Castle Castel del Monte, the name of which is translated as "Castle on Mount", is in the city of Andria in the Italian region of Apulia. Once he wore the name Castrum Sante Maria Del Monte, since it was built on the site of the previously existing monastery of St. Mary on Mount. True, by the time of the construction of the castle in the middle of the 13th century, nothing left of the monastery.
The construction of the castle was launched by order of the Emperor of the Sacred Roman Empire of Friedrich II and lasted about ten years. Already in 1250th, a powerful structure was ready, although the interior decoration continued.
The form of the right octagon Castel del Monte is located 16 km from the city of Andria, in the town, which is called Terra Di Bari - Land Bari. The same octagonal towers are built in the corners. The height of the castle reaches 25 meters, the length of the walls is 16.5 meters, and the width of the walls of the towers is 3.1 meters. The main entrance is located on the east side, and on Western there is a spare portal. An interesting feature of the castle is that the two sides of the side tower come into contact with one of the parties of the main building.
It must be said that the two-storey castel del Monte is not really a castle in the full sense of the word, since he does not have a RVA, shafts and a lifting bridge. There are no storage rooms, stables and a separate kitchen. Therefore, the purpose of Castel del Monte still causes controversy among scientists. The generally accepted version is that the castle was a hunting residence of the emperor Friedrich II. True, richly decorated inner premises force scientists to argue further - it was too lush and elegant this decoration for a hunting house.
Inside the lock consists of 16 rooms, eight on each floor. The corner towers occupy the wardrobes, toilets and screw staircases, and the latter are not twisted right, but to the left. Interesting the location of the castle rooms: for example, two rooms of the first floor do not have exits in the courtyard. Four rooms have only one door, and the passage halls are 2-3 portals. All rooms of the second floor throughout the year twice a day are illuminated by sunlight, and the first floor rooms are only in the summer. Such a strange design suggests that Castel del Monte was a kind of astronomical device: its upper part is a giant sundial, and the first floor serves as a calendar, the spaces of which are evenly illuminated on the summer and winter sun. And this is another unlocked mystery of an old castle, which local residents call the "Crown of Apulia".
Something we long ago did not pay your attention to the castles, and then there are so many of them that ... I just won't tell you about everyone. Think only: in France today they are more than 600, but it used to be even more - about 6000! In Spain, their more than 2000, and 250 are safe and preservation. And there is also England, Germany, the Czech Republic, and even the same Poland, where one of the biggest brick castles of the world rushes - Marienburg Castle. In the Kaliningrad region, the ruins of the ancient castles will come out everywhere, and in one of them - Shakin, the busy "medieval ideas" is played with the most real "Knight's Khrenovukha", beer and fried herring. And each, by the way, unique, because they were built in different places, at different times and from different materials. And the funds of their builders had too different. For example, Bolomaris Castle in England was built in just some 18 months, from 1278 to 1280, and all because there were 400 bricklayers and 1000 minaries over him, and more than 2,000 people worked there. And now let's see what caused such an oral to feed: grains on half liters per person per day (1800 hectoliters for half a year!), And also meat, beer, salt fish. So it is not surprising that the castle of the Father - King Henry, his son - Richard The lion's heart paid for the past 12 years!
This is what the castle of Castell del Monte, located on a low hill in the middle of the plains and flowering fruit gardens.
Well, and so it looks from above.
There were castles-fortresses and castles for living, "royal castles" and castles belonging to senites, which are still known and castles filled with secrets. And here about one of these castles and today our story will go. And it is called this castle Castel del Monte that in Italian means "castle on the mountain" or "Mountain Castle".
Preserved to this day it is very good, and not surprising. He was never subjected to the siege, no one lived in it, the villagers who could disassemble him on the stones, there was no one.
There is a castle in southern Italy, just 16 km from the city of Andria, so it does not imagine labor. Well, it is interesting in the first place that this is the memory of the emperor Friedrich II Gogyenstaofen, which contemporaries called who "crusader without a cross and without a hike", while others (it is clear that first of all it was its court poets and the courtesy themselves !) Lovely magnificent "miracle of the world."
Image of Friedrich II from his book "De Arte Venandi Cum Avibus" ("On the art of hunting birds"), the end of the XIII century. (Vatican Apostolic Library, Rome)
Constructed it (if you compare with the same bomber) for quite a long time, from 1240 to 1250. Hordes of the Mongols ruined the fields and cities of Europe, blood flowed everywhere, and then the people shed themselves to themselves, prevented the lime and not so much and hurried to build a stone. The usual lining on the harness of two bulls was 2.5 tons, but they could drive up with such a car, no more than 15 km per day, so it is not difficult to imagine how much time and time has taken transportation to the plain of one building material. The architect of the castle is unknown (although it is possible that Frederick himself participated in construction). At first, the castle was given name Castrum Sancta Maria de Monte by the name of Maria del Monte located there. But nothing left of him, so it is impossible to assert this. It is believed that this is one of the most prominent castles of the era of the Emperor Friedrich II. There is a castle and one more name - "Corona of Apulia", which is in a certain way associated with its form. Here you need to say that the emperor Friedrich was known to contemporaries as one of the most educated people of the time that he could speak Greek and Arabic, well, and, of course, wrote and spoke on Latin and invited poets and artists to his court from the West and from the east. With his courtyard, mathematical competitions were held in which the famous Fibonacci mathematician took part, and maybe it somehow affected the strict architectural form of the castle.
The entrance to the castle was clearly intended only for people, and not for horses and it is at a time when everything to know only riding. Even women.
The fact is that Castel del Monte has the appearance of the right octagon with a height of 25 m, in the corners of which the towers fall, also constructed in the form of octagons with a height of 26 m. The length of each side of the main octagon is 16.5 m, and the length of the side of the octagonal small The towers are 3.1 m. The main entrance to the lock is east or is located between two towers. Another entrance is directly opposite the first.
This castle looked like this in 1898.
Although Castell del Monte is called a castle, this construction in the exact meaning of this word is not a lock. He has no RVA, shaft, no lifting bridge. There are no rooms for supplies or stable, no kitchen. The entrance to it is decorated as the portal of the Gothic Cathedral. And it is completely incomprehensible to his functional destination. It was suggested that it was possible, he had to become a hunting residence of the emperor, but his inner quarters, according to a number of researchers, were too richly decorated and furnished for a simple "hunting house".
The entrance resembles the portal of the cathedral.
Purely constructive Castell del Monte is a two-storey structure of a stone having a flat roof. Exactly on half of its heights around the perimeter there is a small cornice that divides floors. The second eaves, which separates the base of the building, is located at an altitude of about 2 m. Since the "castle" has the form of an octaphrian, then its courtyard has the same form of the correct octagon.
We enter his courtyard ...
... We look up and see the right octagon!
The whole building of the castle looks like one single monolith, so that is essentially it is. It is built from polished limestone blocks, but here are the columns, framing the castle windows and its portals are made of marble. On the outer wall there are two windows - with one arch on the first floor and with two on the second. But for some reason one window of the second floor, coming to the north, has three arches.
The castle plan is also a mystery. Well, why not connect all the premises? Why was it like that?
And now we count a little and find out that the whole building is associated with the figure eight, and it is in numerology a symbol of peace and infinity, and is between the world of heaven and land. All this smokes the most real occult. And Friedrich was very inclined to him. And in general he was a big rationalist. For example, he denied the divine origin of the stigmatics of Francis of Assisi - the case for a Christian is unprecedented, and on the grounds that they say they appeared on his palms, and Christ could not nail to the cross in this way, since the dice of the palm did not durable and did not stand Would be the weight of his body! Truly divine stigmas would have to appear on the wrists, between the radiation and elbow bones!
External windows of the first and second floors.
16 of the inner premises of the castle have the form of the right trapezium, the number of eight on each floor. At the same time, in angular turrets there are wardrobes, toilets and leading, screw staircases. Interestingly, these stairs are not twisted to be right, as it would be accepted in the fashion of those years for defense purposes, and to the left, like a snail shell. And it is known that Friedrich himself was not.
Staircase for left-handed?
There are three portals of the first floor in the courtyard of the castle, but besides them, at the level of the second floor there are also three doors that were supposed to go on a ring wooden balcony, which until today was not preserved. There are in the walls overlooking the courtyard, and small windows. Thus, light penetrates its interior and through external, and through the inner wall. There was no teeth on the walls, neither around the perimeter of the turrets was also provided and ... the question arises, and how do people who have to live in this castle would be removed if necessary to protect it?
Second floor window. Inside view.
Although all the rooms, both on the first and the second floors, have the same shape, are still different from each other, they are still distinguished by the location of the entrance doors. Two rooms of the first floor have exits outside the castle through East and Western portals, but they have no exits in the courtyard, although there are doors to other halls. That is, from the hall number 2, you can't get anywhere through the courtyard in the hall number 3, although only the wall shares them. You need to go into the courtyard, go to the hall number 4 and already get into the hall number 3! But from the room number 4 you can freely forgive in the room 5,6,7,8. That is, in addition to the passing rooms, which have 2-3 doors, there are such in the castle, in which only one door is poured. And 4 such halls - again two each of the floors. Each of these 4 rooms have a fireplace and a move in the toilet, located in the adjacent tower. Toilets are arranged in such a way that they were well ventilated through the outstands in the walls and even - oh, the miracle of the then architecture and construction art, they could wash with water from the tanks on the roof. There is a hall, which is usually called throne. Its window is east and is located above the main portal. However, it does not have a fireplace or toilet.
Typical gothic crusher arch.
And now the most interesting thing: these are the same windows in the walls of the first and second floors. Through them, in each room on the second floor, the direct sunlight will surely penetrate twice a day all year, but on the first floor it happens only in the summer. That is, what happens? The top of the castle is essentially a huge sundial, and the first floor can be the calendar at all. That is, all this castle, there is nothing but a giant astronomical device? Quite possible. Documents of its construction has not been preserved. Rather, there is one document of January 29, 1240, in which the Emperor of the Sacred Roman Empire of Friedrich II Staufen orders the Governor and the judge of Richard de Montefussol to buy a lime, stone and everything you need for construction. There is another document from 1241-1246. - "List of fortifications requiring repair." But in it Castell del Monte is already specified as a built, not under construction. There is no confirmation of the fact that Friedrich II at all ever had ever been to this castle or used him as his hunting residence. And in 1250, Friedrich II generally died and the castle passed to his sons.
Frederick though was a knight, but did not like to fight. He sought his negotiation goals. Therefore, his biographers had to resort to frank fakes. For example, on this miniature depicting the battle of Gilo (1241), Friedrich depicts on the left in the helmet with the crown, although in fact he did not participate in it. New Chronicle Giovanni Villani. (Vatican Apostolic Library, Rome)
This was the right point of saying that "nature on children rests." If Friedrich successfully confronted two dads, he was broadening from the church three times, without the war, he was able to return to Christians to Jerusalem, signing the agreement on the transfer of holy places of Palestine to the Sultan al-Kamil, the son of His Manfred died and without achieving the throne of Sicily and Naples, and his Young children: Friedrich, Heinrich and Enzo His winner Carl Anjui sharpened in this castle for a whole 33 years. And then this castle was also abandoned at all and it was only occasionally used for wedding ceremonies, and a local one was saved there from the plague.
Such "heads" in the architecture of that time were used very often.
In 1876, the castle was acquired by the state, restored and was put in order., And 1996, UNESCO made it to the World Heritage List, so that he was following him, they are put in order, and the flow of tourists does not weaken to him!
Layout of the castle Castell del Monte company AEDES ARS.
P.S. No opportunity to just take and go to see this castle? Then at your service ... Layout on a scale of 1: 150, which is going from small bricks! That is what people have reached now - they offer such original "prefabricated models". You can judge about the picture. The manufacturer is the Spanish company Aedes ARS, well, and the photo of the collected castle of the castle, we kindly provided the firm "shipyard on the table".
Located with a castle in Apulia, not far from the city of Andria. According to assumptions, he was built on the site of the destroyed fortress. The truth of her traces did not find it. In 1240, the King Friedrich II gives an order to build a castle on the site of the fortress. Construction lasted exactly ten years. After the end of the construction site, the ruler unexpectedly dies. From now on, all secrets began. Until now, no one knows who built the castle, and how it was used in the life of people. It is known that Friedrich was friends with the leader of the Teutonic Order. Some documents suggest that even the emperor himself consisted in the Order and was one of the masters. The construction does not matter practical, it was under the influence of the Templars. It is unlikely that its essence will understand practical minds, here it is better to think philosophically.
If you look at the structure, you can pay attention to the octagons located on the castle floors. The octagon is in an intermediate position between the square - the sign of the Earth and the circle that personifies the sky. Such buildings have always built the Templars. On the first and on the second floors there are eight rooms in the form of a trapezoid. Towers can be reached by screw staircases spinning counterclockwise. This contradicts all other buildings of past centuries, in which the stairs wrapped around clockwise. All the castle rooms are built by type of the labyrinth, it is completely incomprehensible in which of them will be the next time. It is still surprising that there is no living room in the castle, around empty bare rooms.
Inside the castle, in the courtyard there is a pool in the form of an octagon, carved from a whole marble piece. It was used for the secret rite of the "tear of the Lord", conducted by members of the order of the Templars. Under the pool there was a system of tanks for rainwater. This is one of the first examples of the ancient sewerage, preserved to the present day. The whole interior is just clogged with objects that resemble the eights. Even in the stucco on the walls there are a lot of mention of the figure eight. Why exactly "8"? The thing is that this figure symbolizes infinity and connects the sky and the ground.
If we consider the castle from the mystical side, it was used as a secret temple as a place to help come into contact with heavenly forces. Even the entrance to the construction is located on the side of the rising sun. Judging throughout the architecture and location, the sun plays one of the main roles. At noon, it throws away the shadow in such a way that the outlines completely repeat the proportions of the castle. During the summer solstice, the shadows of rectangular shape appear, discarded so that the castle turns out to be exactly in the middle. Two lions are located on the inlet columns, looking directly at the sunrise points.
If we consider the practical side of the use of the castle, that everything is simple here. Scientists found out that Friedrich II loved the hunt for Sokolov. He even wrote a whole book about these birds with his own drawings. It is likely that Castell del Monte was used as a hunting castle or for important events.
Our time Castel Del Monte
For many years, the castle did not belong to any of the states. However, in 1876 he was purchased by the state, in whose territory it was all time. He was renovated and twenty years counted to the World Heritage List. Currently, the castle has become a tourist facility that attracts tourists with its unusual form and mystical history.Castel-del Monte castle that translated from Italian means "Mountain Castle", is located in the province of Bari, the Italian region of Apulia. Sometimes the castle is called "Crown of Apulia." This is one of the significant and most famous castle structures of the time of the rule of Emperor Friedrich II. At the end of the XX century, he was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The history of the creation of the castle is shut-off the curtain of the mystery. Erected between 1240 and 1250, the "Mountain Castle" is the central object of the narration of a plurality of legends and myths concerning the causes of the construction of such an unusual structure that are still unknown.
The twenty-five-meter walls of the castle build the right octagon, in each corner of which there is a tower, which is above the walls exactly one meter. Interestingly, the towers also have the form of the right octagon, and the central portal of the structure is directed strictly east.
In contrast to protective and defensive structures of those times, in Castel-del Monte there is no artificial ditch, a bulk shaft and a suspended bridge, and the screw staircases inside the lock are not revealed, as they are taken in all buildings of this type, and to the left, by analogy with nature which all twists this way, whether it is a snail shell or a funnel in a reservoir. The windows in the towers are located in such a way that the rays of the sun, passing through them, turn the castle into a huge sundial, calendar or some other astronomical device, the purpose of which remains a mystery today.
Castel del Monte. Apulia.
Those. The castle on the mountain was erected in the XIII century Emperor Friedrich II.
This is one of the most mysterious castles of the world, full of secrets and symbols.
Once here the Church of Santa Maria del Monte was treated here, from which there was no trace, in 1240, Friedrich II ordered to build a castle on this hill. The emperor died in 1250, i.e. Only 10 years left for the construction of the Grand Castle.
Who was an architect, by whose project the massive structure is unknown, it is also unknown to be its purpose.
Friedrich II was in a friendly relationship with the great masters of Teutons by Hermann Grandfather. In some literary sources, it is said that the emperor himself reached the highest circles of the initiation and even presided over the round table in 1228, where representatives of all knightly orders, both Christian and Muslims gathered.
The construction of the castle clearly did not cost without the influence of the Templars and is philosophical structures, the material embodiment of mathematical, astronomical and esoteric knowledge.
A clear connection with the number 8 is traced in the lock.
The plan is octagons located on two floors.
Castel del Monte. Apulia.
The octagon is a symbolic figure, transitional state between the square - the symbol of the earth and the circle - the symbol of the sky.
The angles of the octagon are enveloped by turrets, too, with eighth grades, similar to those built by the Templars.
Eight trapezoid rooms of the first floor are identical to the eight rooms of the second floor, in the turrets they are spinning a screw staircase counterclockwise (although in other buildings of that time, all the stairs were built clockwise).
Castel del Monte. Apulia.
Almost all rooms have reported doors and create an impression of an infinite labyrinth.
There are no bedrooms in the castle, no residential rooms, no kitchen, no services for servants.
Castel del Monte. Apulia.
In the courtyard there was an octagonal fountain or a pool carved from a solid piece of marble. According to the plan, the fountain symbolized the Holy Grail and served for the rite "Tears of the Lord", i.e. The rite of "baptism in wisdom", which practiced the Templars. Under the fountain there was a huge tank for collecting rainwater, it was also water from five other tanks, which were under five of eight towers. The tanks were combined into the hydraulic system and were used for sewerage. This is one of the oldest samples of medieval sewerage, preserved to this day.
Details of the interior continue the topic of eights: 8 four-listed flowers on the right cornice of Timpan portal and 8 are the same ones; 8 leaves on the capitals of all columns; 8 leaves on the key of the arch. In different halls there are decorations of 8 sunflower leaves, 8 leaves of acanta or figs.
Number 8 - special. This is a symbol of infinity and mediator between heaven and earth.
If you follow this version, it's not at all the castle, but the temple of secret knowledge with the main entrance, similar to the church portal and turned to the east to the meeting ascending Sun.
Sun position generally plays an important role in the design of the castle, so at noon on the day of the autumn equinox wall of the courtyard, the shadow drops exactly equal to the length of the courtyard, and in the days of winter and summer solstices, ideal rectangles appear, outlining the walls of the castle so that he himself turns out exactly in the center .
The picture is completed by two lions sitting on the columns at the entrance and looking at the horizon in those points where the sun rises in the summer and winter solstice.
If you do not get involved in the esoteric version, you can remember that Friedrich II was a big fan of falconry and even wrote a book with his own illustrations dedicated to ornithology and bird hunting, the first scientific work in this area of \u200b\u200bthe Middle Ages.
The emperor loved to hunt in these places, and Castel del Monte could be a hunting castle that was also used for solemn events. For example, the weddings of his daughter Violanta with Count Caserta Riccardo Sanseversino.
Castel del Monte. Apulia.
Many centuries remained abandoned. In 1876, the Castle bought a state, he was renovated and put in order. In 1996, UNESCO was submitted to the World Heritage List.
And now, every wishes can admire on, the castle is similar in shape on the crown, in which Friedrich II was crowned and in an absolutely strategically disadvantageous position among the open space.
