Bismarck Tower (Cologne)

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Bismarck Tower in Cologne

The Cologne Bismarck Tower (also Bismarck Column ) is a memorial for Otto von Bismarck on the corner of Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer / Bayenthalgürtel in Cologne-Marienburg .

history

At the end of 1898, like in other German cities, the idea of ​​building a Bismarckian column came up in Cologne. In 1900, the collection of donations for the tower began.

The tower was built from 1902 to a design by the Berlin architect Arnold Hartmann and was largely financed by the Cologne chocolate producer Heinrich Stollwerck (1843–1915), who owned the villa called Bismarckburg on a neighboring property . Adolf Berchem worked as a sculptor , and Fritz Encke was commissioned to plan the green spaces . The inauguration took place on June 21, 1903. In 1999, 2001 and 2008 the tower and the surrounding area were renovated.

architecture

The tower reaches a height of 27 meters. On the front there is a 15 meter high, block-like Bismarck figure as Roland in armor with a high eagle shield. Behind the figure rises the tower with a rectangular floor plan. In the crenellated wreath there used to be a fire bowl . Due to the tight budget , the originally planned wide substructure was dispensed with. A proposal from Fritz Encke , his first horticultural project in Cologne , was agreed for the garden design . The column was to be accentuated by low bushy planting at the feet of Bismarck. Encke completed the complex, consisting of a 230-meter-long pedunculate oak hedge , in 1904. The trees have now reached a height that covers the entire monument.

The Bismarck tower stands as a monument since 1 July 1980 under monument protection .

literature

  • Wolfram Hagspiel : Cologne. Marienburg. Buildings and architects of a villa suburb . (= Stadtspuren, Denkmäler in Köln , Volume 8.) 2 volumes, JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 1996, ISBN 3-7616-1147-1 , Volume I, pp. 85-88.

Web links

Commons : Bismarck Tower  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sieglinde Seele: Lexicon of Bismarck Monuments. Towers, statues, busts, memorial stones, etc. a. Honors; an inventory in words and pictures. Imhof-Verlag, Petersberg 2005, ISBN 3-86568-019-4 , pp. 229-230.
  2. ↑ a b The watch on the Rhine: The Bismarck column in Cologne
  3. ↑ List of monuments of the city of Cologne, number A 183

Coordinates: 50 ° 54 ′ 23.3 "  N , 6 ° 58 ′ 37.3"  E