Aufkircher Tor

The Aufkircher Tor stands in Überlingen as a surviving city gate from the town’s medieval defensive system. Its name refers to the nearby village of Aufkirch.

The gate formed the northern entrance, while its rough-stone arch supported a plastered residential tower above. The present gate structure dates from around 1450.

It was first recorded in 1452, after the suburb known as the Village entered Überlingen’s outer walls and moat. A former drawbridge crossed the moat before later ground changes removed that feature.

The wider fortifications include walls, towers, bastions, and rock-cut trenches that became green paths during the nineteenth century. Those defenses expanded as Überlingen’s suburbs grew.

The outer system later incorporated the fishermen’s suburb, and wartime earthworks strengthened the defenses during the Thirty Years’ War. Several gates and towers disappeared during nineteenth-century traffic changes, but the Aufkircher Tor survived.

Repairs addressed roof leaks, masonry cracks, damp, and loose plaster, with work documented in 2012. The building serves as headquarters for Überlingen’s Sword Dance Company.

The gate is wheelchair accessible and remains a visible architectural marker beside routes through the old city.