well under the north-centered Salian House, but when the Staufen family became kings and emperors and moved the centre to southern Germany, Corvey lost some of the royal protection. As a result, the monastery gathered even more land and got into conflict with, among others, the dukes of Braunschweig and the archbishops of Cologne. Therefore the abbots of Corvey had their vassals build castles at the borders of the lands Corvey owned, among them the Kugelsburg.

The rise of the family began when Albert II of Everstein supported Friedrich Barbarossa in his war with Heinrich the Lion. His feudal links to Corvey, Cologne and Mainz (for various possessions the family had gathered) put him on the Emperor's side except for the conflicting position as Vogt (reeve) of Helmarshausen which belonged to Heinrich, though there was another, perhaps more important reason:

In 1167, Albert II of Everstein had maried Richeza (Riquilda) of Poland, the daughter of Wladislav II 'the Exiled' Duke of Poland and Silesia and Agnes of Austria. Richeza was a cousin of the Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa and by her marriages Queen of León and Castile, Countess of Provence and Countess of Everstein. I'll try to sort out that mess.

Her mother Agnes of Austria was the daughter of Duke Leopold II of Austria and Agnes of Waiblingen (1072 - 1143), daughter of the Emperor Heinrich IV and Bertha of Turin. Her brother, Emperor Heinrich V, was married to Mathilde, daughter of Henry I of England.

Agnes of Babenberg-Waiblingen had first been married to Friedrich I Duke of Swabia (1050 - 1105), with whom she had two sons: Konrad who would become the first Staufen king as Konrad III, and Friedrich II of Swabia. Friedrich II married Judith, daughter of Heinrich 'the Black' of the House Welfen and Wulfhild of Saxony. Their son would be known as Friedrich Barbarossa (1122 - 1190).

Another son of Heinrich the Black and Wulfhild was Heinrich the Proud, father of Heinrich the Lion (1130? - 1195).

After Friedrich's death, Agnes married Leopold of Austria (in 1106) with whom she had several children, among them Agnes of Austria, the mother of Richeza (1135? - 1185).

Kugelsburg, inner curtain wall with the round keep in the background

Let's add some more geneaolgy fun: Before she was married to Albert of Everstein, Richeza had first been married to Alfonso VII of Castile (from 1152 - 1157) with whom she had a daughter, Sancha (later married to Alfonso II of Aragon; their daughter Constance would 1209 become the wife of Friedrich I of Sicily, rival for the position of Holy Roman Emperor to Henrich the Lion's son Otto IV).

Alfonso of Castile had priorly been married to Berenguela of Barcelona and was father of, among others, another Sancha who married Sancho VI 'the Wise' of Navarre. They were the parents of Berengaria, the future wife of Richard Lionheart of England (1157 - 1199)

Alfonso's sons from his first marriage didn't get along with Richeza who fled to Aragon where she met her second husband (1161 - 1166), Raymond Berenguer II Count of Provence. Their daughter and sole heir Douce of Provence was ousted by the husband of her half-sister Sancha, Alfonso II of Aragon. The whole Spanish / southern French lot was more than a bit dysfunctional.

Let's hope Richeza found some peace in her third marriage to Albert II of Everstein.

The square keep against the evening sun

Their son Albert III Count Everstein was married to Agnes of Wittelsbach, and those two had 12 surviving children. One daughter was married to Gottschalk Lord of Plesse, another to Burchard IV of Scharzfels - both linking back to two other castles I have visited. *grin* One of their sons, Otto II (1219 - 1282), would become imperial reeve (Reichsvogt) of Göttingen.

Albert III (1170-1217) is said to have built Kugelsburg Castle, but the statements on the websites are somewhat contradictory; it could well have been Albert II who built the first castle.

Another mess is the presentation of the feudal relationships. One site says the town of Volkmarsen had been a fief held from the Archbishop of Mainz, but another says the Itter heiresses gave their lands to Corvey, and Konrad of Everstein held them as fief from Corvey. If it's correct that pope Hadrian IV confirmed Corvey's rights to Volkmarsen in 1155, the second version is more plausible. Maybe there was some quarrels between Mainz and Corvey about who owned the land.

View from the bailey into the vale

After the fall of Heinrich the Lion in 1184, Albert III became vassal of Philipp of Heinsberg, Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Westphalia (1130-1191; he won big time in that war). Philipp used to buy the castles of his vassals and returned them as fiefs. That way Philipp remained vassal of the emperor and his vassals still held their fiefs as imperial ones, but there was a stronger personal connection between the archbishop and his vassals nevertheless. Now, this is something that could not have happened for the lands around Volkmarsen which the Eversteins already held as fief and could not sell. It can only mean their allodial possessions of Everstein Castle and the lands around that one. If Albert held Everstein from Cologne and Volkmarsen and the Kugelsburg from Corvey, it could have led to some problems.

View from the bailey to the remains of the outer curtain wall

In 1233, another pope - Gregor IX - confirmed Corvey's rights to the Kugelsburg and the town of Volkmarsen. Again. Why did he need to do that, was there another a discussion about feudal rights and Mainz' claim to Volkmarsen?

Well, whatever lay behind all that, the Counts of Everstein lived in the Kugelsburg from 1239-1293, obviously quarreling with the town of Volkmarsen a few times. In 1255, Konrad II of Everstein had to pawn out part of the Kugelsburg to the monastery of Gehrden - looks like a few lawyers got rich on those feudal quarrels. The decline of the family continued when they could not defend their ancient seat of Everstein against the Welfen who conquered the castle in 1284.

Part 2 can be found here
More about the Counts of Everstein can be found here
 


17 Jul 2010
  More About Roman Transport

There were basically three ways to pack wares for transport: barrels, sacks, and amphorae. Barrels were the most widespread variant and could come in different sizes. Including an XXL variant.

(Roman barrel found in Oberaden, LWL Museum Haltern)

We even know what was in that big barrel: Wine. Lots of wine. Those legionaries were a thirsty lot, it seems. It's a lucky find since timber seldom survives 2000 years in the ground. Besides being thirsty, our legionaries also liked their olives, salted ham and lots of other food that would have been transported in barrels. Not to forget garum, the fishy Roman ketchup. :)

A little aside: Barrels were still used in the Middle Ages; there are some lanes in the Hansa town of Lübeck just wide enough that you can roll a barrel along. At that time, even cloth would have been rolled up and packed into barrels but I'm not sure if the Romans did that.

Rolling barrels was surely more fun than hauling heavy sacks around. Though the lanes in Lübeck go uphill, and so did the roads to several Romans forts - maybe not that much fun, after all.

Wheat was usually transported in sacks but one of the better preserved barges shows the grain had been put in loose. Maybe the transport company had run out of sacks and sent the much needed wheat off anyway. At the destination harbour, some poor sods on extra service probably had the ungrateful task of shoveling the stuff into sacks and carry it to the fort. Makes you wonder how much got lost that way, though maybe the legionaries were a bit tired of porridge. *grin*

Some amphorae, AP Museum Xanten

Amphorae were mostly used for luxury items that came in smaller amounts. First class olive oil for the general's table and such. To make sure the amphorae won't break, they often were put into a chest with sand. Better than those modern styrofoam packing peanuts that stick to curious cats. Ask Constance.

There are some XXL sized amphorae around, but most of them seem to have been used on seagoing vessels; the gound of the Mediterranean is littered by shards from the ones that never made it to their destination. It's difficult to approximate the amphora / barrel ratio, because timber decays more easily.

Wooden chests were also used, mostly to transport private belongings and tools (the chest found on the carpenter's barge).
 


12 Jul 2010
  Ships on the Rhine, Roman Style

A Roman legionary got 960 gram wheat every day, for bread or porridge. A full strength legion had about 5000-5500 men, and Varus fielded three legions in 9 AD (plus two left behind in Moguntiacum). Do the maths - that's a lot of wheat. Plus wine, olives, cheese, bacon and other food, leather and cloth, iron to repair weapons .... The supplies for the army were always a logistic nightmare, and even more so in countries with no Roman infrastructure. Nor did the German tribes grow enough grain to feed that swarm of mail-clad cicadas.

Rivers played an important role in the supply lines. The area in question (middle and northern Germany) was framed by the south-north running Rhine and Elbe, with the Ems and Weser cutting their way in the same direction in between. Two larger rivers run east-west towards the Rhine, the Lippe (which confluences at Vetera/Xanten) and the Main (which meets the Rhine at Moguntiacum/Mainz). Those two rivers became the main deployment lines into Germania during the conquests of Drusus (11 BC) until Germanicus' campaigns (16 AD).

Remains of a Roman transport barge, APX Museum Xanten

Even a smaller barge like this one found in Waadt near Xanten could transport 10 tons of cargo, way more than a mule cart or ox waggon. It was originally 14-15 metres long but had a draught of only 50 cm which allowed manoeuvering in flat waters. The curve of the prow allowed to drag it onshore without needs of a proper quai. It was discovered in 1991, in a place that once had been a canal leading from the Rhine to the harbour in Colonia Ulpia Traiana (Xanten*). According to dendrochronology it dates to 95 AD but the barges used in earlier times were much the same.

Larger barges could be up to 35 metres long and 6 metres wide, with a draught of 1m - they looked much like a smaller version of the modern transport barges. Often they were dismantled when they were in bad repair, and the hulk used as foundation for dykes and such, but some better preserved finds show that at least some of them had a cabin or two at the back.

Model of the De Meern barge (Utrecht / Haltern)

This model of a barge found near Utrecht (Netherlands) represents one of those lucky finds not part of the Roman reuse program, but probably a shipwreck. The bulkheads are well preserved as are traces of the cabin and the open kitchen with a tile stove. The cabin contained a bed and a clothes chest that also served as chair, and the bargee was the proud owner of several saws, a hovel, a drill, and other tools of a carpenter as well as a stylus and wax tablets. The vessel shows traces of a new caulking and has been upkept for some 30 years.

This barge, dating to 148 AD, is unusually slender, 14.7 metres in length but only 1.7 metres wide. Maybe it was a repair barge that would mostly carry things needed for the work of a carpenter who travelled to the forts at the Lippe river to help with kaput furniture and other items. Though timber itself was the one thing you could easily find in Germania.

Close to this one another barge has been found that transported 20 tons of wheat. Analysis of weeds mixed in has shown that it came from Gaul.

Remains of the Zwammerdam 3 barge, Utrecht
(lent to the LWL Museum Haltern for the Imperium exhibition 2009)

This one, another find from Utrecht displayed in Haltern last year, is particularly interesting because it follows the structure of a dugout, not the usual Roman plank techinque, though several features have been added that turn this one into a Roman ship, like holdings for a mast, gunwale and frames. With a size of 10.7 x 1.25 metres it's another slender barge, suited for use also in smaller rivers with even more meanders than the ancient Rhine.

Roman tranport barges were mostly hauled, though they had a sail as well. The average distance was 15 kilometres a day upriver, that would mean a boat could cover the way from Vetera to Haltern in four days. Since the rivers changed so much, no traces of hauling paths have been found.

Not all of this work was done by the Roman army, it's assumed that some of the transport business was given to private companies.

The Neumagen wine ship

A somewhat younger (220 AD) and different ship is represented in this stone carved grave monument found in Neumagen-Dhron at the Moselle (which confluences into the Rhine at Koblenz). That area belonged to the province of Gallia Belgica and was thus Romanised. The Moselle was part of the river system infrastructure that connected Gaul with Germania back when the Romans were present in the latter. The Gallic wheat mentioned above may have come down the Moselle.

The monument can be seen in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier. It was commissioned by a wealthy wine merchant and originally consisted of two ships. That guy surely liked it big. The display side of the ship shows four large wine barrels, six oarsmen but 22 oars, and a helmsman.

The ship has been reconstructed in 2007, using this monument and other finds as foil. It's 18 metres long with 42 oars, but it has a modern engine as well. The Stella Noviomagi (Star of Neumagen) can be rent for cruises on the Moselle.

The reconstructed Victoria

With its oars and the dragon heads at prow and stern the Stella Noviomagi looks more like the Roman war ships, esp. the light river patrol ships like the reconstructed Victoria which dates to the first century AD.

A question still disputed is whether some of the patrol ships would serve as escort of transport barges, or whether the barges may rather have added some soldiers to the crew. It could even be that the Romans felt so secure in Germania after the mass surrender to Tiberius in 4 AD that they didn't protect their transports.


* Vetera is the Roman fort, Colonia Ulpia Traiana the town that developed near it and was granted rights of a colonia under Trajan (53-117 AD; its remains are now part of the Archaeological Park Xanten).

Sources:
The catalogue to the exhibition: 2000 Jahre Varusschlacht, vol 2, Imperium. Theiss/Stuttgart 2009
 




The Lost Fort is a travel and history blog based on my journeys in Germany, the UK, Scandinavia, the Baltic Countries, and central Europe. It includes virtual town and castle tours with a focus on history, museum visits, hiking tours, and essays on Roman and Mediaeval history, illustrated with my own photos.


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Location: Goettingen, Germany

I'm a blogger from Germany with a MA in Literature and History, interested in everything Roman and Mediaeval, avid reader and sometimes writer, opera enthusiast, traveller with a liking for foreign languages and odd rocks, photographer, and tea aficionado. And an old-fashioned blogger who still hasn't got an Instagram account.
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Historical Places

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England
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City Trips

Hiking Tours and Cruises

Germany
United Kingdom
Scandinavia
Baltic Sea


Historical Places

Germany

Towns

Bad Sooden-Allendorf
Historical Town and Graduation Tower
Bruchteiche Reservoir

Binz
A Seaside Resort

Braunschweig
Lion Benches in the Castle Square
The Quadriga

Erfurt
Mediaeval Erfurt

Goslar
Mediaeval Goslar
Chapel in the Klus Rock

Heiligenstadt
Churches St.Martin and St.Mary

Lübeck
St. Mary's Church

Magdeburg
Church of Our Lady: History

Mainz
The Temple of Isis and Mater Magna

Paderborn
Mediaeval Paderborn

Quedlinburg
Mediaeval Quedlinburg
The Chapter Church

Speyer
The Cathedral: Architecture
Jewish Ritual Bath

Stralsund
The Harbour
The Old Town

Treffurt
Mediaeval Lanes and Old Houses

Trier
The Roman Amphitheatre
The Aula Palatina
The Imperial Baths
The Porta Nigra

Weimar
Sites of the Weimar Classicism
The Park at the Ilm

Wismar
The Old Harbour

Xanten
Roman and Mediaeval Xanten
The Gothic House

Castles

Adelebsen
The Keep

Altenstein (Werra)
A Border Castle

Bramburg
Weser River Reivers

Brandenburg (Thuringia)
The Beginnings
Albrecht II of Thuringia

Coburg Fortress
History
Architecture

Ebersburg
The Marshals of Ebersburg
Architecture

Grebenstein
History

Grubenhagen
History of the Keep

Hanstein
Introduction

Hardeg Castle
The Great Hall

Hardenberg
History

Heldenburg (Salzderhelden)
A Welfen Seat

Hohnstein (Harz)
The Counts of Hohnstein
Between Welfen and Staufen
14th-15th Century

Krukenburg
Built to Protect a Chapel

Kugelsburg
The Counts of Everstein
Later Times

Plesse
The Counts of Winzenburg
The Lords of Plesse
Architecture

Polle Castle
An Everstein Stronghold

Regenstein
History

Reichenbach (Hessia)
History

Sababurg
Photo Impressions

Scharfenstein
From Castle to Convention Centre

Scharzfels
History
Architecture

Sichelnstein
History

Stauffenburg (Harz)
A Secret Mistress

Stapelburg
A Little Known Ruin in the Harz

Trendelburg
Photo Impressions

Wartburg
A Virtual Tour

Weidelsburg
History
Architecture
Revisiting the Weidelsburg

Abbeys and Churches

Bursfelde
Early History of the Abbey

Fredelsloh
A Romanesque Basilica

Gehrden
A Romanesque Church

Göllingen
The Byzantine Crypt

Hahnenklee
The Stave Church

Helmarshausen
Remains of the Monastery

Lippoldsberg
Early History of the Abbey
Interior of the Church

Lorsch
The Carolingian Gate Hall

Pöhlde
Remains of the Monastery

Scharzfeld (Harz)
The Cave Church

Vernawahlshausen
Mediaeval Murals

Walkenried
The Monastery - Introduction

Wiebrechtshausen
Romanesque Church and a Ducal Burial

Wilhelmshausen (Kassel)
The Romanesque Church

Roman Remains

Augusta Treverorum / Trier
The Amphitheatre
The Aula Palatina
The Imperial Baths
The Porta Nigra
The Roman Bridge

Colonia Ulpia Traiana / Xanten
Roman Xanten
The Amphitheatre in Birten

Limes Fort Aalen
The Barracks

Limes Fort Osterburken
The Discovery
The Cohort castellum
The Annex Fort
The Garrisons

Limes Fort Saalburg
A Reconstructed Limes Fort
Shrine of the Standards

Romans in North Rhine-Westphalia
Playmobil Romans, LWL Museum Haltern
Varus Statue, Haltern am See

Romans at the Moselle
The Villa Urbana in Longuich

Romans at the Rhine
Boppard - The Roman Baudobriga
The Villa at Wachenheim

Neolithicum and Bronze Age

Neolithic Burials
Neolithic Burials in the Everstorf Forest and Rugia
The Necropolis of Oldendorf

Bronze Age
Bronze and Iron Age Remains at the Werra

Museums / Reconstructed Sites

Palatine Seat Tilleda
The Defenses

Viking Settlement Haithabu
The Nydam Ship

Open Air Museums
European Bread Museum Ebergötzen
Open Air Museum Oerlinghausen

Post-Mediaeval Exhibits
Historical Guns, Coburg Fortress
Vintage Car Museum, Wolfsburg


England

Towns

Chester
Roman and Medieaval Chester

Hexham
The Abbey - Introduction
The Old Gaol

York
Clifford Tower
The Guild Hall
Monk Bar Gate with Richard III Museum
Museum Gardens
Houses in the Old Town
York Minster: Architecture

Castles

Carlisle
History

Richmond
Conquest to King John
Henry III to the Tudors
Architecture

Scarborough
Romans to the Tudors
Civil War to the Present
Architecture

Roman Remains

Eboracum / York
Roman Bath in the Fortress

Wall Fort Birdoswald
The Dark Age Timber Halls

Wall Fort Segedunum
Museum and Viewing Tower
The Baths

Other Roman Sites
The Mithraeum at Brocolita
The Signal Station at Scarborough


Scotland

Towns

Edinburgh
Views from the Castle

Stirling
The Wallace Monument

Castles

Doune
A Virtual Tour
History: The Early Stewart Kings
History: Royal Dower House

Duart Castle
Guarding the Sound of Mull

Dunstaffnage
An Ancient MacDougall Stronghold
The Wars of Independence
The Campbells Are Coming
Dunstaffnage Chapel

Stirling
Robert the Bruce

Abbeys and Churches

Inchcolm
Arriving at Inchcolm Abbey

Neolithicum and Bronze Age

Neolithic Orkney
Ring of Brodgar
Skara Brae

Brochs and Cairns
Clava Cairns
The Brochs of Gurness and Midhowe - Introduction

Picts and Dalriatans
Dunadd Hill Fort
Staffa


Wales

Towns

Aberystwyth
Castle and Coast

Caerleon
The Ffwrwm
The Roman Amphitheatre
The Baths in the Legionary Fort

Conwy
The Smallest House in Great Britain

Castles

Beaumaris
History
Architecture

Caernarfon
Master James of St.George
The Castle Kitchens

Cardiff
From Romans to Victorians

Chepstow
Beginnings unto Bigod
Edward II to the Tudors
Civil War

Conwy
History
Architecture

Criccieth
Llywelyn's Buildings
King Edward's Buildings

Manorbier
The Pleasantest Spot in Wales

Pembroke
Photo Impressions
The Caves Under the Castle

Roman Remains

Isca Silurum / Caerleon
The Amphitheatre
The Baths in the Legionary Fort


Denmark

Museums

Viking Museum Roskilde
To come


Norway

Castles and Fortresses

Akershus Fortress in Oslo
Kings and Pirates
The Time of King Håkon V
Architecture

Vardøhus Fortress
History

Museums

The Fram Museum in Oslo


Sweden

Neolithicum and Bronze Age

Gotland
Gnisvärd Ship Setting

Museums

The Vasa Museum in Stockholm


Finland

Towns

Porvoo
Mediaeval Porvoo


Estonia

Towns

Tallinn
The History of Mediaeval Tallinn


Latvia

Towns

Riga
The History of Mediaeval Riga


Lithuania

Towns

To come


Poland

Towns

Gdańsk / Danzig
History of Mediaeval Gdańsk
Mediaeval and Renaissance Gdańsk

Kraków
The Old Town
Jewish Kraków - Kazimierz and the Ghetto

Wrocław / Breslau
The Botanical Garden
The Wrocław Dwarfs

Castles

Ogrodzieniec Castle
A Virtual Tour
First Castle to the Boner Family


Czechia

Towns

Cheb / Eger
The Old Town

Karlovy Vary / Karlsbad
Brief History of the Town

Kutná Hora
The Sedlec Ossuary
The Medieaval Town and St.Barbara's Church


Belgium

Towns

Antwerp
The Old Town

Bruges
Mediaeval Bruges

Ghent
Mediaeval Ghent

Tongeren
Mediaeval Buildings

Roman Remains

Atuatuca Tungrorum / Tongeren
Roman Remains in the Town


Luxembourg

Towns

Luxembourg City
A Tour of the Town


City Trips

St.Petersburg (Russia)
Impressions from the Neva River

Strasbourg (France)
A Tour of the Town


Hiking Tours and Cruises

Germany

Baltic Sea Coast
Flensburg Firth
Rugia: Jasmund Peninsula and Kap Arkona
Rugia: Photo Impressions
Rugia: The Pier of Sellin
A Tour on the Wakenitz River

Lüneburg Heath
Hiking Tours in the Lüneburg Heath

Harz National Park
Arboretum (Bad Grund)
Bode Valley and Rosstrappe Cliff
Devil's Wall
Ilse Valley and Ilse's Rock
Oderteich Reservoir
Rappbode Reservoir
Views from Harz mountains

Nature Park Meissner-Kaufunger Wald
Bruchteiche / Bad Sooden Allendorf
Hessian Switzerland

Nature Park Solling-Vogler
The Forest Pasture Project
Raised Bog Mecklenbruch

Nature Park Reinhardswald
Old Forest at the Sababurg

Thuringian Forests
Oberderdorla and Hainich National Park

Rivers and Lakes
The Danube in Spring
Edersee Reservoir
A Rainy Rhine Cruise
Vineyards at Saale and Unstrut
Weser River Ferry
Weser Skywalk

Wildlife
Harz Falcon Park
Ozeaneum Stralsund: The Baltic Sea Life
Ozeaneum Stralsund: The North Sea Life
Red squirrels

Seasons
Spring Impressions from Göttingen
Spring in the Hardenberg Castle Gardens
Spring in the Meissner
Memories of Summer
Summer Hiking Tours 2016
Autumn in the Meissner
Autumn at Werra and Weser
Winter at the 'Kiessee' Lake


United Kingdom

The East Coast
By Ferry to Newcastle
Highland Mountains: Inverness to John o'Groats
Some Photos from the East Coast

Scottish Sea Shores
Crossing to Mull
Mull: Craignure to Fionnphort
Dunollie and Kilchurn: Photo Impressions
Pentland Firth
Staffa
Summer in Oban

Scotland by Train
West Highland Railway

Wales
Views of Snowdownia

Wildlife
Sea Gulls


Scandinavia

Coast of Norway: Hurtigruten-Tour
A Voyage into Winter
Along the Coast of Norway - Light and Darkness
Along the Coast of Norway - North of the Polar Circle

Norway by Train
From Oslo to Bergen
From Trondheim to Oslo

Wildlife
Bearded Seals
Dog Sledding With Huskies
Eagles and Gulls in the Trollfjord


The Baltic Sea

A Baltic Sea Cruise

The Curonian Spit in Lithuania
Beaches at the Curonian Spit
Geology of the Curonian Spit



Mediaeval History

General Essays

by Country
- Germany
- England
- Scotland
- Wales
- Denmark
- Norway
- Sweden
- Livonia
- Lithuania
- Poland
- Bohemia
- Luxembourg
- Flanders

Roman History

The Romans at War
Famous Romans
Roman Life and Religion

Other Times

Neolithicum to Iron Age
Post-Mediaeval History
History and Literature
Geology


Mediaeval History

General Essays

Mediaeval Warfare

Sieges
Trebuchets

Weapons
Late Mediaeval Swords

Mediaeval Art and Craft

Mediaeval Art
The Choir Screen in the Cathedral of Mainz
The Gospels of Heinrich the Lion
The Hunting Frieze in Königslutter Cathedral
Mediaeval Monster Carvings
The Viking Treasure of Hiddensee

Craftmanship
Goldsmithery
Medical Instruments

Feudalism

The History of Feudalism
The Beginnings
Feudalism in the 10th Century

Special Cases
The privilege of the deditio

The Hanseatic League

The History of the Hanseatic League
Introduction and Beginnings

Hanseatic Architecture
Examples of Brick Architecture
Hall Houses (Dielenhäuser)

Goods and Trade
Stockfish Trade

Towns of the Hanseatic League
Riga
Stralsund
Tallinn / Reval

The Order of the Teutonic Knights

Wars and Battles
The Conquest of Danzig
The Siege of Vilnius 1390

The Vikings

Viking Material Culture
The Viking Treasure of Hiddensee

Viking Ships
The Nydam Ship


Essays by Country

Germany

Geneaology

List of Mediaeval German Emperors
Anglo-German Marriage Connections

Kings and Emperors

The Salian Dynasty
King Heinrich IV

Staufen against Welfen
Emperor Otto IV

Princes and Lords

House Welfen
Heinrich the Lion's Ancestors
The Dukes of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen
Otto the Quarrelsome of Braunschweig-Göttingen

The Landgraves of Thuringia
The Ludowing Landgraves of Thuringia
Albrecht II and Friedrich I of Thuringia

Dukes and Princes of other Families
Duke Otto of Northeim
Prince Wilhelm Malte of Putbus

Counts and Local Lords
The Marshals of Ebersburg
The Counts of Everstein
The Counts of Hohnstein
The Lords of Plesse
The Counts of Reichenbach
The Counts of Winzenburg

Feuds and Rebellions

Royal Troubles
Otto IV and Bishop Adalbert II of Magdeburg

Local Feuds
The Lüneburg Succession War
The Thuringian Succession War
The Star Wars


England

Kings of England

House Plantagenet
Richard Lionheart in Speyer
King Henry IV's Lithuanian Crusade

Normans, Britons, Angevins

Great Noble Houses
The Dukes of Brittany
The Earls of Richmond

Contested Borders

Northumbria
King Stephen's Troubles with King David of Scots


Scotland

Kings of Scots

House Dunkeld
Malcolm III and Northumbria
Struggle for the Throne: Malcolm III to David I
King David and the Civil War, Part 1
King David and the Civil War, Part 2

Houses Bruce and Stewart
The Early Stewart Kings

Local Troubles

Clan Feuds
MacLeans and MacDonalds
A Scottish Wedding

Scotland and England

The Wars of Independence
Alexander of Argyll
The Fight for Stirling Castle


Wales

Welsh Princes

The Princes of Gwynedd
The Rise of House Aberffraw

Wales and England

A History of Rebellion
Llywellyn ap Gruffudd to Owain Glyn Dŵr


Denmark

Kings of Denmark

House of Knýtlinga
Harald Bluetooth's Flight to Pomerania

Danish Rule in the Baltic Sea

The Duchy of Estonia
Danish Kings and German Sword Brothers


Norway

Kings of Norway

Foreign Relations
King Eirik's Scottish Marriages
King Håkon V's Swedish Politics
Beginnings of the Kalmar Union

Feuds and Rebellions

Rebels
Alv Erlingsson of Tønsberg


Sweden

Troubles and Alliances

Scandinavian Unity
Beginnings of the Kalmar Union


Livonia
(Latvia and Estonia)

Contested Territories

Livonian Towns
The History of Mediaeval Riga
The History of Mediaeval Tallinn


Lithuania

Lithuanian Princes

The Geminid Dynasty
Troublesome Cousins - Jogaila and Vytautas

The Northern Crusades

The Wars in Lithuania
The Siege of Vilnius 1390


Poland

Royal Dynasties

The Jagiełłonian Kings
Władysław Jagiełło and the Polish-Lithuanian Union

The Northern Crusades

The Conquest of Pomerania / Prussia
The Conquest of Danzig


Bohemia

Royal Dynasties

The Bohemian Kings of House Luxembourg
King Sigismund and the Hussite Wars


Luxembourg

House Luxembourg
King Sigismund


Flanders

More to come


Roman History

The Romans at War

Forts and Fortifications

The German Limes
The Cavalry Fort Aalen
Limes Fort Osterburken
Limes Fort Saalburg

The Hadrian's Wall
Introduction
The Fort at Segedunum / Wallsend

Border Life
Exercise Halls
Mile Castles and Watch Towers
Soldiers' Living Quarters
Cavalry Barracks

Campaigns and Battles

Maps
The Romans in Germania

The Pre-Varus Invasion in Germania
Roman Camp Hedemünden
New Finds in 2008

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Museum Park at Kalkriese

The Battle at the Harzhorn
Introduction

The Batavian Rebellion
A Short Introduction

Roman Militaria

Armour
Early Imperial Helmets
Late Roman Helmets
The Negau B Helmet

Weapons
Weapon Finds at Hedemünden
The pilum
Daggers
Swords

Other Equipment
Roman Saddles


Famous Romans

The Late Empire

Alaric
The Legend of Alaric's Burial


Roman Life and Religion

Religion and Public Life

Religion
Curse Tablets and Good Luck Charms
Isis Worship
Memorial Stones
The Mithras Cult

Public Life
Roman Transport: Barges
Roman Transport: Amphorae and Barrels
Roman Water Supply

Architecture
Roman Public Baths

Domestic Life

Roman villae
Villa Urbana Longuich
Villa Rustica Wachenheim

Everyday Life
Bathing Habits
Children's Toys
Face Pots


Other Times

Neolithicum to Iron Age

Germany

Development of Civilisation
European Bread Museum, Ebergötzen
The Hutewald Project in the Solling
Open Air Museum Oerlinghausen

Neolithic Remains
Stone Burials of the Funnelbeaker Culture
The Necropolis of Oldendorf

Bronze Age / Iron Age
The Nydam Ship

Scotland

Neolithic Orkney
The Neolithic Landscape of Orkney
Ring of Brodgar
Skara Brae
Life in Skara Brae

Bronze Age / Iron Age
Clava Cairns
The Brochs of Gurness and Midhowe - Their Function in Iron Age Society

Scandinavia

Bronze / Iron Age
The Ship Setting of Gnisvärd / Gotland


Post-Mediaeval History

Explorers and Discoveries

Explorers
Fram Expedition to the North Pole
Fram Expedition to the South Pole

Discoveries
Otto von Guericke and the Magdeburg Hemispheres
Raising a Wreck, Now and Then (Vasa Museum in Stockholm)


History and Literature

Germany

The Weimar Classicism
Introduction


Geology

Geological Landscapes: Germany

Baltic Sea Coast
Chalk Cliffs on Rugia
Flint Fields on Rugia

Harz Mountains
Bode Valley and Rosstrappe Cliff
The 'Hübichenstein' Rock
Karst Formations in Southern Harz
The Lonau Falls
The Rhume Springs
Sandstone Formations: Daneil's Cave
Sandstone Formations: Devil's Wall
Sandstone Formations: The Klus Rock

Meissner / Kaufunger Wald
Blue Dome near Eschwege
Diabase and Basalt Formations
Karst Formations
Salt Springs at the Werra

Solling-Vogler
Raised Bog Mecklenbruch
Hannover Cliffs

Geological Landscapes: Great Britain

The Shores of Scotland
Staffa

Geological Landscapes: Baltic Sea

Lithuania
Geology of the Curonian Spit

Fossils and Other Odd Rocks

Fossilized Ammonites
The Loket Meteorite (Czechia)



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