Lion tower

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The lion tower
The Lion Tower at the end of the 19th century, painting by Joseph Pushkin
Information board

The Löwenturm at the Rindermarkt in the old town of Munich is an approx. 25 meter high seven-story brick tower from the 14th century. It is a listed building.

history

According to current research, the construction of the lion tower began in the 14th century. Its current condition shows numerous later changes and alterations that make it difficult to draw conclusions about the original purpose of the building.

The historical function of the tower is not clear. The earlier presumption that gave it its name, that it was originally part of the first Munich city fortifications going back to the city's founder Heinrich the Lion , seems to be refuted by the fact that remains of the oldest city wall overbuilt by buildings were found approx. 15 m north of the tower and the tower in old plans is drawn directly above the Munich Stadtgrabenbach , which ran about 10-15 m in front of the city wall.

The positioning of the lion tower directly above the former Angerbach has now been archaeologically secured, but its original function is not. Assumptions that the tower was in connection with a dam in the Stadtgrabenbach have not yet been proven, as there were no constructive indications in the basement of the tower for the previous presence of a dam or weir system. It is probable that the tower was also used as a toilet facility, as the earlier Stadtbach can be shown to be primarily used for "water disposal, not supply". A watercolor by Josef Puschkin from 1891 shows the lion tower with the surrounding buildings, whose lavatory dungeons are also disposed of in the Stadtbach. Against this background, Biller / Rasp's interpretation of the lion tower as "an irrigation system for a former suburban garden" must also be considered outdated.

The high-quality painting of the upper floors of the tower suggests that at least from the turn of the 15th to the 16th century these served representative purposes of the owners. The tower could have been part of a representative courtyard as the seat of a family of the city nobility or patriciate. Numerous comparative examples are known from the 15th century, e.g. B. from Cologne.

After the adjacent buildings on both sides were destroyed in World War II , it was left standing alone as a damaged tower. Since the demolition of a neighboring building, the tower is now free. Due to dilapidation, it was extensively renovated in 2006-2007.

description

The raw brick building with neo-Gothic battlements has neither doors nor a stairwell. In the past, access to the individual floors was only possible via the neighboring buildings. The interior therefore remains inaccessible to the public.

The tower spans the abandoned Angerbach with a barrel vault, the ground floor and the upper floors 1 to 3 are each covered with a cross vault, while the upper floors have 4 to 5 wooden beam ceilings. The battlements crowning the tower are an ingredient from 1895, which apparently reconstruct the state of the tower at the end of the 16th century, as Jakob Sandtner depicted it in his city ​​model of Munich from 1570–72.

On the 4th floor in particular, remains of a representative painting using stencil technology from the 15th century have been preserved. The recurring motif of a griffin with outstretched wings on a hill, crowned by a tape and flanked by floral ornaments gave the room the name "Greifenzimmer". In addition, there are, among other things, the coats of arms of the Munich families Pötschner and Fröschl, who are also shown as the donors of an altarpiece from 1477 in the Munich parish church of St. Peter .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Karin Uetz: Defense tower, residential tower, water tower? In: City of Munich and Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (ed.): Workbooks of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation . tape 118 . Karl M. Lipp, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-87490-739-2 , p. 29 ff .
  2. ↑ Rathaus Umschau, edition 35/2006. City of Munich, February 20, 2006, p. 4 , accessed on December 24, 2012 (ZIP file of all 2006 editions).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Christian Behrer: The lion tower in the middle of Munich . in: Der Löwenturm (see literature) pp. 15–25
  4. ^ Josef H. Biller, Hans-Peter Rasp: Munich - Art and Culture Lexicon . Munich 1985, p. 186 .
  5. ↑ Löwenturm at the Rindermarkt. süddeutsche.de, accessed on March 2, 2013 .
  6. ↑ Thomas Hacklberger: The "Greifenzimmer" in the lion tower . In: City of Munich and Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (ed.): Workbooks of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation . tape 118 . Karl M. Lipp, Munich 2008, p. 106 .

literature

  • The Lion Tower in Munich . In: City of Munich, Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (ed.): Workbooks of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation . Karl M. Lipp Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-87490-739-2 .

Web links

Commons : Lion Tower  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Bavarian Monument Atlas - after the start you can also enter the monument number under the advanced search (binocular logo), or “file number” for individual buildings.
    • Entry to the lion tower:
File number: D-1-62-000-5958
Name: Lion Tower
Address: Rosental 4 (80331 Munich)
Function: water pump, hydroelectric power station, residential tower
Residential tower above the facility for water supply or power, so-called lion tower, high raw brick building, in the lower part late 13th century, raised in the later Middle Ages, 6th floor added in 1885 and provided with a crenellated crown in 1895.

Coordinates: 48 ° 8 ′ 8.9 ″  N , 11 ° 34 ′ 26.1 ″  E