Schildmuur van Burg Stahleck in Bacharach.
A shield wall is the tallest and thickest wall of a castle or castle, if it is placed separately from the other enclosure walls. A shield wall aims to protect the most vulnerable part of a castle against attackers. If a shield wall is placed in two directions, one also speaks of a high cloak or cloak wall. History
The construction of shield walls was ultimately possible in the end of the 12th century in response to increasing use of heavy siege weapons like the happy ones. A shield wall could in extreme cases be up to twelve meters thick (Neuscharfeneck), the height of thirty meters. On the wall crown was usually a resemblance, from where the defense could be fed from two waltons. Sometimes the shield wall changed the donjon. In other cases, the donjon was placed in the middle of the wall of the wall. Literature
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