Ledererturm

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West view of the landmark of the city of Wels

The Ledererturm is the last remaining tower of the medieval city fortifications of Wels ( Austria ) and is a listed building.

It forms the western end of the town square and is the main attraction in Wels today. It got its name from the trade of the leather workers who settled in today's Fabrikstrasse and Schwimmschulgasse in the Middle Ages. The other city gates - the Trauntor in the south (east), the Fischertor in the east and the Schmidtturm in the northeast - were razed in the 19th century .

The tower is 37.7 meters high and has an almost square floor plan, it consists of four floors. Each floor, with the exception of the fourth, has two windows; one to the west and one to the east. The clockwork is on the fourth floor.

history

The first documented mention of the Lederertores comes from July 24th 1326, when two Wels house owners settled their disputes about the drainage of rainwater in court. From the years 1474, 1483, 1486 and 1491 invoices for building and roof repairs have been received.

In 1610 the tower threatened to collapse after being severely damaged by fighting with the Passau soldiers . From 1616 to 1619 the tower was rebuilt by the master bricklayer Marx Martin Spaz from Linz, and it was given its present shape. The corresponding year 1618 can be read on the keystone of the archway. During a city fire in 1771, the onion helmet of the city gate was destroyed by flames and was replaced by a tent roof.

In 1892 a mechanical clockwork was installed on the top floor of the tower, which was modernized in 1996. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ledererturm - like its brothers (Traunturm 1842, Fischerturm 1870 and Schmidtturm 1875) - fell victim to the pickaxe for traffic reasons. However, sections of the population and art-savvy personalities protested against the application for termination made in 1904. Subsequently, subsidies granted by the Ministry of Education and the District Commission are ultimately thanks to the fact that the tower is still preserved today.

In 1928 the pedestrian passage was opened on the northern side of the tower, for this the staircase on the town square had to be removed, it was replaced on the outside of the city wall by a round tower with a spiral staircase. In 1965 the tower was renovated again because of a traffic accident that damaged the eastern gate. Around 1972 the nature conservation youth used rooms in the tower. The tower was renovated in 2013.

To the south of the tower and the nearby Mühlbacharm there was formerly a coppersmith's forge in front of the city wall, today "Villa Muthesius ", and to the west of this in the fork of the 2 Mühlbacharms were the "Lederwerke Adler AG" (company: Ploberger).

Todays use

Ledererturm in Wels, southwest view; Town square behind the gate

The Ledererturm is regularly visited by tourist groups. During the Christmas season, a museum for historical toys is set up on the second floor of the tower. The main attraction of the Wels Christmas market is on the third floor of the tower, a person disguised as a Christ Child accepts Christmas wishes from children, and Christmas greeting cards with their own postage stamp can also be sent from there.

Since the Ledererturm has neither heating nor toilets and the staircase cannot currently be designed to be handicapped accessible , long-term use is not possible. Concepts in this regard mostly fail for budgetary reasons.

Others

On September 25, 1962, the Austrian Post issued a definitive stamp from the series of Austrian monuments worth 60 groschen for this motif .

literature

  • Walter Aspernig: About the age of the Welser Ledererturm. In: Upper Austrian homeland sheets. 30th year, issue 3/4, Linz 1976, pp. 195–197, online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ledererturm. In: wels.at. Retrieved November 28, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Aspernig 1976, p. 195.
  3. ↑ a b c Aspernig 1976, p. 196.
  4. ↑ The history of the Villa Muthesius. on villa-muthesius.at, with a picture postcard from Lederwerke "Adler, Betrieb: Ploberger".
  5. ↑ Do you think I saw the Christ Child! Ledererturm ... simply heavenly. In: welser-weihnachtswelt.at. Retrieved November 28, 2018 .

Coordinates: 48 ° 9 ′ 21.6 ″  N , 14 ° 1 ′ 22.5 ″  E