Bismarck Tower (Glauchau)
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The Bismarck tower Glauchau is in honor of Otto von Bismarck built Bismarck Memorial . It is the landmark of the city of Glauchau and the tallest Bismarck tower that still exists today. Its location is on the Bismarckhöhe ( 317.3 m ), which can be reached via Lichtensteiner Strasse out of town.
history
The first suggestions for the construction of the tower came on November 28, 1894 by the mayor Ernst Paul Brink and the businessman Max Bäßler from Glauchau. In addition to the eponymous Bismarck worship, this tower should also have a practical use in the form of a viewing platform . The project was not implemented for the time being.
In July 1899, about a year after Bismarck's death, and thus at a time when his already enormous popularity had increased again and national monuments were being erected, Brink made new efforts in this regard in Glauchau. But it was not until the summer of 1906 that the first concrete plans for a 40 meter high tower were made. This was designed by the master builder Reinhold Ulrich, who also came from Glauchau, who envisaged a square floor plan and sandstone as the building material. On March 29, 1908, the city of Glauchau finally approved the plans, which had now been changed to a tower height of 45 meters. The highest point of the city in the southeast was set as the location.
In May 1908, the earthworks began. The location and the planned construction height made extensive foundation work necessary, after which the soil was raised by three meters. In addition to 5115 blocks made of Pirna sandstone, stamped concrete and bricks were also used as building materials . Reinhold Ulrich was again the master builder. The tower was completed in the summer of 1910 and inaugurated on September 4th of the same year. Its construction cost 105,000 marks .
In 1950 the tower was renamed "Peace Tower" for ideological reasons and kept this name until it was officially renamed on September 19, 1990. As early as June 12, 1990, it was included in the Glauchau district's list of monuments .
During the renovation of the outer sandstone facade and the viewing platform from May to October 1992, the walled-up windows and doors were also reopened.
After a facing stone in the gallery came loose and supported itself in 2014 , the tower was closed early to prevent accidents caused by further falling stones. The necessary renovation work was completed in spring 2018 and the tower has been freely accessible to the public since then.
Description of the tower
The 45 meter high tower has four storeys, is 16.40 meters at the bottom and 9.60 meters wide at the top.
The hall of honor in the form of a cross vault, inaugurated on August 3, 1924 for the victims of the First World War , is located on the 6.5 meter high ground floor . There are memorial plaques on the walls of the electrically lit hall and the sides offer seating. In 1928, stained glass windows were installed later.
The first floor is the living area. It was used as a youth hostel with 38 beds and 8 emergency camps from 1925 to 1938 . There was also a 3-room apartment for the hostel's father. From 1957 to 1972, a family of four lived in these rooms, which at the time were a company apartment for the water industry. After this family moved out, the tower fell into disrepair and was closed to visitors.
A water tank with a capacity of 180 cubic meters was installed on the 12-meter-high second floor, which was used to supply the Upper Town, has a height of 9.00 meters and a diameter of 5.10 meters and was used until the end of 2005.
The third floor can be reached via a total of 197 steps and has a viewing platform at a height of 39 meters. In the middle of this platform there is a six meter high column rotunda , which can be climbed from the inside via a spiral staircase with 28 steps. On top of the tower one today is mobile radio antenna of the provider Vodafone installed.
In good weather, you can see the Völkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig and the Fichtelberg in the Ore Mountains from the viewing platform .
View of Glauchau
Area around the tower
The tower is located within an elongated rectangular “grove” (square) oriented in north-south direction, which is “surrounded” by a path. There are trees flanking this path that were planted at equal intervals. The tower stands within this grove on its south side. This former event space extends in front of the north side of the tower.
Others
The tourist association Schönburger Land eV Glauchau regularly offers tourists the opportunity to visit the Bismarck Tower. The opening times are usually published on the website of the city of Glauchau.
On many historical postcards there is a drawn Bismarck relief above the entrance, which was never attached to the tower. For several years now, the tower has been illuminated by spotlights at night.
literature
- Tourist Association Schönburger Land (publisher): 100 Years of the Bismarck Tower Glauchau 1910–2010. Glauchau 2010.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Walter Schlesinger , edited by Thomas Lang: Contributions to the history of the city of Glauchau. Edited by Enno Bünz. Thelem Verlag, Dresden 2010, ISBN 978-3-939888-59-8 , p. 29.
Coordinates: 50 ° 48 ′ 30.6 ″ N , 12 ° 33 ′ 49.6 ″ E