Jakobertor
The Jakobertor from the 14th century is one of five still existing Augsburg city gates and forms the eastern end of the Jakobervorstadt . The gate was originally part of the city wall . Only a small part of this has been reconstructed to the north, so that the gate is largely free.
architecture
The lower part of the building has a square floor plan. The passage has pointed arches on both sides. On the west side, several stone tablets from Roman times ( Spolia ) are walled in near the ground . This “trophy-like” use of historical artifacts is typical of international Gothic . The only decoration on the substructure is a badly weathered relief in the passage. This presumably represents Emperor Sigismund , who was a supporter of the Augsburg fortifications in the 15th century. A stone walnut relief is placed above the passage on the west side . A three-storey guard house with an identical floor plan is located on the substructure. The top part of the building is octagonal and consists of two floors. A tent roof typical of the Gothic fortification forms the end .
A front gate is attached to the actual gate on the east side. This is also square, consists of two floors and a saddle roof . The wooden rollers from an old support system of a former drawbridge are still present at the entrance to the entrance gate. Saint Christopher is depicted in a flat niche above the entrance .
From the outside, the entire complex is a high medieval brick building . Originally it was completely plastered. This plaster has not been renewed since the beginning of the 19th century and has completely fallen off.
history
middle Ages
A previous building was first mentioned in 1249 on the site of today's Jakobertor. The exact date of construction of the current building is unknown. The first written mention of a new gate ("nova porta") can be found in records from 1346. The construction of the gate was followed by the expansion of the surrounding fortifications. In 1406 the gate was damaged by a flood of the Lech . The gate surrounding Jakobervorstadt has only been known as the Jakobertor since the 15th century . The aforementioned entrance gate was built in 1458 and a portcullis was added in 1489 . Ulrich Mauermüller decorated the entrance gate with a painted crucifix in 1513 , in the place of which a statue of Christophorus has been attached since 1953.
Early modern age
In 1544 a drawbridge was built on the east side. In 1632, during the Thirty Years' War , the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf entered Augsburg through the Jakobertor. At that time the gate still took on the task of a guard gate and was manned by five city guards and provided with extensive armament.
From the middle of the 18th century, the use of the gate changed. From then on it was manned by tower guards who kept an eye out for fires in the city. The drawbridge was also replaced by a permanent bridge at the beginning of the 19th century.
Modern
When Augsburg fell to Bavaria in 1805 , the gate was converted into a military prison for the royal Bavarian city command. In 1869 the property returned to the city of Augsburg, as the building was no longer needed as a military prison. In line with the mood of the time, a petition to demolish the Jacobean Gate was submitted in 1871. After much hesitation, the Augsburg city council decided to demolish it five years later. However, resistance arose against this decision in the form of a citizens' initiative to save the Jacob Gate. After further hesitation, the demolition was again an issue in the city council in 1881. This time the decision to abort was revoked. Instead, a necessary road was passed south of the gate. Today one lane leads into town through the gate, two lanes out of town lead past the gate.
It was not until the Second World War that the focus returned to the Jakobertor, when it was hit and burned out during the bombing of Augsburg on the night of February 25th to 26th, 1944. The interior and the roof were destroyed. Only the outer walls held up. After the war, a new roof was put on the gate in 1950. In the years that followed, the system was made usable again by adding concrete ceilings and stairs.
The two lower floors were converted into an apartment, the third floor temporarily served as a studio . Since 2008 all five floors have been expanded and renovated inside. The new tenant is the Jugendhilfeverein eV, the gate is used as a liaison house for the Rheno-Palatia fraternity.
The Bavarian-Swabian Jakobusweg leads through the Jakobertor to downtown Augsburg.
literature
- Franz Häussler: Augsburg's goals. The imperial city of defense and ornament. Wißner, Augsburg 2002, ISBN 3-89639-346-4 .
- Bernt von Hagen, Angelika Wegener-Hüssen: Monuments in Bavaria, Vol. 7/83, City of Augsburg: Ensembles. Architectural monuments. Archaeological monuments. Lipp, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-87490-572-1 .
Web links
- Fraternity Rheno-Palatia (with photos of the interiors of the Jacobean Gate)
- The Augsburg Jakobertor in the Augsburg Wiki
Coordinates: 48 ° 22 ′ 13.4 " N , 10 ° 54 ′ 31.8" E