Bismarck Tower (Frankfurt-Lichtenberg)

Lichtenberg Bismarck Tower 1906

The ruins of the windmill near Lichtenberg on June 5, 1859. Pencil drawing by Marie von Werder.

State of the Lichtenberg Bismarck Tower in January 2008

Bismarck Tower in Lichtenberg in December 2013

The Bismarck Tower is a pillar of fire without a lookout function in Lichtenberg , a district of Frankfurt (Oder) .

history

The tower was built in 1906 on the lower part of the ruins of a Dutch windmill at the Lichtenberg exit to Pagram . After Melchior Genge, Frankfurt mayor and owner of the Adler pharmacy on the market, took over the Lichtenberg estate as a fief in 1694, he had the windmill built by master builder Peter Mathes. On November 21, 1694, the mill went into action for the first time. Since the type of Dutch windmill was still a bit special in the area, this was specifically noted in a church book: "It was not a windmill built in our country style, but under the building was a room made of masonry." (Lichtenberg church book) . After Melchior Genge's death on April 18, 1696, his widow Eva Theodora, daughter of the Frankfurt pastor Martin Heinsius, continued the business of the Lichtenberg estate as a feudal wife. On October 16, 1696, a public holiday, at 5 o'clock in the morning, a fire broke out “up on the roof by the winged shaft, as it was in the brass pan. You could not actually guess the cause of the fire. ”(Lichtenberger Kirchenbuch) After the death of Eva Theodora Heinsius' widowed Genge in 1728, the management of the estate was continued by the Heinsius family. The mill was rebuilt by 1745 at the latest, because then a windmill is again mentioned for Lichtenberg.

The construction of the Bismarck Tower was suggested by the "Warrior Association Lichtenberg and Surroundings" and financed privately by the Rosengarten and Lichtenberg manor owner Rudolf Schulz (* 1854; † 1907). The building was 6 meters high with a fire bowl on the flat roof. There was a rectangular relief plaque above the entrance. The inauguration of the tower in the evening hours of April 1, 1906 was an event that was noticed throughout the Lebus district . As District Administrator Dr. Kleiner consecrated the tower in the presence of the united warrior associations Lichtenberg-Markendorf-Rosengarten and the guests of honor from Falkenhagen, Letschin, Markendorf, Seelow, Sieversdorf, Tzschetzschnow and Wollup, the flames struck high up from the brazier.

At the end of the Second World War, the tower was badly damaged by artillery fire in 1945. As a result, it served temporarily as a carcass house. In 2001 the tower was badly ruined. The roof and the side of the tower facing away from the street were missing. With the signature campaign “Citizen participation: Demolition of the Bismarck Tower in Lichtenberg - NO !!!”, in which 98% of the 450 villagers took part, the Bismarck Tower was saved from demolition. The tower is not a listed building. The city of Frankfurt (Oder) finally supported the citizens and bought the property. Between 2001 and 2006, the residents of the village collected 7,000 euros in donations for the renovation. The city of Frankfurt made a further 3,000 euros available and the Bremen hobby historian and avowed Bismarck admirer with an Austrian passport Wieland Körner added 1,000 euros. Lichtenberger collected field stones that are to be built. It was planned to build up the walls. The restoration of the roof exceeded the financial possibilities of the district. The renovation work on the tower began in October 2006. Due to a lack of funds, the construction work had to be stopped at the end of October 2006 before the renovation was completed.