Bergfried

Topoľčany Castle, Slovakia. Three lines of defence are perfectly depicted here: Renaissance bastions, central Gothic fortification and a bergfried as the last refuge.

Bergfried (plural: bergfriede; English: belfry; French: tour-beffroi; Spanish: torre del homenaje) is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries^[1] and in countries under German influence. Stephen Friar in the Sutton Companion to Castles describes a bergfried as a "free-standing, fighting-tower".^[2] Its defensive function is to some extent similar to that of a keep (also known as a donjon) in English or French castles. However, the characteristic difference between a bergfried and a keep is that a bergfried was typically not designed for permanent habitation.

^ Thompson (2008), p. 22.
^ Friar (2003), p 36.

[1] Thompson (2008), p. 22.

[Friar-2] Friar (2003), p 36.

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