City tower (Kronach)
The city tower is part of the former fortifications of the Upper Franconian town of Kronach in Bavaria . It served as a watch tower and fire watch until the early 20th century .
Location and description
The city tower is located outside the city wall in Festungsstrasse in the north of Kronach's old town. Today's seven-storey tower with a square floor plan was built from sandstone blocks . Visually, the older lower parts of the building stand out clearly from the final floor, which was built in the 19th century. The entrance to the tower is on the south side of the building facing the city. Above this, a round-arched opening can be seen on the second floor, which is now partially walled up. This is a former entry opening that was connected to the battlements of the city wall.
history
The lowest parts of the tower date from the 13th century, making the structure probably the oldest building in the city. The city tower was first mentioned in a document, presumably in 1387 in the civil register for the years 1387 to 1403; however, the building mentioned there was only referred to as a "tower" - with no name added - so that it is unclear whether this is actually the city tower in today's sense.
In 1571 the top floor of the building was renewed; In addition, two more octagonal floors and an octagonal onion dome were added to the tower. This roof hood and part of the additional storeys were removed again in 1813 because the commander of the Rosenberg fortress north of the tower saw the field of fire, which was visible from there, impaired by the high structure. In 1819, today's top floor of the approximately 30 m high tower was built, which was used by the city tower keeper as a tower room until 1916 (other source: 1925) . In addition to his duty to warn the residents of the city of fires or approaching enemies, he also had the task of ringing the so-called wine or sleeping bell every evening to indicate the imminent closure of the city gates.
The tower was still used as a social housing until 1973, after which it was used by various Kronach residents as a holiday or weekend home. In 2010 the city tower was rented to a private person who restored the roof of the building, which had now become leaky, and the mold- infested apartment and restored it to almost the same condition as it was in 1900. Whenever the new “city tower” is present in his apartment, the tower can be viewed by interested visitors.
Web links
swell
- Christian ax: Kronach towers and gates . In: Bernd Wollner, Hermann Wich (Hrsg.): Historisches Stadtlesebuch: Kronach - 1000 years of history of a city and its inhabitants . 1000 Years of Kronach Association, Kronach 2003, ISBN 3-00-011351-7 , p. 143-160 .
- Denis André Chevalley: Upper Franconia . Ed .: Michael Petzet , Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (= Monuments in Bavaria . Volume IV ). Oldenbourg, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-486-52395-3 .
- Corinna Igler: He looks over the whole of Kronach. inFranken.de, February 26, 2011, accessed on July 25, 2017 .
- Information board of the Lions Club Kronach on the building.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b House of Bavarian History (ed.): Kronach (= Edition Bavaria. People - History - Cultural Space . Volume 6 ). Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-7917-2403-4 , p. 12 .
Coordinates: 50 ° 14 ′ 33.9 ″ N , 11 ° 19 ′ 32.1 ″ E