Turkentor (Helmstedt)
The Türkentor in the Lower Saxon district town of Helmstedt in Germany was built in 1716 to commemorate the victory over the Turks in the same year. It served as an entrance to the domain courtyard from what is now Bundesstraße 1 and was in alignment with the pigeon house . It was badly damaged by an air raid in World War II and was rebuilt in its current location in 1986. It shows the imperial coat of arms in the gable and above the side passages the coats of arms of the abbot and prior of the monastery, during whose time in office the gate was built. The gate was the main portal to the former St. Ludgeri monastery .
In the architrave there are Roman numerals that have to be translated and which add up to 1716. Next to it on the right and left above the double pilasters the sun (as a symbol of the empire) and the waning moon (as a symbol of the Ottoman Empire ) can be seen. The number symbolized in the chronograms refers to the victory of the Imperial Army under Prince Eugene at the Battle of Peterwardein over the Turks in 1716. The reigning Duke of Brunswick, Ferdinand Albrecht, played a key role in the victory , as did the imperial count , who came from Emden in Magdeburg Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg .
With the establishment of the Turkish Gate as a triumphal arch , the abbot and prior expressed both their joy in victory and their solidarity with the emperor, to whom the monastery was subordinate in secular matters. The family connection to the Braunschweig house may have played a not unimportant role.
literature
- Christof Römer : The »Turkentor« from 1716: Reich symbolism in Helmstedt. In: Sankt Ludgeri zu Helmstedt in the baroque period. Bernward Verlag Hildesheim, 1987, ISBN 3-87065-440-6 .
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 13 '30.1 " N , 11 ° 0' 54.7" E