Perlach Tower
The 70 m high Perlach Tower is a tower in the old town of Augsburg . Built in the 10th century as a watchtower , today it is a landmark of the old imperial city in the ensemble with the neighboring Augsburg City Hall and today serves as a lookout tower, among other things .
history
Originally built as a watchtower in 989, the Perlach Tower has undergone numerous renovations and extensions over the course of its thousand-year history. It received its current appearance in the course of the new construction of the Augsburg town hall in the years 1612 to 1618 by the well-known city architect Elias Holl . Optically adapted to the magnificent neighboring building, the Perlach Tower has since formed together with it one of the most beautiful Renaissance ensembles north of the Alps . Once an expression of imperial city pride, the town hall and Perlach tower are still landmarks and focal points of Augsburg's historic old town.
In 989, instead of several burned down houses, a 30 m high watchtower was built in the then episcopal city of Augsburg to watch out for fire and intruders. In 1348 a fire bell weighing 76 quintals was installed in the tower, with which one could warn the citizens of dangers. Only the town vogt had the right to ring the bell - a provision that was valid until 1805.
For over five hundred years, the Perlach Tower remained almost unchanged in its original state. In the meantime it was used as the bell tower of the neighboring church Sankt Peter am Perlach , but in the 15th century it became the property of the city. The southern and middle chapels of the west yoke of St. Peter are still located on the ground floor of the Perlach Tower.
The Perlach Tower underwent its first major renovation in 1526 when it was raised to a height of 63 meters. A few years later it was also equipped with a clockwork and bell, which indicated the time to the population by striking the bell every 15 minutes.
Between 1612 and 1618, the then city architect Elias Holl redesigned the Perlach Tower in the course of the new construction of the neighboring town hall in the Renaissance style. Holl had the tower raised to its current height of 70 meters by adding an octagon with ten Doric columns and a dome with a lantern and an onion dome . He crowned the lantern with a figure of the pagan city goddess Cisa , a weather vane and a copper pine nut , the Augsburg city symbol. During a restoration of the tower at the beginning of the 20th century, the figure and pine nut were removed again.
During the Second World War , the Perlach tower was equipped with anti-aircraft guns. During the night bombing raids by the British Royal Air Force on 25/26 In February 1944 the entire upper floor of the tower burned down, but the tower was reopened in 1950 after renovation work.
On the occasion of the 2000-year anniversary of Augsburg, the "Perlach" was restored from 1984 to 1985 based on the historical model from the time of Elias Holl, for which the city and committed citizens spent a total of DM 1.1 million. The tower also got its original gray and white color scheme back. The Alt-Augsburg-Gesellschaft also donated a glockenspiel that has since played German folk songs or pieces of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart four times a day from the top of the tower ( ).
The name "Perlach Tower"
Various statements are circulating in Augsburg about where the Perlach Tower got its name from. According to the most common variant, in the Middle Ages regular demonstrations of wild bears ( Old High German per ) took place on the square in front of the watchtower ; A party or a performance should be hidden behind lach . The picture from the season calendar (right) shows the Perlach Tower with the arcades in the base area, which were not yet bricked up at the time, in which these "dancing bears" were apparently kept behind bars. In the tower there is a sign that his name comes from the Latin word perlego ("read through"). Accordingly, the space in front of the Perlach Tower was used as a place for the announcement of public / municipal announcements.
Turamichele
In the days around September 29th, Michaelmas Day , the Turamichele (Tower Michel), a mechanical figure play about the Archangel Michael , appears on the bottom window of the Perlach Tower . Children in particular gather on the town hall square on this day and count loudly when the mechanical angel stabs the devil lying at his feet every full hour to the beat of the bells . On the weekend, which is closest to September 29, there will be a big children's festival on the town hall square.
sightseeing
258 steps lead to the viewing platform of the Perlach Tower. From there you have a view of the entire city of Augsburg. When foehn in the foothills of the Alps , the yellow flag is waved on the tower, then the Perlach tower offers a view of the Alps.
The Perlach Tower is open
- from Easter to the beginning of November daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and additionally
- during the Augsburg Christkindlesmarkt every Friday to Sunday from 2pm to 6pm.
Due to renovation work, the Perlach Tower has been closed to the public since 2017 until further notice.
Others
- The annual " Perlach Tower Run " is one of the most famous tower races in Germany . The competitors start their run on the viewing platform every two minutes. The course record since 2005 is 47.28 seconds, run by Roland Wegner. In the women’s category, Kerstin Harbich has been the fastest since 2001 with 1: 04.05 min.
- There is a souvenir shop on the first floor of the tower; Souvenirs are also sold at the cash register below the viewing platform.
- The Augsburg thriller "The Perlach Murder" by Peter Garski is set in the Perlach Tower.
literature
- Bernt von Hagen: A design for the Perlach tower in Augsburg . In: Pantheon, 47 (1989), pp. 173-178
- Franz Bischoff: Burkhard Engelberg "The architect rich in art and the master of Augspurg Wercke". Burkhard Engelberg and southern German architecture around 1500. Comments on the social position and working methods of late Gothic stonemasons and master craftsmen . Augsburg 1999, here pp. 317-320.
- Hans Reuther , Ekhart Berckenhagen: German architectural models . Project aid between 1500 and 1900. Berlin 1994. Catalog numbers 38 - 41.
Web links
- Interactive panoramic view from the Perlach Tower - (City of Augsburg)
- The Perlach Tower - (AugsburgWiki)
Coordinates: 48 ° 22 ′ 9 ″ N , 10 ° 53 ′ 54 ″ E