Bismarck Tower (courtyard)
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The Hofer Bismarck Tower ("Trutzige Wart") is the Bismarck Tower of the Upper Franconian town of Hof , which was built in the years 1914–1915.
Honors from the city of Hof for Bismarck
In 1885 Otto von Bismarck celebrated his 70th birthday. A Bismarck oak was planted in the courtyard . Ten years later, while still alive, Bismarck received honorary citizenship , and a street and a pond were also named after him. After his dismissal as Reich Chancellor in 1890, an unprecedented veneration of Bismarck began in Germany, which increased after the former Chancellor's death in 1898. The Hofer Bismarck Tower was another expression of the worship of Bismarck in the population.
history
Planning
On April 28, 1899, the Philistine Association in Hof decided to have a Bismarckian column erected and to arouse interest in it among the population.
On March 7, 1900 the association for the construction of a Bismarck memorial column in Hof e. V. founded. The royal took over the chair. Councilor and doctor Arnold Franck. The thirteen founding members of this association came from the Hof bourgeoisie (pastors, pharmacists, lawyers, councilors, etc.). In the following years people from all walks of life from Hof and the surrounding area joined this association. For a long time it was not possible to agree on a suitable location for the location of the tower. On April 28, 1910, the discussion about the location was ended with a donation of the building plot on the Rosenbühl (597 meters above sea level) from the councilor and brewery owner Wilhelm Deininger.
A total of ten designs for a Bismarck memorial column were submitted when the building project was tendered in 1910. The “Trutzige Wart” design submitted on December 20, 1910 by the Munich-based architecture firm Stengel & Hofer, with an octagonal floor plan, was accepted by the Bismarck Tower Association. The Bismarck Tower was financed by donations from some industrial companies and private individuals in Hof. The estimate was 84,000 marks (1914).
Construction work
Construction work for the tower began on June 3, 1914. The building materials used were granite blocks from the quarries in the nearby Fichtel Mountains , which had been delivered by the granite works Bibersberg in Marktleuthen (owner Paul Jakob). City planning officer Albert Mollweide was in charge of the work.
At the laying of the foundation stone on September 27, 1914, Pastor Philipp Nürnberger read out the foundation stone certificate that was built into the foundation structure during a small celebration. Text excerpt: "It is the word full of spirit and life, full of marrow and strength: Bismarck!"
Despite the completion of the tower in September 1915, the inauguration did not take place until May 13, 1921 due to the First World War. At the inauguration ceremony, Pastor P. Nürnberger gave a speech of thanks to Bismarck, whom he thanked for “the unification of the German tribes and the establishment of the German Empire ". The "keystone of the tower" was only laid in 1928, when the still existing Bismarck Tower Association inaugurated a Bismarck bust made of granite (sculptor Neuper / Weißenstadt ) in the tower . On January 12, 1921, the Bismarck Tower became the property of the city of Hof, which took over the protection and maintenance of the tower and its facilities.
A park was created around the tower.
use
After its completion in 1921, the Bismarck Tower was opened as a viewing tower on Sundays mornings and afternoons when the weather was good. The tower was closed between 1945 and 1963. Between June 1963 and July 1970 it was climbed by almost 34,500 visitors.
The tower was completely renovated in 1995/96. In 2004 lightning struck and damaged the structure. The necessary repairs were completed in March 2005. From April 2005 to October 2010 the tower was open from April to October each year. Due to dilapidation, it was closed in autumn 2010.
Since 2011, the city of Hof and private initiatives have been examining the possibilities of financing a renovation.
architecture
Between 1890 and 1898, Bismarck towers were mainly built in the medieval style. In contrast to the figurative monuments before and afterwards, these were erected on elevated points outside of town. The Hofer Bismarck Tower is therefore a typical representative of this period.
The 25 m high tower with an octagonal floor plan, built from massive granite blocks , stands on a three-tiered square terrace-like base with a side length of 13.5 m. The octagonal tower has a diameter of 7.2 m. At a height of 20 m there are exits in the four directions on the porches.
The name "BISMARCK" is written in capital letters above the entrance . A reinforced concrete staircase with 118 steps leads to the viewing platform. Above the main entrance on the east side, twelve steps lead to the plinth plateau. From the entrance room one comes into the central memory room, in which the bust of Bismarck is placed. Several reinforced concrete stairs lead from the viewing platform to the second viewing platform. After another 25 steps you reach the top viewing platform. The round fire bowl on the top of the tower was removed at the end of June 1964 and replaced by a coin-operated telescope .
The Bismarck Tower is a striking vantage point in the west of the city, which enables a good all-round view of the city of Hof.
literature
- A landmark in Hof is crumbling . Frankenpost of August 10, 2015, p. 17.
Web links
- Description at bismarcktuerme.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Jörg Bielefeld: The Bismarck Tower in Hof. In: https://www.bismarcktuerme.de/ . Jörg Bielefeld, September 28, 2019, accessed on September 28, 2019 (German).
Coordinates: 50 ° 18 ′ 17.2 ″ N , 11 ° 53 ′ 42.6 ″ E