Bay window of the Aachen city wall

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Merian 1647 (detail): Bay window of the city wall at the Marschiertor

The oriels of the Aachen city wall ( called Arkire in Aachen ) were used in the Aachen city wall for additional defense of wall sections between the gates and towers .

construction

The weir bay windows attached to the Aachen city wall were usually closed wooden boxes covered with shingles with a length of 2 to 5 m and a width of about 1.5 m. They rested on wooden beams or stones that protruded from the outside of the city wall. The bay windows were accessed through an opening in the city wall.

In the longitudinal wall and the end walls there were loopholes . From here it was also possible to shoot at the attackers who had reached the wall, which was not possible from the top of the city wall. Rocks could also be thrown at the attackers through openings in the floor of the bay windows.

location

The only oriel of the Aachen city wall that has survived by name is the wall louse between the Pfaffenturm and the Königstor . Like the wall louse, there were other bay windows that were connected to one of the guard houses of the Aachen city wall and were accessible from there via a short corridor leading through the wall. Such oriels were still located on the guard houses Posthäuschen, Schaafjanshäuschen, Krahborn and on the Adalbertsstift, i.e. the guard houses that were not directly at a gate.

There were also free bay windows that could only be entered from the wall. Such free oriels are partly mentioned in documents, partly evidenced by passages in the remains of the city wall still standing at the time of the historical research of the city fortifications. In detail, these oriels were located between the Marienturm and the Bergtor , between the Kölntor and the water tower , between the Wirichsbongardstor and the Krichelenturm , between the Krichelenturm and the Marschiertor , between the Marschiertor and the small Pounellenturm , between the Jakobstor and the Eyerkeilturm , between the Eyerkeil tower and the Junkerstor , immediately south of the Pfaffenturm above the Johannisbach inlet into the city and between the Gregoriusturm and the Bongartsturm .

There were more defensive dungeons at the gates and towers of the Aachen city wall ; they are mentioned in the description of the corresponding buildings.

None of the bay window of the Aachen city wall is get more today, they disappeared in the razing of the city walls, during the French occupation of Aachen started and the 19th century in the first quarter of the 19th century in the course, especially in the investment of railway lines and various city expansions.

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