Reichenbacher Tower
The Reichenbacher Tower is a surviving part of the western city fortifications of Görlitz . At 51 meters, it is the tallest of the three preserved watchtowers and defense towers in the city (the other two are the Nikolaiturm and the Dicke Turm ). Only the town hall tower towers over it with a height of 63 meters.
history
The history of the tower may go back to the 13th century when the upper market was created. In 1376 it was first mentioned in a document to protect the western city gate. Most of the square lower part of the tower dates from this period. Above the square part, this is replaced by an octagon with a pent roof, which merges into a cylindrical upper tower. The tower is crowned by a round battlement with pointed arch friezes and the dome.
In 1485 the battlement was placed on top of the cylindrical upper tower and the tower was given a wooden spire. In 1521 the Reichenbacher Tower was connected to the Kaisertrutz ( Kulturhistorisches Museum Görlitz ) built in 1490 by two high shield walls. The Reichenbacher Tor was in the northern shield wall. The late Gothic spire was replaced by a copper-covered baroque dome in 1782. The demolition of the city fortifications and the gate in this area began in 1862. It was not until 1869 that the pedestrian passage through the tower was created.
In 1904 the last keeper moved out and the tower bell has rang electrically ever since. Due to severe damage, the tower was extensively restored from 1935 onwards. During the renovation work in 1936, eight steel anchors were pulled into the lower part of the tower, which were hidden behind twelve colored coats of arms, which were made by the Görlitz painter Arno Henschel . The top six coats of arms show the countries to which Görlitz belonged in its history. The coats of arms of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and Bohemia can be seen on the west side of the tower ; on the south side the coats of arms of Brandenburg and Prussia and finally on the east side the coats of arms of Silesia and Saxony . The lower six show the coats of arms of the Upper Lusatian six-city federation . In 1946 the tower was already climbed by the first visitors. In 1953 the tower became a lookout tower and at the same time part of the municipal art collections, today's cultural history museum. There are various exhibits on the individual tower days. In 1999 the baroque hood was re-covered.
Individual evidence
- ^ Reichenbacher Turm on the website of the city of Görlitz
- ↑ Stadtverwaltung Görlitz, Kommunale Statisticsstelle (Ed.): Statistisches Jahrbuch 2009 . Görlitz City Administration, Central Copy Office, 2009, p. 11 .
- ^ Richard Jecht : History of the city of Görlitz . 1st edition. tape 1 , half volume 2. Verlag des Magistrates der Stadt Görlitz, 1934, p. 550 .
- ↑ a b museum-goerlitz.de: History of the Reichenbacher Tower. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 11, 2016 ; accessed on January 11, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 9 '17.4 " N , 14 ° 59' 7.6" E