Bischofsturm (Hamburg)
The Bischofsturm (also Bischofsburg ) in Hamburg is a ring-shaped tower foundation from the 12th century with a diameter of 19 meters and the oldest surviving remnant of a stone building in the old town . The foundations below street level were excavated between 1962 and 1965; it was initially assumed that it was the stone house of Archbishop Bezelin-Alebrand from the 11th century. Excavations at the Archaeological Museum Hamburg and other finds in the immediate vicinity in 2008 refuted this thesis, and the dating also had to be corrected. So it is probably part of a fortification.
The foundations and other finds made accessible as a branch of the Bishop's Castle of the Archaeological Museum Hamburg can be viewed in a showroom in the basement of the St. Petri-Hof office building completed in 2011 . Access is via the in-house bakery branch, which has also set up a café in the middle of the foundations.
Location and importance
The Bischofsturm is built over by a commercial building at today's address Kreuslerstraße / corner Speersort in the immediate vicinity of St. Petri Church . The place is a Geesthöhe , where the first settlement of Hamburg is proven, the passing Steinstraße is considered the oldest street in the city, which at the same time followed the course of an old trade route.
The foundation of the tower was discovered during excavation work for the St. Petri Community Center on August 30, 1962. At first it was assumed that boulders that had been abducted from Steinstrasse had been found. But then it turned out that it was the ruin of a still unknown object. Until new to the evaluation of excavations in 2008, it was assumed that it was for the Fund to this as a round tower built stone house of Archbishop Bezelin-Alebrand the in of acting from the 11th century, Adam of Bremen mentioned written in 1074 Hamburg church history becomes.
During the investigation of the area, which was possible due to a further new construction of the St. Petri community center, it was found that the tower foundation existed at the same time as a moat to the west and was located directly behind the Heidenwall , Hamburg's first known city fortification. The dating has been corrected to the 12th century. One possible interpretation is that this tower was a gate or part of a city gate.
Finds
The tower foundation is a stone circle made of boulders with an outer diameter of 19 meters and an inner diameter of 11 meters . Most of these stones have a diameter of one meter and more. Directly on the west side was a 4 meter deep, brick well shaft . This had a diameter of 4.4 meters and was made of field stones with a diameter of 50 centimeters.
Showroom
As early as 1969, there was a showroom for the overbuilt tower foundations in the basement of the newly built community center and later commercial building. After the renewed demolition in 2008 and the construction of a new commercial building, the so-called St. Petri-Hof , the showroom was redesigned as a branch of the Archaeological Museum Hamburg. It can now be visited, accessible via a shop and a steel stair construction. A catering area has been set up within the stone circle. Thanks to the full glazing of the ground floor, the bishop's tower can also be seen from the street.
literature
- Beate Trede: The bishop tower . In: Announcements of the Museum and Heimatverein Harburg-Stadt und -Land eV, Helms-Museum (Ed.): Helms-Museum Aktuell . No. December 24 , 2011, p. 1-2 .
- Elke Först: The Bishop Tower . Helms-Museum, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-931429-10-5 .
- Ralf Busch , Ole Harck: Domplatz excavation in Hamburg - Part 2 . Wachholtz, Neumünster 2002, ISBN 3-529-01846-5 .
- Ralf Busch: Domplatz excavation in Hamburg - Part 1 . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1995, ISBN 3-529-01847-3 .
Web links
- Branch of the Archaeological Museum Hamburg: The Bishop's Castle
- Myth Hammaburg, excavations on Domplatz (SWF file; 268 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Beate Trede: The bishop tower . In: Announcements of the Museum and Heimatverein Harburg-Stadt und -Land eV, Helms-Museum (Ed.): Helms-Museum Aktuell . No. December 24 , 2011, p. 1-2 .
Coordinates: 53 ° 33 ′ 0 ″ N , 9 ° 59 ′ 51 ″ E