Altenberg-Schanze, Archaeological site in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
The Altenberg-Schanze is a 1600s fortification featuring rectangular ramparts, protective banks, and trenches spread across roughly 60 acres near Bad Wimpfen. The layout shows the typical design of a military fieldwork with multiple defensive lines arranged in a systematic pattern.
Built during the Thirty Years' War around 1622, this fortification served as a strategic outpost manned by roughly 160 soldiers. The structure played a role in the defensive network that protected the region during that long conflict.
The site reflects how military architecture evolved during the 1600s, blending older and newer defensive methods that shaped fortifications. Visitors can see how the needs of warfare at that time influenced the way such structures were built.
The site is now mostly visible from aerial views since farming activities in the 1980s removed the surface structures that once stood here. Visitors can walk along field paths and observe the grounds from different angles to understand the overall shape of the fortification.
The rampart reached about 1.85 meters in height, a measurement calculated so soldiers could stand and reload their muzzleloader weapons. This height gave them the right firing position for the guns used in that era.
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