The Fake Emperor
In this column of the W3+ magazine we feature very special sights and locations in Wetzlar. Here: The legend of Tile Kolup, who went down in history as “Fake Friedrich”.
An emperor in Wetzlar? We have to go back almost 750 years to answer this question with a distinct yes and no. This is about a man called Tile Kolup who claimed to be the last Hohenstaufen emperor Friedrich II. (1194-1250) – more than thirty years after the emperor’s death. His journey (which rather resembled an escape) took him from Cologne via Neuss to Frankfurt and terminated in Wetzlar. Eventually, “Fake Friedrich” didn’t end up on the throne but on the stake. On 7 July 1285, Tile Kolup was burned to death outside the gates of Wetzlar.
In the passage from Kornmarket toward Turmstraße, the legend of Tile Kolup is illustrated in fantastic mural paintings. The murals were initiated by Wetzlar artist and art educator Dieter Mulch who put them on the wall with pupils of Goetheschule in 1980.
Am Kornmarkt
35578 Wetzlar
Additional Information:
www.wetzlar.de
