Rhine gate (Andernach)

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Rheintor (Kornpforte)

The Rheintor is the former northern main gate of the Andernach city fortifications from around 1200 and the main entrance to the city of Andernach from the banks of the Rhine .

history

Named, as is customary on the Rhine, it was called the korenpor (t) zen in Middle High German after the korengass (later Korngasse ) that led to it . The name is changing over Korenportz , Corn Porte to Neuhochdeutsch Kornpforte to the early 19th century, when it then after in Rheinstraße renamed former Korngasse then Rheintor was called. It is the oldest double gate in the Rhineland and, in addition to the ruins of the Koblenz Gate, Andernach is the only remaining (and intact) gate of the former five main gates and five secondary gates: Coellenporzen (Kölnpforte, Kölner Tor in the west), Kirchporzen (Kirchpforte, Kirchtor in the south), Schafporzen (Schafpforte, Schaftor in the south), Burgporzen (Burgpforte, Koblenzer Tor in the east) and Korenporzen (Kornpforte, Rheintor in the north), in addition in the Rhine wall: Schreiberspforte (in the northeast), Moerspforte, Neupforte, Fischpforte, Trierpforte (northwest, with gatehouse ). The gate initially consisted of today's inner gate with a pointed tent roof and the two figures on the field side, the oldest part of the gate. They were originally painted and visible from afar. So they served as possible guardian symbols and also to represent the city.

The basalt consoles now directly under the figures comes from the time before the Torerweiterung and carried a so-called wooden About rooms as (z. B. in almost all land-Cologne gates Eigelsteintor ), the Rurtor in Jülich or Kuhtor in Kempen is the case or was. In the middle of the 14th century the outer gate (front gate) with the connecting walls tapering towards the field (trapezoidal gate fence) was built. In addition to the floor plan, parts of the lower masonry, especially the main or inner gate, belonged to the time of the first construction. The gatehouse facing the city has hardly changed since the Renaissance. The round arch frieze halfway up the front gate, which is also located under the two weir core , dates from the late Gothic period . A frieze running inside on the west wall originally carried a battlement, which was removed in the 15th century, and the arches of which were bricked up. The Rheintor had as the main city gate - besides the former church gate the only double gate with two separate gatehouses - a rectangular three-storey gate tower structure with a pointed helmet on the city side behind the city wall line (inner gatehouse, main gate), plus a large main porch (sometimes with side porches) in front of the city wall (field-side gatehouse ). This part of the gate in particular was damaged, destroyed, built and changed several times. In the early 17th century, the main outwork had three stepped gables (similar today without large windows) with two large Eckwarten (weir bay windows, bay windows similar integrated since 1899 with their own roofs in the gatehouse) and a pitch oriel above the field-side gate entrance, had the all gates. In the 18th century, large windows were broken into the outer works above the portal as well as in the side walls, a mansard roof was put on, the stair gables, the upper parts of the military dormitory and the pitch bay were removed. Because of the elevation of the street level of the Rheinallee (today Konrad-Adenauer-Allee) a higher arch had to be broken out of the city-side gate in 1899, the field-side part was completely removed and rebuilt according to plans from the 17th century. The archway, which had become too low, was rebuilt 1.50 meters higher. This was done on the instructions of the provincial curator Prof. Dr. Paul Clemen (1866–1947) initially against the will of the city administration, which wanted to have the gate demolished as early as 1894. With this measure (1899–1905) Prof. Clemen was able to preserve the Rheintor. The two larger than life late Romanesque tuff warrior figures over the thoroughfare to the city (field side of the rear gatehouse) guarding today the city and have been since the mid-19th century as a baker's boy called and the resulting in time Bäckersjunge Forecast linked, although they nothing more than Guardian figures or statues of representation .

  • The Rhine Gate after renovation with a mansard roof , drawing by John Kindler in 1844, main gate without a helmet

  • The so-called baker boy figures made of tuff at the inner gate, including the basalt consoles of the former bedroom

literature

  • Paul Clemen : The Rheinthor in Andernach. In: Die Denkmalpflege , Volume 3, No. 2 (January 30, 1901), pp. 10–13.
  • Udo Liessem: The Rheintor in Andernach . In: Klaus Schäfer (Hrsg.): The Andernacher baker boys - background of a legend . Booklet accompanying the exhibition, 1994, pp. 31–39.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Engraving by Matthäus Merian , 1646

Coordinates: 50 ° 26 ′ 28.4 "  N , 7 ° 24 ′ 4.1"  E