Spittelturm (Bremgarten)

View of the Spittelturm from Marktgasse

The Spittelturm is a preserved city fortification tower in the Swiss city of Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau . The gate tower is also known as the upper tower or the hospital tower . The name Spittelturm is the local dialect version of Spitalturm. With its striking appearance, it is a symbol of the city.

It has the function of the upper city entrance and is located at the southeast end of the upper town of Bremgarten. The tower was built as a civil counterpart to the neighboring square tower, which came from the feudal era, but collapsed in 1802. Since then, the Spittelturm has dominated the area. The eponymous hospital, which adjoined it to the south, was demolished in 1843 to make room for the widening of the thoroughfare. This allowed the tower to be preserved, as it no longer obstructed traffic.

Building history

The gate tower was built from 1556 to 1559 on the site of a previous building from the early 14th century. The construction of the tower was directed by the foreman Albrecht Murer and the master carpenter Hans Ranff. The tower clock was installed in 1558 and was made by a clockmaker from Lucerne . The tower helmet was covered by master Hans Frey. The Bremgarten council appointed four clients from among its ranks to represent the interests of the city.

To mark the city's jubilee, the tower was extensively renovated in 1858. In 1953 the clock faces of the tower clock were replaced under the direction of G. Fischer from Aarau . Another renovation took place in 2000.

building

The 44 meter high rectangular tower has a base area of 8.4 meters wide and 6 meters long. The access to the upper floors is now through an annex to the north, in which a staircase leads to the fourth floor.

The substructure consists of hewn and regularly layered sandstone blocks , while the superstructure consists of plastered rubble stones . The gateway consists of a round arched portal and is vaulted below the tower by a flat barrel roof. A wooden journal bearing from the former gate wing has been preserved on the eastern inner side.

While the south-facing side of the tower (towards the Reuss ) has no windows, the east and north sides are those that faced a possible enemy; They therefore have a total of six notches in the wall on the fourth to sixth floors and three key notches on the seventh floor. There are two square lights on the eighth floor. The west side facing the city has grooved narrow windows.

The tower has a steep hipped roof on which there is a six-sided ridge turret with a pointed helmet. On both long sides, two polygonal tower notches grow out of the roof area above the eaves . These are carried by a console and have pointed roofs crowned with pennants. In the window basket of the bay facing into the city is the movable ball that shows the moon phase . The roof structure is a standing gable construction, which is braced with St. Andrew's crosses .

Between the gate passage and the fourth floor there is a prison room accessible from above. Numerous graffiti were discovered in this during the renovation. The storey floors consist of clay tiles and are connected by oak block stairs. A bell from 1557 is housed in the roof turret. This has a diameter of 85 cm and bears the minuscule inscription "anno domini 1557 + ave maria gracia plena dominus tecum"

The coat of arms relief on the Spittelturm

A coat of arms relief carved in sandstone is located above the apex of the eastern and thus outer archway. This was originally bordered in color and shows, in addition to the year 1556 with the initials H · S · B, a renaissance style coat of arms of the Bremgarten Empire. This coat of arms triad is crowned by coats of arms and is held on both sides by shield-holder lions that have become grotesque and bizarre. These in turn are surrounded by an arched twin arcade with delicate balustrades . The entire coat of arms relief is in a strong, fluted, square border with a cover plate.

The tower clock has two dials. While the eastern, out of town dial is kept rather simple, the western, inward of town dial is held by two Bremgarten lions and is decorated with signs of the zodiac . This clock side is designed as an astronomical clock , which shows the current sign of the zodiac and the day of the week with two additional hands.

literature

Peter Felder: The art monuments of the canton of Aargau . Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History . Volume IV, Bremgarten district. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1967, ISBN 3-906131-07-6 , p. 26-29 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ The watch cost 105 gold crowns. Peter Felder suspects that it is the watchmaker Michael Müller, who was born in Winterthur and who received Lucerne citizenship in 1557.
^ The four clients were Bernhard Mutschlin (Schultheiss), Heinrich Wyss (old Schultheiss), Peter Jeger (member of the small council), Jakob Honegger (member of the large council).

47.350580555556 8.3429805555556Coordinates: 47 ° 21 '2.1 " N , 8 ° 20' 34.7" E ; CH1903: six hundred sixty-eight thousand three hundred and thirty-one / 244808

[1] The watch cost 105 gold crowns. Peter Felder suspects that it is the watchmaker Michael Müller, who was born in Winterthur and who received Lucerne citizenship in 1557.

[2] The four clients were Bernhard Mutschlin (Schultheiss), Heinrich Wyss (old Schultheiss), Peter Jeger (member of the small council), Jakob Honegger (member of the large council).