The Bucksturm (also formerly called the ''Bocksturm'') is a listed historical structure in Osnabrück,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The tower with semi-circular layout was built at the beginning of the 13th century as a watchtower, positioned on the Osnabrück city wall between Heger Tor and Natruper Tor. This particular section of the wall was referred to as the Bocksmauer. The tower – whose diameter is 10.7 metres – supposedly acquired its name from a stone containing a roebuck’s head, which is said to have been bricked into the wall on the (no longer existent) top floor. On the basis of its relatively narrow embrasures it can be reasonably assumed that the usage of cannons from the tower was never intended, rather that of smaller handheld weapons. During the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

the city prison was based in the tower. One person who was imprisoned here was Count Simon of Lippe in the early 14th century. From 1441 to 1448, Johann von Hoya was held in the so-called “Johanniskasten” (John’s Box) on the second floor. Further prisoners included six Anabaptist priests sent to Osnabrück from

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

; they were subsequently transferred to the Bennoturm at Iburg Castle on 18/19 October 1534. During the periods of intense

witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...

ing in the 16th and 17th centuries the tower was also used as a torture chamber. Today the tower is home to an exhibition on witch-hunting, however the instruments of torture can no longer be seen despite still being around at the start of the 20th century. The tower was originally 28 metres tall, but due to dilapidation ten metres were removed from its height in 1805. Since then it has had four floors. In 1922 a war memorial honouring the soldiers of the East Frisian Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Brunswick infantry regiment (No. 78) was set up on the west side of the tower. The memorial was designed by sculptor (1875-1958). Made from Anröchte stone, it was dedicated on 1 October 1922.

Literature

* Möller, H-H.,Kämmerer, C., (eds.), ''Baudenkmale in Niedersachsen'', Part 32, Stadt Osnabrück (Brunswick/Wiesbaden, 1986), p. 57 () * Siebern, H., Fink, E. (eds.), ''Die Kunstdenkmäler der Provinz Hannover'', IV. Regierungsbezirk Osnabrück, 1. und 2. Stadt Osnabrück (Hannover, 1907); Neudruck Kunstdenkmälerinventare Niedersachsens, Part 39. H. Th. Wenner (Osnabrück, 1978), p. 323-325 () * ''Niedersächsisches Landesverwaltungsamt – Institut Denkmalpflege: Verzeichnis der Baudenkmale gem. § 4 (NDSchG)'', Stadt Osnabrück (15 July 1986), p. 7 (supplement on monuments in Lower Saxony) * City of Osnabrück, the Lord Mayor, Department for Culture, Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche (ed.), ''Kunst im Öffentlichen Raum'' (Osnabrück, 2007), p. 140 + 159 * Friedrich, E.A., “Der Bocksturm in Osnabrück” in ''Wenn Steine reden könnten'', Part III, Landbuch-Verlag (Hannover, 1995), pps.175-177 ()

Links

Bucksturm in Osnabrück
{{coord, 52.2775, N, 8.0385, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buildings and structures in Osnabrück Tourist attractions in Osnabrück Watchtowers in Germany