Lessons from the great fortresses of Europe

Hawk1 at Fort Saint-André, Avignon. © pitchhawk, 2025. All rights reserved.

The hawks are back!

The hawks have been away, and after crossing rivers, mountain passes, and ancient trade routes, we’ve returned with something unusual.

Commercial lessons from Europe’s great castles and fortresses!

Dozens of castles, strongholds, citadels, and fortified infrastructure—each built to dependably collect tolls and taxes as well as protect value and supply lines, control territory, and withstand attack.

Their walls may be centuries old, but the principles they embody are unmistakably “commercial”.

These insights reveal how innovation leaders can transform their technologies and ideas into fortress-strength investable businesses that can grow with confidence.

Surveying the ramparts © pitchhawk, 2025. All rights reserved.

So, here’s the deal. Over the coming months, I’ll be taking you on a tour of some of these remarkable fortresses and great houses, showing what made them so resilient and effective.

Just like an investable innovation-driven business, each one offers lessons in form, durability, strategy, and defensibility—proving that thoughtful design and disciplined execution create foundations, structure and positioning that when assembled and oriented correctly, can stand the test of time.

Up first will be learnings from Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, located in the picturesque city of Koblenz, Germany.

Ehrenbreitstein perches on a rocky outcrop rising 120 metres above the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers and enjoys a 360-degree view advantage.

Though it’s been repurposed many times since it was originally built in the 11th Century, it still commands the skyline in unapologetic defiance of all who would dare to challenge it. But more on that next time.

Stay tuned… 📢

Hawk1

Transforming innovations into investable businesses—smarter, stronger, faster 💨

© pitchhawk, 2025. All rights reserved.