Festung Dömitz

La forteresse Dömitz, située sur la rive mecklembourgeoise de l'Elbe, est l'une des rares forteresses de plaine très bien conservées du XVIe siècle dans le nord de l'Allemagne.

The Duke of Mecklenburg, Johann Albrecht I had the largest fortress of Mecklenburg built in the years 1559 to 1565 to secure the southwest border of Mecklenburg and the Elbe crossings. The whole complex was planned by the Italian Francesco a Bornau. It was built in just six years, to which Johann Albrecht I built a brick factory nearby and even employed bricklayer from Italy to compensate for the labor shortage in the surrounding area. The citadel shows a pentagonal floor plan with 5 bastions. The bastions carry (starting at the entrance gate and continuing in a clockwise direction) the names Cavalier, Hero, Dragon, Griffin and Castle. All bastions have casemates. The curtain walls between the bastions are up to 9 meters high.

In the Thirty Years War, the village and fortress served as a base for changing parties, including Tilly and Wallenstein. In 1635 the entire town was burned down during the Battle of Dömitz. The city was fortified since at least the middle of the 17th century by a rampart with moat lying in front of it, as can be seen from the city plans of the time. Since 1705, the fortress was also used as a madhouse and prison. In 1719 Duke Karl Leopold relocated his seat of government to Dömitz before he had to leave Dömitz in 1723. 1755 were the breeding and madhouse further expanded. In the second half of the 18th century, the Bastion Greif was considerably rebuilt. Their casemates each received three gun stands in the two flanks and the entrance was prepared for the direct entry of wagons. 1809 were held in Dömitz fighting in the context of the war of liberation against Napoleon. The fortress and the city were shelled and captured by Dutch and French troops. In 1830 the madhouse was moved to Schwerin. The writer Fritz Reuter, who wrote in Low German, spent at the fortress from 1838 to 1840 the last part of his imprisonment. He was released on August 25, 1840. In his book Ut mine fortress Stid ("From my fortress time") he tells about this time. Since 1843, the prison was no longer used for civilian inmates.
In 1894, the military ended the use of the fortress.

Source:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festung_Dömitz
festung-doemitz-museum.de

Un château rond existait ici dès le XIIIe siècle. Dans les années 1559-1565, la zone a été agrandie en une forteresse, et avec un changement d'utilisation comme prison, et en partie à nouveau à des fins militaires. En 1894, l'utilisation militaire a complètement pris fin. Aujourd'hui, après restauration, il abrite un musée.