Defense tower (Perchtoldsdorf)
The defense tower of Perchtoldsdorf is a defense and bell tower as well as the landmark of the Lower Austrian market town of Perchtoldsdorf . The free-standing, massive and around 60 meter high tower is the largest preserved defensive tower in Austria . It was built between 1450 and 1521 and (as of 2017) is used as a museum, viewing and transmission tower and as the bell tower of the parish church of St. Augustine used.
history
After the invasion of Hungary in 1446 under Johann Hunyadi , during which the market was plundered and burned down, the tower was built from around 1450 and was officially completed in 1521 with interruptions. During the first Turkish siege in 1529 , the Perchtoldsdorf fortress with the tower could be held. In the second 1683 , however, the castle with the church and the defense tower were set on fire and burned out. Subsequently, only a makeshift repair of the defense and bell tower took place, so that the function of a bell tower for the parish church of St. Augustine was given. In 1928 the roof was renovated and in the second half of the 20th century the tower was revitalized and a local history museum was set up in it.
description
The tower was built on the east side as part of the inner defensive wall on a limestone cliff. It is a five-storey building, the fourth storey being subdivided and the fifth or top storey consisting of the gallery storey and the belfry above. The basement or plinth was used as a well, the second or ground floor with its ribbed vault was originally a chapel. The third floor or first floor has a burr star vault . The fourth floor is divided into a second and third upper floor, each with a wooden ceiling. The fifth floor with a sole height of around 35 m (above pavement level) and surrounding stone railing has ogival sound windows with a clear opening of 1.8 × 4.8 meters and houses the bell room . At the four corners of the eaves there is a small polygonal crowd watchtower with an onion hood .
Dimensions
On the northeast corner has the tower from the pavement edge a total height of 59.52 meters, the steep wedge roof itself has a height of 17.48 meters. The tower has a rectangular floor plan. The side lengths of the basement are 12.9 and 12.2 meters and those from the ground floor to the third floor are 12.6 and 11.9 meters. The fourth upper floor has sides of 12.3 and 11.6 meters. The wall thickness decreases towards the top. It is 2.35 meters on the basement or on the basement, 2.2 meters on the first floor, 2.15 meters on the first floor, 1.9 meters on the second and third floors and 1.3 meters on the fourth floor. The surrounding gallery is supported by 36 corbels, which are arranged at intervals of 1.4 meters. The corridor has a width of 0.85 meters and a parapet height of 1.27 meters.
Museum operation
After the general renovation in 1971/73, a small local history museum was set up on the ground floor and first floor and expanded in 1995 by including the second floor. A sacred museum has been set up on the ground floor, which originally served as a chapel. The exhibits include a baroque crucifixion group from the former pilgrimage church on the Leonhardiberg, four original stone figures of the Holy Trinity column and old church flags, and documentation about the Perchtoldsdorf pastor and theologian Thomas Ebendorfer (1388–1464). The first floor is dedicated to the secular local history. There are copies of certificate extracts and other exhibits, for example precious guild chests, and a small archaeological museum with finds from Perchtoldsdorf has been set up on the second floor.
The museum and also the defense tower are only accessible in the summer months on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment (as of July 2017).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Museum Niederösterreich: Perchtoldsdorf - Castle and Defense Tower ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved July 12, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e Paul Katzberger : The defense tower of Perchtoldsdorf ; Verlag Marktgemeinde Perchtoldsdorf, 1986
- ^ Maximilian Fischer: Topography of the Archduchy of Austria , Volume 3, Vienna 1823 ( online ).
- ↑ a b c Dehio-Handbuch: Lower Austria, south of the Danube , part 2, p. 1634f; Berger publishing house , Horn / Vienna 2003
- ^ Burg Perchtoldsdorf (market town Perchtoldsdorf): New Castle - History ; Retrieved July 12, 2017.
- ↑ Marktgemeinde Perchtoldsdorf: Museums and memorials ; Retrieved July 12, 2017.
Coordinates: 48 ° 7 ′ 11.2 " N , 16 ° 15 ′ 54.6" E