The Breisach Gate

The remains of the fortress belt near Breisach Gate (circled)
after the dismantling of the city fortifications (©BJ)

On Monday, Freiburg's archaeologist, Dr. Bertram Jenisch, talked in this year's lecture series "In the Year and on the Day" about the Breisach Gate.

 
As Lagniappe, he reported on new traces of Vauban's legacy that his institute had recently uncovered while digging into the Bastion St. Louis, on which the Colombischlössle is built.

In an earlier blog, I wrote:

When firearms dominated warfare, Freiburg's old city wall became a joke. During the Thirty Years' War and, particularly during the aggressive French wars in the late 16th and early 18th centuries, öffnete die Artillerie schnell mehrmals eine Bresche in dem maroden Mauerwerk (artillery quickly opened several breaches in the dilapidated masonry).

Vauban's fortification of Freiburg. North is on the left. The Breisach Gate
is located between K: la Bastion de la Reyne and Bastion M: la Bastion du Roy

When Freiburg became a French city in 1677, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban started surrounding the city with modern fortifications, thus integrating Freiburg into France's northern fortification belt. Contemporaries called his work, "La dernière folie de Louis XIV."

Another view shows the road to Breisach with a bifurcation to the north.
The Breisach Gate is the white square within the fortification.

This is an artist's view of the Breisach Gate, with a bridge over the moat, which was flooded only in the event of a siege. Nearby is the square and the Katzenturm (cat tower), which was used as a prison. The Breisach Gate still exists, while the bastions were built over but are still partly visible topographically today.

©BJ

Entering Freiburg through the Breisach Gate at the beginning of the 19th century via Gartenstraße (Garden Street). Note the Katzenturm on the right-hand side.

©BJ

Gate openings were undersized, allowing the passage of just one horse-drawn carriage. This is clearly visible at Neuf-Brisach, Vauban's masterpiece.

  

Click to enlarge.

The situation around the Breisach Gate, as seen from a bird's-eye view in the 19th century. Today's Holzmarkt (wood market) was the Viehmarkt (cattle market). The former Kaiserstraße has become Kaiser-Joseph-Straße, and the road Dauphinestraße, built for Marie-Antoinette's visit to Freiburg in 1770, has become Federal Road 31 into the Black Forest.

©BJ

Towards the end of the 19th century, the building was raised by one story, and two side wings were added. At the time, it served as a school.

Today, the interior and forecourt of the Breisach Gate are used for gastronomic purposes.

©BJ

Dr. Jenish presented a slide showing the various sites in Freiburg where he and his team had been active in recent years.

On top of the former Bastion St. Louis, the Colombischlössle (©BJ)

The Bastion St. Louis - a small red dot marked "b" on the above plan - was recently dug up as part of the redesign of Colombipark.

A drone photo shows the digging site (©BJ)

(©BJ)

In addition to many objects from when the bastion was built, the most spectacular find was an inclined tunnel leading from the surface to the fortress's apron. It was probably used for reconnaissance purposes during a siege.

Dr. Jenisch's lectures are always good for a surprise.

**