Water tower (Eppelheimer Strasse)
The water tower at Eppelheimer Straße 46 ensured the water supply for the former railway depot in Heidelberg and the steam locomotives that operated until the 1970s . The building is one of the few remaining monuments of the industrial culture of the Heidelberg Bahnstadt .
history
In December 1927, a new depot was opened in Heidelberg with a fleet of more than 40 steam locomotives . The cost of the entire facility was around 3.9 million Reichsmarks . In total, around 120 companies and craftsmen were involved in the construction project. The water tower, which had been under construction since 1925, was not yet fully completed at that time, but was already considered a landmark and a special feature of the extensive complex.
The water from the tower was used to supply water to the depot, mainly to supply the locomotives with feed water . The water for the elevated tank was pumped from the groundwater in Heidelberg-Kirchheim and obtained from sources in the Königsstuhl .
Before the water tower was put into operation, an elevated tank built in 1907 with a capacity of 500 m³ supplied the locomotives and workshops with water. Parts of the locomotive shed were also connected to the municipal water supply system. With the completion of the tower, the supply from municipal sources could be dispensed with and the entire plant was fed with water from the tower.
Since the post-war years, the rooms in the extensions have been used as a training and training workshop for locksmiths and high-voltage electricians. The elevated tank of the water tower was used until the 1970s. With the end of the steam traction, the structure lost its original function. In the 1980s, the workshops were relocated to neighboring buildings in the depot. The building was shut down and has been empty since then. In 1989 it was placed under monument protection.
In 2014, the Heidelberg architecture firm AAg acquired the water tower for 400,000 euros from the Bahnstadtgesellschaft EGH and put it to public use for culture, art and conferences. Among other things, the KlangForum Heidelberg has its office there and uses the rooms as a rehearsal and concert location. In 2016, the building was awarded the Baden-Württemberg State Monument Protection Prize.
architecture
The building consists of a central, 30 m high, square tower with a tent roof, with two-storey extensions to the east and west. The outer walls are made of exposed brickwork with hard bricks. The building was erected on a concrete base that extends to the parapet of the first row of windows. Clocks were originally placed halfway up the tower on all four sides. The water tank of the water tower with its self-supporting, dome-shaped supporting floor has a capacity of 333 m 3 and a water level of 27 m. It is made of 30 cm thick concrete. The rooms in the side wings were intended for workshops, work rooms and lounges. In addition, rooms were available for a rectifier system for charging the batteries for electrical train lighting and for a gas and air compressor, and a transformer system was located in the basement.
The renovation and reconstruction of the water tower was completed in December 2015 after a year and a half construction phase. The striking figure of the building and the exposed brickwork of the outer shell remain untouched, as do the existing continuous stone plinths and window sills. The roof structure has been preserved as a visible structure. The roof is insulated with above-rafter insulation and has been newly covered in accordance with the requirements of listed buildings. On the cornice, insulation between the rafters was used, creating a narrow, continuous ribbon of windows at the intersection of the two constructions and illuminating the attic. The central stairwell opens up all floors, and an elevator ensures accessibility. In the tower floors, a steel staircase connects the various rooms, which are characterized by the industrial concrete structure. Escape balconies newly inserted into the tower make the interior visible as interventions that can be seen from afar.
literature
- Heidelberg. (= Neue Stadtbaukunst .) FE Hübsch Verlag, Berlin / Leipzig / Vienna 1928.
- The new Heidelberg locomotive and storage station . In: Organ for the Progress of the Railway System, 83rd year 1928, No. 22.
- Melanie Mertens (arrangement): Stadtkreis Heidelberg, vol. 2 (= monument topography Federal Republic of Germany , cultural monuments in Baden-Württemberg ). Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Ostfildern 2013, ISBN 978-3-7995-0426-3 .
- Gerhard Merkl among other things: Historical water towers. Munich / Vienna 1985, ISBN 3-486-26301-3 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sober, but a masterpiece , Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung , March 9, 2015 (PDF)
- ↑ cf. Heidelberger Tageblatt of December 21, 1927
- ^ The new Heidelberg locomotive and storage yard . In: Organ for the Progress of the Railway System . Volume 83, No. 22, 1928
- ↑ a b The railway water tower is kissed awake , Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung , March 9, 2015 (PDF)
- ^ Rainer Hirth: Water towers - at the Baden Railway and in the architecture discussion . Diss., University of Karlsruhe 1998.
- ↑ The former water tower will become a meeting place ( memento of the original from June 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Heidelberg Bahnstadt, March 17, 2015
Coordinates: 49 ° 24 ′ 28.2 " N , 8 ° 39 ′ 33.8" E