When were the fortifications built?

Ratingen was bestowed with the town's privilege in1276 and that meant receiving rights but also perform duties. One of these duties was very a very important one, to fortify the town. That is why town walls, gates and towers were built around the town.The town privilege certificate is today stored in the town archive and with that isRatingen one of the few old towns that still has this certificate.

Image Copyright: Hans Peter Schaefer

Town wall and moat

The town wall ran with an interior and exterior ring walls that were together two metres thick and seven metres high, around the whole town. Wall remnants can still be seen in Ratingen today.
The moat ran around the whole of the town wall. It was eight metres wide, five metres deep and filled with water. One could only reach the town through gates with drawbridges.

Gates and former main roads

The completion of the four gates, the Bechemer Gate, the Düsseldorfer Gate, the Lintorfer Gate and theOber Gate lasted until the year 1362. The four gates were named after the villages same as the roads that lead to them. The prettiest of the gates was the Bechemer Gate (Photo: Model at the Town Museum), which had three towers, while the other three only had one tower.
The city centre's route is more or less the same as in the past. The four most important roads still meet today at the market place and form the present pedestrian zone.

Image Copyright: H005

Towers

There were altogether fifteen towers, which were distributed along the whole town wall. The first tower, the Taubenturm was constructed in the year1439. Three towers have been preserved and can be viewed: