ZDF - Castles Bastions of Power (2019) Part 2 Enemy at the Gate

Impregnable fortresses, homes of the rich and beautiful, magnificent buildings brimming with power – no other type of building symbolises an epoch as representative as the castle symbolises the European Middle Ages. The first castles are wooden towers on fortified hills. But different designs are quickly developing in Europe in France and Britain rather compact, in German-speaking countries with high mountain keep. But they are used everywhere to secure regions. In this two-part documentary we explore its history and get to the bottom of the “myth of the castle”. Because in some places the legend is stronger than the reality. Dungeons where never was a prisoner, or escape tunnels where no one came through. Castles rarely offered real comfort, and there was hardly any space for the legendary knight tournaments. This documentary breathes new life into their old walls, from the small, less luxurious wooden towers of the early Middle Ages to the mighty bastions of the late Middle Ages. There are said to have been more than 40,000 of them in the German-speaking world. Those that have survived the ages still inspire our imagination today and take us back to a time long past. The documentary tells the story of the castles and fortresses with impressive documentary filming, elaborate re-enactments and 3-D animations.

Part 12 Enemy at the Gate

Castles were bastions of power and the site of countless battles. Our documentary examines their military function from the 11th to the 16th century. When the enemy was at their gates, they had to withstand battering rams, catapults and sapping which called for ever new solutions by their defenders until, finally, large-calibre cannons spelt their end. Our journey takes us all through Europe, while historians and archaeologists will guide us through a fascinating panorama of medieval warfare.

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