Black Tower (Brugg)

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Black tower
The Black Tower as seen from the north bank of the Aare

The Black Tower as seen from the north bank of the Aare

Creation time : 1238
Conservation status: receive
Construction: Shell limestone, tuff stone
Place: Brugg
Geographical location 47 ° 29 '9.4 "  N , 8 ° 12' 23.9"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 29 '9.4 "  N , 8 ° 12' 23.9"  E ; CH1903:  657884  /  two hundred fifty-nine thousand seven hundred and forty-six
Height: 510  m above sea level M.
Black Tower (Canton Aargau)
Black tower

The Black Tower is a tower castle in the Swiss city ​​of Brugg . It is the oldest building and symbol of the city. It is located on the northern edge of the old town, right next to the bridge that leads over a narrow section of the Aare and gave the city its name.

history

The tower was built in the last quarter of the 12th century and was probably designed by Count Albrecht III. arranged by Habsburg . The ancestral seat of the Habsburgs , the Habsburgs , is only a few kilometers away and the town, which emerged a little later, served for a time as the residence of the Habsburg counts. The Black Tower was first mentioned in a document in 1238.

Since parts of the wall from the ruins of the nearby legionary camp Vindonissa were also used for the construction , it was long assumed that the tower was of Roman origin and was therefore incorrectly called the “Roman tower”. It was only in the 19th century that it was recognized that the material had been reused and that the tower had therefore been built at least 800 years later than assumed.

After the bridge was rebuilt in 1532, the city lords saw the tower too small. Therefore, three years later, the top walls and the roof were torn down and then new upper floors were bricked up; this increased the tower by around five meters. On the north side, towards the river, an oriel was added in 1536 . The Black Tower has remained unchanged since the town hall was added to the south and west side in 1579. The tower served as a district prison from 1846; The cells were closed in November 2006 as the prison system was centralized.

building

Black Tower and City Hall
Black tower

The 25.70 meter high tower flanks the southern head of the Aare bridge and stands on the edge of a vertically sloping rock. The floor plan is square with an edge length of 9.30 meters. The two construction phases can be easily recognized by the texture of the masonry. The lower part, built in the Middle Ages, reaches a height of 13.50 meters and consists of recycled masonry made of shell limestone from the Vindonissa legionary camp. A round arch on the north wall is decorated in Romanesque style and probably comes from a church that was demolished in the 11th century.

While the wall thickness in the lower part is 2.30 meters thick, it tapers in the upper part to 1.10 meters. The part of the tower that was erected in 1535 consists of tuff stone blocks . A hipped roof forms the end .

The Black Tower is enclosed by the town hall on the west and south sides. The three-storey building was built in the late Gothic style in 1579 , with a semicircular stair tower being added to the west side . Since the renovation in 1758/59 it has had its present form.

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