Hexenturm Jülich

City gate (Rurtor) of the medieval city wall of Jülich, of which a small section of wall in the courtyard area (k) between Stiftsherrenstraße and Poststraße - accessible from here - is still preserved. Built at the beginning of the 14th century after the capture and destruction of Jülich by the Archbishop of Cologne Siegfried in 1278, during which the older fortifications had proven to be inadequate; Wall thickness up to 2.30 m, street level today about 1 m above the original state. On the north tower, in front of the beginning of the 1.70 m thick city wall, an aborterker.

The Witch Tower had four levels of defence, including the originally flat, crenellated roof. The current roof shape dates from the 17th century. After the demolition of the city wall at the beginning of the modern era, it was used as a prison and torture site for the main and criminal court of the duchy. Witch hunts were extremely rare in Jülich; as early as 1563, the ducal personal physician Johannes Weyer fought the witch craze, which was widespread in Europe, with his book "De praestigiis daemonum", which was soon put on the index.

Graphic: Picture of the Witches' Tower TodayIn the outer masonry of the city side, two spolia of Roman graves (end of the 1st century): one with a funeral feast, the other fragment of a man in a toga (reference to his Roman citizenship). The "Kulturhaus am Hexenturm", whose west façade takes up the architectural form and course of the medieval city wall, is home to the Jülich Museum of City History with interesting permanent and special exhibitions.

geolein