The 45m tall Nikolai Tower (, ) probably erected before 1250 is part of the historic

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

. It is located inside the inner part of

between the

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

and the historic nikolai suburb (''Nikolaivorstadt''). Together with the Thick Tower and the Reichenbach Tower three of four

fortified tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of ...

s are still preserved in

History

Presumably, the Nikolai Tower was already part of the

city

before the first major expansion of the city in 1250. However it was first mentioned in a document from 1348. Like other towers of the city the Nikolai Tower had a fortified gateway with three gates. The inner gate was located between the tower and the nikolai

zwinger A () is an open kill zone area between two defensive walls that is used for defensive purposes. s were built in the medieval and early modern periods to improve the defence of castles and town walls. The term is usually left untranslated, ...

. The middle passage was covered with a building and had a

portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...

. The outer gate was located on the trench, connected via a drawbridge. The access to the tower was through the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

or through an external staircase. After the town fire in 1717 the slim and steep hood was replaced by a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

hood. Like other parts of the cities fortification the gateway, the bridge and the trench were removed in 1848. The last tower guard left in 1904. With no military usages the tower premises were used by a society of local history researchers (''Zirkel Görlitzer Heimatforschern e.V.'') between 1969 and 2015 to exhibit old locks, metal mounts and lights. The exhibition can still be visited in a guided tour and the tower is used as an

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

. Nikolaitor goerlitz.jpg, Historic Gateway next to the Nicolai Tower Görlitz-Nikolaiturm-Peterskirche.JPG, Nicolai Tower and Parish church St. Peter and Paul Görlitz-Nikolaistr.JPG, View from ''Nikolai street''

References

{{reflist Buildings_and_structures_in_Görlitz Tourist_attractions_in_Görlitz Fortified_towers_in_Germany