Buddenturm
The Buddenturm (also known as the Powder Tower ) is the oldest surviving part of the former fortifications of the Westphalian city of Münster .
The Buddenturm was built around 1150 as a defense tower . The original height was 20 m. Shortly before the reign of the Anabaptists , it also served as a prison in 1533 and as a powder tower from 1598. From 1629 a 10 m high, hexagonal stair tower was added on the west side and a vault was installed up to the height of the stair tower. In the 18th century, this was further increased and then extended to the roof.
When the city fortifications were demolished between 1764 and 1767, the tower remained standing because it also served as a powder tower and continued to fulfill this function. After it was used as a prison together with the nearby Zwinger from 1771 , the city bought the tower from the military for 3,620 marks in 1879. The city then increased it by 20 m while at the same time dismantling the stair tower to use it as a water tower . For this purpose, a 500 m³ water tank was installed and the tiled roof was replaced by a neo-Gothic crenellated crown. A preserved measuring scale and the downpipes inside the tower still remind of this function.
After the damage that the Second World War had caused in Münster and also on the Buddenturm, it was restored and a conical roof in its original appearance was put on. The height was reduced by 10 m to a total of 30 m. It then served as a storage facility and as a switching point for street lighting. This use by the Stadtwerke Münster was given up in 1992 and the property went back to the city of Münster. In 1987, the last remaining part of the city wall was framed in a massive steel structure by the artist Susana Solano during the sculpture project . This controversial sculpture in Münster has been permanently installed on the west side of the tower. The Buddenturm was also the scene of a light installation as part of the Skulptur.Projekte in 1997. The last renovations took place in 2002, when shell limestone slurry was applied to the outer wall, and in 2003, when all wooden parts inside were renovated.
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Coordinates: 51 ° 57 ′ 58.5 " N , 7 ° 37 ′ 22.9" E