The Historic City Walls

Le antiche mura cittadine in particolare

Although the exact course of Brixen’s city walls is no longer known today, the street names Großer Graben and Kleiner Graben are evidence of the fact that protective moats would surround the rampart in the early days of the town. Every road would lead to one of the main gates, which in turn was reached when crossing the drawbridge. Whereas the town wall was essential in the medieval period, it lost its protective function after the 15th century. When the city disposed of its moats in the mid-16th century, the old townhouses were extended and a new terraced front came into existence; it is safe to say that the present row of houses along Großer Graben Street follow the original course of the city walls in this area. Among smaller remains of the ancient walls the best surviving parts are found next to the Lachmüller house, with its access on Kleiner Graben Street. The 20-metre section of the wall also boasts remains of the parapet walk, which originally ran along the entire course of the wall.

Historic background

Distinctively named “New Town”, the quarter bordering the oldest settlement of Stufels included the White Tower and Großer and Kleiner Graben area and reached as far as the Hofburg and the Kassianeum. This rectangular area with its fortified walls and impressive bastions, drawbridges and city gates was thought to date back to the first half of the 11th century, while more recent research suggests that building dates from 1230-1250. However, the dome area, part of the New Town, might have been fortified with a plain stone rampart as early as the 11th century. From its early beginnings, the newly emerging quarter consisted of two distinct areas: while the clergy resided in the south of the city with its churches and chapels, the northern and western area was thought of as the secular district - the parish church of St. Michael served as the transition point between the civil and the diocesan town. It is not known whether this clear layout was intended when the ground plan for the quarter was conceived.

Interesting detail

The city walls did not only have a protective function, but also served as a symbol of the worldly power of the bishops, who had been given extensive feudal privileges as well as the right to levy tolls.