Bismarck Tower (Idar-Oberstein)
The Bismarck Tower in Idar-Oberstein an der Nahe in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate is an observation tower with a lighting option. It was built in 1907 in honor of the first German Chancellor, Prince Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898). The building designed by the architect Wilhelm Kreis (1873–1955) is located northeast of the Idar district on the Wartehübel mountain and is 15 meters high.
history
Planning time
After Bismarck's death in 1898 there was a broad movement in the German Empire that erected monuments for the former Chancellor. Also in Idar-Oberstein, the local casino company and a group of Bismarck supporters suggested in April 1903 that a Bismarck tower be built in the city. They founded an executive committee chaired by the wealthy Idar gem dealer Theodor Veeck (1854–1934) to take up concrete plans. The committee decided to have the model Götterdämmerung by the architect Wilhelm Kreis built on the Wartehübel mountain.
Kreis, who was born in Eltville in the Rheingau , won a German student union competition with his design in 1899 . According to an idea of the student body, a network of so-called pillars of fire should be set up throughout Germany in order to light large braziers on certain days in honor of Bismarck. The Bismarckian column from the Götterdämmerung model was built as a so-called type construction a total of 47 times in the German Empire until 1911 .
construction time
The construction of the Bismarck tower in Idar-Oberstein was financed by donations from citizens . The foundation stone for the tower was laid on March 31, 1907, the eve of Bismarck's 92nd birthday . The construction work, which began quickly, was not supervised by the architect Wilhelm Kreis himself; rather , the construction management was taken over by the architect Hans Peter Weszkalnys (1867–1946) from Saarbrücken . The construction company was Steinheider & Kaiser from Idar.
Melaphyr , which came from a quarry near Idar, and basalt from a quarry near Niedermendig in the East Eifel were mainly used as building materials . The construction work progressed quickly, so that the Bismarck Tower in Idar-Oberstein could be inaugurated on September 1, 1907, the evening before Sedan Day. The fire bowl on the tower was lit for the first time on the evening of the inauguration day. On the west side of the tower a stone relief a good two meters high with an imperial eagle and a stone Bismarck coat of arms underneath was attached.
The total cost of the building was 17,000 gold marks .
First decades
After the inauguration, the fire bowl on the tower was lit regularly on certain days of remembrance in the evenings, such as Bismarck's birthday on April 1st. However, these memorial fires were no longer held after a few years and probably not resumed after the end of the First World War and the occupation of the Rhineland . The Bismarck Tower of Idar-Oberstein survived the following decades and the Second World War largely unscathed.
Time after World War II
After the Second World War, the Bismarck Tower was neglected and later had to be closed for security reasons . In 1982, with the help of the newly founded Förderverein Bismarck Tower Idar-Oberstein e. V. to be renovated . On this occasion, inside the tower and the original was spiral staircase of iron by one of steel replaced. Since then, the tower has been reopened on a regular basis and also illuminated by spotlights in the dark .
In 2001 the tower was closed again for security reasons. However, in 2003 it was able to be renovated and reopened with donations from citizens and the Harald Fissler Foundation of the Idar-Oberstein company Fissler . The Bismarck Tower is a listed building and can be visited on certain days. Every year since 2009, a construction in the shape of a comet has been installed on the top of the tower during the Advent season and illuminated after dark to remind of the Christmas story.
architecture
The Bismarck Tower in Idar-Oberstein was built on a square floor plan. The tower itself is also square, but the massive effect is softened by three-quarter columns at the corners of the tower body. Melaphyr and basalt were mainly used as building materials.
Podium and basement
As with the Götterdämmerung model , the Bismarck Tower is divided into four parts: The lowest part was a square pedestal that is almost one meter high and about eight by eight meters on the side. It is pierced on the entrance side in the west to allow access to the tower entrance. On the north and south sides there are two narrow, loopholes-like openings.
The platform is the substructure for the basement of the tower above . This has a height of around four meters and a side length of around six by six meters. The entrance door is let into the west side of the tower base.
Tower body and upper floor
The actual tower, around six meters high, rises above the basement. It is set back from the basement and rounded off at the corners by three-quarter columns. On the west side of the tower body there is a stone relief a good two meters high with an imperial eagle and the Bismarck coat of arms underneath. On the north and south sides there is a narrow, loop-hole-like opening.
Above the tower body follows the approximately four meter high upper floor, which consists of an architrave and a three-tier superstructure. The upper floor is set back a little compared to the tower body. On the top of the tower there is a viewing platform , which is crowned by a large round fire bowl, which was used to light the tower. Today the structure is no longer used as a pillar of fire and the fire bowl is no longer lit. The tower has a total height of about 15 meters.
Inside the Bismarck Tower there is a steel spiral staircase, with the help of which you can get from the tower entrance to the viewing platform via a total of 75 steps.
See also
literature
- Günter Kloss, Sieglinde Seele: Bismarck Towers and Bismarck Columns. An inventory. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 1997, ISBN 3-932526-10-4 .
- Sieglinde Seele: Lexicon of the Bismarck Monuments. Towers, statues, busts, memorial stones and other honors. An inventory in words and pictures. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2005, ISBN 3-86568-019-4 .
Web links
- Website about the Bismarck tower in Idar-Oberstein
- The Bismarck Tower of Idar-Oberstein in the directory of cultural monuments of the Birkenfeld district (PDF file; 1.4 MB)
Coordinates: 49 ° 43 ′ 18.9 ″ N , 7 ° 18 ′ 28.4 ″ E