Castell del Monte Castle

Castel del Monte was built between 1240 and 1250 . The architect is unknown (perhaps Friedrich himself participated in the development of the plan). Originally called castrum Sancta Maria de Monte after the monastery (Maria del Monte), which was located in the same place. In the modern building no traces of the original monastery have been preserved, nor have the historical descriptions of its shape and interior been preserved. It is believed that the finishing work in the castle was not completed.

Castell del Monte is a regular octagon . At the corners of the castle are towers , also built in the form of octagons. The length of each side of the main octagon is 16.5 m, and the sides of the octagons of the towers are about 3.1 m. The height of the walls is 25 m, the height of the towers is 26 m. The castle has the following feature: the two sides of the tower are docked on one side of the main octagon . The main entrance of the castle is facing east .

Castel del Monte is often called the most famous castle in the world, however this building is not a castle in the exact meaning of the word. He has no moat, shaft and drawbridge. There is also no room for supplies, stables, a separate kitchen. The entrance to the castle, which is made as a portal of a Gothic temple, is unusual. The functionality of the castle is mysterious. Previously, it was assumed that it was conceived as the hunting residence of the emperor, but the interior was, according to some researchers, too richly decorated and furnished for the “hunting lodge”.

Castel del Monte is a two-story building with a flat roof. Outside, the building is a regular octagon with a side of 16.5 m. At each corner there is also an octagonal tower. Exactly at half height around the entire perimeter there is a small cornice separating the floors. The second cornice separating the basement of the building runs at an altitude of about 2 m. The courtyard is also a regular octagon. The height of the walls from the surface of the courtyard is 20.5 m, the corner towers are only slightly higher.

The main entrance portal is facing east. On the opposite, western wall is the second entrance. The building is built of polished limestone, columns, window frames and portals - marble. On each side of the external wall there are two windows - single-arched on the first and double-arched on the second floor. Only one window of the second floor - the north - has three arches.

The interiors are 16 regular trapezoids, eight on each floor. In the corner turrets are wardrobes, toilets and spiral staircases. Interestingly, the stairs do not twist to the right, as it is appropriate for defense, but to the left, following nature, for example, the shell of a snail. Three portals on the first floor lead to the courtyard, in addition, on the second floor there are also three doors leading to the now missing circular wooden balcony. In addition, other small windows are located in the courtyard walls, so that light penetrates into each room through both the external and internal walls.

Although all rooms, both the first and second floors, have the same shape, they differ from each other by the location of the doors. Two halls of the first floor are connected to the outside world through the eastern and western portal, but do not have access to the courtyard, but are connected to other halls. In addition to the passage halls with 2-3 doors, there is a so-called. end, in which only one door. There are 4 such halls - two on each floor. Each of the latter has a fireplace and a passage to the toilet, located in an adjacent tower. Toilets were well ventilated through slots in the walls and washed with water from tanks located on the roof. One of the final halls of the second floor is called throne. Its window faces east and is located above the main portal. It does not have a fireplace and toilet.

"Astronomical" hypothesis

Direct sunlight penetrates into each premise of the second floor twice a day all year round, for the premises of the first floor this is true only in the summer. Thus, the upper part of the structure is a giant sundial. Two days a year - for the summer and winter solstice - the light is evenly distributed between all the premises of the first floor both spatially and in time. Thus, the first floor can serve as a calendar, and the entire building can be considered as a kind of astronomical device.

According to the model of Castell del Monte, a magnificent and mysterious Library building was built in the film The Name of the Rose .

UNESCO World Heritage Monument.

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  Castle plan

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  External staircase and portal
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  Courtyard View

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  Castle in 1890

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  One of the castle windows

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  Mine of one of the stairs

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  Throne room

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  Castle in 1997

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  Castle in 2011

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  Inside the castle

• Castle Photos on Flickr.com
• Description of the internal structure of the lock