Römerturm, Medieval castle in Haigerloch, Germany.
Römerturm is the surviving bergfried of Burg Haigerloch, a square tower of bossed ashlar blocks on a narrow rock spur above the Eyach. Its walls are 3.4 to 3.6 metres thick, the base measures 10.8 by 10.8 metres, and a high entrance sits 10.5 metres up. The platform parapet stands 19.5 metres above the base, topped since 1744–1746 by an octagonal bell storey.
Built around 1000 by the lords of Haigerloch, the castle was first recorded in 1095 as "castrum Haigerloch", enlarged in the 12th century and destroyed in the 13th. The counts of Hohenberg and the princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen later owned it. In 1744–1746 the master builder Christian Großbayer gave the tower its present form as a bell tower for St. Ulrich's church, demolished in 1839. The town has owned it since 1974.
The name Römerturm is misleading: the tower has no connection to Roman times and is a Romanesque structure. Since 2016 its octagonal top again holds the bells for the upper town, replacing the function it took on in 1744–1746 for St. Ulrich's church, which was demolished in 1839.
The tower stands in Haigerloch's upper town on a narrow rock spur above the Eyach. Since its restoration the octagonal top is open again and the tower can be climbed as a viewing tower; the platform is reached via the structure itself, so visitors should be sure-footed. The bell ringing has been back in operation since summer 2016.
The name Römerturm is misleading: the tower has no connection to Roman times and is a Romanesque structure. Its square bergfried of bossed ashlar blocks measures 10.8 by 10.8 metres, with walls 3.4 to 3.6 metres thick and a high entrance at 10.5 metres.
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