Thick Tower (Zerbst)
The Big Tower is a medieval tower in the city of Zerbst / Anhalt , which was originally a defensive tower , but has been used as a free-standing bell tower of the St. Bartholomäi Church since the 15th century .
history
The thick tower is said to have been built in the 13th century as part of the fortification of Zerbst Castle . From 1432 the fortified tower was used as a bell tower for the nearby St. Bartholomäi court church . In 1565 the tower was given a bell storey in the Renaissance style with pointed arched sound windows . Builder is said to have been a Ludwig Binder. In 1701 a bookshop was set up in the lower vault of the Dicken Tower by a publisher and bookseller Gottfried Zimmermann. This was operated for more than 100 years until 1812.
When air attacks on the city of Zerbst few weeks before the end of the Second World War (16 April 1945), the bell storey and Renaissance gables, all ceilings and an original cross vault destroyed on the ground floor. After the war-related damage, the tower tent roof was covered. This roof was damaged in a storm . In 1969 new bells were installed in the thick tower. In 1998/99 an immediate renovation took place . This was financed by the federal government, the state of Saxony-Anhalt and the city of Zerbst. The cost was 170,000 euros.
Building
The building has a square floor plan of around 11 by 11 meters. The eaves height is about 21.5 meters. The tower is made of quarry stone in the Gothic style. The northern and western entrances and the sound openings as well as screens in the bell storey are designed in an ogival shape. A double door to the east has a basket arch and a door to the south is rectangular . There is a clock tower over the eastern gate . Small windows about halfway up have segmental arches . Further elements of the facade design are simple pilaster strips on the bell storey and cornices . The tent roof of the tower is covered with red beaver tails . The tip marks a copper tower ball .
literature
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments . Saxony-Anhalt 1st district Magdeburg. German art publisher . Munich, Berlin 1974. p. 464.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Refurbishment - the thick tower . Published on stadt-zerbst.de. Accessed December 4, 2018.
Coordinates: 51 ° 57 '50.7 " N , 12 ° 5' 6.7" E