Waldnerturm
The Waldnerturm , also known as the “Vierritterturm”, is a 10.1 m high observation tower above the Schafhof east of Hemsbach . It stands south of the apex of the road from Hemsbach to the district Balzenbach (Mühlweg) on a saddle at a height of approx. 267 m between the approx. 372 m high Kreuzberg in the north and 347.3 m above sea level. NHN high Bocksberg in the south.
history
After the Alsatian noble family Waldner von Freundstein acquired the Schafhof in 1837 and subsequently managed it as the Waldnerhof, the Waldner Tower named after him, presumably on the initiative of Count Theodor Waldner von Freundstein , was built in the style of a medieval watchtower. The building material will come from quarries in the neighboring village of Nieder-Liebersbach .
With an originally attached kitchen, the tower served as an event location and resting place for noble hunting parties and was later used as weekend quarters for a youth organization from Mannheim until 1933. Today the listed Waldnerturm is freely accessible as a lookout tower and is looked after by the city of Hemsbach and the Odenwaldklub, local group Hemsbach eV.
The Schafhof-Teufelsloch nature reserve, which was designated in 1991, is directly adjacent to the west side of the tower. A reserve board of the Karlsruhe Regional Council not far from the tower indicates its special features.
description
The Waldnerturm has a square floor plan with an edge length of 4.9 m. Its 50 cm thick walls are made of granite stones, the entrance portal and the window openings are framed with soffits made of red sandstone . The two intermediate ceilings are designed as vaulted ceilings. Access to the tower is through the portal on the west side via an approx. 30 cm high sandstone threshold. Inside, an angled staircase with 17 granite steps on the north and east side leads to an intermediate level 3.7 m higher. In the middle of this room, in the east, north and west walls of which there are pointed arched windows, is an octagonal sandstone plinth with a round metal support that supports the upper vaulted ceiling. On the south side, a 60 ° straight metal staircase with 17 steps leads to the 7.6 m high viewing platform . This has eight small pentagonal window openings that allow a good view to the east of the Odenwald and to the west of the Rhine plain . The upper end of the tower is formed by a tent roof with a 9 ° very flat incline on a wooden beam construction with no lateral overhang.
In the upper corners of the tower, four knight sculptures carved out of stone are set in pairs, facing east and west, but their heads are no longer there today. The tower is therefore also called the "four knights tower". An information board from the Odenwald Club, local group Hemsbach eV is attached to the eastern outer wall of the tower.
West side of the Waldnerturm with the entrance portal
East side of the Waldnerturm. Detailed view with two knight sculptures
Web links
References and comments
- ↑ a b c d Information on the tower according to measurements carried out privately
- ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
- ^ Waldnerturm, Hemsbach on the website of the Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg
- ^ Photo of the information board on the tower, on commons.wikimedia.org
Coordinates: 49 ° 35 '32.6 " N , 8 ° 41' 2.2" E