The termlowland castle orplains castle (German:Niederungsburg, Flachlandburg, Tieflandburg) describes a type ofcastle that is situated on alowland,plain orvalley floor, as opposed toone built on higher ground such as ahill spur. The classification is extensively usedin Germany where about 34 percent of all castles are of the lowland type.[1]
Because lowland castles do not have the defensive advantage of a site on higher ground, sites are chosen that are easy to defend, taking advantage, for example, of rivers, islands in lakes or marshes. Where such natural obstacles do not exist, artificially similar obstacles take on added significance. These include water-filled or drymoats,ramparts,palisades andcurtain walls. In order to increase the height of the castle above the surrounding terrain, artificial earth mounds may be built (such asmottes), andfortified towers also fulfil this purpose.
Castles of theEarly Middle Ages (includingSlavic and Saxon castles) often had a narrow, deep ditch and high and steep earth ramparts.
Lowland castles are naturally found on plains such as theNorth German Plain or in theNetherlands, but they may also be encountered occasionally in highlands, for example in a valley as a so-calledisland castle (Inselburg) on an island in a river (e.g.Pfalzgrafenstein Castle).
Water castle (Wasserburg): Overarching term for all castle types that use water as a defensive obstacle. Depending on their topographic situation these castles may be subdivided into (original German terms in brackets):
River castles (Flussburg): a castle erected on a river bank. As a rule, they are also surrounded by moats filled with water supplied by the river.
Shore castle (Uferburg): castle by a lake or the sea. Like river castles, shore castles usually have artificial ditches (moats) with a link to the waterbody.
Island castle (Inselburg): castle on a natural, more rarely on an artificial, island in a river or lake.
Marsh castle (Sumpfburg): castle inmarshy orboggy terrain. It uses the natural inaccessibility of the terrain to its defensive advantage.
Valley castle (Talburg): Castle on a valley bottom. A special variation are so-calledTalsperren ("valley barriers"), where fortifications in the valley are linked to ahillside orhilltop castle so that this type consists of a combination of a lowland castle and ahill castle. An example are theCastles of Bellinzona.
Sub-types according to function:
Bridge castle (Brückenburg): a castle built to watch over and protect a river crossing.
Harbour castle (Hafenburg): a castle that is built to protect aharbour.
Böhme, Horst Wolfgang; Friedrich, Reinhard and Schock-Werner, Barbara (ed.) (2004).Wörterbuch der Burgen, Schlösser und Festungen. Reclam, Stuttgart, p. 156,ISBN3-15-010547-1
Krahe, Friedrich-Wilhelm (2002).Burgen und Wohntürme des deutschen Mittelalters. Vol. 1, Thorbecke, Stuttgart, 2002, pp. 21–23,ISBN3-7995-0104-5,
