Brandenburg’s Markgraf Albrecht Alcibiades knew the Sachsenhäuser Warte could not withstand his large army. Let me tell you about this imposing tower. The Sachsenhäuser Warte is a historic watchtower in Frankfurt am Main. It is one of five such towers in the city. This one stands in Sachsenhausen. It marked the southern edge of Frankfurt in the 14th century.
Frankfurt built a Landwehr in the 14th century. This defensive system included four towers. The Sachsenhäuser Warte was the southernmost. The tower was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The current tower dates back to the 16th century. You can find it on Darmstädter Landstraße. It stands at the southern edge of Sachsenhausen.
Originally, a wooden observation tower stood on Mühhlberg. In 1414, Frankfurt replaced it with a stone tower. This new tower stood on the higher Sachsenhäuser Berg. But Werner von Falkenstein, the Archbishop of Trier, ordered its destruction in 1416. He believed it was on Dreieicher Wildbann territory.
In 1470 and 1471, a new tower arose. Kaiser Friedrich III granted a Schutzbrief. This protected the construction. The Sachsenhäuser Warte stood at the highest point on the road south.
The Sachsenhäuser Warte saw battle twice. In 1519, it survived a feud with Franz von Sickingen. But in 1552, war struck again. Markgraf Albrecht Alcibiades of Brandenburg attacked during the Fürstenkrieg. The tower, like the Landwehr, proved weak against such a force. The attackers burned the Sachsenhäuser Warte.
Despite the destruction, it was rebuilt. It stands to this day. Today, the Sachsenhäuser Warte houses a restaurant. The Boehlepark lies southwest of the tower. To the north is the Südfriedhof. There were plans to turn the Warte into a museum and cultural center. These plans were later changed.
Between 1413 and 1429, the Sachsenhäuser Landwehr was built. It consisted of double trenches. Woven beech and thorn hedges filled the space between. This made it difficult for attackers to penetrate. Together with the Sachsenhäuser Warte, this was a common way to protect a town from raids. The Sachsenhäuser Landwehr offered a defense.