Böhmertor (Freistadt)

Böhmertor in Freistadt

Boehmertor from the inside

The Böhmertor of Freistadt from the northwest (with Saint Leonhard in front of it)

The listed Böhmertor is a medieval city ​​gate in Freistadt , Upper Austria . The Böhmertor is a huge gate tower and was formerly called the Spitalstor because the Freistadt hospital stood in front of the gate next to the Liebfrauenkirche until the 15th century . Another name was Frauentor , this name came about because of the Liebfrauenkirche and the nearby Frauenteich. Later the name changed to the present day, as the road leads through the gate to Bohemia.

history

It was built in the 13th century at the northern entrance to the city (the Linzertor is in the south ) and is therefore one of the oldest gates of the city fortifications. After the fortification of Freistadt, the old trade route from Enns to Bohemia , the later Reichsstraße (Linz - Prague) and then the federal road 125 ran through here.

The Böhmertor is built completely different from the Linzertor, although it was rebuilt around 1485 by the same master builder Mathes Klayndl . The Böhmertor is as old as the city itself, the foundation walls date from the 13th century. Three mighty, 12-meter-high walls were placed on the foundation walls. These three outer walls were then expanded with thick tram beams and a wooden structure for three floors. A roof turret was put on top in the baroque period . Around this time a bastion was raised in front of the Böhmertor, today the statue of St. Leonhard stands there.

The fire of 1880, which started in the castle barracks, destroyed the wooden structure and also severely damaged the walls. After the fire, the idea arose to demolish the gate, which could be prevented by the mayor of Freiberg at the time , Pemberger. Only the inner city wall with the city gate and the top floor (4th) were demolished at that time. The Böhmertor was not completely reconstructed, so only the outer walls can be seen today.

Today's appearance

As can be seen in the picture above (right), the Böhmertor has a Gothic pointed arched gate , above which is a double-headed eagle with the coat of arms of the Babenbergs , which is also the coat of arms of the city of Freistadt. The securing of the city by a drawbridge can be seen in the wall slots (for the swing beams). The gate protrudes into the moat and clearly breaks through the outer city wall. The picture below shows the existing loopholes on all three floors. The niches for the gatekeepers can still be seen, the two eastern ones were converted in 1975 for pedestrian passage.

literature

• Othmar Rappersberger: Freistadt - jewelry box of the Mühlviertel . Kunstverlag Hofstetter, Ried iI 1992

Web links

Commons : Böhmertor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 30 ′ 46 ″  N , 14 ° 30 ′ 20 ″  E