Remember those classic fairy tales? The altes Torhaus in Münster isn’t quite a gingerbread house, but it has its own story to tell. The altes Torhaus, or old gatehouse, whispers tales of Münster’s past.
Gatehouses are buildings structurally connected to a gate. The building can be built onto the gate or the gate integrated into the house. At castle and city gates, gatehouses stood next to the gates, or the gate was integrated into the gatehouse. The gate is in the foreground and the building is attached. These gatehouses often housed the guards. They also collected road tolls.
The altes Torhaus here was part of the Neutor gate complex. The Neutor gate was built after the city fortifications were removed in the 1770s. Johann Conrad Schlaun was first tasked with redesigning the area. After Schlaun’s death in 1773, Wilhelm Ferdinand Lipper took over. In 1778, Lipper built two matching guardhouses at the Neutor. They stood opposite each other at the north end of today’s Schlossplatz. These buildings controlled access to the city. Originally, they were called Maxtor, after Prince-Bishop Maximilian Franz von Österreich.
The southwestern gatehouse was initially a scribe’s office. Later, it was owned by the federal government. After being vacant for a long time, it was sold to a private owner.
The northeastern gatehouse was first used as a guardhouse. In 1891, it was merged with the main guard, housed in the Stadtweinhaus since 1847. The guardhouse was dissolved in 1918. The buildings survived the Second World War almost undamaged. From 1945 to 1966, the Tumbrink printing company used the northeastern gatehouse. Later, the finance and customs administration used it. From 1981, it housed a gallery for the design department of the Münster University of Applied Sciences. The building was vacant from 1997. In 2000, the city of Münster acquired the building. Since 2004, the Stadtheimatbund Münster, a local heritage association, has rented the northeastern gatehouse. After renovations, they set up their office and information center here. Both gatehouses at the Neutor are listed buildings.
The houses are mainly red brick. The door and window frames are sandstone. A cornice surrounds the entire building. The street-facing fronts are elaborate. Each has a portico, a central entrance, and pilasters. The porticos have four columns with Doric capitals. They support an entablature and a triangular gable. The altes Torhaus stands as a reminder of Münster’s history. It has seen guards, scribes, printers, and students pass through its doors. Today, it continues to serve the community as a center for local heritage.