Bismarck Tower (Wetzlar)
In 1901 the Garbenheimer Warte, a medieval watchtower of the municipal Landwehr, was completely redesigned. The then renamed Bismarck Tower in Wetzlar is one of 146 Bismarck towers still in existence in Germany . These towers were built or rebuilt in honor of Prince Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898).
Description of the tower: The 18 m high observation tower with a lighting option retained its fortified and medieval lookout tower character after the renovation. The high entrance could originally only be reached via external ladders.
Redesign: The tower was precisely measured in 1901 and converted into a Bismarck tower according to the plans of the then district architect Wilhelm Witte. The construction costs of approx. 5,500 marks (converted and adjusted for inflation approx. 38,000 euros) were raised through donations . Thanks to inexpensive deliveries from the companies involved, construction costs could be kept very low.
An 18-step external staircase attached to the side has been winding since 1901 to the ogival entrance area, where it forms a small arbor. This is decorated with a Bismarck coat of arms and an inscription, a poem by Rector Luerssen, below the balcony on the outside. It is said:
"Almost half a millennium /
I stand at a towering height.
Faithfully announced to the city /
when the enemy approaches her.
Now in a higher waiting room
I tell the rich man with flame:
The work lasts victoriously,
/ the master also sank into the grave.
/ 1901 "
On the occasion of the celebrations on Bismarck's birthdays, a blazing fire burned at the top of the tower. The 18 m high tower offers a view of the Wetzlar area. As of 2015, the tower is cordoned off due to structural defects and is temporarily inaccessible.
Web links
- State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): Garbenheimer Warte / Bismarck Tower In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
- The Bismarck Tower Wetzlar at bismarcktuerme.de
- History of the four towers of Wetzlar
Individual proof
Coordinates: 50 ° 33 '33.1 " N , 8 ° 31' 7.3" E