Prehistoric and Early Medieval fortified settlemennts and High Medieval castles on the Bohemian -Bavavian bordenland: means of war, power, or symbols of strength?

Abstract

The paper discusses the phenomenon of the persistence of the military, political,and social function of the present-day Bohemian-Bavarian borderland, shaped by the mountainranges of the Bohemian Forest and the Šumava. The authors have traced the development ofsettlement patterns in prehistory, the Middle Ages, and the modern period, extending theirstudies to cover also to recent times. The discussed area constituted a barrier that limitedcultural influences from both sides, which is reflected in the discovered relics of material culture.The paper also discusses, using numerous examples, the symbolic role of strongholds andcastles located on mountain peaks, which came down to demonstrating the presence of powerover the surrounding territory. The Bohemian-Bavarian frontier can also be seen as a peculiarlandscape of conflict, which through its morphological characteristics imposed a timeless borderlandform of political, military and social organisation.