Water tower (city wall Aachen)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Water tower, woodcut by Karl Josef Gollrad .
Partial view of Aachen from 1566 with a schematic representation of the water tower (bottom right)

The water tower (occasionally also referred to as the water gate ) was a watchtower of the outer city ​​wall of Aachen, built between 1257 and 1357 . It no longer exists today.

location

The water tower was located near today's Kaiserplatz within the city wall between the Kölntor and the Adalbertsturm , the direct neighbor of the Adalbertstores .

description

The water tower was used to monitor the Johannisbach , Pau and Paunell watercourses leaving the city area and to prevent enemy intrusion on the waterway. The building was located on a four meter high and 3.5 meter wide vault through which all the water from the three streams was channeled. A portcullis secured the waterway. This barrier could be operated from the watchtower. There were three loopholes on the first floor above the flow.

Access to the watchtower was possible via the rampart of the city wall on the second floor of the building. A bay window above the watercourse on the second floor made it possible to throw rocks at intruders through attached floor flaps. In addition, the residents of Aachen had placed palisades in the immediate vicinity of the defense tower along the course of the stream. This made it even more difficult for enemies to use the stream.

In the area of ​​the water tower along the city wall, the three brooks formed an approximately 150-meter-long pond, which was popularly known as "horse trough". This widened the moat running around the city and reached as far as the Adalbert rock.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ATUATUKA: Caesar's Legion camp in Aachen; From Prof. Dr. Axel Hausmann; Published by BoD - Books on Demand, 2001 ( online excerpt as pdf )

literature

See also

Web links

Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 33.5 "  N , 6 ° 5 ′ 42.4"  E