The medieval Strunk round tower stands today directly behind the railway embankment on the south bank of the Wisper River. When the tower was built in 1567 (timber used suggests a construction date from 1447/1448 onward), the railway embankment did not yet exist, and the tower served to defend the Wisper estuary and the Wisper Bridge, built in 1556.
Due to dangerous rapids at the Binger Loch, Lorch was an important transshipment point for ships traveling upstream and downstream on the Rhine. To avoid the rapids, goods were unloaded and reloaded in the Wisper estuary, which had been developed into a harbor, and transported overland via the so-called Merchants' Route from Lorch to Rüdesheim and back.
The Strunk served not only as a defensive tower, but also as a prison.
The upper floor of the tower and the platform are accessible via a bulging stair tower. The walls are constructed of quarry slate and sandstone and have four blind arches covered with pointed arches, each with small square windows or keyholes. At that time, only a hole in the vault led to the dungeon on the ground floor, which extended deep into the ground.
In 2005 and 2006, the tower was completely restored and is now open to the public again.
A wedding chamber is located on the first floor. From there, one can still look down into the former dungeon through a hatch in the floor, although this is now blocked off with bars. A small information center on the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley has been set up there, accessible via a new entrance from the outside. The wedding chamber can be visited during the information center's opening hours.
Source: Website of the City of Lorch