Vilstor
The Vilstor was part of the fortifications of the Upper Palatinate city of Amberg . The city gate in the south of the city is on the Jesuitenfahrt road and east of Mühlgasse.
history
The gate goes back to the city expansion begun in 1326; At that time the Georgentor and the old Wingershofer Tor were built next to the Vilstor . These all had high towers that towered over the city wall and a passage on the ground floor. They were also initially provided with a permanent bridge over the moat. When the city fortifications were strengthened between 1476 and 1505 under Elector Philip , the rear parts of the bridges were broken up and replaced by drawbridges . The gates were also fitted with portcullis . A coat of arms with the Palatinate lion , which is still preserved today, was attached to the outside . Sulzbacher Straße used to run through the tower. Around 1575 the gate was reinforced by an armory in front of it, a so-called barbican . Originally this only had a central gate opening, the two on the sides were built in the 1930s, when federal highway 85 was passed through the city, as a passage for pedestrians.
Until it was regulated in 1934, the Vils flowed into the city right next to the gate. Today this course of the river is filled in and instead of the Vils, the Mühlgasse was created here. The main wall and the Zwingermauer spanned the river in an arch like the city goggles ; on the left this was flanked by a powder tower, of which only a stump, which serves as a seat, has survived today.
Construction
The Gothic tower has five storeys from the start, it is closed by a steep pyramid dome and reaches a height of 27 m, up to the eaves it is 17 m. The passage of levels with Doggersandstein quadern blinded, the floors above are made of rubble masonry and have a Eckverquaderung . The wall thickness on the first floor is between 1.1 and 1.2 m, on the upper floors it decreases to 0.8 m.
The tower was originally only accessible from the city wall via a catwalk . A pointed arched door on the south side still exists today, its counterpart on the other side is bricked up today. Under the gate is a no longer accessible cellar vault, which was previously used as a prison. The top two floors have shooting openings , underneath a porthole-shaped shooting hole can be seen, which was only excavated later. On the first floor there is a cross notch with short horizontal slits for horizontal defense, as well as a stirrup notch, which was intended to defend the vilstore with a visor slit that narrows towards the outside and a lowered sole. On the city side there is a coupled window from the middle of the 14th century. The gate openings have a pointed arch with beveled edges and curbstones . In the arched passage there is a wide niche on the side as a place for the gatekeeper.
The armory, built in 1574, strengthened the tower with a three-winged entrance . This is now at the same height as the main wall, it jumped up to the ditch and made it possible to defend the apron, the Vils river and the kennel . There is a covered battlement inside . The facade of the courtyard consists of rusticated cuboids made of Räth sandstone with a wide edge . In the upper area there are sockets with outwardly rounded edging. "Der Statt Amberg coat of arms" is walled into a laurel wreath above the gateway. In addition to the construction date, the initials of the city architect Georg Haßfurtner are carved on the wedge. In the reveal the hinges for the double-leaf gate can still be seen and on the outside two wooden rollers for the chains of the drawbridge. The bridge itself was divided into two parts, with a smaller bridge section for people to pass through. The Vilstor was completely renovated in 2006.
Varia
When the war ended on April 22, 1945 in Amberg, a tank got stuck in the Vilstor. The arsenal is home to Europe's smallest café , which is only 8.75 square meters in size. In addition, the Cantus Ferrum association , the association for the lived history of Amberg, has its domicile here.
literature
- Mathias Conrad: The Vilstor in Amberg. In: amberg information , January 2001, pp. 33-37.
Web links
- Entry on Vilstor in Amberg in the private database "Alle Burgen".
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cantus Ferrum inaugurates its renovated domicile with an open house. Vilstor shines as new as before. Onetz from October 23, 2006, accessed on August 13, 2020.
- ↑ April 22, 1945: End of the war in Amberg Panzer got stuck in the Vilstor . Onetz from April 20, 2017, accessed on August 13, 2020.
- ↑ Probably the smallest café in Europe , Youtube video, accessed on August 13, 2020.
Coordinates: 49 ° 26 '48.2 " N , 11 ° 51' 11.3" E