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| A city in a star |
This zig-zagging canal has its origin from hundreds of years ago, when this shape became a very popular way to defend a city against the then dominant weapon of the canon, rather than having a singular, circular wall around the city.
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| A map of Zwolle from 1652 |
And a bit of military history for you (for a point): why are the turrets on the points of this star shaped fortress triangular rather than circular?
Here's the city center of Zwolle, complete with a green angel.
Some of the fortifying walls still stand today.
And another thing Zwolle has: llamas!
Circular turrets mean that there are dead zones that can't be reached by weapons fired by the defenders. The triangle shape gets rid of the dead zones.
ReplyDeleteNicely done. Yes, the triangular turrets make it so there is no place that the opposing forces can hide from attacks. Great to have you in on the game!
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ReplyDeleteThe triangular turret is brilliantly defensive. The walls double back on themselves which provides a formidable layer of defense and it maximizes the strength of the construction.
That seems contrary to what you'd think, but it appears Shasta nailed it. I wasn't thinking about field of fire from one turret to the next, which is the key to the answer, and to the defense of the city, obviously... Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteAre llamas so common that you feel the need to point them out as a feature of Zwolle? ; )
Sjaak
There was one llama, but still, in a country where seeing animals are rare, I thought pointing out one I did see was justified. ;-)
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