Frankenturm

The Frankenturm was a medieval tower in Cologne’s northern suburb, standing above the old Rhine quay now called Frankenwerft. It formed part of the city wall near the Trankgasse gatehouse. The name probably came from a 12th-century burgrave called Franco. By 1347 the tower was also called the Dreikönigsturm because it stood beside the gate through which the relics of the Three Kings were carried into the city in 1164. For centuries the tower served as the city jail. Among its prisoners was the reformer Adolf Clarenbach, who was held there before being moved to the nearby Kunibertsturm for torture. The prison remained in use until the 18th century. The street beside it, once called Unter Pöster, was renamed Am Frankenturm during the French occupation. The tower itself was demolished in 1856. Today only the name of the street recalls the tower. Three stone tablets showing the Three Kings, once mounted above the old gate, are kept in the Cologne City Museum. The site lies close to the Rhine waterfront, where medieval merchants once unloaded their goods.