Once burned, twice shy.
Twenty times burned, Central Europe.
Between Ottomans, Swedes, Napoleon, Hapsburgs, non-Nazi Germans, Nazi
Germans, and Communists, Central Europe has the habit of being burned to the
ground by most any marauder.
To discourage this cycle of destruction, medieval city
planners turned to a new model: find a hill, build a castle on it, and keep
your important stuff in the castle.
We prepare to storm the castle.
Aside from walls, which came standard, the particular
defense mechanisms varied from castle to castle. In Cesky Krumlov, the royals filled the moat
with bears. (Incidentally, I have an
idea for a Revenant sequel.) In Prague, castle dwellers pushed people out
of windows, an approach which led to the 1618 Defenestration of Prague, my new
favorite historical event. In Salzburg,
the castle had a giant mechanical organ which could blast only one chord and
was presumably used to annoy invaders or summon Von Trapps.
