Turm Jerusalem, Medieval tower in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Turm Jerusalem is a fortified residential tower on the Domfreihof in Trier, part of the Palais Walderdorff complex built in the 11th century. It originally had six storeys; the two upper floors were removed in the 19th century, leaving the filled-in base and three lower floors. Double-arched windows and slit windows in the buried ground floor were found during the 1999 restoration.
The tower probably dates from the 11th century. According to the Gesta Treverorum it was already destroyed in 1147 and repaired within six weeks for the visit of Pope Eugene III. Lukas Clemens suggests it may have been damaged during the 1096 persecution of Jews, when the Jewish community hid valuables there. The two upper storeys were removed in the 19th century.
The name Jerusalem may stem from the 1096 persecution of Jews, when the community reportedly hid valuables in the tower before they were plundered. The tower's upper floor now serves as the wedding room of the Trier registry office, so civil marriages take place inside the medieval structure.
The tower stands on the Domfreihof in central Trier, within the Palais Walderdorff complex, so it is reached on foot from the surrounding old town. The upper floor serves as the registry office's wedding room, so access inside depends on official use; the exterior is visible from the square at any time.
The name may come from the 1096 persecution of Jews, when Trier's Jewish community reportedly hid valuables in the tower; Salomo bar Simson's account says the persecutors plundered them, while the community fled to the archbishop. Lukas Clemens links the tower's possible damage to these events.
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