Kaufingertor

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The Kaufingertor based on the Sandtner city model
The Kaufingertor as a stone relief

The Kaufingertor was one of the five city ​​gates of the first city wall of medieval Munich, built towards the end of the 12th century . It was in the west of the old town roughly at the point where Färbergraben and Augustinerstraße meet Kaufingerstraße today .

history

The gate was first mentioned in a document in 1239 under the name porta superior (upper gate) in correspondence with the porta inferior (lower gate) or Talburgtor (= today's tower of the old town hall ) in the east of the city . The Salzstrasse ran through these two gates through Munich to the west.

The gate was a simple tower with a gate passage. After the construction of the outer city wall, the gate tower served the Kaufinger family as a residential tower and was named after them. In 1479 the gate was demolished and rebuilt in late Gothic style by 1484. In 1510 the gate received a clock and a rich exterior painting with frescoes. Because of this, the gate was mostly referred to as the beautiful tower from then on . It was demolished in 1807.

memory

On the corner of Kaufingerstraße / Augustinerstraße (Kaufingerstraße 28: Hirmer-Haus) there is a sculpture of the gate tower and next to it a plaque with another representation of the tower. Inscription on the plaque: “Beautiful tower. Built in 1157 in front of today's Hirmer House as a gate tower in Munich's oldest city wall. Rebuilt in 1479 and adorned with frescoes that gave it the name 'Beautiful Tower'. Canceled in 1807. The marking on the ground shows its former location. ”There is no evidence for the year of construction in 1157. Munich itself was first mentioned in a document in 1158, but was probably only later surrounded by a city wall. The reference to the "markings on the ground" indicates that the former floor plan of the gate tower is marked in the pavement of the pedestrian zone.

Legend of the goldsmith

According to legend, the man depicted on the sculpture under the tower is said to be a goldsmith whose workshop was in the tower. He was supposed to make a copy of a piece of jewelery that suddenly disappeared when the goldsmith returned from dinner one day. Although the goldsmith protested his innocence, the city court sentenced him to death because the front door showed no signs of burglary. On the way to the execution he walked with bowed head through the gate, the poor sinners bell rang up in the gate and the goldsmith said: "My voice fades away like this bell and nobody wants to believe me. As everyone hears it, my innocence is sure to come the day. Then it will be too late. " During repair work in the tower weeks after the execution, a bricklayer found a jackdaw's nest in the bell chamber and in it the missing jewelery that a jackdaw had probably stolen. Too late for the goldsmith, his body was transferred to the Frauenbergl cemetery.

literature

Web links

Commons : Kaufingertor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 8 ′ 17.1 ″  N , 11 ° 34 ′ 19 ″  E