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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Oeltor, or "Oil Gate", is a listed historical monument located in Turckheim, Upper Rhine (Great East). Built in the 1st quarter of the 14th century, it was an integral part of the defensive system of the city, erected from 1315 after Turckheim obtained imperial status in 1312 by Emperor Henry VII. This chamber, punctuated by three doors and eight towers, protected a city that was then an influential member of the Alsatian Decapole, an alliance of ten Free Empire cities created to pool their defence and political autonomy.

The Oeltor Gate, facing east, was one of the three main entrances to Turckheim, with the Munster Gate (west) and the French Gate (south). Its name probably refers to its role in controlling trade, especially in foodstuffs such as oil. The classification of the building as a historic monument in 1931 reflects its heritage importance. Today owned by the commune, the Oeltor illustrates the medieval heritage of Alsace and its history linked to the Holy Roman Empire.

Turckheim, mentioned in 896, became a strategic city thanks to its enclosure, reinforced by semicircular towers to the east and rectangular to the north. The Décapole, to which she joined in 1354, offered her collective protection until the end of the seventeenth century. The Oeltor, with its sister doors, thus embodied both a military function and a symbol of urban autonomy in a region often disputed between kingdoms and empires.

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