Bismarck Tower (Fürth)
The Bismarck Tower in the Hardhöhe district of Fürth stood roughly at the location of the Heilig-Geist-Kirche and the Hauptschule Soldnerstraße. The tower was 17.5 m high and, like many other Bismarck towers, was built according to the award-winning “Götterdämmerung” design by the architect Wilhelm Kreis .
history
A “committee for the erection of a Bismarckian column” was formed under the chairmanship of the district official Freiherr von Eyb. After he and other members of the National Liberal Citizens Association had suggested the construction of this pillar of fire. The committee bought a piece of land on the Hard for 1,100 marks. The construction of the column was financed with donations. Many Jewish citizens of the city of Fürth donated for the memorial. As in Augsburg , for example , a decision was made in favor of the “Götterdämmerung” design by the architect Wilhelm Kreis . This design prevailed in a competition of the German student body . This design was carried out by Adam Egerer , who was the site manager and architect, and Johann Gran from 1907 onwards. The tower was built of bricks and was clad with shell limestone . The sandstone blocks on the top of the tower were broken in a quarry in Fürth . On the front of the column there was a relief of an imperial eagle , on the column was. A fire bowl was placed on the top of the tower, in which a mixture of wood, straw, pitch and gun cotton was burned annually from 1908 to 1914 on the night of April 1st . The tower was opened on April 1, 1908 as a pure pillar of fire and later expanded into a lookout tower. From 1927 the annual memorial fire was re-lit. From 1926 a spiral staircase led to a viewing platform. In 1927 a permanent exhibition on Bismarck opened in the vestibule . The area around the tower was redesigned as a destination for excursions. A beer garden was opened in 1927, a 320 m² shelter was added in 1928, and a music pavilion in 1933 . The war veterans association, which opened the tower on Sundays, brought this up to a thousand visitors on individual days. From 1933 onwards, the National Socialists took to the Bismarck Tower. In 1919/20 the Gothaer Waggon- und Flugzeugfabrik built a factory on the Hard. The company, which was later called Bachmann & Blumenthal , was integrated into the military production of the Third Reich , and received a factory airfield and a runway . In order to expand the factory premises, the tower was demolished in 1938 on the instructions of the Reich Aviation Ministry . Different sources speak of May 23 or 30, 1938.
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Coordinates: 49 ° 28 ′ 44.5 " N , 10 ° 57 ′ 18.2" E