Fünfgratturm

The Fünfgratturm stands in Augsburg’s Jakobervorstadt, a four-sided medieval watchtower built in 1454 as part of the city’s eastern defences. It once housed the Scharwächter patrols who kept the peace at night. After the city wall was partly demolished in 1867 and 1868 the tower was left standing alone. Two major restorations in 1948 and 1973–74 saved its structure, and it is now protected as a historic monument.

The tower’s name comes from the five ridges formed by the small watch turrets on brackets and the main roof’s pyramid shape. Inside there are four floors: a ground level with a barrel vault and three upper levels reached by ladders. The top floor holds a wall fresco, but for many years rotten wooden stairs kept visitors out. A local bank’s donation paid for new stairs and floors, and the tower now opens for special events.

A modern metal staircase added in 2007–08 sparked debate. Designed to match the old city wall’s line, its cage-like metal frame contrasts sharply with the late-medieval stonework. A citizens’ group tried to block the work through a referendum, but the city council upheld the project in April 2008. The tower remains a striking example of Augsburg’s past, now accessible to those who climb its new stairway.