Bridge of War

A covered Wehrgang, or set of battlements, serve today as a bridge connecting the two halves of Burg Thurant, a 12th century German castle in Alken, on the Moselle, in spring 2017. After exchanging hands several times, the castle was besieged and captured by the joint forces of Arnold II of Isenburg, Archbishop of Trier, and Conrad of Hochstaden, Archbishop of Cologne, who divided it between them. Each half of the castle then functioned independently to each other, each with its own residences and defences. The Wehrgang connected a turret (pictured) in the Trierer Burg, or Trier Castle, with another in the Kölner Burg, or Cologne Castle, and was probably jointly manned by defenders from both forces during sieges.

Revised Defence

A large wooden crossbow-type ballista in a bergfried* of the 13th century Burg Thurant. The German castle is sited above the village of Alken, in the Moselle Valley. Most of its building were destroyed in the 16th century War of the Palatine Succession (though this bergfried survived), and reconstructed in the early 20th century. The ballista seems to be a crude replica, with with a modern automobile leaf spring in place of a bow. Shot in April 2017.

^{*A bergfried is a tall tower in German medieval period castles. Its defensive function is similar to that of a keep or donjon in English or French castles. However, unlike a keep, a bergfried wassn’t designed for permanent habitation, and only occupied when under attack.}

Burg Eltz

A better-preserved 12th Century castle in the Eifel Mountains of Germany, close to Müden, and the Moselle River. Summer 2016.

600D+EFS18-200/3.5-5.6+polariser@18mm,1/320,f/3.5,ISO100

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