City Wall Aachen-Marienturm

The Marienturm (also called Marienburg) was a defensive tower of the outer city wall of Aachen, built between approximately 1300 and 1350. It is one of the few remaining towers of the former city fortifications and is among the listed buildings of the city of Aachen.

The name Marienturm or Marienburg results from the date of the laying of the foundation stone. This took place on August 14, 1512, the day before the Assumption of Mary.

The Marienturm is located in the north of Aachen. Within the city wall, it is the direct neighbor of the still existing city gate Ponttor and the no longer preserved Bergtor.

The Marienturm was built in 1512. This means that it was constructed long after the completion of the outer city wall, which was built between 1257 and 1357. Until then, a large watchtower had stood here. Its height was hardly different from the Langer Turm and the Sandkaultor. It bore the name "Breuerturm", "Brewersturm" or "Brauersthorm". The location of this building required a considerable height for a tower in the 13th century, as this was the only way to repel attackers from the neighboring Lousberg. This changed with the advent of cannons in the military. To use these as artillery on a tower, a lower, more stable construction was significantly better suited. The citizens of Aachen decided to demolish the Breuerturm and replace it with the Marienturm. Due to its four-meter-thick walls, it resisted cannon attacks better than tall, thin-walled towers.

Impact holes from stone cannonballs in the exterior wall of the building still bear witness to the battle against the Spanish General de Grana in 1638.

In 1908, a garden with a pond, the Ludwigsplatz (today Veltmannsplatz), was laid out below the Marienturm. It was part of the redesign of the outer moat ring into a closed green belt including water features by the landscape architect Maximilian Friedrich Weyhe, the court gardener of Düsseldorf. A hornbeam (1900), a cornelian cherry (1900), and a horse chestnut (1850) are particularly prominent in the green area around the Marienburg.

On August 6, 1933, a memorial for the victims of the First World War was established on the ground floor by the then Lord Mayor of Aachen.

The Marienturm was severely damaged during the Second World War and restored to its original state between 1950 and 1955. Today, the building is one of the sights of Aachen visited by numerous tourists.