Letziturm (Basel)

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«Outer» Letziturm in Basel (in the background); in front the rebuilt original Letziturm

The Letziturm is the name of two towers standing close together at the end of the former and partly reconstructed Basel city wall in the Basel district of St. Alban .

history

The so-called outer Letziturm was built in 1676 in the St. Alban district in the baroque style next to the actual Letziturm, which was built in the 14th century in the Gothic period . Since the crenellated older tower was demolished in 1863, the baroque tower next to it "took over" the name and kept it when the old Letzi tower was reconstructed in 1978/79.

When the St.Alban-Rheinweg was filled in in 1911, the lower part of the Letziturm disappeared into the ground; as a result, it looks much smaller today than it once was. Along with the Rheinweg, the terrace that protrudes into the Rhine at the Letziturm was also built in 1911. Until 1940 it was used to set up the last military fortifications on this historic site.

Surname

The Letzi is a historical word for the border guard , i.e. the city ​​wall . Originally, Letzi was the name given to an old Swiss military barrier in valleys (the latter meaning to stop ).

description

The baroque Letziturm once stood directly on the banks of the Rhine . In the basement, which can be entered from the wall section, there are three key loops in the approximately one meter thick foundation walls , from which the advancing enemy could be shot both across the river and upstream and downstream. Upstairs there is a chamber with simple key slots and three small windows. The top is a canopy, which is curved in a bell shape on all four sides. Four wooden columns, beginning inside at the height of the roof ledge, protrude over the top of the roof and form a small bell tower, which is also provided with a canopy (see lantern ).

literature

  • Casimir Hermann Baer, ​​contribution "Die Letzimauer im St.Albantal", published in Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Basel Stadt, Volume 1, published by the Swiss Society for the Preservation of Historical Art Monuments, Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 1932/1971, pages 229 to 231
  • Thomas Bitterli / Maurice Lovisa / Silvio Keller, Military Monuments in the Cantons of Solothurn, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft (inventory of combat and command structures), published by the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport, Bern, 2001, pages 32 to 33
  • Hans Eppens, Baukultur im alten Basel, published by Hans Eppens, Verlag Frobenius AG, Basel, 8th edition 1974, page 43
  • Guido Helmig / Christoph Philipp Matt, article "Inventory of the Basler Stadtbefestigung - plan template and catalog, 2. The Rhine-side Grossbasler Stadtbefestigungen", published in the 1990 annual report of the Archaeological Soil Research of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, edited by Rolf d'Aujourd'hui, Basel, 1992, ISBN 3-905098-11-3 , pages 165, 186 and 204
  • Christian Adolf Müller, Die Stadtbefestigung von Basel, Part 2, 134th New Year's Gazette of the GGG , Kommissionsverlag Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel, 1956, pages 26 to 27

Web links

Commons : Letziturm Basel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Blocking point Basel-Rheinufer ( Memento of the original from March 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (Ed.): Military monuments in the Solothurn, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. Inventory of the combat and command structures. (pdf, 7.5 MB) pp. 32-33. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ar.admin.ch

Coordinates: 47 ° 33 '18.4 "  N , 7 ° 36' 14.5"  E ; CH1903:  612450  /  267167