Castle of Castel del Monte. Castel del Monte Castle in southern Italy: description, history Monte Castle

Castel del Monte is a rather mysterious building, the true purpose of which is now unknown to anyone. What kind of castle is this without a moat and a rampart, without a bridge and a room for storing supplies in case of a siege, without a kitchen and a stable, but with a portal reminiscent of a church?

This is one of the most outstanding castles from the time of Emperor Frederick II. Another name for the castle is the "Crown of Puglia".

Castel del Monte is located in Puglia, 16 km from the city of Andria, in a place called "Terra di Bari" on a low hill next to the monastery of Santa Maria del Monte at an altitude of 540 m above sea level. It is believed that the castle was built on the site of an ancient fortress, of which, however, no traces have survived.


The construction of the castle is mentioned in only one document that has survived to this day. It is dated January 29, 1240, and it states that Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Staufen (German: Friedrich II von Hohenstaufen) orders the governor and judge Richard de Montefuscolo to buy lime, stone and everything necessary ...
However, further from the document it is not entirely clear what is meant - the beginning of construction or some kind of finishing work. Another document issued in 1241-1246 speaks in favor of the latest version. - Statutum de reparatione castrorum (list of fortifications that require repair). It lists Castel del Monte as a castle already built.


Unfortunately, there is no reliable evidence that Frederick II ever rested in the castle or used it as a hunting residence.
The emperor was one of the most educated people of his time, he knew Greek, Arabic and Latin. At the court of Frederick, mathematical competitions were organized in which Fibonacci took part, which may have to some extent influenced the strict architectural forms of Castell del Monte.

In 1250 Frederick II dies and the castle passes to his sons.
In 1266, after Frederick's son Manfred lost in the struggle for the throne of Sicily and Naples and died, Manfred's young children - Frederick, Henry and Enzo - were imprisoned in the castle by the winner of this confrontation, Charles of Anjou, for 33 long years.
Subsequently, the castle was almost abandoned and was only occasionally used as a venue for wedding ceremonies.
In the middle of the 17th century, Castel del Monte served for the last time as a refuge for noble families who found salvation from the plague here.

Castel del Monte has two floors with a flat roof. Outside, the castle is a regular octagon, the side of which is 16.5 meters. At each corner of the building is an octagonal tower. Strictly in the middle of the height along the entire perimeter there is a small cornice that separates the floors from each other. The second cornice separates the basement of the building and runs at a height of about 2 meters. The courtyard is also a regular octagon, the height of the walls of which, counting from the surface of the courtyard, is 20.5 meters, the height of the corner towers is slightly larger.


Each corner is crowned with an octagonal tower, the courtyard also has eight corners. The whole architectural design is closely connected with the number eight, which in numerology is considered a symbol of infinity and the world, occupies an intermediary position between the world of Earth and Heaven. This makes us think about the special purpose of the castle, perhaps it was an observatory of medieval times, perhaps it was used for alchemy or occultism.

Panorama of the courtyard of Castel del Monte

The main entrance faces strictly east. On the opposite, western side is the second entrance. The entire building is built of polished limestone, while the window frames, columns and portals are made of marble. Each side of the outer wall has two windows - one single-arched on the first floor and the other double-arched on the second floor. Only the north-facing window on the second floor has three arches.

Three exits on the ground floor lead to the courtyard. In addition, on the second floor there are also three doors that led to a wooden balcony, which, unfortunately, has not survived to this day. There are also other small windows in the walls, through which light enters each room through the inner and outer walls.

The interior of the castle consists of 16 regular trapezoids, and eight are located on the first and second floors. Dressing rooms, toilets and spiral staircases are located in the corner turrets. It is noteworthy that spiral staircases twist, as a rule, to the right, as this is necessary for the defense of the building. Here, on the contrary, spiral staircases twist to the left, as if repeating the shape of a snail's shell.

All rooms on both floors have the same shape, but they differ in the location of the doors. Two halls located on the first floor are connected to the street by east and west portals, but they do not have access to the courtyard of the fortress, but are connected to other halls. Halls with several doors are called walk-throughs.

Also in the fortress there are four end halls, two on the first and second floors, with only one door. Each end hall has a fireplace and an entrance to the toilet, which is located in the tower adjacent to the hall. The latrines were always well ventilated through openings in the walls and flushed with water from tanks that were installed on the roof of the castle. One of the end rooms on the second floor is called the throne room. The window in it faces east and is located above the main portal. There is no fireplace and passage to the toilet in this room.
At the same time, there are no bedrooms, no living rooms, no kitchen, no rooms for servants in the castle.

Sunlight directly penetrates into the premises of the second floor twice a day all year round, and direct sunlight penetrates into the premises of the first floor only in summer. Thus, the upper part of the fortress is a huge sundial. Two days a year - during the summer and winter solstice, the sun's rays are evenly distributed between all rooms on the ground floor.
So, the first floor could serve as a calendar for the inhabitants of the castle, and the whole building can be considered as an extraordinary astronomical instrument.




In 1876, the castle was bought by the state, it was restored and put in order. In 1996, Castel del Monte was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
And now everyone can admire the Castel del Monte, a castle similar in shape to the crown in which Frederick II was crowned and located in an absolutely strategically disadvantageous position among the open space.

The majestic Castel del Monte is one of the most famous sights in the Italian region of Apulia. Moreover, it will not be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most mysterious castles in the world.

Unlike other mystical places, the amazing castle is not hidden from prying eyes behind mountains and forests. On the contrary, it is visible from afar. You drive along the freeway and you see, here he is, a handsome man, towering on top of a hill. And it doesn’t matter that the name of the building is translated as “castle on the mountain”, only those who have never seen real mountains in their life can literally perceive the name Castel del Monte. It was built on a castle on the very spot where the monastery of Maria del Monte was located until the thirteenth century, hence the first name of the building, which few people remember today - castrum Sancta Maria de Monte.

In the photo: view of Castel del Monte

Today, the crowd of people does not dry out to Castel del Monte. For this, many thanks to the magical world of cinema and the Italian director Matteo Garrone in particular, because it was in the unusual halls of this monumental building that he settled the characters - a king who raised a flea, and a princess whom an eccentric father married to a cannibal. Curiously, until the twentieth century, the castle was in an abandoned state, and shepherds spent the night there. Today, the architectural structure is under the care of UNESCO, as a result, it was washed and put in order, only the interior decoration of the halls was not preserved - the same Matteo Garrone had to hastily fill the space of the premises with props brought to the castle.

In the photo: shooting the film "Penny Dreadful"

Garrone chose Castel del Monte to film the fairy tales of the Neapolitan Giambattista Basile for a reason, because this place is mysterious to the point of impossibility. Although located 16 kilometers from the city of Andria, Castel del Monte bears the honorary title of one of the most famous medieval castles in the world, in its essence it is not a castle.

Frame from the movie "Penny Dreadful", the princess and the king on the roof of the castle

The fact is that in the understanding of a normal person of the Middle Ages, the castle could be built for only one of two purposes. The first goal, it is also the main one - defense and control of the area. In this case, one or another lord erected a small fortress, as a rule, on the top of a mountain, which helped repel enemy attacks, and at the same time influence the situation in the region as a whole. The second task is a fortified place to live. Sometimes castles grew to the size of cities, take, for example, but their powerful walls again made it possible to hold back hordes of enemies.

But Castel del Monte is not intended for defense at all. Where are the fortress walls and the moat with water? Where are any decent defensive fortifications? This place also seems unsuitable for life. Of course, even Walter Scott in his "Ivanhoe" wrote that the concept of "comfort" did not exist in the Middle Ages, but this castle, even by medieval standards, is far from the home of a self-respecting lord. It's okay that all the halls inside are connected to each other, but, most importantly, there is no place for a stable here and there is no kitchen. So, most of all, the castle looks like a kind of old art object, built for the sake of ideas, such houses are sometimes designed by modern architects who have received absolute carte blanche to implement their creative ideas, coupled with an unlimited budget.

This association is very appropriate if you know who built Castel del Monte. The emperor Friedrich II Staufen himself erected a castle on the mountain - a legendary person in every respect. He not only managed to win back the title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from competitors and lead the sixth crusade, but was also considered one of the most educated people of his time. He knew Greek, Latin and Arabic, founded a university in Naples, where not only Christians, but also Jews and Arabs taught, and this, by the way, is the height of tolerance by medieval standards. On the whole, Frederick II was very far from Christian prejudices, here are illustrative examples: the emperor insisted that doctors study anatomy on corpses, and Frederick also warmly treated Fibonacci and even arranged mathematical tournaments.

In the photo: an engraving depicting Frederick II

The emperor also had a penchant for writing: an essay on falconry is attributed to his pen, and at his court he created the Sicilian school of poetry. At the same time, like all progressive people of his time, Frederick II was a fan of a wide variety of mystical teachings, studied astronomy and astrology. With the personal life of the emperor, everything was also interesting, he earned the reputation of the Bluebeard, because he was married four times, however, the church did not recognize his last marriage with his constant mistress Bianca Lancia. Children Frederick II spawned a great many - 20 legal, bastards, for obvious reasons, no one scrupulously counted.

Castel del Monte Frederick II built from 1240 to 1250, that is, in the last decade of his life. The name of the architect is unknown, but many historians, not without reason, believe that he was the emperor himself - the result was a painfully intricate design. The fact is that, like many medieval mystics, Frederick was obsessed with the number eight, which symbolizes infinity, and it is constantly traced in the structure of the castle.

It’s worth starting with the fact that the castle, when viewed from above, is a regular octagon, and an octagonal tower has been erected on each corner of the building. The inner courtyard of the castle also repeats the shape of the octagon. The castle has only two floors, the roof is flat, and the main entrance to Castel del Monte looks strictly to the east, because, as they believed in the Middle Ages, the good news came to us from the east.

In the photo: windows overlooking the courtyard of the castle

There are 8 rooms on each floor of the castle, all of them are connected to each other, so Castel del Monte can easily be walked around the perimeter. The rooms are made in the form of trapeziums, and windows are cut through in the walls. Toilets, wardrobes and spiral staircases are located in the corner turrets. By the way, the stairs in the castle are a different story - usually in all castles they are “twisted” to the right, since this is optimal for the defense of the object, but in Castel del Monte, on the contrary, they are “turned” to the left, that is, the way nature, because mollusk shells or snail shells are twisted to the left.

In the photo: stairs in Castel del Monte

All rooms of the castle are exactly the same, the rooms differ from each other only in the location of the doors and the number of windows. The number eight again dominates in the decor elements: on the capitals of the columns - eight leaves, on the bas-reliefs in the rooms - eight leaves or clover flowers.

Another interesting thing is that direct rays of sunlight fall into the windows of the second floor twice a day (this rule only works with the first floor in summer), so many people assume that the mysterious castle is nothing more than a huge sundial, but at the same time an astronomical one. device. In addition, twice a year during the summer and winter solstices, sunlight is evenly distributed between all the rooms on the ground floor. This, of course, is also no coincidence, so many historians suggest that the first floor of Castel del Monte is a kind of analogue of the solar calendar.

One could calm down here, but here's another interesting reason for you to think - twice a year, on April 8 and October 8, the sun's rays pass through the windows of the castle into the courtyard in such a way that they fall strictly on that part of the wall where in the time of Frederick II, a bas-relief was carved, now lost. Well, in order to make everything quite difficult, it is worth remembering that October in the thirteenth century was considered the eighth month of the year.

Frederick II died before he could complete the construction of the castle - the building of Castel del Monte was completed, but the interior decoration was not completed to the end. After the death of the emperor, there were legends in Europe that Frederick did not die, but disappeared in an unknown direction in order to reform the church and establish universal brotherhood and peace. A certain symbolism is seen in this, because the octagon, repeated in the structure of Castel del Monte, in the Middle Ages symbolized the transition from the world of the living to the kingdom of the dead, and at the same time the unity of heaven and earth.

Everything is very simple here - the square was considered a symbol of the earth, the circle - a symbol of the sky, and the octagon - an intermediate figure, denoting both unity and transition. However, scientists far from mysticism believe that the repeated use of the octagon is just a reference to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, because Frederick II saw the dome over the cornerstone during his crusade.

Encrypted in Castel del Monte and biblical symbols. The fact is that there are exactly five water collectors and five fireplaces in the castle, many associate this with the phrase of the Baptist John from the Gospel of Luke: “I baptize you in water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is stronger than me; I am not worthy to bear His shoes; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." So, it is easy to assume that Castel del Monte was for Frederick II an analogue of the temple, built according to his personal project, and this fully meets the ambitions of the emperor.

By the way, this hypothesis is confirmed by another curious detail. If you look closely at the entrance to the castle, you can see the giant letter F encrypted there. If the tomb of Frederick II was inside, associations with the pyramids would be inevitable, and so Castel del Monte seems to be a kind of personal portal of the emperor, erected according to his plan and in his honour. At least, when you stand in the courtyard of the castle and, with your head up, look at the sky, imprisoned in an octagon of powerful walls made of limestone, even the most hardened materialists have a feeling of belonging to the medieval magical tradition. Yes, and the energy of this place is special, in the style of those very "Terrible Tales" by Matteo Garrone.

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Julia Malkova- Julia Malkova - founder of the website project. Former editor-in-chief of the elle.ru Internet project and editor-in-chief of the cosmo.ru website. I talk about traveling for my own pleasure and the pleasure of readers. If you are a representative of hotels, tourism office, but we are not familiar, you can contact me by email: [email protected]

Castel del Monte is rightly called the Crown of Puglia. Its octagonal shape, lack of corridors, octagonal towers, octagonal courtyard and fountain all suggest a secret message. To whom and from whom? Why did the owner of the castle, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, wear on his right hand a ring adorned with a faceted emerald with eight gold petals?

Death of the Emperor

At the end of November 1250, during another hunt in the forests of his beloved Apulia, Frederick II suddenly felt a strange weakness and pain in his stomach. Soon the pain and fever became unbearable and the emperor ordered to stop halfway, in an exquisite domus area(now Torremaggiore). This place became the last refuge for the emperor: dysentery slowly burned his weakened body and on December 13 the light went out in his eyes. There were rumors that the emperor was poisoned by his illegitimate son Manfred...

The emperor's castle took 10 years to build. Its geometrically intricate design is still a matter of debate. Emperor Frederick II, as you know, being an educated person and patron of the arts, created a mathematical school at the court, in which the great Fibonacci took part.

However, the castle-palace, so unusual for Puglia, fits perfectly into the symbolism of faith: the octagon is a symbol of resurrection and rebirth. Ancient religious temples often included architectural compositions in the form of a square (rectangular base), above which is a sphere or circle: the square is a symbol of the earth, and the circle represents the sky. Between them sometimes stood a transitional figure of an octagon, which could symbolize the position of a person. Suffice it to recall the ancient basilicas and baptismal halls of the 4th century BC. (Baptistery), a similar form of which emphasized the importance of baptism as an act of unity of man with God, the temporal with the eternal.

It is known that Frederick II, while in Jerusalem, was delighted with the view of the sanctuary of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. The Aachen Chapel, in which the emperor was crowned, also has an octagonal shape. Even adding up the numbers of the date of death of the emperor (1250) gives the magic number 8. If this is not enough, then we can add that Frederick II wore an eight-pointed crown.

Castle or fortress?

The castle was faced with marble - a very unusual use of noble stone in defensive construction for those times. The castle was not protected by a moat and an earthen rampart. There are no storage facilities for ammunition, there is nothing to remind us that the defenders were preparing for the siege. Even the spinning of the spiral staircases did not comply with the rule of freedom of the right hand in defense. There are no loopholes, and the windows of the castle are too large, which could easily be used as a weak point if you want to set fire to the building from the outside. Such ostentatious frivolity can be taken as a message: Frederick II was not afraid of anyone, although he had many enemies.

In Castel del Monte there were a few members of the imperial retinue. The location of the castle on the top of the hill made it possible to control the entire district. Only trusted and trusted persons could approach the castle, and the servants did not consist of local peasants and artisans, but from residents of the remote cities of Monopoli, Bitonto and Bitetto. This means that secret meetings could take place outside the castle walls, unusual religious rites or alchemical experiments could be carried out.

Alchemy

It is quite possible that experiments on the transformation of metal were carried out in the castle. Small fireplaces in the rooms of the castle were not adapted to receive a large number of guests and lavish banquets. But they were perfect for heating reagents, and the strategic position of the castle did not allow outsiders to smell the unusual smell of burning. The niches could well fit distillers and furnaces for heating.

In the castle at night, bold experiments were carried out to transmute the despicable metal into gold and the secret search for the fifth indestructible substance. The castle was quite suitable for experiments and occult practices. It is noteworthy that none other than Michele Scoto- astrologer, magician, fortuneteller - one of the theorists of alchemy. The treatises of this scientist brought good dividends to the emperor. Especially the one that describes the transformation of copper into silver.

The desire to improve matter, inherent in the alchemists of the epoch of the 13th - 17th centuries, gave rise to a wave of quackery and outright speculation. Very often, these surveys were commissioned by wealthy and enterprising sponsors.

Castel del Monte undoubtedly deserves the attention of not only specialists. According to numerous testimonies of tourists, when visiting the castle there is a strange feeling of anxiety. The walls radiate unusual energy and sometimes it seems that you are completely immersed in the distant world of the XIII century with all its passions, cruelty, naivety and whims.

The castle is under the protection of UNESCO. Since 1996, it has become part of the historical sites protected by the World Heritage Fund.

How to get to Castel del Monte

The castle is located in the commune of Andria, province of Bari.

By car:

Motorway A 14 Bologna - Taranto

From the motorway A 16 Bari - Naples, exit at: Andria-Barletta S.S. 170.

Image gallery of Castel del Monte

Castell del Monte. Apulia.

Those. The castle on the mountain was built in the XIII century by Emperor Frederick II.
This is one of the most mysterious castles in the world, full of secrets and symbols.
Once the church of Santa Maria del Monte towered here, of which there was no trace, in 1240 Frederick II ordered the construction of a castle on this hill. The emperor died in 1250, i.e. only 10 years were allotted for the construction of a grandiose castle.
Who was the architect, according to whose project the massive structure was erected is unknown, and its purpose is also unknown.
Frederick II was on friendly terms with the Grand Master of the Teutons Hermann von Salz. Some literary sources say that the emperor himself reached the highest circles of initiation and even presided over the “round table” in 1228, where representatives of all knightly orders, both Christian and Muslim, gathered.
The construction of the castle was clearly not without the influence of the Templars and is a philosophical construction, the material embodiment of mathematical, astronomical and esoteric knowledge.
There is a clear connection with the number 8 in the castle.
The plan is octagonal, located on two floors.

Castell del Monte. Apulia.

The octagon is a symbolic figure, a transitional state between a square - a symbol of the earth and a circle - a symbol of the sky.
The corners of the octagon go around the turrets, also with eight sides, similar to those built by the Templars.
The eight trapezoidal rooms on the first floor are identical to the eight rooms on the second floor; the turrets have spiral staircases that rotate counterclockwise (although in other buildings of that time all staircases were built clockwise).

Castell del Monte. Apulia.

Almost all rooms have communicating doors and give the impression of an endless labyrinth.
The castle has no bedrooms, no living rooms, no kitchen, no rooms for servants.

Castell del Monte. Apulia.

In the inner courtyard was an octagonal fountain or pool, carved from a single piece of marble. According to the design, the fountain symbolized the Holy Grail and served for the rite of "tears of the Lord", i.e. the rite of "baptism in wisdom" practiced by the Templars. Under the fountain was a huge cistern for collecting rainwater, and water from five other cisterns, located under five of the eight towers, also went into it. The tanks were combined into a hydraulic system and used for sewage. This is one of the oldest examples of medieval sewers that have survived to this day.
Interior details continue the theme of eights: 8 four-leaf flowers on the right cornice of the tympanum of the portal and 8 of the same kind on the left; 8 leaves on the capitals of all columns; 8 leaves on the key of the arch. In different halls there are decorations made of 8 sunflower leaves, 8 acanthus or fig leaves.
The number 8 is special. It is a symbol of infinity and a mediator between heaven and earth.
If you follow this version, then it’s not a castle at all, but a temple of secret knowledge with a main entrance that looks like a church portal and turned east to meet the rising sun.
The position of the sun in general plays an important role in the design of the castle, so at noon on the day of the autumnal equinox, the walls of the courtyard cast a shadow exactly equal to the length of the courtyard, and on the days of the winter and summer solstices, ideal rectangles appear that outline the walls of the castle so that he himself is exactly in the center .
The picture is completed by two lions sitting on columns at the entrance and looking at the horizon at the points where the sun rises on the summer and winter solstices.
If you do not get carried away by the esoteric version, then we can recall that Frederick II was a great lover of falconry and even wrote a book with his own illustrations on ornithology and bird hunting, the first scientific work in this area during the Middle Ages.
The emperor liked to hunt in these places, and Castel del Monte could be a hunting castle, which was also used for solemn events. For example, the wedding of his daughter Violanta with the Count of Caserta, Riccardo Sanseverino.

Castell del Monte. Apulia.

It remained abandoned for many centuries. In 1876, the castle was bought by the state, it was restored and put in order. In 1996, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
And now everyone can admire the castle, similar in shape to the crown, in which Frederick II was crowned and located in an absolutely strategically disadvantageous position among the open space.

For some reason, we haven’t paid attention to castles in VO for a long time, but there are so many of them that ... well, you just can’t tell about all of them. Just think: in France today there are more than 600 of them, but earlier there were even more - about 6000! There are more than 2,000 of them in Spain, with 250 still intact. And there is also England, Germany, the Czech Republic and even all the same Poland, where one of the largest brick castles in the world rises - Marienburg Castle. In the Kaliningrad region, the ruins of ancient castles rise everywhere, and in one of them - Schaaken, amusing "medieval performances" are played out with the real "knight's horseradish", beer and fried herring. And each, by the way, is unique, because they were built in different places, at different times and from different materials. And their builders also had different means. For example, Beaumaris Castle in England was built in just 18 months, from 1278 to 1280, and all because 400 masons and 1000 laborers worked on it, and there were more than 2000 people who worked there. And now let's see what it cost to feed such a crowd: half a liter of grain per person per day (1800 hectoliters in six months!), And also meat, beer, salted fish. So it is not surprising that the castle of his father - King Henry, his son - Richard the Lionheart then paid for 12 whole years!

This is what the Castel del Monte castle looks like, located on a low hill in the middle of a plain and flowering orchards.

Well, this is what it looks like from above.

There were castles-fortresses and castles for living, "royal castles" and castles that belonged to lords are known, castles about which everything is known and castles filled with secrets. And today our story will go about one of these castles. And this castle is called Castel del Monte, which in Italian means “castle on the mountain” or “mountain castle”.

It has survived to this day very well, and not surprisingly. It was never subjected to sieges, no one lived in it, there were no villagers who could dismantle it into stones.

The castle is located in southern Italy, just 16 km from the city of Andria, so getting to it is not difficult. Well, it is interesting primarily because it is the memory of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, whom contemporaries called someone "a crusader without a cross and without a campaign", while others (it is clear that in the first place these were his court poets and the courtiers themselves !) was magnificently called the “Miracle of the World”.

Image of Frederick II from his book De arte venandi cum avibus (On the Art of Hunting with Birds), late 13th century. (Vatican Apostolic Library, Rome)

It was built (when compared with the same Beaumaris) for quite a long time, from 1240 to 1250. Hordes of the Mongols ravaged the fields and cities of Europe, blood was shed everywhere, and here people hewed stones for themselves, mixed lime and, not in a hurry, carried a stone to the construction. The usual overlay for a team of two bulls was 2.5 tons, but they could travel no more than 15 km a day with such a load, so it is easy to imagine how much effort and time it took to transport only building material here to the plain. The architect of the castle is unknown (although it is possible that Friedrich himself participated in the construction). At first, the castle was given the name castrum Sancta Maria de Monte, named after the monastery of Maria del Monte located there. But nothing was left of him, so it's impossible to say with certainty. It is generally accepted that this is one of the most outstanding castles of the era of the life of Emperor Frederick II. The castle also has another name - "Crown of Puglia", which in a certain way is connected with its shape. It must be said here that Emperor Frederick was known to contemporaries as one of the most educated people of that time, that he could speak Greek and Arabic, and, of course, wrote and spoke Latin and invited poets and artists from the West to his court as well as from the East. Mathematical competitions were held at his court, in which the famous mathematician Fibonacci took part, and perhaps this somehow influenced the strict architectural form of the castle.

The entrance to the castle was clearly intended only for people, not for horses, and this at a time when all the nobility traveled only on horseback. Even women.

The fact is that Castel del Monte looks like a regular octagon 25 m high, at the corners of which towers rise, also built in the form of octagons 26 m high. The length of each side of the main octagon is 16.5 m, and the lengths of the sides of the octagonal small towers is 3.1 m. The main entrance to the castle is oriented to the east and is located between two towers. The other entrance is directly opposite the first one.

This is what the castle looked like in 1898.

Although Castell del Monte is called a castle, this building is not a castle in the exact sense of the word. It has no moat, rampart, and no drawbridge. It has no storage space, no stables, no kitchen. The entrance to it is designed as a portal of a Gothic cathedral. And its functional purpose is completely incomprehensible. It has been suggested that perhaps it was supposed to become the emperor's hunting residence, but its inner chambers, according to some researchers, were too richly decorated and furnished for a simple "hunting lodge".

The entrance resembles a cathedral portal.

Purely constructively, Castel del Monte is a two-story stone building with a flat roof. Exactly at half its height, a small cornice runs along the entire perimeter, dividing the floors. The second cornice, which separates the basement of the building, runs at a height of about 2 m. Since the "castle" has the shape of an octahedron, its courtyard has the same shape of a regular octagon.

Entering the courtyard...

... look up and see the correct octagon!

The whole building of the castle looks like one single monolith, and in fact it is such. It was built from polished limestone blocks, but the columns, frames of the castle windows and its portals are made of marble. There are two windows on the outer wall - with one arch on the first floor and two on the second. But for some reason, one window on the second floor, facing north, has three arches.

The plan of the castle is also a mystery in its own way. Well, why not connect all the rooms with passages? Why did it have to be done that way?

And now let's count a little and find out that the whole building is connected with the number eight, and in numerology it is a symbol of peace and infinity, and is located between the world of Heaven and Earth. All this smacks of real occultism. And Friedrich was very inclined towards him. In general, he was a great rationalist. For example, he denied the divine origin of the stigmata of Francis of Assisi - an unprecedented case for a Christian, and on the grounds that, they say, they appeared on his palms, and Christ could not be nailed to the cross in this way, since the bones of the palm are not strong and could not stand would be the weight of his body! Truly divine stigmata should have appeared on the wrists, between the radius and ulna!

External windows of the first and second floors.

The 16 interior rooms of the castle are in the shape of regular trapezoids, eight on each floor. At the same time, wardrobes, toilets and spiral staircases leading upstairs are located in the corner turrets. It is interesting that these stairs do not twist to the right, as would have been the fashion of those years for defense purposes, but to the left, like a snail's shell. Moreover, it is known that Friedrich himself was not left-handed.

Staircase for lefties?

Three portals on the first floor lead to the courtyard of the castle, but in addition to them, there are also three doors on the level of the second floor, which were supposed to open onto an annular wooden balcony, which has not survived to this day. There are small windows in the walls overlooking the courtyard. Thus, light penetrates into its interior spaces both through the outer and through the inner wall. There were no crenellations either on the walls or around the perimeter of the turrets, and ... the question naturally arises, how would the people who were supposed to live in this castle intend to protect it if necessary?

Second floor window. Inside view.

Although all rooms, both on the first and second floors, have the same shape for all, they still differ from each other in the location of the entrance doors. Two halls on the ground floor have exits outside the castle through the east and west portals, but they do not have exits to the courtyard, although they have doors to other halls. That is, from hall No. 2 you can’t get into hall No. 3 except through the courtyard, although only a wall separates them. You need to go out into the courtyard, go to hall number 4 and from there get into hall number 3! But from room number 4 you can freely go to rooms 5,6,7,8. That is, in addition to the entrance halls, which have 2-3 doors each, there are also those in the castle in which there is only one door. And there are 4 such halls - again, two on each of the floors. Each of these 4 rooms has a fireplace and access to the toilet, located in the tower adjacent to it. The toilets are arranged in such a way that they are well ventilated through vents in the walls and even - oh, the miracle of the then architecture and building art - could be washed with water from the tanks located on the roof. There is a hall, which is usually called the throne room. Its window faces east and is above the main portal. However, it does not have a fireplace or a toilet.

A typical gothic cross-domed vault.

And now the most interesting: these are the windows in the walls of the first and second floors. Through them, direct sunlight enters every room on the second floor twice a day all year round, but on the first floor this only happens in summer. That is, what happens? The upper part of the castle is essentially a huge sundial, and the first floor can even serve as a calendar. That is, this whole castle is nothing but a giant astronomical instrument? Quite possible. Documents about its construction have not been preserved. Rather, there is one document dated January 29, 1240, in which Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Staufen orders the governor and judge Richard de Montefussol to buy lime, stone and everything necessary for construction. There is also a document dated 1241-1246. - "List of fortifications requiring repair." But in it, Castel del Monte is already listed as a castle built, and not under construction. There is no evidence that Frederick II even ever visited this castle or used it as his hunting residence. And in 1250, Frederick II died altogether and the castle passed to his sons.

Friedrich, although he was a knight, did not like to fight. He achieved his goals through negotiations. Therefore, his biographers had to resort to outright fakes. For example, in this miniature depicting the Battle of Giglio (1241), Frederick is shown on the left wearing a crowned helmet, although he did not actually participate in it. "New Chronicle" by Giovanni Villani. (Vatican Apostolic Library, Rome)

It was then that the proverb that “nature rests on children” was confirmed. If Frederick successfully resisted two Popes, was excommunicated three times, managed to return Jerusalem to the Christians without war, signing an agreement with Sultan al Kamil on the transfer of the holy places of Palestine to them, then his son Manfred died without having achieved the throne of Sicily and Naples, and his young children: Friedrich, Heinrich and Enzo, his winner Charles of Anjou imprisoned in this castle for 33 years. And then this castle was completely abandoned and was only occasionally used for wedding ceremonies, and the local nobility escaped the plague there.

Such "heads" in the architecture of that time were used very often.

In 1876, the castle was acquired by the state, restored and put in order, and in 1996 UNESCO included it in the World Heritage List, so today it is being monitored, put in order, and the flow of tourists to it does not weaken!

Model of Castell del Monte by Aedes Ars.

P.S. Is there no way to simply take and go to see this castle? Then at your service is his… 1:150 scale model, which is assembled from small bricks! This is what people have come to now - they also offer such original “prefabricated models”. The quality can be judged from the photo. The manufacturer is the Spanish company Aedes Ars, but the photo of the assembled castle itself was kindly provided to us by the Shipyard on the Table company.