Black Tower (Regensburg)
The Black Tower (also: Heinrichsturm ) was one of the three defense towers of the Stone Bridge . He rose on the northern abutment of the bridge, which was still part of Regensburg, and secured the northern access to the stone bridge that connected Regensburg with the then Bavarian town of Stadtamhof . The tower suffered severe damage during the Fifth Coalition War in the Battle of Regensburg in 1809 and was subsequently demolished.
Tower construction
Construction of the Black Tower began in 1246, a few decades after the Stone Bridge was completed, construction of which began around 1135. The start of construction of the tower was before the beginning of the construction work for the construction of the other city fortifications , which did not begin until the end of the 13th century. The construction of the black tower was completed before 1307, because a seal from that year already shows all three towers of the stone bridge.
The name of the tower is said to come from the stone blocks, blackened by patina, which were used in the construction and which is said to have included a Roman tombstone. To top it off, the tower bore the larger-than-life figure of an emperor or king, probably the figure of Emperor Friedrich II , who had granted the city privileges in the 13th century. From the north side of the tower, a huge black imperial eagle looked out over the Bavarian town hall in a yellow field.
As a bridge tower on the north bank of the Danube, the gate system was endangered by attacks from the north and had to be specially protected. As early as 1383 in the course of the construction of the general city fortifications, the Black Tower received a defense system surrounding it on three sides. This facility was expanded to form a walled area with battlements and loopholes in 1388 during the city war and in 1429 because of the threat of attacks by the Hussites from the north . In addition, two round accompanying towers were built and an upstream trench with a drawbridge was built.
History of the tower
When a Swedish army occupied Regensburg during the Thirty Years' War, the gate system was additionally shielded by a horn system and during the battles for Regensburg for several weeks it proved to be a bridgehead that defied a great superiority of imperial-Bavarian troops . It could be easily supplied with supplies via the stone bridge and only had to be cleared when the stone bridge was conquered from the Danube island of Oberer Wöhrd . Then the bridgehead could be conquered from behind, which led to the defeat of the Swedes.
Even after the war, the customs border with the Electorate of Bavaria and later the Kingdom of Bavaria at the Black Tower was strictly guarded. It was secured by double barriers in the imperial city and in Bavaria , which were studded with iron spikes up and down to prevent both slipping through and climbing over.
When the area around Regensburg and the city itself north and south of the Danube once again became a battlefield in the Fifth Coalition War in 1809 , the Stone Bridge, the Black Tower and the whole of Stadtamhof again became the focus of the fighting between French and Austrian troops this time. After defeats the latter fled south of Regensburg and after persistent resistance on the city walls of Regensburg from south to north over the stone bridge to Stadtamhof and were pursued by French troops. Austrian artillery - stationed above Stadtamhof on the Dreifaltigkeitsberg - shot at the pursuers and destroyed the building stock of Stadtamhof. The Black Tower was also so badly damaged that it was demolished and removed along with all the associated fortifications in 1810. Instead of the looped structures, the Biedermeier-style, bourgeois-looking today's ground-floor baza buildings at the former Stadtamhofer bridgehead were built after 1824. Even if almost all the bazaar buildings were subsequently changed, they still have an idyllic effect today and enclose a rectangular square, the former location of the Black Tower.
aftermath
In connection with the artistic project “Danubia Art LAB Hidden Places, Hidden Spaces” , the artist Klara Orosz wanted to re-represent and interpret the Black Tower, which was destroyed in 1810, as a 20 m high, 7.5 m wide and long installation. She wanted to have the tower made of soft foam and accessible to visitors again. She intended to bring this historical object closer to the citizens of Regensburg using contemporary means. The submitted plans were rejected by the building authorities because the artist's ideas could not be realized for safety reasons. A building permit was not granted.
literature
- Lutz Michael Dallmeier and Gerhard Meixner: The northern bridgehead of the Stone Bridge as reflected in the latest archaeological excavations.
In: enkmalpflege in Regensburg Vol. 9 (2004) pp. 54 - 82
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lutz Michael Dallmeier and Mathias Hensch : Secrets of the Stone Bridge. New archaeological information on the medieval development of the southern bridgehead . In: City of Regensburg, Office for Archives and Preservation of Monuments (ed.): Preservation of monuments in Regensburg . tape 12 . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-7917-2371-6 , pp. 6 .
- ^ Karl Bauer: Regensburg Art, Culture and Everyday History . 6th edition. MZ-Buchverlag in H. Gietl Verlag & Publication Service GmbH, Regenstauf 2014, ISBN 978-3-86646-300-4 , p. 220 f., 545, 722 .
- ^ Karl Bauer: Regensburg Art, Culture and Everyday History . 6th edition. MZ-Buchverlag in H. Gietl Verlag & Publication Service GmbH, Regenstauf 2014, ISBN 978-3-86646-300-4 , p. 697, 221, 705 .
- ↑ Eugen Trapp: The bazaar at Stadtamhof. On the history of a Biedermeier shopping center . In: City of Regensburg, Lower Monument Protection Authority (Hrsg.): Preservation of monuments in Regensburg . tape 14 . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7917-2708-0 , pp. 77 ff .
- ↑ The artwork "The Black Tower" failed due to security concerns. This is how the artist would have imagined the tower. Accessed on November 14, 2019 (German).
Coordinates: 49 ° 1 ′ 26.5 ″ N , 12 ° 5 ′ 50.3 ″ E