Town Fortification Nördlingen-Berger Gate

The Nördlingen city wall is the only city wall in Germany that has a completely preserved, all-round accessible and covered battlement. It encloses the entire medieval old town of Nördlingen and has a length of 2.6 kilometers. The city wall includes five gates with gate towers, eleven other towers and a bastion.

The construction of the city wall began in 1327 on the orders of Louis the Bavarian. It replaced the old defensive wall, the course of which can still be seen today in the course of the old town streets Drehergasse, Bei den Kornschrannen, Vordere Gerbergasse, Herrengasse and Neubaugasse. Between 1536 and 1613, four gates and two towers were rebuilt from scratch. In addition, seven oven towers, three strong bulwarks and two bastions were built during this period. During the Thirty Years' War in 1634, the Nördlingen city fortifications withstood a siege by imperial troops in the run-up to the Battle of Nördlingen. From 1803, the people of Nördlingen began to dismantle parts of the now superfluous city wall. In 1826, King Ludwig I of Bavaria placed the wall under his protection and forbade its further demolition.

Berger Tor

The Berger Tor secured the road to Ulm. It was built in the years 1435 to 1436 by the master builder Hans Rews. From 1574 to 1575, Wolfgang and Kaspar Wallberger extended the upper tower floors and the Berger Tor received its present appearance. Noteworthy is the coffered barrel of the gate passage. A cannonball from the Thirty Years' War is still embedded in the masonry today. Inside the gate tower there is now a café and a coin sawing workshop.