Holstentor

The Holstentor (" carry of Holstein") is a Porte of city in the West of the old city of Lübeck, in Germany. It is the emblem of the city today. The building of the end of the Gothic period belongs to the vestiges of the Fortification S of Lübeck. With the Burgtor, they are the two only doors of city still remaining with Lübeck.

Description

The door of Holstentor is made up of two turns - the Southern tower and the Northern tower - and of a central building. It comprises four stage S, the ground floor stopping in the central building, since the passage (the door) is there. The frontage directed towards the Western (towards the outside of the city) is called Feldseite (" frontage side champs"), that giving on the city, Stadtseite (" frontage side ville").

The two turns and the central building seen of the city seem to have a unit. Side fields these parts appear clearly distinct. The two turns advance in the form of half-circle and are held with the point further 3,5 meters in front of the central building. Each turn is capped with a conical roof, the central building is surmounted by a pinion.

The door and inscriptions

The passage was formerly provided with two leaves of door side fields, which were not preserved. A harrow was installed in 1934, and does not correspond to the defensive installations of origin. In the place formerly a harrow " was; in orgue" , from which the iron poles could be gone down one by one, and not all at the same time. It was thus possible to lower all the bars except for one or two, then to wait in order to make it possible to the inhabitants of Lübeck to return.

Side city one can read the inscription S.P.Q.L. framed dates 1477 and 1871. The first was the supposed date of the construction of the door (the exact date is 1478), the second is as well the date of the restoration as that of the foundation of the German Empire. This inscription has as a model the Roman '' S.P.Q.R. '' (in Latin Senatus Populusque Romanus - the Senate and the Romain People) and was to correspond to Senatus Populusque Lubecensis . It was affixed in 1871. Front, there was no epigraph in this place. An inscription moreover would have had little direction, since the sight on the low parts of Holstentor from the city was obstructed by high walls.

Another inscription is on the frontage side fields. One reads Concordia domi foris pax (" Harmonize inside, peace outside "). This epigraph also goes back to 1871. It is a shortened form of the inscription which was reproduced on the Vortor (carries external, not preserved), Concordia domi and foris pax sane LMBO is omnium pulcherrima (" Harmonize inside and peaces outside are precisely best for tous" , to see Holstentor External).

Fortifications of the external frontage

Naturally, the frontages side fields and side city were designed differently. Whereas the frontage side city is decorated windows, such a equipment for the frontage side fields would not have been relevant in the sight of the situations of engagements. This is why this frontage presents only small windows, and of small number. Moreover, the walls are bored of Meurtrière S. the thickness of the walls is also reinforced side fields: 3,5 meters. Side city they have less than 1 meter thickness. Construction can also be thought so that one can destroy where necessary the door by the frontage side city, so that it cannot fall to the hands from an enemy who would make use of it like bastion.

The frontage side fields presents the loopholes, as well as the openings of the rooms with guns. In each turn, one found with rez of roadway, with the first and the second floors three rooms with gun. At the ground floor, as the building was inserted in the ground with the wire of the centuries, they found 50 centimetres in lower part of the level of the ground, and still in lower part of the new floor. On the first floor, in addition to the rooms mentioned, there are two loopholes for smaller guns, which are above and between the three rooms with gun. There are also smaller openings on the third floor, special loopholes for firearms making it possible to aim in front of and in bottom.

The central building does not have a loophole. The windows above it passage were used to sprinkle an enemy invader with Poix or ebullient water.

Ornaments

The remarkable ornaments are the two bands in Terra cotta, which make the turn of the building. They are composed of particular flagstones, for the majority of square form of 55 side centimetres. On these squares, one can see three different ornaments: an arrangement of four heraldic flowers of lily, a symmetrical grid and a representation of four sheets of thistle. One can distinguish no hierarchical order between these three symbols which return regularly, but a differently worked flagstone is inserted all the eight squares. This one with the shape of a blazon and door either the eagle of the armorial bearings of Lübeck or a stylized tree. These blazons are framed by two figurines which support them.

The strips of land cooked were replaced during the restoration of 1865 with 1870. Only three of the flagstones of origin were preserved in the museum. The new squares give an approximate image of the reasons for formerly, because during the restoration, much of freedom was taken. Thus the eagle of the armorial bearings of Lübeck does not resemble exactly the reason for origin.

The pinion was also refashioned not in accordance with the original at the time of the restoration, but here the restorers do not have nothing to do there, because with the {{XIXe}} century the pinion had for a long time disappeared, and its old artistic representations were then unknown. An old representation on a retable of the cloister of Lübeck shows Holstentor with a pinion with five small towers, but as in this image, Holstentor is in a fantastic landscape, surrounded by forests and mountains, the credibility of this representation is discussed. Today, the pinion has three small towers, which one can see only side city.

Interior

The interior parts of the turns are contruites in a similar way. The ground floor and the first stage have tops Plafond S, whereas the stages of the top are definitely lower. Between each turn and the central building, is narrow a Staircase spiral. On each floor, a corridor connects the part of the central building with the parts of the towers located at the same level. Nowadays, in the Northern tower, the ceiling of the second stage was removed, so that the second and third stages form only one part. This transformation was undertaken in 1934, and does not correspond to installations of origin.

In front of the loopholes the rooms with gun are. On the second floor, one still finds guns in these rooms, but who were installed later on, and thus are not origin. With the top of the rooms with gun peaks are, to which the guns by chains were connected, to deaden the retreat. One could reach the higher rooms with gun of the first stage only by scales.

History

With the wire of the centuries, the rich person and easy Hanseatic city of Lübeck considered to be useful to protect itself from the threats come from outside by walls increasingly thicker and fortifications increasingly more important. For this purpose, three doors allowed the entry in the city: the Burgtor in North, the Mühlentor in the South, and Holstentor in the West. The city in the East was protected by accumulated broken stones; over there the least militarized Hüxtertor was.

These doors of cities were at the beginning only of simple doors and were reinforced thereafter, so that each one of them comprised finally an external door, an intermediate door, and an interior door. Nowadays, only of the fragments of these doors remain. What is called today Burgtor is old Burgtor interior, the doors intermediary and external not existing more. The three Mühlentor completely disappeared. What is called today Holstentor is old intermediate Holstentor; at side one found Holstentor interior (even older), Holstentor external, and a fourth door, named second Holstentor external. The history of Holstentor is consequently rather the history of four aligned doors the ones derrières the others, even if only one of them still remains.

Naturally, the denominations of only one door change with the appearance and the disappearance of the other components. Intermediate Holstentor was formerly an external door, before two other doors were set up beyond. Today still one meets a certain confusion between the names when a historical point of view is adopted. Hereafter the four doors and their history are described.

Holstentor Interior

Oldest of Holstentor, called Inneres Holstentor (Holstentor Interior) took care directly on bank of the Trave. From the city, one was to pass by this door to reach the bridge Holstenbrücke which crossed the river. One does not know when one set up a door for the first time here. The Holstenbrücke bridge is mentioned for the first time in 1216 in a deed of gift of the Danish king. It is probable that there were already in this time a door and a wall along the Notched joint. Name Holstenbrücke (and Holstentor) comes simply owing to the fact that the Western exit of the city pointed towards the area of Holstein.

Documents indicate that in 1376, the bridge and the door were renovated. The appearance of the door then set up was transmitted to us by an engraving on wood of the artist Elias Diebel. It was about a rectangular tower with a gallery out of wooden on the upper part.

At one nonknown moment of the {{XVIIe}} century, Holstentor Intérieure was replaced by a simple tower with Colombage, smaller. Perhaps that with the solids external fortifications built meanwhile, one did not see any more the interest to have an important interior door. Holstentor Intérieure was connected with the house of the customs officer, who supervised the access to the city.

The tower with half-timbering was replaced in 1794 by a simple door of grid; this one was demolished in 1828, at the same time as the house of the customs officer and the wall of city along the Trave.

It is probable that there was also before another door on opposite bank of the Notched joint. If it existed, it was demolished in the neighborhoods of the construction of Holstentor Intermédiaire.

Intermediate Holstentor

With the {{XVe}} century, installations in doors were not considered to be sufficient any more. The diffusion of the firearms and the guns made necessary of the more solid fortifications. One thus decided to build an additional door: Holstentor External, later known under the name of Mittleres Holstentor (Intermediate Holstentor), and maintaining only called Holstentor. Construction begins in 1464, under the control of the principal Architecte of the city, Hinrich Helmstede; the door is completed in 1478. It was set up on a seven meters especially arranged high hillock. Already during construction, this support appeared unstable. The Southern tower subsided in the marshy ground, so that one tested already by continuing construction to manage to équilible in order to compensate for the slope.

For the continuation of the history of Intermediate Holstentor, to see the paragraph Demolition and Restauration.

Holstentor External

The third of Holstentor, called Äußeres Holstentor (Holstentor External) was also known under the names of Renaissancetor (Door of the Rebirth) or Vortor (Front door). It was set up with the {{XVIe}} century, when one drew up a rampart in the west of Holstentor Intermédiaire, and cut out a new door in this one. Holstentor Extérieure was completed in 1585. Its entry Was distant only from 20 meters of Holstentor Intermédiaire, so that the new door masked the sight to him. Between the two doors, one touvait an enclosure surrounded by walls.

Compared with Holstentor Intermédiaire, which was older to him of more than one century, the Vortor less spectacular, but however was abundantly decorated on the frontage side fields. The frontage side city was on the other hand simple. As a first of the doors, Holstentor Extérieure carried a insciption. She announced side city: Pulchra LMBO is pax foris and domi concordia - MDLXXXV (" Beautiful are peace outside and - 1585" harmonizes it inside;). She was later transferred side fields and slightly modified ( Concordia domi and foris pax sane LMBO is omnium pulcherrima , " Harmonize inside and peaces outside are precisely best for tous"). The door was connected to the dwelling of the Master of the ramparts, who dealt with the fortifications.

The architect of the Renaissancetor was probably the principal architect of the city, Hermann von Rode, which is for the aspect of the frontage inspired by examples Dutch. One can for example put it in parallel with the Nieuwe Oosterpoort of Hoorn. The door existed during approximately 250 years, to finally finish victim of the Railroad: it was demolished in 1853 to make place at the first station of Lübeck and the railways. Today, this station does not exist any more; the current main station is approximately 500 meters more in the West.

Second Holstentor External

At the beginning of the {{XVIIe}} century, new ramparts were built under the control of the Master of the fortifications Johann von Brüssel. Within the framework of these constructions, fourth Holstentor, named Zweites Äußeres Holstentor (Second Holstentor External), was set up in 1621. It was completely included in the high ramparts and was crowned of an octagonal tower. The arcades of the door carried the inscriptions If deus pro nobis, quis countered our (" If God is with us, who thus can be against us? " , side city) and Sub alis altissimi (" Under the protection of Suprême" , side fields). The last of the four doors to be born was also the first to disappear, in 1808.

Demolition and Restoration

Within the framework of the Industrialization, the fortifications were seen only like awkward obstacles. In 1808 Second Holstentor External, 1828 Holstentor Interior, and 1853 Holstentor Intermédiaire were demolished. It was not at that time more but about one matter of time, before Holstentor Intermédiaire, only of the four the doors remaining one, is not destroyed. In fact, in 1855 a petition of the citizens of Lübeck was presented in front of the Senate in order to get rid finally of the remaining door, because an extension of the railway installations was considered. 683 signatures supported this petition. But there were also at that time citizens opposed to the destruction of the old building.

The quarrel about the demolition trailed in length. It is only in 1863 that one arrived at the decision, with only one vote moreover than the majority at the municipal council of Lübeck, not to destroy the building, and contrary to restoring it completely.

Meanwhile, the door had fallen into a very bad condition, because it was inserted each year of a few centimetres in the ground. The lowest loopholes had found 50 centimetres in lower part of the level of the ground, and the slope of the door in entirety became dangerous extensive. By there, the statics of the building had changed in a spectacular way, so that a collapse was feared. Until 1871 Holstentor was restored basic in roof.

As from this moment, the relation of the inhabitants of Lübeck with Holstentor changed. It was held never again for an awkward ruin, but for the emblem of proud last. In 1925, the Deutscher Städtetag (the German Council of Cities) made of Holstentor its emblem. Already in 1901, the producer of Massepain Niederegger had put Holstentor on the initials of its company. Other firms of Lübeck also took it.

As the slope of the turns progressed and as a collapse was not still to draw aside, a second restoration was necessary. It occurred in the years 1933 - 1934, at the end which Holstentor was consolidated in a manner such as it could finally hold without risk. During this restoration, reinforced concrete anchors surrounded by bronze rings were inserted to guarantee the safety of the turns. But of the transformations were also undertaken, inter alia the regrouping of the stages of the Northern tower already mentioned, and do not correspond to the character of origin of the door. The Nazis made of Holstentor a museum, that they named Ruhmes- und Ehrenhalle (" Gallery of the Honor and Gloire"), and which presented a falsified history of Lübeck and Germany.

Since May 2005 until probably be 2006 Holstentor is again restored. The costs of this restoration are estimated at approximately 1 million euros, whose amount of 498 thousand euros is dealt with by two organizations, Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz and Possehlstiftung. One does not know for the moment which will deal with the remainder of the costs.

Holstentor today

Since 1950, Holstentor is used again as museum, as a historical museum of the city. Objects of the Lübeck old man are exhibés, of the models and the images of moyenâgeux Lübeck are exposed, and of the models of boats of the Germanic Hanse are presented.

In front of Holstentor, in the Parc worked by the architect of gardens Harry Maasz draw up two monumental statues of iron lions ( Löwen ) realized by Christian Daniel Rauch. On the other side of the street is held the bronze statue of an antelope ( Antilope ) of the sculptor Fritz Behn.

In 2002, the Musée of Holstentor was modernized. On this occasion all the rooms were equipped for a new concept, with the introduction of document visual and sound. Since 2006 the foundation Kulturstiftung Hansestadt Lübeck deals with the control of the museum.

In 1948, Holstentor appears on the four stamps higher values (1, 2,3 and 5 DM) of the series " bâtiments". In 2000 it is reproduced on another stamp in 5,10 DM in the series " curiosités". One can also see Holstentor on old the tickets of 50 produced DM 1960 with 1991. Lastly, it is reproduced on the part commemorative of 2 euros of Germany of 2006.

External bonds

Seen satellite of Holstentor on WikiMapia

The following sites are in German.

history of Holstentor and the city
Holstentor on the official site of the town of Lübeck
the Holstentormuseum museum on the official site of the town of Lübeck

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