Mountain gate

Bergtor, woodcut by Karl Josef Gollrad .

The Bergtor was one of twelve city ​​gates of the outer city ​​wall of Aachen, which was built between 1300 and 1350 . It was located in the north of the city and was separated from the Ponttor by the Marienturm and the Bergerschanzturm from the Sandkaultor . A drawing from 1790 shows that it was largely dilapidated by that time.

History of the gate

Crumbled mountain gate in 1790

The building was only used as a gate for a short time, because as early as the end of the 17th century, the wide passage was walled up except for a narrow passage. This remained open all day in quiet times and allowed visitors to the Salvator Church to pass through. Instead of being a city gate, the mountain gate was only used as a defense tower after the renovations.

A drawing from 1790 shows that the mountain gate was largely derelict that year.

Structure of the gate

The central part of the city gate was enclosed by two semicircular towers. With its pointed arch, the mountain gate provided an arched, 4.63 meter wide passage. On the city side, it had a smooth facade.

The gate commander's room was located on the second of the four floors of the building, while the ground floor was used as a guard room and gate prison. In the upper area there was a passage that enabled access to the roof stalls in the middle section.

The structure of the front gate corresponded to that of the still existing Pont gate.

literature

• Bruno Lerho : The great Aachen city wall with gates and towers . Helios Verlag, Aachen 2006, ISBN 3-938208-37-6 .
• Carl Rhoen : The fortifications of the free imperial city of Aachen . Anton Creutzer, Aachen 1894, urn : nbn: de: hbz: 061: 1-230540 ( ISL Aachen [PDF; accessed on May 7, 2016]).

See also

• List of the gates and towers of the Aachen city wall

Web links

• Reconstruction of the mountain gate , woodcut by KJ Gollrad

Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 55.8 "  N , 6 ° 5 ′ 5.6"  E