Rekultivierung Wall- und Grabenanlage Dorsten

After having been chartered in 1251, Dorsten’s Hanse membership also turned it into an important economic hub of the region. A number of fortifications in the form of walls, ramparts and moats between the 14th and the 17th century gave it its still visible outline.
Massive damage sustained in WWII notwithstanding, the old town was rebuilt in consideration of the ramparts as the historical borders of the old town. The ground plan and the scale of the buildings were also kept, i.e. the ramparts, the main and side roads basic system, could still be traced.
In the 1980s, this came under threat by a relocation of the main arteries. An urbanistic competition in 1986 was to come up with counteractions. The objective was to re-organise large parts of the city centre in consideration of the new traffic conditions, put them to a different use, while at the same time stabilising or restoring the historical character.
The result of this competition and the subsequent general plan was to reclaim or newly interpret the historical, still traceable positions of the ramparts and moats by including extant remains of the city wall.

Author: Stadt Dorsten
Last changed on 25.06.2008

Categories:
Urban Design » Regional Planning