I am trying to reconstruct a Danish castle from the 16th century, and to do so I was looking for other similar gatehouses and drawbridges as this one had.
It is really extremely scarce with information I need. This reconstruction drawing of Sonderborg castle, Denmark, shows the two drawbridges of the type I want to reconstruct (for a different castle)… only problem I have is seeing the purpose of this. Could anyone with some knowledge of medieval/renaissance fortresses tell me what on earth is the purpose of a double drawbridge consisting of one small and one wide bridge?
I could see the purpose of it if the small one was down and the wider one up. The small one could be for people walking, and the wider one for carts and animals. However… as shown on this type of drawbridge, both of them have to be either up or down, which makes zero 0 no sense to me.
Why would they assume they had this type of double drawbridge, and which purpose did they serve?
Why would the long section be a draw bridge rather than just a part bridge leading to the short section that rises ? Just think of the engineering needed to raise such a long section whose raising mechanism would be in the hands of any potential invaders !
I’m guessing, but it could be that during the night, or time of war, if relatively few people had to get inside, then opening the door is much easier and safer. Especially defending an open door is much easier because fewer enemies can pass though it (at a time) compared to the big gate.
I am unsure if this was the purpose. I am currently asking an expert in this matter, may take a while.
Have any of you ever seen/read about this type of drawbridge in your respective countries?
Or is this a “Denmark-only”-type of drawbridge? What is it called?
If it’s like in the picture then any enemies that are on the main bridge would be at a severe disadvantage since there is no cover and they will have to wait for troops behind them to withdraw before they can retreat. On the other hand, allies that are fleeing over the bridge to the castle can be well covered by archers, any wounded enemies or dead enemy soldiers will create a bottleneck or blockade that will prevent the enemy form advancing or retreating.
The small gate is a good choke point since there would most likely be more space for allied troops in the castle courtyard that will give them a number advantage, the main bridge also prevents a reversed choke point, any allies pushing the enemies to the outside will not be overwhelmed by numbers since the bridge outside is only so wide.
