Frauentor (Nuremberg)

Woman's Gate from the South, 2008

Frauentorturm, 2008

Frauentorgraben

The Frauentor was the main gate in the southeast of the Nuremberg city wall .

History and present

The Frauentorturm is one of the four distinctive round main towers of the Nuremberg city fortifications, its old name is "Blau Q".

The Frauentor was named after the Klarakloster behind it . Through the gate one could leave the city in the direction of Regensburg and other places in the southeast. Since payments to the gate keeper are documented from the year 1386, the construction of the gate must have been completed by this year at the latest.

Frauentor and Frauentorturm, postcard (around 1900)

Entrance to the red light district at the Frauentormauer

It replaced the inner female gate of the penultimate city wall, which was demolished in 1498 when the toll hall was built. In 1558 the gate tower at that time was converted by Jörg Unger into the round tower still standing today and a gate was built next to the tower.

After the Königstor was built in 1849, only traffic outside the city ran through the Frauentor. Today the Frauentor is reserved for pedestrians, the Nuremberg Craftsmen's Yard was set up in the armory of the gate .

In 2004 a sculpture garden was opened in the Zwinger between the Frauentor and the Sterntor .

Women gate wall

Women's gate wall from the south, 2009

The wall area between Königstor and Spittlertor is called the Frauentormauer . Then the street Frauentormauer and the main road outside the city wall were named Frauentorgraben . In this area, further gates were built in the 19th century: Sterntor , Kartäusertor , Färbertor and Jakobstor .

Red light district

Behind the western end of the Frauentormauer, between Spittler- and Färbertor, is the Nuremberg red light district . First sources point to the practice of prostitution in women's shelters since 1381 . In the 19th century the houses were often referred to as wine shops.

Charterhouse

Between the Sterntor and the Färbertor , an arch of the women's gate wall was broken through in 1882 and the Carthusian Gate was built. Today it connects the Ringstrasse and the Opernhaus underground station with the Strasse der Menschenrechte and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum .

Jakobstor

In 1893, between Färbertor and Spittlertor , the arches of the Frauentormauer were broken through on both sides of the city wall tower "Rotes L", the moat was filled in and the Jakobstor was set up. Two more passages for pedestrians were added in 1913.