Bismarck Tower (Berg-Assenhausen)
The Bismarck Tower near Assenhausen on Lake Starnberg is the only Bismarck monument whose planning and construction began during Bismarck's lifetime and the only Bismarck monument in Upper Bavaria . It is one of thirteen Bismarck towers in all of Bavaria .
The building permit of the Prince Regent Luitpold took place on August 25, 1896, the completion in June 1899. The inauguration followed on July 1, 1899 in the presence of the Prime Minister and Minister of State .
description
The tower is made of limestone and tuff . It is about 30 m high and stands on a square base with a surrounding arcade. There is a staircase to the arcades on each side. On the top there is a bronze imperial eagle pointing north.
Below the tip are engraved allegorical representations and the words “Peace” (east side) and “War” (west side) on the opposite sides. The coats of arms of the states and free cities are carved into the walls of the foyer.
At the northern staircase, an inscription carved in stone reminds of the inauguration of the monument on July 1st, 1899. Another inscription carved in stone in the arcade to the south reminds of those involved in the construction.
In the arcade to the north hangs a bronze plaque honoring Otto von Bismarck in particular.
At the time of construction, the tower stood free on the unwooded hill, so that the arcade hall, which was three meters high, had a view in all directions. After the Second World War , trees came up all around except on the lake side, so that the tower now stands in a clearing and only allows an unobstructed view directly to the edge of the slope and to the shore of Lake Starnberg.
Construction planning
The architect was Theodor Fischer . His proposal was accepted in 1896 with 13 votes in favor and 3 against.
In 1890, at the suggestion of the painter Franz von Lenbach, the "Association for Honoring His Highness the Prince Bismarck" was founded, chaired by Johannes von Widenmayer , the mayor of Munich. This association set up the first committee of 24 people to choose a design for the Bismarck Tower. The panel could not agree. The second committee selected five people and eight artists, some of whom took part in the competition themselves, who then agreed on the proposal of Theodor Fischer, who was chairman himself.
Fischer first drew drafts for the tower, which were supposed to express the "triumphant Wilhelmine nationalism" in the form of a "mighty" tower. To do this, he drew on the proportions of the Igeler column , a Roman tomb on the Moselle near Trier . In monumental enlargement, it could refer to “great historical contexts on German soil”. In the later design phases, however, Fischer decided to alienate the otherwise precisely reproduced silhouette of the Roman model with a flat, circumferential arcade hall. Fischer himself described this covered space on the otherwise exposed hill as "shady and inviting". And the effect of the arched openings was, according to him, that with them “the beautiful landscape was always framed and captured”. The effect was a connection with the landscape that went beyond the ancient quotation and created a natural local reference. Fischer's student Peter Meyer therefore called the Bismarck tower from Berg the "most bearable" of the Bismarck towers.
The sides of the tower and in the walls of the surrounding arcade are characterized by numerous sculptures. These come from Josef Flossmann (1862–1914) with whom Theodor Fischer also worked on later projects (Reiherbrunnen in der Au in Munich, Bismarck fountain in Munich-Pasing, Bismarck monument in Nuremberg). This is also eternalized in an inscription carved in stone (see below) in the south-facing corridor.
The tower cost 190,000 marks, making it the second most expensive Bismarck tower after the Bismarck tower in Stettin . 5,000 marks for the construction of the Bismarck Tower were donated by the Prince Regent, the rest from other donors.
Text inscription for the inauguration
At the northern staircase, an inscription carved in stone reminds of the solemn inauguration of the monument on July 1st, 1899:
THIS MONUMENT, ERECTED BY A ASSOCIATION OF PATRIOTIC MEN TO THE PERMANENT MEMORY OF THE FIRST CHANCELLOR OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE, PRINCE OTTO V. BISMARCK, IS ERECTED ON JULY 1, 1899 IN A CELEBRATORY FILE OF THE CITY COMMUNITY AND ALSO WGEBEN ZUROBCHEN
Bronze plaque
On the north side of the arcade hall there is a bronze plaque, the text of which reads as follows:
North and
South forever one. Erased the border of the Main.
Unholy conflict buried forever
Bavaria and Palatinate Franconia u. Schwaben
How they with Prussia a. Hessen u. Saxony
All grown from one tribe
So with
all and all equally
powerfully united to form the German Empire
Who has accomplished this mighty work
And put all enemies to shame
Who has our LORD GOD given the strength
And the wisdom that guides everything towards the goal
Otto von BISMARCK is the name of the man
The Germans won the empire
The German empire from rock to sea
Therefore, in his honor,
also at this point the mark
Kuende den Bergen u. kuende the valley
What he created in great time
God preserves it in eternity.
The heads of the following people are depicted in the ornamentation of the frame: Otto the Great , Ludwig van Beethoven , Albrecht Dürer , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Friedrich Barbarossa . The builders of the Tefel saw these people as the predecessors of the imperial idea, which Bismarck then pursued.
Text inscription in memory of those involved in the construction
In an inscription carved in stone in the south facing corridor, the most important people involved in the construction are named:
BY BISMARCK- VEREIN ERECTED BY • THEODOR FISCHER BEGINNED IN 1896 COMPLETED IN 1899 PICTURES • V • J • FLOSSMANN
Picture gallery
Relief on the east side below
Relief on the east side above as a window with a face and the heading: PEACE
East side relief as a window with a face and the heading: PEACE
Relief on the south side shows the imperial eagle with the Bismarck coat of arms as a heart shield and circumferential writing "IN TRINITATE ROBUR" (In the triad force)
Relief on the north side shows "Mother Germania", who protects the main tribes of the empire - symbolized by youthful figures - under her coat. The angels above hold the imperial crown as a symbol for the empire.
Relief on the west side. Above an implied window with a face and the heading: WAR Below: Hero youth fighting a dragon and freeing a maiden.
literature
- Gerhard Schober: District of Starnberg (= Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation [Hrsg.]: Monuments in Bavaria . Volume I.21 ). 2nd Edition. Munich / Zurich 1991, p. 54 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b bismarcktuerme.de: 13 Bismarck towers in Bavaria
- ↑ Bismarckturm Assenhausen> Tower description on bismarcktuerme.de
- ^ A b c Winfried Nerdinger: Theodor Fischer - architect and town planner 1862–1938. Exhibition catalog of the architecture collection of the Technical University of Munich, Ernst & Sohn 1988, ISBN 3-433-02085-X , p. 11f.
- ^ A b Winfried Nerdinger: Theodor Fischer - architect and town planner 1862–1938. Exhibition catalog of the architecture collection of the Technical University of Munich, Ernst & Sohn 1988, ISBN 3-433-02085-X , p. 69.
Coordinates: 47 ° 56 '32.4 " N , 11 ° 20' 35.1" E