Kaiser Wilhelm Tower (Eutin)

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The Kaiser Wilhelm Tower near Eutin-Fissau - entrance side
The Kaiser Wilhelm Tower near Eutin-Fissau

The Kaiser Wilhelm Tower in Eutin is an honor of the German Emperor William I in Eutin district Fissau ( Ostholstein in Schleswig-Holstein ) on a small (as "Wilhelmshöhe" hereinafter) hill on the southern tip of the lake Keller erected observation tower . It is near the state road 174.

history

  • In 1879 veterans from the Wars of Unification founded a war club in Fissau.
  • On April 1st, 1888 ( Bismarck's birthday ), members of the war club from Fissau and Eutin gathered in the garden of the then Hotel Schubach in Fissau to plant a Bismarck oak.
    On this occasion, the idea arises of erecting a memorial in memory of the deceased Kaiser Wilhelm I.
  • The small Fissau warrior club could not carry out the project because of the considerable costs. A monument committee chaired by lawyer G. Böhmker therefore took on the task of building the monument.
    Members of the committee were: Colonel a. D. Rüder (former commander of the fortress artillery regiment No. 2 in Stettin), mayor Mahlstedt ( since 1891 ), goldsmith a. Councilor Robert Schade , painter Johannes Vahldiek , teacher Harder, merchant Janus, building officer Rodenberg, building inspector Witte, farmer bailiff Schumacher, mill owner Hahn in Neumühle a. a.
    Colonel Rüder's suggestion was taken up not to build a monument , but a tower made of rocks, a so-called “Lug ins Land”.
  • Hufner Schumacher and his wife provided a place in their paddock near the Kellersee free of charge for the planned tower .
  • The construction costs of 9,681 marks were u. a. paid for from voluntary donations that hard-working collectors gathered in house collections. ( Even before it was erected, the tower was drawn in a picture by the Eutinian painter Johannes Vahldiek, which was published as a photograph due to its realistic effect. )
  • (Chief) construction inspector Witte, who also sat on the committee, provided the design for the tower and also took over the construction management.
  • On October 18, 1890, the anniversary of the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig and at the same time the birthday of the late Emperor Friedrich III. construction began with the “first groundbreaking”.
  • Just one week later, on October 26th, 1890, the foundation stone was laid in the presence of numerous guests.
    Various craftsmen were employed until the tower was completed: the foundations were made by the Fissau bricklayer Meetz. Master mason Muss from Eutin and his men built the tower from split rocks . The Eutin master carpenter Moser supplied the tower stairs. The master locksmith Hammerich from Eutin received the order to roof the tower.
  • The completed tower was inaugurated on April 30, 1891 and has developed into a popular excursion destination due to the beautiful view over the lakes and the rolling hills of Holstein Switzerland . The entry price was initially 10 pfennigs .
  • In 1893 the monument committee disbanded; The Kaiser Wilhelm Tower Society emerges from the committee .
  • During the First World War , due to the lack of firewood, all wooden interior fittings of the tower, including the entire staircase, were stolen.
  • In the first post-war period in particular, the tower, windows and doors that were still in place were so badly demolished by "indecent youth" and the area so devastated that it was not possible to restore the tower.
    Because of the sharp decline in tourism, funds for restoring the tower could no longer be raised.
  • In 1926 the tower was listed as a historical monument.
  • The Kaiser Wilhelm Tower Society was dissolved by government decree in 1934.

Condition etc.

The tower is closed (since it has long since been left to decay) and is surrounded by a fence; it is almost covered by the surrounding trees. The Fissau village association intends to renovate the tower and make it accessible to the public again as a viewing tower.

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literature

  1. The Kaiser Wilhelm Tower on the Kellersee - based on the records of the teacher Harder in Fissau and the councilor Schade -
    in: Eutiner Kreisanzeiger from January 11, 1954
  2. Hanns Zimmermann: The Kaiser Wilhelm Tower - A forgotten memorial -
    in: Blätter für die Heimatkunde, supplement of the Ostholsteinischer Anzeiger, 46th year, No. 13 from July 1990 (pp. 174–178)
  3. Otto Rönnpag: Once upon a time: the Kaiser Wilhelm Tower near Eutin - in: Jahrbuch für Heimatkunde, Eutin 1993 (p. 137–140)
  4. Jack Reese: Lookout and monument towers in Schleswig-Holstein , Ascheberg (Holstein) 2008 (mention of the height on the publisher's website: [1] )
  5. Prussian Monument Institute - Association for Research into Prussian Monuments, Central Register of Prussian Person and Warrior Monuments - Z 1,387 (as of September 14, 1997)

Web links

Coordinates: 54 ° 9 ′ 22 ″  N , 10 ° 36 ′ 8 ″  E