The Deutschherrenhaus or Deutschordenshaus in Koblenz was the first settlement of the Teutonic Order Knights in Rhineland. The divine order of knights played a substantial role in the East German colonisation. Since 1929 it has been a clerical order and is, after the Maltese Order and the templars, the third largest order of knights which was formed at the time of the crusades. The chosen motto of the order is “help, defend and heal“.
The Archbishop Theoderich von Wied summoned the Knights of the Teutonic Order to Koblenz in 1216 and presented them from the St. Castor’s Foundation a piece of land together with the St. Nikolaus hospital that was located directly at the point where the Moselle flows into the Rhine.
Due to the destruction in 1944, Deutschherrenhaus, the former administrative building of the Teutonic Order is the only building among the many that has remained till nowadays. Since 1992 it has been the house for the Ludwig Museum, devoted primarily to the French art.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.