Citizen Tower (Gotha)
The citizen tower on the Galberg near Gotha is an observation tower built in 2009 with a wide view of the Thuringian region . It was built to replace the Arnoldi Tower, which was removed in 1972 .
Today's tower
In 1998 a Citizens Tower Association Gotha eV was founded. He saw himself as the successor to the Gotha Beautification Association, which existed from 1872 to 1945. The main concern of the new association was the re-erection of an observation tower on the Galberg north-west of Gotha. The association, which was backed by a guarantee from the Kreissparkasse Gotha, successfully collected donations. On September 18, 2008, the foundation stone for the tower at Inselsbergblick was laid at an altitude of 398 m NN , the topping-out ceremony was held on April 18, 2009 and the building was inaugurated on June 13, 2009. The tower is an elegant construction, 34.75 m high, supported by three steel columns, with three platforms 10, 20 and 30 m high. The weight of the foundation is 237 tons, that of the tower 42 tons. The 158 steps of the spiral staircase bear the names of their donors. The construction costs were around 300,000 euros. The tower is freely accessible, apart from very bad weather conditions. The view not only includes the surrounding area, but extends in good weather in the north over the Thuringian Basin to the Brocken , in the east to the Ettersberg and Riechheimer Berg , in the south to the ridge of the Thuringian Forest .
You can reach the tower from downtown Gotha via the observatory and the Berggarten restaurant in the direction of Krahnberg.
prehistory
From the end of the 18th century, Ernst Friedrich Arnoldi - the father of Ernst Wilhelm Arnoldi - had the then bare Galberg (Galgenberg), which represents the southeastern foothills of the Krahnberg, reforested as a mountain garden . The widow Sabine Elisabeth Arnoldi had the 25 m high, architecturally very attractive Arnoldi Tower built on the mountain in 1829/30 . In 1872 the Arnoldi family bequeathed part of the mountain garden with the tower as a foundation to the city of Gotha for local recreation purposes and the condition that it would take care of its preservation in the future. From 1945 the tower fell into disrepair and was completely dismantled in 1972 - located in a Soviet restricted area .
Monuments on the Galberg
- The Arnoldi memorial stone, a small obelisk near the former tower, refers to Ernst Friedrich Arnoldi.
- An Arnoldi family memorial stone was erected to commemorate the transfer of ownership of the site and tower by the Arnoldi family to the city of Gotha in 1872.
- A memorial stone in the form of a limestone pillar bears the inscription “Location Arnolditurm 1830–1972. Citizens Tower Association eV ". It was inaugurated in 2003 on the occasion of the 225th birthday of Ernst Wilhelm Arnoldi.
The Citizens Tower Association has also made a contribution to the reconstruction of the first two monuments mentioned.
literature
- The Gotha people build their observation tower, the "Citizen Tower" . Published by the Bürgerturm-Verein, Gotha 2008
- Unique panoramic view. Burgerturm Gotha . Citizens Tower Association Gotha, 2009
- Came Pawlow and Mathias Wenzel: Gotha is well worth seeing . Gotha 2006. ISBN 3-00-019345-6
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Citizens Tower Association Gotha e. V. (Ed.): Unique panorama . Burgerturm Gotha. (Leaflet).
- ↑ Information according to the information board on the tower
Coordinates: 50 ° 57 ′ 37.2 ″ N , 10 ° 39 ′ 58.2 ″ E