Old water tower (Wismar)
The old water tower in the Hanseatic city of Wismar was originally a defense tower of the city's medieval fortifications.
Today it is the last stone testimony to an urban fortification, along with the historic water gate at the Wismar harbor and small rudiments of the former city wall.
history
The Swedes had concluded an alliance against Brandenburg-Prussia with the French King Louis XIV in the Northern War in 1675 . The Brandenburgers fought against the Swedes, and they suffered a crushing defeat at Fehrbellin on June 18, 1675. After that, the Brandenburgers, together with the Danish King Christian V, pursued the Swedish troops, and the Brandenburg Elector let the Danes take over Wismar by war. On December 16, 1675 Christian V moved into the city and occupied the city after the council had to pay homage to him.
Wismar had been expanded into one of the strongest fortresses in Europe since 1632, but the Danes overcame the resistance by separating the water pipes that led into the city. Since the water art was built on the market, the water came through wooden pipes (pipes) from a spring in a village near Wismar; In addition, some fresh water, which was not enough, flowed through an artificially created canal, the pit .
After the peace of Saint-Germain concluded in 1679 and the withdrawal of the Danish occupation on November 23, 1680, the weak point in the city's defense was evaluated. The solution was the conversion of a defensive tower that was located on a freshwater inflow. Mayor Anton Scheffel commissioned Lübeck's Jochen von Schwoll in 1685 to convert the defense tower into a water tower. The water was pumped into a container located at the top of the tower by means of a horse-powered gopel works .
In 1715, Wismar was besieged, which was again drawn into acts of war in the Great Northern War from 1700 to 1721. Based on the findings of the siege of 1675, both water systems, the water art on the market and the water tower on the city wall with the wooden pipes were connected in 1715 . So you had a double protection. This system worked until 1873. More efficient and modern water supply systems made the systems superfluous. To this day, however, the name Old Water Tower has remained.
See also
literature
- Friedrich Techen : History of the Seestadt Wismar. Wismar Maritime City Council, Wismar 1929.
- Gustav Willgeroth : Pictures from Wismar's past. Collected contributions to the history of the city of Wismar. Willgeroth & Menzel, Wismar 1903.
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 53 '40.3 " N , 11 ° 28' 14.1" E