Bismarck Tower (Jena)
The Jena Bismarck Tower stands on the summit of the 328 meter high Tatzend. It was built in 1909 on the initiative of the Jena students in honor of Bismarck and commemorates Bismarck's visit to Jena in 1892.
history
The first considerations for building a Bismarck Tower existed as early as 1899, but the plan was not officially proposed until February 20, 1905. The students were supported by well-known Jena citizens such as the zoologist Ernst Haeckel and the publisher Gustav Neuenhahn . A committee was formed under the chairmanship of Lord Mayor Gottlieb Heinrich Singer . Large parts of the student body, as well as clubs and individuals, contributed to the construction costs of 43,000 marks with donations . The tower was designed by the architect Wilhelm Kreis , who is responsible for over 50 Bismarck towers . In 1899, Kreis won a competition announced by the German student body with his design Götterdämmerung , in which the ideal embodiment of a Bismarck tower was to be found. This design was implemented a total of 47 times, including in the Thuringian cities of Gera and Eisenach . In Jena, however, the city decided against this design and commissioned Kreis to design a very individual tower for Jena. The construction was carried out under the direction of City Planning Director Oskar Bandtlow . The foundation stone was laid on May 10, 1906, three years later on July 5, 1909, the tower was inaugurated. He replaced the previous building, an artificial tower ruin, which was called Malakoff . In the GDR, the tower was renamed "Tower of Youth" in 1953 and only got its original name back after the fall of the Wall .
architecture
The Jena Bismarck Tower is a 21 meter high round tower made of limestone blocks . It consists of a substructure with a height of four meters and a diameter of 14 meters and the actual tower, which has a diameter of 10.9 meters. The style is reminiscent of Theodoric the Great's tomb in Ravenna - a model that Kreis also dealt with in the case of the Szczecin Bismarck Tower , which was built a few years later . The substructure is enclosed by a circular walkway made up of 18 columns and supports the balcony, which serves as a viewing platform. The three floors are crowned by a dome with buttresses on which stone eagles sit. The pillar walkway serves as a second viewing platform at a height of 15 meters. The eagles come from the famous Jena sculptor Otto Späte (1852–1925). At the top of the tower was a fire bowl, in which a fire was kindled with the help of tar and wood on special occasions such as the Bismarck Memorial Day. The exposed position of the tower ensured that the fire could be seen from afar.
use
The tower was closed all year round until 2007 and could only be viewed from the outside, but it is in good condition. Small renovation work has been carried out several times since reunification, including installing windows in all openings. The Berggesellschaft Forsthaus association is now the user of the tower and opens it at regular intervals.
literature
- Traugott Keßler: Cultural monuments in Jena. 2000
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 50 ° 55 '45.66 " N , 11 ° 33' 34.42" O