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The Wood Tower ((ドイツ語:Holzturm)) is a mediaeval tower in Mainz, Germany, with the Iron Tower and the Alexander Tower one of three remaining towers from the city walls. Its current Gothic appearance dates to the early 15th century. It is so named because wood used to be piled next to it on the bank of the Rhine.〔''Mainzer Zeitschrift'' 1939 (p. 50 ) ; 'Wooden Tower' is a common misinterpretation of the name; the tower is made of stone.〕 Like the Iron Tower, the Wood Tower was used as a watchtower and gate-tower and later as a gaol. It was badly damaged in World War II and accurately reconstructed in 1961 for the 2,000-year anniversary of the city. It currently houses various organisations and clubs. ==Historical background: the defences of Mainz== Beginning in late Roman times, the city of Mainz (then ''Mogontiacum'') was defended by a wall with watchtowers and city gates. The first wall was built shortly before the destruction of the ''limes'' in 259/260 CE. Not long after 350, in the course of the abandonment of the Roman camp, this wall was lowered and rubble (spolia) from earlier construction used to enlarge and strengthen it. After the Romans withdrew, it was improved at various times, particularly in the Merovingian and Carolingian periods, becoming what archaeologists studying the city have called the "Roman-Carolingian" wall. However, in 1160 the continuity of the city's defences was drastically interrupted. There was a longstanding dispute between the citizens of Mainz and their archbishop, Arnold of Selenhofen (and also with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa); after the archbishop was murdered, the emperor imposed an imperial ban on the city. The city walls and towers were razed (although it is possible that on the inland side the destruction was only partial).〔(Die mittelalterliche Stadtbefestigung von Mainz ), Festung Mainz 2008, retrieved 3 May 2011 〕 However, Mainz was an important political and strategic ally in the Hohenstaufens' struggle for supremacy in the German Empire against the Welfs, and so in ''circa'' 1190–1200 the city was granted permission to rebuild the defences. The predecessor of the Wood Tower, the so-called ''Neuturm'' (New Tower) was built in the second half of the 13th century when the previously independent settlement of Selenhofen was incorporated into the defences of the city. It replaced the Romanesque Wingert Gate; the first recorded mention of it is in 1366. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wood Tower」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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