Stone Gate (Goch)
The stone gate is a double tower gate and the only one of the four former city gates of the city of Goch on the Lower Rhine that has been preserved .
history
Walls for 1341 and city walls for 1366 are attested as fortifications of the city of Goch. The stone gate was first mentioned in 1371. The three remaining city gates that were demolished in the early 19th century (Frauentor, Mühlentor, Vosstor) probably came from the second half of the 14th century. In the 19th century the gate was used as a prison. On October 24, 1919, the southern central part collapsed. Johann Klein prevented the demolition at the time, so that the stone gate was repaired again. From 1930 it functions as a local museum. On October 1, 1936, the Steintor became the seat of the Hitler Youth. In 1919 it was restored after a partial collapse, as well as after the damage of the Second World War. Immediately after the war, the stone gate was used as the city's police station. From 1956 to 1991 the stone gate was used again as a museum, and from 1956 to 1976 also as the city archive. Today the rooms on the first floor are used as a carnival museum and the second floor is used by the local history and tourist association.
Building description
The stone gate consists of a central part on a rectangular floor plan, which is flanked by two round towers. The four-storey middle section is covered with a steep hipped roof and has a pointed arched gate on the ground floor, above which there are three niches decorated with stone carvings from the 19th century (Saint George with city coat of arms, Prussian coat of arms, imperial coat of arms). A machicolation sits between the windows on the third floor. The top floor of the round towers with pointed roofs is designed as a decagon. On the towers and the field side of the middle section, the gate is crowned by a crenellated wreath.
literature
- Stefan Frankewitz : City of Goch on the Lower Rhine (= Rheinische Kunststätten . Issue 316), Cologne 1986.
- Hans Peter Hilger: The monuments of the Rhineland. District of Kleve 1 . Düsseldorf 1964.
- Udo Mainzer: City gates in the Rhineland . Neuss 1976.
- Hans-Joachim Koepp: Celts, church and mashed potatoes . Volume 4. Goch 2009, p. 20.
- Hans-Joachim Koepp: The history of the stone gate. Medieval defense tower was often close to demolition - prison, youth home, museum, Gocher landmark . In: To Niers and Kendel . No. 34, 1998, p. 1 ff.
Web links
- Website City of Goch ( Memento from January 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 51 ° 41 ′ N , 6 ° 9 ′ E