Napoleon Tower (Hohenrain)

Napoleon Tower

Basic data

Place:

Waldi

Canton:

Thurgau

Country:

Switzerland

Altitude :

623 m

Coordinates: 47 ° 38 '18.1 " N , 9 ° 5' 17.1" E ; CH1903: 723,950 / 277,714

Use:

Observation tower

Accessibility:

Observation tower open to the public

Tower data

Construction time :

20th May 2017

Client :	Krattiger Engineering AG (Happerswil) Dransfeld Architekten AG (Ermatingen)
Architect :	Peter Dransfeld
Building material :	Wood

Total height :

39.95 m

Viewing platform:

36.40 m

Position map

Napoleon Tower

The Napoleon Tower is a lookout tower in the municipality of Wäldi in the canton of Thurgau .

Prehistory in the 19th century

The name refers to the former 21 meter high observation tower, which stood in almost the same place from 1829 to 1855 and was supposedly initiated by Louis Napoleon . At that time, Louis Napoleon lived at Arenenberg Castle and founded a public limited company with his friend Charles Parquin, owner of the Wolfsberg Guesthouse. This had the “Belvedère zu Hohenrain” built. It was insured against fire as a «pleasure building». A dance floor is said to have been on a lower platform, a restaurant on the middle platform and a telescope on the top one . Whoever wanted to visit the tower as a private person had to pay 6 kreuzers , which was about three hourly wages. The tower was badly damaged by weathering and it was no longer allowed to climb after 26 years. In 1855 it was completely canceled. There are no written sources to confirm that Louis Napoleon was the initiator. But the tower was popularly remembered as the «Napoleon Tower».

Situation and construction

The tower, built in 2017 from wood (main pillars made of glued wood , stairs made of larch ) is 40 meters high. 208 steps lead to the viewing platform at a height of 36.40 meters.

The tower is located in the Hohenrain hamlet of the Waldi community. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The tower offers a panoramic view of Lake Constance over the Säntis to the Eiger in the Bernese Oberland.