Half tower

A half tower (sometimes half-tower), open tower,^[1] or open-gorged tower^[2] (German: Schalenturm, Halbschalenturm or Schanzturm) is a fortified stone tower in an external wall or castle enceinte that is open, or only lightly constructed, at the rear. Towers of this type were used, for example, in city walls. City gates can also be incorporated into a type of half tower.

Description

Unlike closed towers, which were fully enclosed by walls, half towers were open on the inside, typically the side facing the city or the

• Bergerschanzturm in Aachen, Germany
• Endingerturm
  in Rapperswil, Switzerland
• Haldenturm in Rapperswil
• Karlsturm in Aachen
• Schildturm in Aachen
• Dover Castle, Kent, England
• Framlingham Castle, Suffolk, England
• Orford Castle, Suffolk, England (possible)
• Wehrturm am Gänsbühl in Ravensburg, Germany

City or town wall towers

• Dinkelsbühl, Germany
• Bad Hersfeld, Germany
• Einbeck, Germany
• Freiburg im Üechtland
  , Switzerland

• 
  Bitzenturm,

  Ahrweiler
• 
  Dinkelsbühl
• 
  Ravensburg
• 
  Sisteron (South France)

Rectangular half towers

• Krichelenturm in Aachen
• Schänzchen in Aachen
• Porte d'Orange in Carpentras, France

Town wall towers in

• Payerne, Switzerland
• Ston, Croatia
• Głogów, Poland
• Avignon and Aigues-Mortes (illustrated)

• 
  Payerne
• 
  Ston
• 
  Głogów
• 
  Avignon, Aigues-Mortes

References

Literature

• Carl Rhoen (1894), Die Befestigungswerke der freien Reichsstadt Aachen (in German), Aachen: Verlag von Anton Creutzer, pp. 18f (Online version, pdf, 6.61MB^{[permanent dead link]})

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Half towers.