Castle Lighting
Castle Lighting
Castle lighting – illuminating historic walls in style
If you travel through Germany, you will come across castles and palaces again and again. They are seldom located directly on roads or railway lines. Instead, they are noticed from a distance. On the one hand, because of their usually exposed location by waterways or elevations in the terrain. On the other hand, because they shine brightly at night, visible from afar, thanks to the use of powerful lighting technology that is at the same time appropriate to the nature of the buildings.
Castles and palaces – buildings with special historical significance
Even in their time of origin, castles were outstanding buildings that served military as well as political and representative purposes. Society is still aware of this significance today. Often a castle is of significance above all in its overriding function, for example when important historical events took their course there or historical personalities lived there or were even imprisoned. Castles are thus often testimonies to history and enjoy a special status.
Castles and palaces – buildings with special historical significance
Even in their time of origin, castles were outstanding buildings that served military as well as political and representative purposes. Society is still aware of this significance today. Often a castle is of significance above all in its overriding function, for example when important historical events took their course there or historical personalities lived there or were even imprisoned. Castles are thus often testimonies to history and enjoy a special status.
Why are castles illuminated? – History meets architecture
There are many reasons for illuminating a castle. Often, the historical significance of a castle is to be highlighted, or local authorities use existing castles as a showcase to increase the attractiveness of the region. In addition, there is the widespread desire to add a touch of romance to historic buildings. This is where light comes in as a stylistic device, using castles as a canvas for creating certain emotions and moods. However, the illumination of a castle rarely serves a single purpose. That is why the objectives of the lighting concept can vary depending on where the emphasis is to be placed.
Light at the castle – aesthetics and presentation
The lighting concept of a castle lighting system must be adapted to the respective purpose that is to be ostensibly fulfilled. Above all, the presentation of historical building fabric from a cultural or even architectural-historical point of view requires lighting that is as neutral and realistic as possible. The representation from a romantic point of view, on the other hand, relies primarily on the effect of light. Here, the focus is less on the substance, but an effective interplay of light and shadow is desired. Dimensions are to be deliberately clarified or even visually expanded by appropriate lighting. Therefore, the focus here is not on neutral lighting technology, but on atmospheric light colour and choreographed light control.
Castle lighting with Hoffmeister and Sill – illuminating historical walls effectively
Although the illumination of castles and palaces is a challenging task, it has various requirements that can also be found in other fields of lighting technology. For this reason, Hoffmeister’s luminaire ranges also offer products for castle lighting that are powerful, resilient and efficient at the same time. In this way, we provide lighting designers and operators of such installations with a set of tools that can be used to optimally realise the task of night-time lighting.
Projectors for bright towers, buildings and castle walls
The Hoffmeister projectors 49, 02 and 14 as well as the plane projector 48 are the perfect luminaires when it comes to large-area illumination of complex castle complexes. Above all, the long-distance effect is sharpened by the high light output and the variable light angles in the form of an intensive light profile that can be adapted to the local conditions. Luminous intensities of up to 33650 lumens in the 14 series of projectors, for example, enable high brightness values with little installation effort. In this way, the lighting technology remains in the background and the historical building works for itself.
Optimally illuminate gates, windows, sculptures with floodlighting
multi.flood is the name of our projector series, which is suitable for wide-area illumination from point light sources. Up to 16745 lumens mean an output that illuminates, for example, interior facades as well as portals, sculptures or ornamented architectural details or even entire sections of wall. Wherever a specific accent is desired, multi.flood with two selectable light colours of 3000 or 4000 Kelvin promises not only light output but also light colour as required. Discreet, romantic or atmospheric – this is how medieval architecture can be staged in many ways.
Line lighting for ambient lighting, effects and other special tasks
The led.modular line luminaire provides up to 9450 lumens of light output in its maximum width of 961 mm. This provides enough light to create effective effects. Possible applications include the underlighting of castle entrances or drawbridges as well as the illumination of passageways, open vaults and other areas that are freely accessible and can play an important role in the lighting concept. A variable light range and light colour also help to make the possible applications even more versatile and flexible. Wherever real spotlights cause too much glare or too much concentrated light, led.modular is the perfect choice.
Tried-and-tested technology at the cutting edge – this is how castle lighting from Hoffmeister convinces
Castles are exposed to wind and weather just like all other structures that need to be illuminated from the outside. This is why the technical protection according to the current IP68 standard for outdoor lighting with requirements for impermeability to dust, dirt and water also comes into play here. At the same time, modern LED technology stands for low energy consumption, so that the lighting of castles, which in most cases is purely aesthetic, is efficient and economical and thus also justifiable in terms of responsible use of energy and resources.
All information can also be found clearly in our PDF, which we are happy to offer you for download.
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