Mainzertor barracks

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mainz Gate before 1889

The Mainzertor barracks , originally called the Mainzer Kasemattenkorps, was a barracks in Koblenz . It was built from 1820 to 1823 as part of the Prussian city ​​fortifications of Koblenz and was therefore part of the fortress of Koblenz and Ehrenbreitstein .

Building description

The main features of the Mainzertor barracks corresponded to the neighboring Löhrtor barracks . The actual Mainzer Tor formed the middle structure of the 138 meter long facility. It was particularly noticeable because of its two round gate towers on the right and left of the passage. A 34 meter long, two-story casemate corps was attached to the gate on the right and left. The corps ended with a casemate wing , which also served as a moat . There was a log house on each of them . The facility was preceded by a dry ditch as an approach obstacle, over which a bridge to the gate could be reached.

history

The Mainz gate of the Prussian city fortifications was located near an older, no longer existing gate system of the same name, so that the old name for the new system was adopted. The basic concept of the gate casemate corps is attributed to Brigadier Claudius le Bauld de Nans et Lagny (1767–1844) and the facades to Koblenz's field engineer Heinrich Adolph Buschbeck (1779–1833). The barracks were occupied with troops for the first time in 1824 and housed a battalion of the later No. 8 foot artillery regiment. The gate passage was first widened in 1873, and in 1880 the loopholes were replaced by windows. One year before the city fortifications were abandoned in 1890, the entire central section of the gate system was demolished. Presumably in 1896 the city of Koblenz was able to purchase the barracks. She had the complex removed from the end of 1898. When the underpass from Mainzer Strasse to Neustadt was built in 1964, the foundations of the Mainzer Tor came to light. To commemorate the Mainzer Tor, two memorial plaques (bas reliefs) were attached to the main entrance of the municipal festival hall , which was built between 1898 and 1901 , showing the state of the gate before (left) and after the expansion in 1889 (right) . One of the panels showing the state before 1889 still exists, the other was probably lost when the remains of the hall were blown up in 1952. In 1999, in memory of the former city gate, parts of Julius-Wegeler-Strasse, Rizza- and Mainzer Strasse were renamed Am Mainzer Tor .

literature

  • City Archives Koblenz: (StAK) DB 8 Military, 01 City wall with bridges: Mainzer Tor (Mainzer Thor).
  • Klaus T. Weber (dissertation): The Prussian fortifications of Koblenz (1815–1834) . (Series: Art and Cultural Studies Research) Weimar 2003, pp. 209–224. ISBN 3-89739-340-9
  • Klaus T. Weber: "Staging of power 200 years ago. The Mainz gate of the Prussian city fortifications of Koblenz." In: Tobias Möllmer (Ed.): Style and character. Contributions to the history of architecture and the preservation of monuments in the 19th century. Basel 2015. pp. 193–205 a. 420
  • Rüdiger Wischemann: The Koblenz Fortress. From the Roman fort and Prussia's strongest fortress to the largest garrison of the Bundeswehr. Koblenz 1978, p. 124. (Note: outdated in many ways, but still the best representation for an overview).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ StAK DB 8 Military, 01 City wall with bridges: Two bas reliefs on the city festival hall to commemorate the Mainzer Tor.

Coordinates: 50 ° 21 '14.6 "  N , 7 ° 35' 54.2"  E