Steiner Tor Krems

The Steiner Tor is the landmark of Krems and the only remaining of the four former town gates. The main tower from the late 15th century bears a series of inscriptions on the outside, including the motto AEIOU (All the earth is subject to Austria) in memory of Frederick III. Three coats of arms from 1756 adorn the entrance to the city, on the left the one granted by Emperor Frederick III and still valid today, which shows the crowned double-headed eagle on a black background, on the right the coat of arms of Ladislaus Posthumus, in the middle the coat of arms of Maria Theresa.

The installation in the plinth area by Leo Zogmeyer contains metal cubes with proclamations commemorating the persecution and extermination of Jewish citizens in Krems after 1938. Outside the Steinertor, the area was originally endangered by Danube flooding. The demolition of the town walls, which also provided flood protection, was only made possible by the regulation of the river in the 19th century and ultimately by the extensive dam construction south of the old town of Krems to accompany the construction of the Wachau Railway at the beginning of the 20th century. A memorial stone on the inner side of the Steinertor gate commemorates a flood disaster in 1573, when a surge of ice flooded the road.

Behind the Steiner Tor begins the Obere Landstraße, the pedestrian zone of Krems, which, together with the Untere Landstraße, has formed the main axis of the old town of Krems since the Middle Ages and runs for around 700 m to the Wiener Brücke.