Kuhhirtenturm (Elefant)
The Kuhhirtenturm (Elefant) is a late Gothic defensive tower in Sachsenhausen, Frankfurt am Main, on the city’s riverfront. Its square granite base rises three storeys above a raised entrance. A timber-framed fourth storey, called the tower room, supports a steep hipped roof covered with slate shingles.
Built in 1390, it formed part of the northern city wall and guarded the riverfront with four towers about fifty metres apart. Its gate connected Paradiesgasse with the Main for local fishermen. When the fortifications became obsolete, dense Sachsenhausen buildings and the river passage helped preserve the structure. Frankfurt citizens stopped plans to demolish it in 1884.
Paul Hindemith rented and renovated the tower in 1923, living there with his family until 1927. Wartime bombing destroyed the timber upper floor and roof. The Hindemith Cabinet presents an exhibition on his life and work, while the roof room hosts chamber music concerts. The eastern wall carries a covered late Gothic pedestrian passage.
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- Frankfurt
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