Ordensburg: Difference between revisions

An Ordensburg (plural in German: Ordensburgen) was a fortress built by crusading German military orders during the Middle Ages. "Ordensburg" was also used during Nazi Germany to refer to training schools for Nazi leaders.

The Ordensburgen were originally constructed by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and later the Teutonic Knights to fortify territory in Prussia and Livonia against the pagan aboriginals. Later, Ordensburgen were used to defend against Poland and Lithuania. The Ordensburgen often resembled cloisters. While they were considerably larger than those in the Holy Roman Empire, they were much scarcer in the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. While a normal castle in the Reich would control about 38 km², a castle would control 370 km² in Prussia and 789 km² in Livonia, Courland and Estonia. The few small castles are considered to be of vassals, while the larger ones might have served as arsenals and strongholds against rebels and invaders.

Most Ordensburgen were rectangular, even quadratic in form, build from red brick and lacking a Bergfried. Many castles had no towers at all, as the bailey, a mighty quadrangle, was considered sufficient for defense.

The term Ordensburg was later applied to four schools developed for elite Nazi military ranks. There were strict requirements for admission to the school. Junker candidates had to be aged between 25 and 30 years old, belong to either the Nazi Party, the Hitler Youth, the Sturmabteilung, or the Schutzstaffel, be physically completely healthy, and be pure-blooded with no hereditary defects.

The schools themselves were typically stark, modern structures with extensive facilities. Vogelsang, for instance, reportedly contained the world's largest gymnasium at the time. Each student attended all four institutions in sequence, for specialty training, finishing in Marienburg for training that included live-fire military exercises.

The three institutions for education of political leaders were:

• Ordensburg Vogelsang in North Rhine-Westphalia
• Ordensburg Sonthofen in Bavaria, Allgäu, built 1934 and was used by Germany's Bundeswehr until end of 2007.
• Ordensburg Krössinsee in Pomerania

A fourth one was planned at (the historic) Ordensburg Marienburg, in West Prussia, which was to be established at the medieval Malbork Castle

• Krahe, Friedrich-Wilhelm (2000). Burgen des deutschen Mittelalters. Grundriss-Lexikon (in German). Flechsig. ISBN 3881893601.

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