Shear gate

No. 17 = The Scherptor; Graphic by Carl Rhoen

The Scherptor ( Porta principalis dextra ), also Scherbtor , is one of the ten gates in the inner city wall of Aachen , which is also called the inner ring , first wall or Barbarossa wall and was built between 1171 and 1175 at the instigation of Emperor Frederick I .

history

The name Scherptor ( Acuta porta , according to Latin documents from the 13th century and city accounts from the 14th century) comes from the street name at that time platea acuta (around 1262/63), also sharp place or sharp road, Scherpstrois (around 1373 ), Scarpstraiss (around 1423), Scherpstraisse (around 1460) or Scherpstraß (around 1777), which is now known as Annastrasse. It is believed that the name Scherpstraße also derives from the so-called Spitzgässchen, which can be found in the extension of today's Annastraße in the direction of Aachen Cathedral and was mentioned in the interest registers of the Aachen Marienstift as early as the 15th century . The Scherptor itself is also known under the names Scherpthor, Scharporz (around 1338) or Scharpportz (around 1469) and can be classified in the Staufer period. It was torn down as part of a repair that is recorded in the city's expenditure invoice in the budget year 1334/35.

location

The Scherptor was not far from the point where today Löhergraben, Alexianergraben, Mörgensstrasse and Annastrasse meet. Within the so-called Barbarossamauer there were nine more gates, the Königsmittelor, the Pontmittelor, the Neutor, the Kölnmittelor, the Besterdertor, the Ursulinertor (Aldegundistor or Adalbertsmittelor), the Harduinstor , the Burtscheidermitteltor (Marschiermittelor) and the Jakobsmittelor .

More precisely, it is assumed that the Scherptor was at the point where the municipal Evangelical Anna School is today, i.e. at the confluence of Jesuitenstrasse and Annastrasse.

On the south side of the rather broad exterior in the Löhergrabens sat Aachen called Löhrer Gerber . They were supplied with sufficient water for their production via split ends from the Paubach . This is where today's name for the Löhergraben comes from.

The city moat between Scherptor and Burtscheidertor, which carried water at the time, was initially called Scherptorgraben, but was later renamed to Düppengraben due to the Begarden ( Alexianerbrüder ) resident there and the pottery that they operated. Today the moat is known as the Alexian moat. The Alexian Hospital is still located there today.

use

A mocking poem from the years between 1513 and 1545, which presumably originates from the Mayor of Aachen Peter von Inden, shows that the Scherptor was used to keep prisoners.

Construction

The Scherptor was the only gate of the Barbarossa Wall to have two round towers flanking the gate, such as B. the Helpoort of Maastricht , which were connected by a central building and was therefore stronger and of larger dimensions than the other side gates. It is assumed that the gate had two front towers in front of the main gate, which were connected by a drawbridge . These front gates are said to have ceased to exist as early as the 18th century.

As with all other city gates, the Scherptor had a guard's house belonging to the city. For the first time a guardian of the Scherptor is known by name in 1469. Wilhelm von Eys took his oath on May 10th of this year. The last guard at the Scherptor known by name was Joseph Krümmel.

Others

During the canal construction work in Annastraße in 2009, the low-lying foundation walls of the shear gate were exposed.

literature

Richard Pick : The former Scherptor , in: From Aachen's past. Contributions to the history of the old imperial city . Creutzer, Aachen 1895, pp. 172–183 ( digitized )

Web links

Commons : Aachen City Walls - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

50.773447 6.08134Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 24.4 " N , 6 ° 4 ′ 52.8" E

[1] Aachener streets and their stories

[2] Article by Richard Pick on the Scherptor, 1895

[3] Scherptor in the Barbarossamauer, Aachener Geschichtsverein