Bismarck Tower (Radebeul)

The Bismarck Tower in Radebeul , also called Bismarck Column , is one of about 145 Bismarck towers still existing in Germany in honor of Prince Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898). The Radebeul Tower was designed as an individual design by Wilhelm Kreis , built by master builder Alfred Große from Kötzschenbroda and inaugurated on September 2, 1907. It has a height of 18 meters.

Bismarck tower in Radebeul

Radebeul from the south with Bismarck tower and Spitzhaus

The listed Bismarck Tower is located on the ridge of one of the numerous Oberlößnitz vineyards at 235 m above sea level. NHN , near the Spitzhaus and above the Hoflößnitz , which is 140 m above sea level. NHN and 330 m above ground. The entire Hoflößnitz vineyard landscape, located in the historic Radebeul protected area, is considered a work of landscape and garden design .

The tower can be easily reached via the Spitzhaus staircase and is now a popular destination to enjoy the view over the Elbe Valley from the plateau at its foot . There is a line of sight to the Bismarck Column in Cossebaude and the one in Räcknitz , both of which are on the other side of the Elbe.

description

Hoflößnitz with the Goldener Wagen vineyard (Hoflößnitz in the background on the left) as well as the Bismarck Tower, Spitzhaus and Spitzhaus vineyard (right)

A square substructure with a height of four meters and an edge length of 8.30 meters, which are subdivided by flat wall niches, stands on a three-tier terrace system. A round column rises above it to a total height of 18 meters on the valley side. In the upper third runs a cornice, above which there is a dome-shaped shell supported by ten pillars. As planned by the architect Kreis, the concrete structure is clad with local material, which in the case of the Loessnitz is made of syenite . This outer masonry is designed in the form of ten-arch arcade masonry in four rows of arches one above the other. On the keystone of an arch there is a protruding corbel on which the foot of an overlying arch rests. Both the ten pillars of the dome and the rows of arches cite the construction of the mausoleum of Theodoric the Great in Ravenna and show a certain stylistic affinity with the Bismarck tower in Stettin .

The tower is hollow inside, has eight niches and is open at the top. The fuel for the fires on the occasion of the planned Bismarck celebrations should be stored there. The planned installation of a staircase to load a fire bowl on the top in 1913 could not be realized for cost reasons. It is not clear whether there was an open fire bowl in front of the tower instead.

A steel door on the mountain side leads into the empty interior. Above this an inscription "WE GERMANS / FAR GOD ELSE / NOTHING IN THE WORLD" was placed. Above it is a high triangular gable on which a Bismarck coat of arms and two further inscriptions, "Patria inserviendo consumor" (for example: "By serving my homeland." Or "Serving the fatherland, I am worn out.") And "in trinitate robur ”(for example:“ In the Trinity (lies) strength. ”). These were removed during GDR times.

history

Bismarck tower from the north side, 1910

The German Social Reform Association for Radebeul and the surrounding area founded a committee in 1902 to build a Bismarck tower on the Lößnitzberge , on whose initiative the Radebeul Bismarck tower was built according to an individual design by Wilhelm Kreis , who was a friend of Karl May . The committee collected the required 16,000 gold marks with a raffle, among other things , and the list of donors appeared in the Radebeuler Tageblatt on September 12, 1903 . Karl May also gave 100 gold marks. The necessary property of around 1000 m² was donated by a private person. The foundation stone was laid on April 30, 1907 and the inauguration took place on September 2 of the same year.

After the Second World War, the references to Bismarck were removed. In 1961 the tower was officially renamed the Tower of Youth , even if the name did not gain acceptance among the population. In 1993 the tower got its original name back.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of the Bismarck Tower in September / October 2007, a staircase of the association for monument preservation and new building in Radebeul , the Heimatverein Wahnsdorf and the local council Wahnsdorf stood in the tower, with which it was accessed by more than 1,000 interested visitors and from above could be experienced as a lookout tower. In 2013, visitors to the Open View Day were able to be brought up to the height of the upper ring with a lift truck and thus discover the future view of the hinterland as far as Moritzburg Castle.

On April 1, 2015, on Bismarck's 200th birthday, the foundation stone for the staircase project was laid. On September 8, 2019, the Open Monument Day, the 83-step staircase was inaugurated and was accessible to the public for the first time. 300,000 euros were donated for its construction, which turned the tower into an observation tower. The tower has been open to visitors in the summer months since 2020.

Bismarck tower from the mountain side and in the backlight
Refurbishment of the steep slope below the Bismarck Tower, two tool sheds at the bottom right
Stair marathon 2012: Bismarck tower at night
Bismarck tower before 1968
Moritzburg Castle , from the crown of the Bismarck Tower

literature

Frank Andert (Red.): Radebeul City Lexicon . Historical manual for the Loessnitz . Published by the Radebeul City Archives. 2nd, slightly changed edition. City archive, Radebeul 2006, ISBN 3-938460-05-9 .

Volker Helas (arrangement): City of Radebeul . Ed .: State Office for Monument Preservation Saxony, Large District Town Radebeul (= Monument Topography Federal Republic of Germany . Monuments in Saxony ). SAX-Verlag, Beucha 2007, ISBN 978-3-86729-004-3 .

Thomas Scharrer: Bismarck Towers. History; Shape; Function . In: Association for Monument Preservation and New Building Radebeul (ed.): Contributions to the urban culture of the city of Radebeul . Radebeul 2008.

Web links

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

Homepage of the Radebeul Bismarck Tower with activities for installing stairs
Jörg Bielefeld: Bismarck Tower Radebeul. In: Bismarck Towers and Bismarck Columns - Infoportal. March 23, 2008. Retrieved April 25, 2009 .
Wilhelm Kreis: First draft for the Lößnitz, 1902. In: Bismarck towers and Bismarck columns - information portal. Jörg Bielefeld, accessed on April 25, 2009 .
Postcards from the Bismarck Tower. In: Manfred Richter: Radebeul on historical postcards; from yesteryear. (with the first draft by Wilhelm Kreis).
mobile steel staircase in October 2007 (photographer: J. Bielefeld). In: Bismarck Towers and Bismarck Columns - Infoportal. Jörg Bielefeld, accessed on April 25, 2009 .
With the cable car to the Bismarck tower ?! (Project from 1934).

Individual evidence

^ Large district town of Radebeul (ed.): Directory of the cultural monuments of the town of Radebeul . Radebeul May 24, 2012, p. 34 (Last list of monuments published by the city of Radebeul. The Lower Monument Protection Authority, which has been based in the Meißen district since 2012, has not yet published a list of monuments for Radebeul.).

↑ ^a ^b Thomas Scharrer: Bismarck Towers. History; Shape; Function . In: Association for Monument Preservation and New Building Radebeul (ed.): Contributions to the urban culture of the city of Radebeul . Radebeul 2008, p. 23 .

↑ both translations by Jbergner . They are not compared with other statements by Bismarck.

^ Bismarck tower in Radebeul.

51.113858333333 13.664958333333Coordinates: 51 ° 6 ′ 49.9 ″ N , 13 ° 39 ′ 53.8 ″ E

[1] Large district town of Radebeul (ed.): Directory of the cultural monuments of the town of Radebeul . Radebeul May 24, 2012, p. 34 (Last list of monuments published by the city of Radebeul. The Lower Monument Protection Authority, which has been based in the Meißen district since 2012, has not yet published a list of monuments for Radebeul.).