Templin - pearl of the Uckermark

Рет қаралды 2,333

Күн бұрын

The city in the Uckermark lies in the natural area of the Templiner Platte. To the south of it extends the important Schorfheide biosphere reserve.
Its coat of arms bears the gold-trimmed red eagle on a silver field, sprinkled with 14 green clovers.
The origin of the name “Templin” is believed to be the Germanic word timpen, tempen or tempel, which probably means something like “pointed hill”.
Since the 8th century, the area around Templin was inhabited by the Retschani, a West Slavic people.
As a result of the Wendish Crusade in 1147, the area fell under the rule of the Ascanian Albrecht the Bear.
Around 1230 the Ascanian margraves Johann I and Otto III acquired. the area of northern Barnim, a geographical feature in eastern Brandenburg, and thus secured an important trade crossroads towards Stettin and Hamburg.
Templin had natural protection from attackers thanks to Lake Templin with its outflow from several sides.
Around 1300, the natural protective wall made of water, swamp and forest was supplemented by deep ditches and a fortification made of field stones. The construction of the fortification took 100 years.
When it was completed, the irregular oval ring of walls was 1,735 meters long. The wall is 6 to 7 meters high and about 80 centimeters wide at its crown. The stones are carefully layered. There were no battlements and no battlements. The Wieckhäuser took over their tasks.
A special feature of Templin is the rare semicircular shape of all the meadows, which were built into the stone wall every 25 - 30 meters. On the upper floors there are embrasures on all sides and downwards, so there were no blind spots.
Two cradles were converted into round towers.
One of them is the Powder Tower and the other is the Owl Tower.
Its old name "Hungerturm" and the six-meter-high door refer to its use as a debtors' prison.
Templin, with its medieval charm and lake-rich surroundings, has now grown into a tourist hotspot and rightly bears the title: “Pearl of the Uckermark”.