Hrad Kanberk

Hrad Kanberk is a castle in Stribrna Joraje, and the ancestral seat of House Taepe of Kanberk. Built at the junction of the Kanberk Stream and the Ploughwater River, the toll castle is situated at a strategic position, able to control the entire riverine trade on the Ploughwater, and commands access on the Kanberk Stream, which leads east into Karred. The castle serves as the country retreat of the Dukes of Joraje, and a small village has grown up about the castle.

## Appearence

Hrad Kanberk is a square castle built on an older fort, in a design typical of most other Joran Castles. The keep, along the eastern side of the castle, spans the entire wall, with a gatehouse to the east, a large tower to the northeast, and the west and south covered by two walls, which complete the square at a right angle. The castle is whitewashed, as are most other Hrads in Joraje.

## History

Hrad Kanberk was built by Herzent *The Settler* Taepe in 367 of the Joran Calendar, in payment for his and his house services to Janna I, in ending the Interregnum. The outer, lower encircling wall, called the Old Wall, and a low wooden keep, were constructed between 369 and 370, for about 400 pounds of silver. This meagre defense would remain unchanged until about 450, when records indicate that the Taepes began constructing a new keep in the place of their previous large wooden keep, at a cost of around 3,000 pounds of silver, indicating the family had become very wealthy by this time.

The castle would be expanded upon multiple times, with a stone wall replacing the older wooden ramparts on the internal bailey by 480, and by 520 a large Bergfried, called Belras' Tower (allegedly for a mason who died building it) had been added to the left of the castle's gate, giving it the appearance for which it is famous.

Many Taepes would reside over Hrad Kanberk, and while they had gained many other castles, many Taepes preferred their ancestral castle to any other, though it would occassionally fall to other branch families, such as the Tajeps.

The castle would see multiple battles and sieges, such as the Siege of Kanberk in 542, when it was besieged by the forces of Stark of Janden, during the Second Anarchy, though it would be difficult to besiege as its location meant that cutting off supplies would be nearly impossible, as the river allowed for easy resupply, and the layout of the castle would allow only a few men to successfully garrison the castle against, and repel, enemy assault.

Hrad Kanberk is the favored residence of Johann Taepe, reigning Duke of the Jorans, and his court resides there.

## Design

Hrad Kanberk is situated on the spur of the Kanberk Hill, at the joining of the Kanberk and Ploughwater rivers. Surrounding the castle is impossible, as the south, east, and west are situated atop a steep hill surrounded by flowing water, and only the north and northwest is available to be sieged.

This strategic positioning is further exacerbated by the castle's design, which sees the greatest of its defenses, the Keep, Belras' Tower, and the House, positioned to the north, enabling good fields of overlapping coverage from arrow slits and crenellations on the walls, as well as a lower, outcropping wall, called the Old Wall, wrapping around the gate. The terrain the castle is built on forces any potential foe to attack the castle from directly ahead, forcing them to march over open terrain with minimal cover to reach, and attempt to breach, the greatest of the castle's defenses.

The keep of the castle is rectangular, as is common on Hrads, and it's longer sides face the east and west. The keep serves as one of the castle's walls, the other three connecting directly to it, and the keep has formidable defenses, such as arrow-slits and hoardings, which guard the approaches over the Kanberk Stream to the south, warding off foes who would try to rush over the ford and up the surrounding lower wall. The keep is divided into two rooms on each floor, with the bottom floor consisting of a Hall and a Kitchen, the second a lounge and a garrison-quarters, and the third as a lordly bedroom and a guest room. The top floor, covered by a roof and the hoardings, may be used for a variety of purposes such as storage and holding large meetings.

The Old Wall of the Hrad is a smaller, older wall, the first stone wall of the castle, built by Herzernt. It ranges in height from 3-5 meters in eight, and is asymmetrical, unlike the newer constructions within. It guards the approaches from the rivers and the spur, and serves as a buffer through which an assaulting enemy must breach before they may continue and attack the more heavily defended bailey and keep, and forms a Zwinger. The Old Wall, while not incorporated into the gatehouse, passes out and beyond the gate, with a raised above the surrounding ground, and a channel runs to the gate, providing access to the castle, and splitting the Old Wall in two. This channel is heavily defended, and attackers must pass between the two defended bastions before reaching the gate itself.

Belras' Tower is a high bergfried incorporated into the walls of the castle. It juts out of the wall slightly, allowing for arrows to be loosed along the wall, where an enemy might congregate. It also serves as a watchtower, to warn of enemy approach, and the upper floors may be used as a prison for high-status prisoners, where they will have less chance of escaping.