City fortifications Boppard
The medieval city fortifications of Boppard were built in the 12th and 13th centuries with the inclusion of the former Roman fort Bodobrica in Boppard . The remains of the city fortifications are now a listed building .
Roman fort
A first military fortification was built in Boppard in the 4th century AD by the Romans . Until the Middle Ages , these fort walls were used to secure and defend Boppard. Even after the construction of the medieval city wall, the fort walls did not lose their usefulness, as they were now integrated into the medieval city fortifications.
Building history
12./13. century
Boppard Fort, built in the middle of the 4th century, was used continuously as a city fortification until it was partially demolished at the beginning of the 19th century. The first medieval expansion of the city fortifications is believed to have taken place in the 12th century, as the population growth and the expanded urban tasks at that time resulted in a greater need for space. In addition, for the construction of the north tower and the nave of St. Severus, it was necessary to lay down the north fort wall. As a result, the fishing and merchants' quarter ("Friesenviertel") on the other side of the Rhine wall is said to have been enclosed. However, there are sources for the year 1241 according to which, due to the continued strong population growth, the newly developed urban area was no longer sufficient for further urban development.
The Roman corner tower XXVI on the northwest corner, on the other hand, was not laid down until 1850 and a remnant of the wall is still visible above ground on the northeast corner. Noteworthy is the discovery made during the demolition of an inscription that is still in the city's museum today: “This tower is assigned to those of Nieder-Lahnstein. You yourself are obliged to keep it; that's why they are duty-free here. ”The inscription is dated (epigraphically) by Niktisch to the first half of the 12th century. This inscription documents the intensified measures to maintain the fortification at that time.
14th Century
In 1312 Henry VII pledged the previously free imperial city of Boppard to his brother, Archbishop of Trier, Baldwin of Luxembourg . However, this deposit was never redeemed. Until the first military submission in 1327, the new sovereign had only been able to implement changes in the city to a very limited extent. However, immediately after the submission, he had his position militarily secured internally and externally. Archbishop Balduin had the electoral castle built and expanded at a strategically favorable location on the banks of the Rhine . At about the same time he also had the residential areas in the east (Upper Town) and west (Lower Town) protected by additional walls, thereby integrating the Roman fortifications of the old town. He also had the northern wall on the Rhine reinforced.
City fortifications
city wall
The first medieval extension of the Roman fort wall ran between the Rhine and the former northern Roman wall. This was connected by a protruding wall with the north-western corner tower of the Roman fort. It led over Judengasse (today Elzerhofstrasse) with the Judentor. The eastern continuation of the wall between the north-eastern corner tower of the Roman fort wall and the medieval city wall on the Rhine side is not secured.
The city fortifications of the second extension from the 14th century had an average of 180 cm and 200 cm thick walls and consisted of broken slate in irregular layers. With this second extension, the buildings to the west and east of the Roman fort walls were also protected by a wall. The upper town consisted of the area between the eastern fort wall and the eastern medieval city wall. The part in the former Roman fort with the extension to the Rhine formed the old town. The Niederstadt consisted of the area between the western fort wall and the western city wall. This was less densely populated than the Upper Town and therefore much less secure.
Since the city had hardly grown towards the south, no medieval city wall was built there. Rather, the Roman fort wall was integrated into the city fortifications as an outer wall.
City gates, gates and towers
After the walling of the Upper and Lower Towns was completed, at least sixteen gates and gates as well as other smaller gates enabled access to the town from all directions. There were two gates between the old town and the lower town and the upper town was connected to the old town by a gate. In addition, the old town was secured by the towers of the medieval fort. Medieval towers were integrated into the city walls of the Upper and Lower Towns and the southern wall of the old town. The gates and towers on the Rhine side are better preserved today than those on the land side.
City fortifications of the upper town on the Rhine side
The ice break and the sand gate
The ice break was a wall that was built on the northeast corner of the city wall and from there led past the Ritter-Schwalbach-Haus directly to the Rhine. The wall was named because it was supposed to protect the city from the currents of the Rhine in the event of flooding and danger of ice.
The ogival sand gate ran through the ice break. This was also called the icebreaker gate or wind gate. In a drawing by Turner from 1818, the gate is shown as a four-story gate with a rounded arch frieze and without a roof. Due to increasing decay, the remains of the upper floors that had been preserved until then were lost in 1851. In 1979/80 the remains that are still preserved were largely restored. On the Rhine side next to the archway, a basalt lava grave slab, presumably from the St. Severus Church , was placed on both sides of the gate .
At the outer end of the ice breaker was a statue of St. John of Nepomuk , the patron saint of the boatmen. When it fell down due to weathering in 1847, it was replaced by a neo-Gothic lookout pulpit. The head of the statue is now in the city museum in the electoral castle.
At the beginning of 1880 the ice break was broken off because strong ice was expected on the Rhine. They had come to the conclusion that the ice-breaker did not protect the city from the current of the Rhine, but led it directly towards the city. Since the Sand Gate had to stand still on higher orders, the pulpit was added to the Sand Gate in 1879.
The sword gate
The Schwerterpforte was a gate tower that led from the Rhine into the upper town and was located east of the electoral castle. However, the gate tower no longer exists since 1742. Matthias Merian's view of the city shows it as a two-story gate tower with a sword roof.
Gates and towers of the old town on the Rhine side
The swan gate
The swan gate is no longer preserved. It led from Rheinallee to the old town and was located where the Hotel Rebstock is today. The gate never had a tower.
The lily gate
Two gates have been preserved in the old town. The Lilientor is located at the exit of Liliengasse on today's Rheinallee ( Lage ). On the storm side it has a pointed arched opening with the year 1857. That is the year of the restoration of the lily gate. On the city side, the gate has a basket arch . The gate never had a tower. In Goswinus Klöcker's view of the city , it is referred to as Spiegelprofe and had a half-timbered upper floor with two gabled oriels.
The Crown Gate
The gate to the old town to the west of the Lilientor is called Kronentor. It is located at the end of the street of the same name ( location ). At Klöckner and von Eltester it is called a crane gate. The Boppard Rhine crane was located near this gate. Klöckner's cityscape shows a two-axis upper floor structure that is integrated into the Zur Krone building (now Rheinallee 36). The gate has arched arches on both the Rhine and the city side. Today the gate has a segmental arch and the arched frieze was changed in the 19th century. It consists of a broad basket arch and is flanked by two narrow side arches that sit on profiled basalt lava consoles. There was also an arched frieze on the town side, which is missing today.
Rhine-side gates and towers of the Niederstadt
The Brothers Gate
The Brüderpforte was located at the mouth of the Brüdergraben (today Karmeliterstraße) on today's Rheinallee. The name of the gate or that of the moat goes back to the Carmelite monastery in front of the moat . This gate to the Niederstadt had arched arches on the Rhine and city sides. In Klöcker's view of the city , the massive walled-in part is shown as a two-storey building with two rectangular windows above the arches. The third floor consisted of half-timbered houses with a curved gable and a gable roof . The view of the Boppard side of the Rhine by Laurenz Janscha from 1798 still shows the Bürderpforte. However, this disappeared by 1867 at the latest.
The hospital gate
At Klöcker, the hospital gate appears as a tower gate with two massive storeys and a third half-timbered storey. These were separated from each other by friezes on the edge. The roof was a steep sword helmet with four corner turrets and a dormer window . When the Boppard Hospital was rebuilt, the gate was probably also rebuilt. The half-timbered storey and the helmet were replaced by a mansard roof. The arched frieze above the gate was preserved. In addition, the vault was changed in the 18th century. The barrel vault in the interior is bounded by a basket-shaped gate opening. On the city side of the two-storey structure there is a cartridge with the chronogram inscription “CLaMans In rVIna In proprIIs eX soLLs VInI reDItIbVs resVrreXI”, which refers to the year 1751. Until 1975 it was attached to the gable of the former Hospital of the Holy Spirit on the Rhine side. In contrast to most of the preserved gates, there is no longer any alley through the hospital gate. The former Hospitalsgasse fell victim to the expansion of the hospital in the 1950s.
The Ebertor or Eberbacher Tor
The Ebertor takes its name from the former courtyard of the Eberbach monastery in the Boppard Niederstadt . The names Eberbacher Tor or Erbacher Tor were also common for this gate. In 1358, the city made an agreement with the abbot of Eberbach monastery that the monastery would pay 100 marks and that a gate could be built in the city wall in front of the monastery courtyard in order to be able to enter and exit more easily. The city reserved the right to keep the gate and, like everyone else, to close it if it deemed it necessary. Five years later, the city allowed the monastery to build a tower with appropriate space above the gate at its own expense. A new tower, which is probably the Eberbacher tower, was named in 1361.
Based on works by Georg Braun , Frans Hogenberg and Merian, the Ebertor was largely similar to the hospital gate. Klöcker, on the other hand, depicts it as a ruin, the roof and half-timbered floor are missing. Around 1750 the gate was given a hilted mansard roof similar to the hospital gate . The interior of the upper floor was redesigned around 1860. In addition, the cast bay window was expanded into a two-axis, neo-Gothic bay window on which the boar coat of arms was attached. A gargoyle in the shape of a lion used to be on the parapet of the Ebertor, today it is in a cellar of the Hotel Ebertor, which is now behind the gate. The gate or the tower itself also belongs to this hotel today.
The section of the wall leading from here in the direction of Koblenz Tower was laid down in 1865 to make room for four late classicist villas.
The Koblenz Tower
The Koblenz Tower was located on the northwest corner of Niederstadt until around 1870. In its immediate vicinity was the courtyard of the Mariaroth monastery (Rother Hof) , which was lost in 1802 . On Merian's cityscape, it appears as a three-storey shell tower with a high sword roof. The tower was rebuilt in the 18th century and received two half-timbered floors, which housed poor families until the 19th century. Around 1865 the Koblenz Tower was to be furnished with more elegant apartments, but it was ultimately demolished and the villa at Unter Fraubachstraße 1 was built in its place. The tower had two window axes facing the Rhine. There were no windows facing Niederstadtstrasse; it had a window axis on the other two sides. At last the tower had an octagonal, curly baroque hood.
More gates and towers of the Niederstadt
The brook gate
The brook gate has only been occupied since 1448 and was the western exit from the medieval city. Heerstrasse ran through them. At Klöckner, the gate consisted of a roofless rectangular tower that was insignificantly larger than the rest of the wall. Today the gate no longer exists.
The sourling storm
The Säuerlingsturm originally stood on the southwest corner of the Niederstadt fortifications. The pictures by Braun and Hogenberg show the mighty round tower with a high sword roof, surrounded by three roof cores in a cross arrangement. A fourth roof bay on the mountain side has to be added. Klöcker depicted the tower without a roof, but with a crenellated crown over the circular arched frieze.
In 1905, against the resistance of some “historians”, it was decided to demolish the Säuerlingsturm in order to bring the planned Hunsrück Railway there and connect it to the Boppard train station . The demolition began in December 1905. Shortly afterwards it became known that the Säuerlingsturm would be rebuilt in a northerly direction, but with a significantly reduced wall thickness. While 1630 cubic meters of masonry were produced during the demolition, the tower was only rebuilt with 950 cubic meters of masonry, although only the original stones were allowed to be used. Construction began on January 6, 1906. The completion was announced on January 7, 1907.
At the new location north of today's main station, the Säuerlingsturm served as a water reservoir for the steam locomotives of the Deutsche Reichsbahn for several decades . After the 25-meter-high tower was spared from demolition when Bundesstrasse 9 was relocated , it and the surrounding area were sold to private individuals by Deutsche Bahn in the early 1990s. Today the tower houses a wine office.
With a decision of May 13, 1991, the district administration of the Rhein-Hunsrück district, as the lower monument protection authority, placed the Säuerlingsturm under monument protection.
The Britzelspforte
The Britzelspforte was an entrance to the Niederstadt in the southern city wall. It was destroyed at the latest in 1858 when the left stretch of the Rhine was built . In Klöcker it is represented as a low square tower with a pyramid roof.
Gates and towers in the south of the old town
The dance house gate
The Tanzhauspforte was at the southern end of Kirchgasse. It led through the southern part of the wall of the former Roman fort and was the only mountain-side access to the old town. The gate owes its name to a dance house, which was added to the fort wall after 1418 and whose foundation walls are exposed today and can be visited. The name of the gate before the dance house was built is unknown. In Klöcker's view of the city, the gate has a curved hood over an upper floor. Today the gate no longer exists.
More gates and towers of the upper town
The Angert Gate
The Angert Gate was an external gate that was located on the western city wall of the upper town. St. Francis of Assisi was the patron saint of the gate, which no longer exists today.
The mating gate
The courtship or Lyhen gate, which no longer exists today, was located at the southern end of Pützgasse. It was thus an entrance to the upper town. This gate was used to get to the Marienberg monastery or the Hunsrück . During the Boppard war , the knight Sifrit von Schwalbach was shot at this gate with one of his servants in 1497. According to Klöcker, the gate consisted of a tower with an upper floor and a flat roof. In 1810 the tower was demolished. The name Balzpforte is probably derived from the courtship, a place within the city walls near the gate. It is believed that this slightly elevated place received its name from the Roman fortress artillery the milites balistrarii.
The Waldeck tower
The Waldeck or Windeck tower, also known as the Hexenturm, was a round tower in a south-eastern corner. He formed the counterpart to the acid storm. It was named Witches Tower because, according to legend, witches were kept there during their trial and before their execution.
The Binger Gate
The Bingertor is located in the eastern wall of the upper town near the Balz (place in Boppard). It is still in ruin today. Bingergasse, which goes back to the Roman Rhine Valley Road, runs through the gate . During the Boppard War of 1497, the gate was exposed to heavy fire. In Braun and Hogenberg's views from the 16th century, the gate is shown with a steep sword roof. The once 130 feet (around 40 meters) high tower structure of the Binger Gate is no longer preserved; like other parts of the city wall, it was demolished between 1808 and 1812.
Gates and towers between the old town and upper or lower town
The gates of the Roman fort on today's Oberstrasse were still used in the Middle Ages. However, after the upper and lower town were fortified, they became gates within the town. The gate between Upper Town and Old Town was called the Schmiedepforte. The medieval name of the gate between the old town and Niederstadt at Eltzer Hof is unknown, it was later dubbed Koblenz Gate. In addition, the Judentor was built.
Forge gate
The former gate on today's Oberstrasse between the Upper and Old Town already existed in the Roman fort wall. In the Middle Ages it was called the smith's gate. The gate consisted of a narrow gate about 3.5 meters wide. A covered walkway ran over this. Towards the upper town there was a picture of the Virgin Mary above the gate. This disappeared in 1848/49 when the gate was broken out to create a wider passage for traffic.
The Koblenz Gate
The gate, which was located in the wall from Roman times and connected the old town and the Niederstadt, was called Koblenzer Tor. Today it no longer exists.
The Judentor
At the western end of Judengasse (today Elzerhofstraße) the Judentor was connected until 1847. It was located slightly to the west from the alignment of the west side of the Roman fort at a distance of about 15 m. The city wall extended in a southerly direction to the north-western corner tower of the fort. The gate is still shown near Schladt. Shape and appearance indicate an establishment in the 12th / 13th centuries. Century near and it can be assumed as the entrance to the first Rhine-side city expansion. The gate had a round arch. Above this there was a rectangular window in the direction of Niederstadt. It also had a sword roof with a gable dormer on the broad sides.
Electoral castle
After the Archbishop of Trier, Baldwin of Luxembourg had taken 1327 Boppard, he had already established by King Richard of Cornwall at the intersection of Old Town and Upper Town built dungeon am Rhein expand into a fortress, in order to secure his rule. The castle has been preserved to this day and is owned by the town of Boppard, which uses it as a museum. Today it bears the name Alte Burg, Electoral Castle or Balduinsburg.
Monument protection
Both the Boppard fort, the medieval city wall with its fortress wall and its defense towers and the electoral castle are protected as a registered cultural monument in the sense of the Monument Protection and Maintenance Act (DSchG) of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities. In addition, these structures have been part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 .
Web links
- City fortifications in regionalgeschichte.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b city fortifications in regionalgeschichte.net
- ↑ Otto Volk: Boppard in the Middle Ages. In: Heinz E. Missling (Ed.): Boppard. History of a city on the Middle Rhine. First volume: From the early days to the end of the electoral rule. Dausner Verlag, Boppard 1997, p. 276 ff.
- ↑ inschriften.net
- ↑ a b Otto Volk: Boppard in the Middle Ages . In: Heinz E. Missling (Ed.): Boppard. History of a city on the Middle Rhine . First volume: From the early days to the end of the electoral rule . Dausner Verlag, Boppard 1997, ISBN 3-930051-04-4 , p. 195-196 .
- ^ A b c d State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (ed.): The art monuments of Rhineland-Palatinate . tape 8 : The art monuments of the Rhein-Hunsrück district. Part 2: Former county St. Goar, the first town of Boppard I . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-422-00567-6 , p. 458-461 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Otto Volk: The prehistory and early history in the settlement area Boppard . In: Heinz E. Missling (Ed.): Boppard. History of a city on the Middle Rhine . First volume: From the early days to the end of the electoral rule . Dausner Verlag, Boppard 1997, ISBN 3-930051-04-4 , p. 284-288 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r State Office for Monument Preservation (ed.): Die Kunstdenkmäler von Rheinland-Pfalz . tape 8 : The art monuments of the Rhein-Hunsrück district. Part 2: Former county St. Goar, the first town of Boppard I . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-422-00567-6 , p. 461-467 .
- ^ Carl Donsbach: City - Chronicle Boppard (1895) . Ed .: Jürgen Johann, Klaus-Peter Neumann. Boppard 2003, p. 27-28 .
- ↑ Otto Volk: Boppard in the Middle Ages . In: Heinz E. Missling (Ed.): Boppard. History of a city on the Middle Rhine . First volume: From the early days to the end of the electoral rule . Dausner Verlag, Boppard 1997, ISBN 3-930051-04-4 , p. 282 .
- ↑ Eberhard J. Nikitsch: DI 60, No. 82 (†) . urn : nbn: de: 0238-di060mz08k0008209 ( inschriften.net ).
- ↑ History Association for Middle Rhine and Vorderhunsrück (Ed.): From the old Boppard - A continuous chronicle for the years 1855 to 1876 by Wilhelm Schlad . Rhedruck, Boppard 1989.
- ↑ a b c Jürgen Johann: 100 Years of the Hunsrück Railway 1908–2008 Boppard - Emmelshausen . Ed .: City of Boppard & Verbandsgemeinde Emmelshausen . SelbstVerlag der Editor, Boppard, Emmelshausen 2008, ISBN 978-3-00-024757-6 , p. 29-31 .
- ↑ a b Otto Volk: The prehistory and early history in the settlement area Boppard . In: Heinz E. Missling (Ed.): Boppard. History of a city on the Middle Rhine . First volume: From the early days to the end of the electoral rule . Dausner Verlag, Boppard 1997, ISBN 3-930051-04-4 (map in book cover).
- ↑ a b Wikimedia Commons: Floor plan of Boppbard city walls .
- ↑ a b c Ferdinand Benner: The courtship - then and now . In: All about Boppard Journal . No. 63 , 2003.
- ^ Ludwig Bischoff: The city of Boppard on the Rhine. Your sanatoriums and surroundings. A topographical image for travelers on the Rhine and spa guests. Cologne 1861, p. 23. dilibri.de
- ^ Nikolaus and Wilhelm Schladt: The old Boppard. Pp. 84/85, History Association for the Middle Rhine and Vorderhunsrück.
- ^ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - Rhein-Hunsrück district. Mainz 2019, p. 9 f. (PDF; 1.7 MB).
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