Roter Turm, Chemnitz

The lower part of the tower is built of quarry stones of the main regional building stone.^[3] Its name is attributed to the predominant red color of the building material of Chemnitz porphyry tuff. This rock, a type of tuff close to ignimbrite, has been used in the city and its region for centuries.

Roter Turm is the most conspicuous surviving building from the Middle Ages in Chemnitz. Its lower part probably dates back to the late 12th century or the beginning of the 13th century.

The tower initially served as a keep to protect the surrounding settlements, later it was the seat of the advocatus (in German: Voigt). During systematic investigations in 1957/1958, it was found that the city wall is younger than the tower and connects to it.^[4] In 1555, the upper floor was built of brick with Gothic facing architecture, which was covered with red roof tiles. The tower itself was plastered until the middle of the 19th century and probably painted white.

Until about 1900, the tower and its annex were used as a prison. This function saved the Roter Turm from demolition in the early 19th century, when Chemnitz's city fortifications were demolished. Inmates of the Roter Turm during its time as a prison included August Bebel^[5] and Karl Stülpner. With the redevelopment of Theaterstrasse at the end of the 19th century, the previously free-standing Roter Turm disappeared behind a row of houses, so that only the tower hood could be seen of it.

During one of the air raids on Chemnitz at the end of the Second World War, the tower burned out.^[6] It was rebuilt between 1957 and 1959.