StandortAscher 14
Roter Turm (red tower)
Northwest of the evangelic Lutheran church at the street "Am Ascher" is situated a wall tower of the old city fortification. It stands at the inner city wall of the historic new town. Convicts sentenced to death were imprisoned here until they were executed. It is told that once the tower was almost as high as the Tylenturm. It is called "Roter Turm", because a red blood flag was hoisted on its top in order to announce forthcoming executions.
(Photo: Hans Osterhold)
By order of the princely government in 1734 a stone house was attached to the old red tower. From1773 until the 19th century it was used as public prison. Later the tower was reduced to its present height. In 1860 the mason August Wilke purchased the tower and the stone house. Since then the complex has been used as residential house. In 1979 the municipality of Korbach bought it back. The architect Georg Spratte had the house restored affectionately. Today a red flag on its gable refers to its former utilization.
Apart from the red tower, Wollweber- and Tylenturm, the "Hexen- and Butterturm" is still in memory. Remains are still to be found in a garden at the Kalkmauer between the anterior Berndorfer Tor and Tränketor. A sign at the Klosterpforte (cloister portal) still refers to its existence 20 metres towards the Berndorfer Tor. In the Hexenturm (witch tower) people were arrested, who were reported for witchery
In former times there was another stately tower between the Tränketor and the Dalwigker Tor. Its designation "Butterturm" had nothing to do with butter. It came from "buten", which means the ´outer´ tower. This section was only secured by one wall ring, as the ground outside of it was marshy and thus bore a natural protection against enemies. Today nothing is left of the Butterturm.
© Torben Müller/ M. Möller
Literatur:
Hans Osterhold: Meine Stadt. Korbacher Bauten erzählen Stadtgeschichte, hrsg. vom Magistrat der Kreisstadt Korbach, 3. Aufl., Korbach 2004.
Ein Rundgang durch die alte Stadt, bearb. von Ursula Wolkers, hrsg. vom Wilhelm Bing Verlag und Magistrat der Stadt Korbach mit Förderung der Sparkassenstiftung Waldeck-Frankenberg, Korbach 1999.
Erwin Günther und das Team des Stadtarchivs Korbach: Was die Namen der Korbacher Straßen erzählen . und was sie verbergen, hrsg. vom Magistrat der Kreistadt Korbach, 1. Aufl., Korbach. 2008.