Ochsenturm (Höchst)
The Ochsenturm in the Höchst district of Frankfurt is part of the city fortifications of the former city of Höchst am Main .
The tower is located on the southwest corner of the Höchst city wall. The Ochsenturm is not open to the public. It is part of the garden of the New Palace and is used by its tenants for gastronomic purposes.
description
The approximately 15 meter high three-storey round tower is made of coarse natural stone. The lower part is unplastered. The octagonal upper floor with the tower room was plastered during the renovation in autumn 2006. Part of the tower window on the upper floor is walled up. The tower is closed by an octagonal, slate-covered tent roof , which is crowned by a copper spike.
Access to the tower room is via a narrow stone staircase on the inside of the western Höchst city wall. The interior walls of the tower room are decorated with simple subject paintings that show scenes from the Höchst story. The room is furnished with round tables, benches, chairs and showcases from the 1970s. It can be rented for events.
history
Originally the Ochsenturm was a free-standing watch tower , which, based on the type of masonry, probably dates from the 13th century. He stood in front of the former Gothic toll castle , which was the forerunner of the Höchst Castle , built in the 16th century .
Höchst was promoted to town in 1355, and simple town fortifications were built in the following years. In 1396, in the dispute over the Höchst Mainzoll, the Knights of Kronberg destroyed the city and Höchst Castle on behalf of the Frankfurt Council. In the years up to 1432, the castle and the city fortifications were rebuilt and the city was expanded for the first time. The Ochsenturm was incorporated into the new city wall on the mains side as a defense tower . This can be seen in the type of masonry and the course of the city walls that have been preserved in this area, which taper towards the tower at an acute angle.
The Ochsenturm has not undergone any major structural changes over the centuries, as old pictorial representations by Höchst make clear. In the 19th century, the Höchst city walls were torn down to give the city space to expand. Only the wall on the mains side with three towers remained. There was no possibility of urban expansion here, and the wall served as flood protection up to the canalization of the Main .
literature
- Wolfgang Metternich: The urban development of Höchst am Main (= contributions to monument protection in Frankfurt am Main. H. 2, ISSN 0932-6790 ). Association for history and archeology, among others, Frankfurt am Main / Höchst 1990.
- Rudolf Schäfer: Chronicle of Höchst am Main. Frankfurt am Main 1986: Waldemar Kramer.
Coordinates: 50 ° 5 '50.4 " N , 8 ° 32' 46.9" E