Medieval Crane

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I had never considered how the large stones used in constructing castles and churches were lifted. Today we discovered how this was accomplished. During the winter we saw the crane under construction, but not the finished model. The crane will stay on display at the St. Vitus Cathedral for a period of time. Then it will be moved and used in a renovation project on a castle in the Czech Republic. I would love to see it in operation.

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Photos

Medieval Crane
Constructed of wood and powered by to men walking in the "squirrel cages."

Comments

[Bill Mc Millen]

Cranes
It's true you can move heavy objects with cranes and pulley systems. We seem to be mystified at ancient cultures like the Egyptians erecting massive stone pyramids, temples and obelisks. There is no mystery-those people worked and obviously took pride in their work based on the long existence and condition of their stone edifications. We seem to think the wheel did not exist in Egypt-but there is no evidence it did not-chariots had to have wheels and so why couldn't there have been a crane used in pyramid construction?