Cowherd Tower

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The Kuhhirtenturm, seen from the Große Rittergasse from the southeast. In the middle of the picture the late Gothic archway of the former Paradiesgasse
The cowherd's tower in the Sachsenhausen city wall on the side of the river, 1628. Detail from Matthäus Merian's bird 's eye view of Frankfurt am Main

The Kuhhirtenturm (also known as the elephant ) is a defensive tower in the late Gothic style in the city of Frankfurt am Main . It was built in the late 14th century in the Sachsenhausen district of Frankfurt as part of the Frankfurt city fortifications and served as a gatehouse ( Kuhhirtentor or Paradiespförtchen ) and to protect the banks of the river Main until the 17th century . The tower, located in Grosse Rittergasse , is now part of the Frankfurt Youth Hostel .

history

Use as a defense tower (1390 to mid-17th century)

In the 14th century, the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt was involved in numerous feuds and armed conflicts with rulers of the surrounding areas. Therefore, the citizens of Frankfurt felt compelled to expand their defenses. In 1390 the cowherd tower was finally built as a defense and gate tower in the northern city wall of Sachsenhausen, facing the Main. In addition to the cowherd's tower, four other towers secured this section of the wall at a distance of around 50 meters. The gate, to which the Paradiesgasse was connected, mainly served the numerous fishermen who lived in Sachsenhausen as access to the Main.

When the Frankfurt fortifications had become obsolete at the beginning of the 19th century and were razed, the Kuhhirtenturm, inserted into the narrow development of the Sachsenhausen old town and still needed in its function as a passage to the Main, was spared from demolition and served from then on as a residential building.

Private residential tower (until 1945)

In 1884 the demolition of the now ailing tower was up for discussion, but after protests by Frankfurt citizens it was prevented. From 1923 to 1927 the composer Paul Hindemith lived in the Kuhhirtenturm and wrote his opera Cardillac there . During the Second World War , the Kuhhirtenturm, like almost all of Frankfurt's old town, was badly damaged by Allied bombing. Only the foundation walls up to the third floor remained. The half-timbered fourth floor and the roof were completely destroyed.

Youth hostel (1957-2009)

After the war, bombed-out residents and refugees used the poorly restored tower as accommodation. In 1950 the city council of Frankfurt decided to build a new youth house , as the previous building was used by the American military administration . By 1957, the new youth hostel was built on the area around the Kuhhirtenturm, which was largely destroyed by the war, with the old walls being largely integrated into the new building complex and also made available to the youth hostel from 1956. With the construction of the youth hostel, the restoration of the tower went hand in hand, which the association continued to use as a residential building.

Hindemith cabinet

Handwritten letter from Hindemith to his wife (in the cabinet exhibition)

After the end of its use by the Haus der Jugend , the tower was extensively renovated by the city of Frankfurt in 2010. On behalf of the Hindemith Blonay Foundation , the composer's legal successor, the Hindemith Institute in Frankfurt set up the “Hindemith Kabinett in the Kuhhirtenturm” with an exhibition on Hindemith's life and work. The music room under the dome on the fourth floor offers space for chamber music concerts and other events.

architecture

The tower, built on a square floor plan, has a length of around seven meters on its southern main front. The entrance to the tower is located on the mezzanine floor . The foundation walls are made of granite and are three stories high. On top of this is another floor, the tower room , in a half-timbered construction. A steep hipped roof sits on top of it . The roof and the tower room are covered with shingles made of slate . On the eastern side wall of the tower at the height of the first floor there is a late Gothic archway with a closed pedestrian crossing on top .

Exhibitions

literature

  • Bernd Kalusche, Wolf-Christian Setzepfand: Architecture Guide Frankfurt am Main. Reimer, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-496-01100-9 . (P. 10)
  • Vinz de Rouet: I love Sachsenhausen! 33 reasons to love Sachsenhausen. Berlin 2010. ISBN 978-3-86931-738-0

Web links

Commons : Cowherd Tower  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 6 ′ 24 ″  N , 8 ° 41 ′ 23.1 ″  E