|
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
TONGEREN : The City Walls | |||||
|
GENERAL Tongeren (Home) History Info on Belgium SIGHTSEEING The Basilica The Beguinage St Catherine Church Ambiorix Statue City Walls Gallo-Roman Museum
EXTERNAL LINKS
The web site of the Gallo-Roman
Museum in Tongeren |
 |
 The
pictoresque tower on the left, to be found at the back of the beguinage, was
originally part of the medieval defense wall alongside the Jeker river. The
semi-circular construction dates from the 13th century and is primarily
built with silex stone that came from the Roman city wall. Every tower was
guarded by one of the city corporations. This explains why this tower is
known as the "lakenmakerstoren" or "tower of the cloth makers".Due to the destruction of the city in 1213 by the troops of Duke Henri I of Brabant, Tongeren started to build a medieval city wall around 1241. This wall encircled the city center. The present "Ringlaan" follows more or less the site of the wall. The best preserved parts are situated alongside the Leopoldwal and the Elf-Novemberwal, but also the "lakenmakerstoren" and the "velinxtoren" were part of this wall. In the 15th century the wall was partially dismantled. Later, in the 17th century, French troops destroyed several city gates. The medieval defence wall was largely repaired but again taken down in the 19th century due to the modernisation of the city. The "Moerenpoort" (or Moeren Gate was built in 1379. When French troops demolished several city gates in 1673, the Moerenpoort survived. Often plans were made to take it down completely, but in 1892 the gate was restored thanks to  the
"Geschied- en Oudheidkundig Genootschap" (Historical Society). After a
second restoration in 1958, the Moerenpoort was turned into an arms museum.
The tower consists of three rooms where the visitor can learn more about the
military history of Tongeren. From the platform a nice view over the city
can be had. At the border of the old city center some impressive remains of the Roman city wall from the 2nd century can be seen The wall was 4.544 m long. Its height was approximately 6 m and fortified, at regular intervals, with round towers. Deep moats completed the defence system on the outside. Monumental gates gave access to the city. During the Middle-Ages, large parts of the wall were dismantled so that the stones could be used for other constructions. Alongside this wall is now a promenade going from the Bilzerweg until the Luikersteenweg.  Right
next to the Basilica of Our Lady a Roman tower from the 4th century can be
seen. It was part of the Roman defence wall and was built on the site were
once a luxurious villa from the 2nd or 3rd century stood. The archaeological
site is enclosed by the defence wall of the Basilica, dating from around the
year 1100. Straight between the Roman wall and the wall from the 12th
century is a fragment of the first wall of the church. |
||||
|
© All texts and pictures Copyright
Trabel.com and
Arakea.com. |
||||||
|
|
||||||
