Kratzturm, Medieval defensive tower in Bahnhofstrasse district, Zürich, Switzerland
Kratzturm was a medieval defensive tower on Bahnhofstrasse in Zürich, built from stone with a width of about 10 meters and height of 35 meters. The walls were up to 2 meters thick at the base and tapered to about 1 meter at the top.
First documented in 1397, the tower was part of Zürich's left bank fortifications and served the city's defensive needs. Six prison cells were added to its upper floor in 1568, expanding its role as an instrument of civic control.
The tower occupied the Kratz quarter, a neighborhood where the city's poorest lived, including washerwomen, tinkers, and the gravedigger of Fraumünster. This area shaped social divisions and showed how the city organized its different communities spatially.
The tower sat in a central location within the city and was easily accessible on foot from the surrounding area. Visitors should know that the structure no longer exists, and only historical markers today indicate where it once stood.
During the 1850s, the tower housed the city's fire watcher, who kept watch over Zürich from its upper levels as the city grew around it. This repurposing shows how an old fortification adapted to modern needs when its original defensive role faded away.
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