Travel Guide
Maiden Tower
The Maiden Tower (by 1945 Frauenturm) is a remnant of the Medieval fortifications of Szczecin. Its name comes from the Cistercian nunnery which was located next to the city wall. Another common name of the building is the Tower of Seven Coats (by 1945 Sieben Mantel Turm). According to the legend, duke Boguslaw X ordered Heinrich, a master Taylor, to make seven coats for the duchess Anna Jagiellonka. When it appeared that the Taylor had embezzled the material entrusted to him, he was sentenced to death and imprisoned in the tower where he was to await for the execution.
Due to the legend, this led to the riots and, as a result, the duke released the Taylor and only banished him from the city. Until 1723, the tower served as the prison. Between 1724 and 1740, the Medieval city walls were demolished and replaced with modern fortifications erected by the Prussian authorities. After some time, the tower was surrounded with the tenement houses and literally forgotten. On the turn of the 19th and 20th century, its upper parts were demolished, and the tower was super-structured with an octagonal tenement house. In 1944, the whole area was destroyed in air raids carried out by the Allied Forces. The uncovered part of the tower was secured against further devastation. The restoration ended in 1964. The upper parts of the building were reconstructed accordingly to the available iconography.
[Szczecin]
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