Eisenturm & Holzturm

Of the formerly 34 gate and watchtowers of the medieval city fortifications, only three have survived today: the Alexander Tower, the Wooden Tower, and the Iron Tower, which was built around 1240 and is considered a stone testimony of that era, named after the iron market that was once held on the banks of the Rhine.

Over the centuries, the Iron Tower has served various purposes – from a gate tower to a military prison to a place for art exhibitions. Today, it is situated between the Town Hall, Rheinstraße, and the shopping center Am Brand, still radiating medieval charm. The Kunstverein Eisenturm Mainz e. V., founded in 1975, uses the tower as an exhibition space, allowing visitors to experience historical ambiance while discovering contemporary art. Information on current exhibitions and opening hours can be found on the association's website.

Eisenturm (tower of the city wall)

Eisentum

The facade is structured by pointed arch blind frame windows arranged evenly. Above the gate opening, there are two large niches on the city side, containing paired pointed arch windows and reliefs in the spandrels: to the left, the busts of a king, and to the right, a pair of patricians with a hairband. Comparable stone half-figures of bourgeois couples from the 14th century, originally from the war-destroyed house "Zum Molsberg," are now preserved in the state museum. The pointed arch, hollowed gate passage is vaulted with ribbed vaulting on the city side and is located about two meters below the current street level. The twelve-meter-high tower helmet in the shape of a steep tent roof, along with the corner turrets with pointed caps, corresponds to the typical fortification tower crowning of the 15th century and was partially reconstructed in 1961.

Holzturm

Holzturm nah