Bismarck Tower (Aachen)
The Aachen Bismarck Tower is one of 173 still existing of the former 240 Bismarck Towers and Bismarck Columns that were built worldwide in memory of the founder of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898).
history
Like most of the Bismarck towers and columns that were erected between 1869 and 1934, the Aachen Bismarck Tower was commissioned at the beginning of the 20th century and inaugurated on July 22, 1907 by the then mayor Philipp Veltman . The suggestion for this project came from the student body at the Technical University of Aachen . Their committee formed together with some influential Aachen citizens under the chairmanship of the court assessor a. D. Robert von Görschen (1829–1914) set up a memorial committee to realize this idea. On April 26th, 1904, the city council approved this plan under the motto "... the national idea as well as the consolidation and maintenance of the harmony of our city". This was also intended to remind of the time when Otto von Bismarck worked as a government trainee in Aachen before he went into politics .
Description of the tower
The Bismarck Tower in Aachen was designed by the architect Georg Frentzen and built by Boswau & Knauer from Berlin after the building permit was granted . The tower consists of a semicircular, approx. Five meter high basement , which is divided into five similar segments and can be climbed via two staircases. The one meter high stone parapet above the basket opening is supported by a multi-part battlement frieze . An axially-symmetrical basement of about eleven meters above the base level rises with three arched portals , at the keystones of Prof. Karl Krauss designed busts of Otto von Bismarck, Helmuth von Moltke and Albrecht von Roon from basalt stone attached. The actual tower with a height of 9.80 meters, square and four-story, in the form of a stylized “B” sits on the basement. It ends with a viewing platform that can be reached via two spiral staircases . The uppermost segment of this monument is a 5-meter-high ducal crown with an orb on top of it instead of a fire bowl, as was customary in most other towers. At the upper end of the described tower shaft, directly below this ducal crown, the Bismarck coat of arms was attached. The imperial orb of the ducal crown can no longer be seen, as it was removed before 1986 , possibly as part of renovation work .
The Bismarck Tower had always been used as a lookout tower for decades and, after the last extensive renovation work between 1999 and 2005, is still a popular excursion destination and is open to the public. It is located in the area of the Aachen Cemetery of Honor in the Aachen- Burtscheid district .
See also
Web links
- The crowned "B" near the Belgian border - The Bismarck Tower in Aachen on bismarcktuerme.de
- Page about the Bismarck Tower at www.aachen-burtscheid.de
Coordinates: 50 ° 44 ′ 47.7 " N , 6 ° 6 ′ 22.8" E