Defence tower "Bolander"

This defence tower is an element of the Staufer fortifications and was probably built around 1160. The “Bolander” secured the south-west side of the Ingelheim palace and the “Rheingässer Tor”. An early pictorial representation of the Saal area (name of the archaeological zone Kaiserpfalz Ingelheim from the early modern period) from 1545 by Sebastian Münster shows the original, multi-storey tower with embrasures and battlements (illustration in the museum at the Kaiserpfalz). The name “Bolander” goes back to the noble family of the Lords of Bolanden, who acted as deputies of the kings on the Middle Rhine in the 12th and 13th centuries and maintained a customs office in the local Palatinate area until 1254.

Like many other wall and wall corner towers of the 12th to 14th centuries, the defence tower probably had a high entrance, which was only accessible from the outside via ladders for safety reasons. The visible, bricked-up opening in the defence wall could also have been such a high entrance. At 3.2 metres, the wall thickness of the tower is considerable. Its interior has a diameter of 2.8 metres and is no longer accessible today.