Leipzig City Gates
The Leipzig city gates were structural facilities that existed from the Middle Ages to the 19th century to regulate and control the movement of people and goods into and out of the city of Leipzig, Germany. They initially also had a defensive function. In addition to the four main gates and the five known smaller gates through the city wall, several so-called outer gates were later added, which controlled the access roads to the city as secondary gates. None of the gates remain at their original locations.
History
Since the Middle Ages, the city was surrounded by two walls of different heights, with the higher one on the inside. Between the walls was the Zwinger, which could be walked around the city, and in front of the outer wall was the water-filled city moat. There were gates with drawbridges at four points. At the gates, the city wall was provided with horseshoe-shaped extensions for better defense. There were also a few small wickets.After the siege of Leipzig in the Schmalkaldic War, the city fortifications were expanded in the mid-16th century, particularly with the addition of bastions - known here as Bastei. A remnant of such a structure, preserved mainly underground, still exists today in the form of the Moritzbastei in the southeast corner of the old town on the inner city ring, which largely marks the outer course of the former city wall. Strengthening the city fortifications also required the redesign of the gates. Some of these were rebuilt and now also included tower structures. After the Thirty Years' War, further additions to the city fortifications were made and the gates were renewed. After Elector Frederick Augustus II had ordered the demolition of the city fortifications in 1763 due to the experience of the Seven Years' War and the loss of their military-strategic importance, their removal began in the 1770s. The city gates were initially retained, however. As the city expanded, they were supplemented by outer city gates on the most important access roads into the city. These side gates eventually lost their importance in the Gründerzeit years. The historic main gates became an obstacle to traffic at the beginning of the 19th century and were demolished between 1822 and 1831, except for the Peter's gate in today's Petersstrasse, which was demolished in 1860. Some of the side gates remained for a while, as long as they did not represent an obstacle to traffic and did not stand in the way of the redevelopment of the Vorstadts from the middle of the 19th century. For example, the back gate on Schützenstrasse was demolished in 1843 and the Zeitz gate on today's Karl-Liebknecht-Straße was not demolished until 1856.
Gate regulations
The gate regulations had developed over the course of centuries and are a reflection of the importance of the four main gates on the Via Regia and the Via Imperii for Leipzig as a trading and trade fair city.File:Maximilian.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Bronze statue of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, by Carl Seffner at the Städtisches Kaufhaus trade court building
Initially in the Middle Ages, different laws applied when passing through the gates in one direction or the other. Town privileges essentially ended for people, traffic, crafts and trade at the city gates. Outside the city gates and on the streets and paths, the Landrecht of the territorial lord applied. Due to its favorable location at the intersection of two historic roads and trails in Central Europe, Leipzig was granted special privileges. The city benefited enormously from these privileges and from the road requirement that existed almost until modern times. The city's staple right and the imperial trade fair privilege granted by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1497, renewed and expanded in 1507, were particularly crucial for the handling of goods. This kept competition from other cities - especially Erfurt and Halle - at bay within a radius of 15 German miles. Trade and passenger traffic were thus directed towards Leipzig.
At the city gates, which were the starting and ending points of the trade routes and land routes, the transport of goods into and out of the city was controlled and only what was actually registered here was what was responsible for municipal gate clerks and measuring assistants. They issued slips of paper showing what a wagon, cart or pack animal was carrying. The tariffs were only collected at the Markt after the goods had been weighed in the Alte Waage and the duty or octroi had been calculated. In addition, there was a so-called "booth fee" that the market traders had to pay for selling goods at the market. When leaving the city, the gatekeepers checked whether a trader had paid all customs duties and taxes correctly based on the receipts issued by the market supervisors or the city treasury. Such gate receipts are now important historical sources for reconstructing the flow of goods and people into and out of the city over the centuries.
File:Aufhebung des Torgroschens.jpg|thumb|upright|Pen drawing from 1824 on the abolition of the gate penny – on the left a gatekeeper in uniform, in the middle of the picture students with typical student caps
People were also checked at the gates. The names of arriving travellers were published daily in a list, the Torzettel, as they were processed at the gates. A fee called the Torgroschen was also payable at all city gates, which was a type of entrance fee into the city. This was an old institution similar to the bridge toll. The income was originally intended to finance the maintenance of the gates and the city fortifications. The gate clerks, gatekeepers and the so-called Schlagzieher at the outer gates were also paid from this money for operating the barriers or opening the gates. This fee is comparable to road tolls, which were collected to pay for the maintenance of the old roads that were later converted into chaussees.
The freedom of movement of people and goods was not unlimited until 1824 and ultimately encountered considerable obstacles at the four inner city gates. Although the city wall was almost completely removed at the end of the 18th century, the city moat in front of it still existed in many places. Bridges led over this to the main gates, which thus controlled access to the old town even in this situation. For security reasons, the city gates were closed at night. This happened after 9 p.m. in summer and at 4.30 p.m. in winter. From the 17th century onwards, anyone who wanted to enter or leave the city during closing times had to pay the so-called gate fee. This generally hated tax was abolished throughout the Kingdom of Saxony in 1824 when internal customs duties were abolished. This occasion led to spontaneous celebrations of joy among the population, especially among Leipzig students. As night owls in the bars of the vorstadts and villages in the surrounding area they had always rejected the gate tax. The abolition of the gate tax, the demolition of the city gates and, last but not least, the gradual filling of the city moat marked the beginning of the merging of Leipzig's old town with its suburbs.
The gates
Inner Gates
The inner gates are those that were located along the city wall and formed the historical entrances to the old city. Since the old trade routes Via Regia and Via Imperii crossed in Leipzig, four main gates were assigned to them, which also roughly corresponded to the cardinal points. From these gates began cobbled streets, so-called stone ways, which were named after the gate and which, with the exception of the Halle one, are still used as street names today. The four neighbourhoods of the city center and the vorstadts in front of the gates were also named after the gates. These vorstadts were old urban settlements outside the old town that spread out directly in front of the city wall.- The Grimma Gate, which faces east and serves as a sally point on the Via Regia, was built between 1498 and 1502 as a double gate system in the town wall with a drawbridge over the moat. Beyond the moat began the Grimma Stone Way ', which led out of town through the Grimma vorstadt to the outer Grimma Gate ' and the Hospital Gate '. In 1577 the town fortifications at the Grimma Gate were replaced by a stronger defensive system that extended far into the vorstadt and also included a tower that served as a debtors' prison tower for late payers in times of peace. In 1687 the town's main guard was moved here from the Ranstädt Gate. At the same time the medieval gate building was replaced by a new one decorated with the Saxon electoral coat of arms, and the square in front of it was created as a promenade. This almost rural-looking "square in front of the Grimma Gate" developed into today's Augustusplatz. After the Grimma Gate was demolished in 1831, the confectioner Wilhelm Felsche bought the debtors' prison tower and the property adjacent to the former gate and built the Café français there in 1835, later known as the Café Felsche. In 1838, the New Post Office building was built by Albert Geutebrück on the square at the corner of Grimmaischer Steinweg.
- The Via Imperii led south through the Peter's Gate, which was named after the neighbouring St. Peter's Church. It was first mentioned in 1420. The medieval gate, which led through a tower, was replaced in 1722/23 by a new baroque building. It was designed by the chief state architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann. A stone arched bridge led over the already dry city moat in front of the gate into the Petersvorstadt. The gate contained guard rooms and apartments for city officials. It was considered one of the most beautiful baroque buildings in Leipzig, but was the last of the historic city gates to be demolished in 1859/60 as a traffic obstruction.
- The Ranstädt Gate was located in the area of today's Richard-Wagner-Platz and was the western exit of the Via Regia. The gate was a double gate system integrated into the Ranstädt Bastion, which was built between 1547 and 1550. Until 1687, the city's main guard was located at the Ranstädt Gate - after that at the Grimma Gate. The name comes from the places that could be reached, Markranstädt and Altranstädt. The medieval gate system with a tower was demolished in 1822.
- The Halle Gate''' leading north for the Via Imperii was built in 1692 and had only minor defensive significance. The gate was demolished in 1831. The street name "Am Hallischen Tor" between Brühl and the beginning of Gerberstrasse remained as a reminder.