Customs Tower (Rheinberg)

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The seven meter high ruins of the customs and powder tower (December 2011)

The customs tower , also known as the powder tower due to its further use , in the town of Rheinberg on the Lower Rhine in the Wesel district in North Rhine-Westphalia is a former, heritage-protected defense tower that was built by the Archbishops of Cologne at the end of the 13th century . The former part of the city fortifications has been preserved as a ruin and was located directly on the Rhine until the river bed was moved .

History and description

The construction of the customs tower began in 1292 by the Archbishop of Cologne Siegfried von Westerburg and ended in 1298, completed by Wigbold von Holte . It was part of the city fortifications and formed the north-eastern corner of the city wall, to the west it was connected to the Electorate Castle, which was built at the same time . It was located directly on the Rhine and was used to guard and collect customs duties for shipping on the river. It was also used as a prison and ammunition store to store gunpowder ; this led in October 1598 during the siege of Rheinberg by the Spaniards under Francisco de Mendoza to a strong explosion of the tower, which was considerably damaged. Large parts of the city and the castle were also destroyed. After the reconstruction, there was another explosion of the customs tower in 1636 as a result of a lightning strike . In 1703, in the course of their occupation, the Prussian administration subjected the fortifications to razing , with the tower being demolished by several storeys. Since 1714, after the Rhine bed was relocated, the customs tower is no longer directly on the river, which now runs about two kilometers to the north.

The tower's floor plan is round. The original height was over 20 m, exact dates have only been handed down contradictingly; since it was razed, it has been around seven meters. Its diameter is around 17 m on the outside and around nine meters on the inside. The customs tower is made of tuff and basalt columns . Access to the interior is possible through a modern, arched opening.

In March 1983 the former customs tower was included in the list of monuments of the city of Rheinberg and registered as a monument with the number 20. It is part of the monument area No. 2, which includes the historic city center of Rheinberg.

Web links

Commons : Zollturm  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Monuments of the monument area No. 2 “Stadtkern Rheinberg”. (PDF; 101 kB) Stadt Rheinberg, p. 11 , accessed on February 13, 2012 .
  2. ↑ A historical walk through Rheinberg. (PDF; 1.7 MB) Stadt Rheinberg, p. 2 , accessed on February 13, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Official List of Monuments of the City of Rheinberg (as of September 2011)

Coordinates: 51 ° 32 ′ 54.6 ″  N , 6 ° 36 ′ 18 ″  E