Der Grundriss von Castel del Monte und der Silberne Schnitt

Abstract

Castel del Monte (around/after 1240), located in Puglia, is a World Heritage Site. The plan of the building consists of three regular octagons: Inner courtyard, main structure and towers. The origin of this design remains a mystery to this day. The attempts at explanation presented so far are based on an exclusively simple geometrical method. This ignores the extraordinarily high level of knowledge in mathematics at the court of the client, Emperor Frederick II, at the time of its conception and construction. Thus, closer examination shows that not only are the octagons in themselves in relation to the silver section, but also to each other. Furthermore, the accuracy of the construction shows that it must have been done with the help of a computational method. Against this background, the Castel del Monte may be understood above all as an expression of the high level of mathematics at the court of Emperor Frederick II.