- See also: List of cities with defensive walls
A defensive wall is a fortification used to defend a city or settlement from potential aggressors. This article is about the Spanish city For other uses see Avila Ávila de los Caballeros ( Latin: Abila and Óbila Stargard Szczeciński (Stargard in Pommern Stôrgard is a City in northwestern Poland, with 71017 inhabitants (2005 Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Walled City of Lahore, also known as the "Old City" or "Anderoon Shehr (اندرون شهر" is the section of Lahore, Punjab, The fortifications of Xi'an, an ancient capital of China, represent one of the oldest and best preserved Chinese city walls Construction of the first city UserEl_C --> Xi'an ( Postal map spelling: Sian is the Capital of the Shaanxi province in the The following cities have or have had Defensive walls Europe Albania Berat Butrint Krujë Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China, Hadrian's Wall, and the metaphorical Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose regions or mark territorial boundaries. A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area The Great Wall of China ( or ( is a series of stone and earthen Fortifications in China, built rebuilt and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman The Atlantikwall ( English: Atlantic wall) was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by the German Third Reich A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status Beyond their defensive utility many walls also had important symbolic functions — representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced.
Walls are almost always masonry structures, although brick and timber-built variants are also known. Depending on the topography of the area surrounding the city or the settlement the wall is intended to protect, elements of the terrain (e. Topography ( topo-, "place" and graphia, "writing" is the study of Earth 's Surface features or those of Planets g. rivers or coastlines) may be incorporated in order to make the wall more effective.
Walls may only be crossed by entering the appropriate city gate and are often supplemented with towers. A city gate is a Gate which is or was set within a City wall. Towers are tall human-made Structures that are always taller than they are wide usually by a significant Margin. In the Middle Ages, the right of a settlement to build a defensive wall was a privilege, and was usually granted by the so-called "right of fortification". The practice of building these massive walls, though having its origins in prehistory, was refined during the rise of city-states, and energetic wall-building continued into the medieval period and beyond in certain parts of Europe. A city-state is a Region controlled exclusively by a City, usually having Sovereignty.
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History
From very early history to modern times, walls have been a near necessity for every city. Uruk in ancient Sumer (Mesopotamia) is one of the world's oldest known walled cities. Uruk ( URU UNUG, Sumerian: unug Akkadian: uruk) from the Akkadian rendering of the Sumerian Toponym 'unug' is modern Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Before that, the city (or rather proto-city) of Jericho in what is now the West Bank had a wall surrounding it as early as the 8th millennium BC. Proto-city is a term usually used to describe large villages of the Neolithic Period such as Jericho and Catal Huyuk, but also any prehistoric Jericho ( Arabic, ʼArīḥā; Hebrew, Standard Yəriḥo Tiberian Yərîḫô The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA wall of Jericho dates to approximately 8000 BC and is thought to be the first City wall ever built
The Assyrians deployed large labour forces to build new palaces, temples and defensive walls. The Assyrians are an Ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. [1]
Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were also fortified. The Indus Valley Civilization (Mature period 2600&ndash1900 BCE abbreviated IVC, was an ancient Civilization that flourished in the Indus River basin By about 3500 B. C. , hundreds of small farming villages dotted the Indus floodplain. The Indus River { Sanskrit: सिन्धु Sindhu; Urdu: urd {{Nastaliq سندھ}} Sindh; Sindhi: snd Many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets. The stone and mud brick houses of Kot Diji were clustered behind massive stone flood dykes and defensive walls, for neighboring communities quarreled constantly about the control of prime agricultural land. The ancient site at Kot Diji ( Urdu: کوٹ ڈیجی) was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization. [2] Mundigak (c. 2500 B. C. ) in present day south-east Afghanistan has defensive walls and square bastions of sun dried bricks. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, [3]
Exceptions were few — notably, ancient Sparta and ancient Rome did not have walls for a long time, choosing to rely on its legions for defense instead. The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones piled on top of each other without mortar. Mortar is a workable paste formed by mixture of Cement, Water and fine aggregate Masonry to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between
In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified settlements known as oppida, whose walls seem partially influenced by those built in the Mediterranean. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts Oppidum (plural oppida) is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of Ancient Rome. The fortifications were continuously expanded and improved. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for
In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese "Lion Gate" redirects here For other uses see Lions' Gate (disambiguation. Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture built with huge Limestone Boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal In classical era Greece, the city of Athens built a long set of parallel stone walls called the Long Walls that reached their guarded seaport at Piraeus. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Long Walls ( Μακρά Τείχη) in Ancient Greece, were walls built from a city to its port providing a secure connection to the sea even during times of siege Piraeus (pɪˈræʊs Πειραιάς, piɾeˈas Πειραιεύς, piɾeˈefs is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, and a
Large tempered earth (ie. rammed earth) walls were built in ancient China since the Shang Dynasty (c. Rammed earth, also known as cob, pisé de terre or simply pisé, is a type of construction material Chinese civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River ( valley in the Neolithic era The Shang Dynasty ( Chinese: 商[[wiktionary 朝|朝]] or Yin Dynasty ( 殷[[wiktionary 代|代]] was according to traditional sources the 1600-1050 BC), as the capital at ancient Ao had enormous walls built in this fashion (see siege for more info). Although stone walls were built in China during the Warring States (481-221 BC), mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin in earnest until the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). The Warring States Period ( also known as the Era of Warring States covers the period from some time in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by the The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by In terms of China's longest and most impressive fortification, the Great Wall had been built since the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), although its present form was mostly an engineering feat and remodeling of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Great Wall of China ( or ( is a series of stone and earthen Fortifications in China, built rebuilt and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th Not to be confused with the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of China The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led The large walls of Pingyao serve as one example. Pingyao ( is a Chinese city and county in central Shanxi province Likewise, the famous walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing were established in the early 15th century by the Yongle Emperor. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial Palace from the mid- Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. The Yongle Emperor ( Wade-Giles: Yung-lo May 2, 1360 &ndash August 12, 1424) born Zhu Di ( Chu Ti
The Romans fortified their cities with massive, mortar-bound stone walls. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The most famous of these are the largely extant Aurelian Walls of Rome and the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, together with partial remains elsewhere. The Aurelian Walls (Mura aureliane were City walls built between 271 and 275 in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperors Aurelian and Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Walls of Constantinople are a series of stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS These are mostly city gates, like the Porta Nigra in Trier or Newport Arch in Lincoln. The Porta Nigra ( Latin: black gate) is a large Roman city gate in Trier, Germany. Trier (Trèves Luxembourgish: Tréier; Augusta Treverorum is a City in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. Newport Arch is the name given to the remains of a 3rd century Roman gate in the city of Lincoln Lincolnshire. Lincoln (ˈlɪŋkən is a Cathedral city and County town of Lincolnshire, England.
Apart from these, the early Middle Ages also saw the creation of some towns built around castles. These cities were only rarely protected by simple stone walls and more usually by a combination of both walls and ditches. A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel Water. From the 12th century AD hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded all across Europe, who very often obtained the right of fortification soon afterwards. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for
The founding of urban centers was an important means of territorial expansion and many cities, especially in eastern Europe, were founded precisely for this purpose during the period of Eastern Colonisation. "Drang nach Osten" is also a game in the " Europa " wargame series These cities are easy to recognise due to their regular layout and large market spaces. The fortifications of these settlements were continuously improved to reflect the current level of military development.
Composition
At its most simple, a defensive wall consists of a wall enclosure and its gates. For the most part, the top of the walls were accessible, with the outside of the walls having tall parapets with embrasures or merlons. A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a Roof or structure. The term embrasure, in Military architecture, refers to the opening in a Crenellation or Battlement between the two raised solid portions or Merlons A merlon, in Architecture, forms the solid part of an embattled Parapet, sometimes pierced by Embrasures The word comes from the North of the Alps, this passageway at the top of the walls occasionally had a roof.
In addition to this, many different enhancements were made over the course of the centuries:
- City ditch: a ditch dug in front of the walls, occasionally filled with water.
- Gate tower: a tower built next to, or on top of the city gates to better defend the city gates.
- Wall tower: a tower built on top of a segment of the wall, which usually extended outwards slightly, so as to be able to cover the walls. A wall tower is a Tower built into a Defensive wall. The tower usually extended outwards so as to be able to fire on attackers attempting to climb or break through In addition to arrow slits, ballistae, catapults and cannons could be mounted on top for extra defence.
- Pre-wall: wall built outside the wall proper, usually of lesser height — the space in between was usually further subdivided by additional walls.
- Additional obstacles in front of the walls.
The defensive towers of west and south European fortifications in the Middle Ages were often very regularly and uniformly constructed (cf. Ávila, Provins), whereas Central European city walls tend to show a variety of different styles. This article is about the Spanish city For other uses see Avila Ávila de los Caballeros ( Latin: Abila and Óbila Provins is a commune of France. Population (1999 11667 while 12814 people live in Provins and the surrounding built-up area In these cases, the gate and wall towers often reach up to considerable heights, and gates equipped with two towers on either side are much rarer. Apart from the purely military, defensive purpose, towers also played an important representative and artistic role in the conception of a fortified complex. In many senses, the architecture of the city thus competed with that of the castle of the noblemen and city walls were often a manifestation of the pride of a particular city.
Urban areas outside the city walls, so-called Vorstädte, were often enclosed by their own set of walls and integrated into the defense of the city. Vorstadt is a German term that describes an area of a city outside the Altstadt or the city centre but tightly connected to it and densely populated thus distinguished These areas were often inhabited by the poorer population and held the "noxious trades". In many cities, a new wall was built once the city had grown outside of the old wall. This can often still be seen in the layout of the city, for example in Nördlingen, and sometimes even a few of the old gate towers are preserved, such as the white tower in Nürnberg. Nördlingen is a Town in the Donau-Ries district in Bavaria, Germany, with a population of 20000 Additional constructions prevented the circumvention of the city, through which many important trade routes passed, thus ensuring that tolls were paid when the caravans passed through the city gates, and that the local market was visited by the trade caravans. Furthermore, additional signalling and observation towers were frequently built outside the city, and were sometimes fortified in a castle-like fashion. The border of the area of influence of the city was often partially or fully defended by elaborate ditches, walls and/or hedges. The crossing points were usually guarded by gates or gate houses. These defenses were regularly checked by riders, who often also served as the gate keepers. Long stretches of these defenses can still be seen to this day, and even some gates are still intact. To further protect their territory, rich cities also established castles in their area of influence. A famous example of this practice is the Romanian "Dracula Castle" at Bran/Törzburg, which was intended to protect Kronstadt (today's Braşov). Braşov (braˈʃov Brassó Kronstadt Medieval Latin: Brassovia or Corona) is a city in Romania and the capital of Braşov County
The city walls were often connected to the fortifications of hill castles via additional walls . Thus the defenses were made up of city and castle fortifications taken together. Several examples of this are preserved, for example in Germany Hirschhorn on the Neckar, Königsberg and Pappenheim, Franken, Burghausen in Oberbayern and many more. Hirschhorn (Neckar is a small town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, and bears the nickname “Pearl of the Neckar valley” Königsberg (Karaliaučius Low German: Königsbarg; Królewiec see also other names) was until 1946 the name of Kaliningrad. Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district in Bavaria, Germany. Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the south of Bavaria around the city of Munich A few castles were more directly incorporated into the defensive strategy of the city (e. g Nürnberg, Zons, Carcassonne), or the cities were directly outside the castle as a sort of "pre-castle" (Coucy-le-Chateau, Conwy and others). Zons, or Feste Zons ( Fortress Zons) is an old city in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, Germany. Carcassonne (Carcassona is a fortified French town in the Aude département, of which it is the Prefecture, Conwy (formerly Conway in English is a Town in Conwy county borough on the north coast of Wales, which faces Deganwy across Larger cities often had multiple stewards — for example Augsburg was divided into a Reichstadt and a bishopal (clerical) city. Augsburg is an independent City in the south-west of Bavaria. In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city (in German: freie Reichsstadt) was a City formally ruled by the Emperor only &mdash These different parts were often separated by their own fortifications.
With the development of firearms came the necessity to expand the existing installation, which occurred in multiples stages. Firstly, additional, half-circular towers were added in the interstices between the walls and pre-walls (s. a. ) in which a handful of cannons could be placed. | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural Soon after, reinforcing structures — or "bastions" — were added in strategically relevant positions, e. A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a Fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall (termed curtain with the shape g. at the gates or corners. A well-preserved example of this is the Spitalbastei in Rothenburg. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia, the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany However, at this stage the cities were still only protected by relatively thin walls which could offer little resistance to the cannons of the time. Therefore new, star forts with numerous cannons and thick earth walls reinforced by stone were built. A star fort or trace italienne is a Fortification in the style that evolved during the age of Black powder, when cannons came These could resist cannon fire for prolonged periods of time. However, these massive fortifications severely limited the growth of the cities, as it was much more difficult to move them as compared to the simple walls previously employed — to make matters worse, it was forbidden to build "outside the city gates" for strategic reasons and the cities became more and more densely populated as a result.
Decline
In the wake of city growth and the ensuing change of defensive strategy, focussing more on the defense of forts around cities, most city walls were demolished. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for Nowadays, the presence of former city fortifications can often only be deduced from the presence of ditches or parks.
Furthermore, some street names hint at the presence of fortifications in times past, for example when words such as "gate", "wall", or "glacis" occur.
In the 19th century, less emphasis was placed on preserving the fortifications for the sake of their architectural or historical value — on the one hand, complete fortifications were restored (Carcassonne), on the other hand many structures were demolished in an effort to modernise the cities. Carcassonne (Carcassona is a fortified French town in the Aude département, of which it is the Prefecture, A notable exception in this is the "monument preservation" law by the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, which led to the nearly complete preservation of many impressive monuments such as the Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl . Ludwig I (also rendered in English as Louis I) ( August 25 1786 in Strasbourg &ndash February 29, 1868 in Nice Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia, the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany Nördlingen is a Town in the Donau-Ries district in Bavaria, Germany, with a population of 20000 Dinkelsbühl is a historic city in Bavaria, Germany. It lies in the district of Ansbach, north of Aalen. The countless small fortified towns in the Franken region were also preservered as a consequence of this edict.
Modern era
Walls and fortified wall structures were built in the modern era, too. The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR ( East Germany) including They did not, however have the original purpose of being a structure able to resist a prolonged siege or bombardment.
Berlin's city wall from the 1730s to the 1860s was partially made of wood. Its primary purpose was to enable the city to impose tolls on goods and, secondarily, also served to prevent the desertion of soldiers from the garrison in Berlin.
The Berlin wall was a different form of wall, in that it did not exclusively serve the purpose of protection of an enclosed settlement. The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR ( East Germany) including One of its purposes was to prevent the crossing of the Berlin border between the DDR and the West German exclave of west-Berlin. The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. West Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990
Further walls of the 20th century are found in Israel where many exclaves of Jewish settlements are surrounded by fortified walls, as are many parts of Belfast, Northern Ireland by the Belfast Peace Lines. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The Peace Lines are a series of Separation barriers ranging in length from a few hundred yards to over three miles (5 km separating Catholic
Additionally, in some countries, different embassies may be grouped together in a single "embassy district", enclosed by a fortified complex with walls and towers — this usually occurs in regions where the embassies run a high risk of being target of attacks.
Most of these "modern" city walls are made of steel and concrete. Vertical concrete plates are put together so as to allow the least space in between them, and are rooted firmly in the ground. The top of the wall is often protruding and beset with barbed wire in order to make climbing them more difficult. Barbed wire, also known as barb wire (and frequently in dialect form spelled bob or bobbed) is a type of fencing Wire constructed These walls are usually built in straight lines and covered by watchtowers at the corners. Double walls, i. e. two walls with an interstitial "zone of fire" (cf. the Berlin wall) are rare.
The only extant city walls in North America are the historic ones in Old Quebec City, Canada.
Notes
- ^ Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture By Banister Fletcher, Sir, Dan Cruickshank, Dan Cruickhank, Sir Banister Fletcher. Published 1996 Architectural Press. Architecture. 1696 pages. ISBN 0750622679. pg no 20
- ^ The Encyclopedia of World History: ancient, medieval, and modern, chronologically arranged By Peter N. Stearns, William Leonard Langer. Compiled by William L Langer. Published 2001 Houghton Mifflin Books. History / General History. ISBN 0395652375. pg 17
- ^ Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture By Banister Fletcher, Sir, Dan Cruickshank, Dan Cruickhank, Sir Banister Fletcher. Published 1996 Architectural Press. Architecture. 1696 pages. ISBN 0750622679. pg no 100
References
- Monika Porsche: Stadtmauer und Stadtentstehung — Untersuchungen zur frühen Stadtbefestigung im mittelalterlichen Deutschen Reich. - Hertingen, 2000. ISBN 3-930327-07-4
- Defensive Walls in German Wikipedia
See also
- List of cities with defensive walls
- Chinese city wall
- Citadel
- City gate
- Fortification
- List of walls
- Wall
- Stone wall
- Medieval fortification
- Siege
- Murus Gallicus
- Mural crown
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