Schwabentor (Freiburg im Breisgau)

The Schwabentor ( in the Middle Ages also called Upper) is the younger of the two surviving city gates (→ St. Martin's ) of the medieval fortifications of Freiburg im Breisgau.

History

The gate tower, built in 1250 originally had a kennel for the city moat and was on the city side open, only in 1547 it was closed with a stone wall to the city. 1572 a staircase turret was added. In the same year Matthias Schwäri painted on the downtown side, the image of a businessman with a wagon on which was built the legend of Swabia in the 19th century, which came with two barrels full of money to Freiburg to buy the city. He was laughed at, but the laughter was even bigger than it turned out that the barrels contained only sand and pebbles - his wife had the money exchanged against the worthless filling secretly before his departure.

Until the end of the 19th century Schwabentor remained largely unchanged. While parts of the citizenship traffic reasons now called for the demolition of two city gates still preserved, the Lord Mayor Otto Winterer began efforts to maintain them and to design. In June 1896, a competition began among German architects to select a design for the design of Martins and Schwabentor. The private house Krauss on the side towards the castle mountain had it as well can be transformed, like an old fire engine house on the other side. For the upper tower completion of an " effective " and called for " contemporary " design. In addition Winterer Josef Durm, Carl Schaefer, Max Meckel and a member of the City Council acted as judges. However, none of the competition entries was implemented. Instead, the city administration and Meckel Shepherd asked for offers, as the program's conditions had changed. Thus, the construction of the electric tram in Freiburg in 1899 was decided, what the reset of private houses demanded that bordered on the two towers. Shepherd suggested an increase in the Schwabentors from 26 to 65 meters, at St. Martin's from 22 to 66 meters. He cited the now higher houses in the area. His design combined the existing components from the early 13th century late Gothic building from the 15th century. In the summer of 1901 the reconstruction by the Freiburg Contractors Geis & Bauer was performed and the increased Schwabentor provided with a stepped gable on the model of the North German town of towers. On August 28, 1901 Topping-out ceremony was celebrated before they were completed on October 14 with light rail transit system in two city gates.

1903 Fritz Geiges added on the outside of the image of the Freiburg city's patron Saint George slaying the dragon added. The tags found in 1913 with the construction of outbuildings in historicist style end. In 1954 the reconstruction was partially reversed, and the Schwabentor received a plainer, the original state resembling tent along with bell tower with onion dome. 1999 low-vibration tram rails were installed.

Since the summer of 2012, the Schwabentor is being renovated. It has been shown after removal of the plaster, that the damages are greater than expected. The former building increase has produced cracks in the stones and the foundation is not stable enough, so it must be strengthened. To check the latter, 2013 sample holes were drilled in April. These showed that only is the location southeast corner of the tower of solid black forest gravel, while the remaining three are on medieval landfills. Now steel lances are pushed under the door and cement milk are pressed through to cure foundations and underground. This should happen at Bertoldsbrunnen June to September, so that the original completion date can not be met in November 2013 during the renovation of tram tracks. To the inside of the masonry to be laid to stabilize in five to seven meters above sea level spacing steel strips. In addition, to be cut off until the fall of 2014, the rest of the plaster on the outside. The images should thereby be protected and renewed.

Architecture

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The construction of a square floor plan has a side length of each 11 meters and has over the pointed arch door opening three rounds. To the outside, the thickness of the deposited in the individual stories of masonry below which more than 3.5 meters and the top floor two thirds. The stone work is in the lower part of heavy rough stone of red sandstone, top of rubble stone with strong Eckbossen.

The capstone of the inner archway shows a Romanesque representation of " Dornausziehers ", a character who is already from antiquity known, but is here interpreted Christian: man carries the spike of the original sin in itself, what is reminded of the goal -reaching.

Traffic

The Schwabentor stands on the border of the downtown pedestrian zone and is regularly only passed out of the city by the line 1 tram. Into town the passage of trams, cyclists, taxis, delivery vehicles and the city residents is reserved by the gate of the north subsequent cultivation. The rest of the traffic is right out over the target.

Museum

Since 1969, consists Schwabentor a small private museum, the " Zinnfigurenklause ". In dioramas are using about 9000 hand-painted pewter figures scenes mainly from the liberation movements in southern Germany ( Battle of Sempach, peasant wars, the 1848 Revolution), but also illustrated from the time of the Reformation.

Among the local dioramas there is a scene at the Schwabentor showing the storming of Freiburg on Easter Monday 1848. On the events of the revolution also is a memorial plaque on the (so- called unofficial) place the last barricade of 1848 next to the gate.