Rathenower gate tower
The Rathenower Gate Tower is a tower in the city wall of the old town Brandenburg in Brandenburg an der Havel . It is one of the former eight, today four remaining gate towers of the two cities of Brandenburg and is part of the medieval fortification that once comprised ten gates.
Surname
The Rathenower Tor protected the arterial road to the northwest of the old town of Brandenburg an der Havel. It is named after Havel city Rathenow , about 30 km north-west of Brandenburg an der Havel. There were two trade routes from the gate to Rathenow. One led through the village of Fohrde and the cities of Pritzerbe and Premnitz , the second, probably more important, through Brielow , Hohenferchesar , Seelensdorf and Premnitz. In addition, the side road began there via the villages of Brielow, Radewege , Butzow and Ketzür to Nauen .
Shape and location
The Rathenower gate tower has the outline of a rectangle that is almost square . It is completely listed in Brandenburg brick. The gate tower is covered by a pointed cone, which in turn is crowned by a wrought-iron raven with a ring in its beak. In contrast to the other gate tower remaining in the old town of Brandenburg, the Plauer gate tower , the Rathenow gate tower has multiple decorative elements, such as pilaster strips , horizontal decorative friezes and gradations and round and coat of arms panels embedded in the masonry . The coat of arms covers on the city side once showed the following coats of arms: 1. a wheel, 2. the Bavarian Wecken (rule of the Wittelsbachers over the Mark Brandenburg ), 3. the Saxon-Anhalt beams, 4. the black one-headed imperial eagle , 5. the Bohemian lion and 6. the red Brandenburg eagle.
The Rathenower Tor released the northwest wall ring of the old town in the direction of Plauer or Luckenberger Tor . To the northeast, a Wiekhaus and an additional defense tower followed after about 50 m , the stump of which still closes the parish garden of St. Gotthardt against the intact city wall towards the former district garden (formerly Kaiser-Otto-Ring , today Walther-Rathenau-Platz). Behind the former bishop's court (later Saldria ) the wall bent away to the south and then opened to the former old town mill gate with its homeye .
The Rathenower Tor was once set up with a double gate with a bridge over the double wall in front of it.
In 1910 a breakthrough was made on the ground floor for pedestrians.
History of origin
The Rathenower gate tower is considered to be the oldest preserved city gate in Brandenburg. Work began around 1290 in front of the palisade as a gatehouse with a drawbridge . It is believed that the work was finished around 1320 with the completion of two upper floors with coats of arms attached to the outer edges. The gate is said to have been locked in the years after 1355 and converted into a dungeon . Since then, traffic has been diverted around the tower. Simultaneously, a guardhouse was set up, the position in a visible today garderobe be seen. In the years before 1582 the tower was strengthened and the previously wooden end was replaced by a brick walkway. A restoration took place in 1870 and 1911.
Special
The tower is open to visitors and can be climbed on the Brandenburg Door Day in September each year. Visits are not possible outside of this day.
The tower can already be recognized in unchanged condition on the oldest depiction of the city of Brandenburg from the hand of Zacharias Garcaeus (1588).
See also
literature
- Friedrich Grasow: Brandenburg, the millennial city - A walk through the culture and architecture of past centuries. Self-published by the city of Brandenburg; Brandenburg an der Havel 1928.
- Chronicle of the city of Brandenburg. Published by the Urban History Working Group of the City of Brandenburg an der Havel in the Brandenburgischer Kulturbund e. V., Verlag B. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-933254-40-X .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ S. Children, HT Porada (ed.): Brandenburg an der Havel and surroundings. 2006, p. 44, ISBN 978-3-412-09103-3 .
- ↑ Sign for the European Route of Brick Gothic on the tower
Coordinates: 52 ° 24 ′ 7.4 ″ N , 12 ° 33 ′ 16.7 ″ E