City Tower (Straubing)
The Straubing City Tower is a 68 meter high medieval watchtower . It is located in the middle of Straubing's town square and is considered the landmark of the city of Straubing.
Building
The city tower in Straubing was built as a watchtower and fire tower. Atypical for a watchtower is its location in the middle of the city, regardless of the city fortifications . It is located in the middle of the town square, a 600 meter long street market, and divides it into Ludwigsplatz and Theresienplatz .
One of the reasons for its location is that the Danube had to be monitored from the tower because customs duties were levied on the passing ships. On the other hand, it served as a fire tower and thus offered a good overview of the entire medieval city from the central and highest point. The bell in the city tower, which also served as a fire bell in the Middle Ages , was cast by Hanns Paier in Regensburg in 1406 . This also bears an inscription, it reads: "I tell you the time that God gives us day and night". It is one of the oldest bells in Germany.
Emergence
The foundation stone was laid in 1316. Between 1379 and 1393, at the time of the Duchy of Straubing-Holland , under the reign of Albert II , the eight-story tower was initially completed. However, it was expanded until the 16th century, among other things, the tower house and the four characteristic corner towers were added later. Initially, the city tower only had three floors and was equipped with a storm bell. As the city grew taller with its buildings and churches, the city tower was also increased. Originally it stood free and without extensions on the town square and could be walked through from all sides. These were only added in the 15th century, partly to give the tower a better support, partly to create space for the city administration. At that time, the extensions housed the city guard, official scales, bread house, council drinking room, pavement customs office and, for a while, even a theater.
To ensure that the tower does not collapse, it was reinforced with pillars as early as the Gothic period. In the middle of the 17th century there were large cracks in the tower, meanwhile in 1646 it was fixed with knobs (metal brackets), which still give it support. But even today you can see a clear slope of the tower to the south .
The "tower keeper"
On the top floor of the tower, Straubing's “top official,” the city tower or guard, lived. When he took office, he had to swear an extensive oath , which demanded the most faithful fulfillment of his duties. In addition to his main job of looking out for fires, he also had to report that more than three hikers were approaching the city gates. When a ship came from the Danube , it was his job to hang up a red flag and collect the due customs as a sign for the “Mauther” . For safety reasons, he was also obliged to repeat the strikes with a hammer on the bell after every hour the clock struck to make sure that he was at his post. The last tower keeper left his post in 1930.
The city tower today
The city tower with its five points forms a striking feature in the silhouette of the city of Straubing, in which the Jakobskirche , the Carmelite Church and the water tower are also striking buildings.
The city tower is also used as an advertising object by nearby shops and stores.
Since the renovation in 1986, the custom of New Year's blowing has been observed again . Since then, the Straubing tower blower group has been playing from the city tower on New Year's Day, as has happened in previous centuries.
The city tower can be visited as part of the city tour “Above the roofs of Straubing” and climbed to the viewing level in the old tower parlor, from which there is a good view of the medieval city and the surrounding area.
literature
- Vicari, Hans: Straubing city tower . Beck, Straubing 2001. ISBN 3-931578-12-7
- Rohrmayr, Hans: History of houses in the city of Straubing . Weidlich Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1980.
- Oberneder, Marzell: When grandfather was still alive , Cl. Attenkofer Buchdruck, Straubing.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Discover Straubing! on the website of the city of Straubing
Coordinates: 48 ° 52 ′ 54 ″ N , 12 ° 34 ′ 10 ″ E