Rock Castles; Medieval Masterpieces Carved into the Bedrock. Fleckenstein Castle (1165-1689)

Howdy, and welcome. Today we will dive into a lesser discussed version of Medieval Fortification, known as the “Rock Castle”. Unlike hill castles, which utilize the hill’s elevation and have structures on top of the hill, Rock Castles quite literally utilize the bedrock, and are carved out of it. Most Rock Castles could be found on standalone outcroppings, usually in strategic locations. The miraculous part about these structures, as you will see in this video, is that almost the entirety of the castle was said to be carved out of the bedrock below, making for a hearty fortification that could stand the test of time. However, most Rock Castles fell victim to “slighting” - the practice of destroying an important structure to reduce its military or strategic value. Most of the Rock Castles from Medieval Times have been lost, and many are said to have been turned into the first “stone quarries” in their respective regions. We will focus on one Rock Castle in particular, known as Fleckenstein Castle, or Château de Fleckenstein; today just a shell of the immense and towering hand-carved fortification it once was. What is the true nature of Rock Castles, and could all of these masterpieces have been created meticulously by hand? Topics discussed today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_ca... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock-cu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slighting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babak_Fort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumkale