Gänsturm (Gänstor) Ulm

He's lucky not to have ever stood in the way of a transport project. Built in 1360, the Gänsturm near the Danube is the only one of five medieval Ulm city gates that has survived.

Did geese actually march through the gate? But the people of Ulm definitely did it when they set out for the Gänswiese and Gänsholzle, which were in front of the walls, where they had their geese tended.
The 37.5 meter high gate tower has quite an interesting architectural history. It was built from hump ashlars from the demolished Staufen city wall. In 1495 the upper part made of bricks was added. Its high peaked roof was destroyed in 1796 by Austrian troops, and the pyramid roof that followed burned down in 1944. In 1957, the decision was made to go with the current, simple hipped roof, which is based on the butcher tower, which was never a gate.

A demolition was out of the question for a long time. But in the early 19th century, the people of Ulm saw the city gates, which were still there at the time, with completely different eyes: they were by no means monuments worthy of protection, as they “have no historical oddities”, as stated in an official letter from 1837.

The Glöckler and Frauentors were demolished at this time; the Herdbrucker Gate had already been razed in 1826. They were regarded as obstacles to traffic and were despised as relics of the 'dark' Middle Ages. Hygienic arguments for more light and ventilation also played a role. ›The new wants to unfold wonderfully. Gradually the city is beautifying itself a lot', says a poem published in 1837 on the occasion of the double demolition.

When it was the turn of the Neutor in 1861, a dispute ignited in the city for the first time. Now arguments for the preservation of monuments were given more weight, accompanied by a reassessment of the Middle Ages and charging them with national content. The Neutor did not save this. Today the Gänsturm is the last representative of its kind to rise into the sky as a stone finger.

tourismus.ulm.de/de/discovery/see-and-erleben/sightseeing/historical/gaensturm-ulm

The 37.5m high goose tower in the Ulm district 'Auf dem Kreuz' was built in 1360 from humped blocks of the demolished Hohenstaufen city wall. In the Middle Ages geese were driven through this city gate onto the goose meadows.

The Gänsturm in Ulm (also Gänstor) is a preserved city gate in the east of the medieval city fortifications not far from the Danube. Its name comes from the fact that geese used to be driven through the gate onto the goose meadows.

The substructure with an ogival gate, built from ashlar stone from the old Hohenstaufen city wall, dates from 1360, the upper floors made of brick and the helmet are dated 1495.
During the siege of Ulm in the First Coalition War in 1796, the tower was set on fire. In 1944 the goose tower burned down again and was given a hipped roof in 1957. He has been wearing a watch again since 2002.
Excerpts from Wikipedia.