entrance hall & armory
This building with entrance hall, garrison and knight's study on the ground floor, and the great gallery on the first floor, is commonly called "small palace".
It contains the richest carved stone work of the castle. This astonishing work can still be found at the entrance doorway arch on top of the stairway, the doorway arch to the gallery, the window openings of the gallery and the vaults of the knight's study. It has been build in the second half of the 12th century.
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Architectural details:
armory:
old hall
Before the construction of the "small palace", this site was part of an inner courtyard of the castle core. The outside wall (with windows) was part of the rampart walls while the opposing wall consisted of the front of the old hall from the beginning of the 9th century. This hall was decorated at the beginning of the 12th century at the outside with arches, still visible today.
entrance hall
![IMG_20230903_112448[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ffbb99_f1c487114cea43a88afd101c5a03f5b0~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_450,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_20230903_112448%5B1%5D.jpg)
Today, the entrance hall & garrison form together one huge room, but formerly they were separated with a wall at the big rectangular pillar. The shape of walls, the windows and even the vaults show that these are two different constructions, even if they form today one entity.
The original entrance hall had a wooden ceiling, replaced towards the end of the 16th century with gothic vaults. Keystones show the armories of Englebert II of Nassau-Vianden (reigning 1472 - 1504) and of his wife Cimburga of Baden-Spanheim.
From the entrance hall, one had access to the great hall and the countal appartments on the right, to the wine cellar, straight on to the main kitchen and the chapel, on the left to the garrison. From the second half of the 15th century another door gave access to the newly build sweat bath.
garrison
Placed strategically beside the main entrance door (and to the other side to the pilgrim's entrance to the chapel) this was the room for the guard of the castle. In later times when guards didn't need to live inside the castle, the garrison was removed from here and the hall was used for other purposes.
It had, like the entrance hall, first a wooden ceiling; the corbel stones on which the beams of the ceiling rested are still visible today in the backwards wall. The vaults were introduced under the reign of Englebert III of the Mark and Elisabeth of Sponheim-Vianden between 1383 and 1392. Many mason's signs are still visible at the stones.
stone cannon balls
The stone balls on display have all be found at Vianden castle and were destined to be used as canon projectiles. The bigger ones were for bombard use; which is siege artillery and used to shoot at walls.
The hollowed balls contained incendiary materials and were made of lava stone from the nothern fringe of Vianden lands (Vulcano Eifel), the full material stones are sandstone from the southern border (Bollendorf).
Some or all of these balls were produced in 1446 right here.
helbards & partisans
In late medieval armies, all sorts of pole weapons came into use and most of them disappeared again. Helbards (originally designed to get a rider off his horse) became quite popular and in the 16th century, army units of Helbardiers were formed. Later these transformed into elite soldiers for special use, as trabants (life guards) for important personalities or banner guards.
From the 17th to the 18th century (from wich period most of the displays here date), helbards and partisans became officer's insignia. The helbard usually for lower ranking and the partisans for higher ranking officers.
war scythes
When peasants went to war, they sometimes used farming tools as weapons, as they didn't own proper weapons. Or they modified tools to weapons, and this was the beginning of the plentifulness of different types of pole weapons appearing in the late middle ages. And this principle wouldn't change over the next centuries ...
During the revolt in northern Luxembourg against occupying french revolutionary troops in 1798, countrymen sticked to that tradition and used scythes like these.
The war scythes on display are from 19th century Poland and are Luxembourg National Museum (MNHA) property.
wall gun barrel
Wall guns were designed for the defence of a castle or forteress. Vianden castle had many loopholes designed for this weaponry and had 50 wall guns and "big hooks" (a primitif form of the same) in arsenal. When used outside a forteress wall guns were mounted on carriages as they were too heavy to handle by hand.
This barrel dates from the 16th or 17th century.
Kriegskasse
The german word "Kriegskasse" suggests these iron chests were designed to keep the money to pay soldiers. There are two of these at Vianden castle, one in the armory hall, one in the cook's appartment. The latter one has inside a special compartment for money.
Actually a "Kriegskasse" chest might have been used for moving valuables, but mostly they would have remained in the same place and be used as a safe. So they were to contain money, documents and other valuables.
Feldharnisch
a field armour (meant for going to battle) in late 15th century style (probably a copy from the 19th century)
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The halbard is not matching with the armour. The main weapon should be a lance. The asymetrical shoulders show the armour was designed for tilting (attacking the adversary with a lance on horseback)
armour of John IV of Nassau-Vianden
a reproduction of the late 15th century armour of John IV of Nassau-Vianden is in the making. What you can see now are the undergarnements which a knight had to wear under the suit of plate armour: shirt, hoses, shoes, armour doublet, chainmail bolero (to protect the armpits), chainmail skirt.
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The plate armour will complete this display in Spring 2024.
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John IV built the Prince's study quarter (banquet room) where his coat of arms can be seen on the chimney mantlepiece. The reconstruction of the armour is made after a depiction on his Epitaph in Breda (NL)
armour of count Frederic III of Vianden
a reproduction of a late 12th century armour as an interpretation of the armour of count Frederic III of Vianden (reign 1187 - 1210). Frederic was a warrior and frequently involved in armed conflict. In 1196 he captured and emprisoned the archbishop of Trier, John I.
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Frederic was also responsible for the building of the "large palace" at Vianden castle, a fortified building inside the castle inspired by french-norman-english Keeps. This building consists of large cellar, great hall and stately apartments (today salle Victor Abens)
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The armour consists of a chainmail hauberk worn over a gambison (padded shirt), chainmail chausses (hoses leaving the bottom free to be able to sit on horseback) and a helmet with nose guard. The shield is painted with his arms: A silver shield on gules (red) ground.