Hexenturm (Memmingen)

The witch tower

The Hexenturm is a former prison tower in the Upper Swabian city ​​of Memmingen . It is also called the Leaning Tower of Memmingen .

location

The tower stands on the north side of the old town between the inlet and the port cover tower .

Appearance

The rectangular tower consists of tuff stone in the substructure and brick in the superstructure and has a gable roof . The entrance is at the level of the old battlements about five meters above the ground.

history

The Hexenturm is the oldest still preserved city tower. In the lower building it comes from the time the city was founded (around 1150). The superstructure comes from the second city expansion in the 14th century. It is one of three prison towers in the past. The battlements led through him to the no longer existing emergency center gate . From this the battlement went on to the dungeon tower, another prison tower. It is not known whether the tower got its name from the time of the witch hunt because the witches were locked up there. The foundation gives way to the northeast due to the sandy subsoil. In the 20th century, attempts were made to counteract the inclined position of the tower with a counter-foundation. In addition, it is secured with wire ropes attached to the Welfenhaus. The little house in front of the witch tower is used as a tool shed for the building yard.

literature

• Sabine Rogg, Christoph Engelhard: Memmingen. Key to the city . Maximilian Dietrich, Memmingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-87164-166-4 , p. 55 .

Web links

Commons : Hexenturm  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 59 ′ 13 ″  N , 10 ° 10 ′ 55 ″  E