Waiting towers in the district of Fulda

Location of the waiting towers on the trade routes

The waiting towers in the district of Fulda are a number of waiting towers in the area of the old district of Fulda . The (presumably) formerly nine towers were used for observation and have a largely uniform design. Today five towers are almost completely preserved, two of them in their original state and three converted into observation towers. Only the tower on the Rauschenberg is accessible at any time and without registration. Ruins of two other towers have been preserved.

history

The beginning of the late Middle Ages was, like almost everywhere else, a troubled time for the bishopric of Fulda , in which the abbey was embroiled in constant feuds and wars with rulers of neighboring territories and the local nobility. It was not so much open military fighting as it was raids in which cattle, crops and other things were stolen from the enemy.

Abbot Markward approved the construction of a city wall in 1162 for the expanding town around the Fulda Abbey and granted it its own city rights . In the 14th century, the residents of the city built under the rule of Abbot Henry VI. von Hohenberg , who also had the other fortifications around the city expanded and strengthened, eight waiting towers. The existence of a ninth tower on the Haimberg (between Besges and Haimbach ) is suspected. No evidence of its actual construction has yet been found, so it is also possible that there were only eight towers in total.

Fulda lies in the valley of the river of the same name between Rhön and Vogelsberg . While the landscape rises rather gently in the direction of Vogelsberg and could be overlooked from the tower of Fulda Abbey relatively far, the forerunners of the Rhön reach from the east in an easterly and northerly direction almost to the city. At that time, important trade routes no longer ran across the mountain ranges like the Ortweg or the Antsanvia in earlier times , but in the valleys, which made them difficult to survey. To monitor them, the waiting towers were therefore erected at regular intervals of three to three and a half kilometers on the elevations. The distance between the towers was chosen so that they were in the field of vision of the next and one could communicate from one to the other with flags during the day and with fire signals at night. In the center was the tower of the Abtsburg in Fulda, from which a troop of travelers was sent out when a danger report was received.

Original entry of the Edelsturm at Kämmerzell

In 1838 the towers still in existence at that time were measured and drawn on behalf of the Hessian building inspection. All towers had a circular diameter of six to eight meters, the average height was twelve meters with a range of ten to fifteen meters. The wall thickness was between 0.85 and 1.25 meters. The entrance was a narrow opening four to six meters high, which was only accessible via a ladder and, after the ladder had been drawn in, could be closed from the inside with a heavy oak door. The same ladder was then used to climb the viewing platform, which was originally located under a conical roof. The style of the towers is late Gothic . Sandstones were bricked up. The mortar used was of high quality, which has contributed significantly to the preservation of most of the towers to this day.

Survey data 1838
tower	Inside diameter	Wall thickness	height
Eichenzeller Warte	4.70 m	1.20 m	11/12 m
Thick tower	4.70 m	1.20 m	13.20 m
Petersberg Control Center	3.90 m	0.85 m	8.60 m
Gemstorm	3.90 m	0.85 m	9.70 m
Lüdermünder waiting	5.35 m	1.25 m	11.80 m

With the spread of firearms , the feuds fought between the prince abbey and the surrounding knighthood subsided. With that the waiting towers lost their meaning. Today there are architectural monuments in the sense of the Hessian law for the protection of cultural monuments .

List of towers

The list shows the remaining towers from north to south. The unlocated tower at Lehnerz and the presumed tower at Haimbach are at the end of the list for the sake of completeness.

	Name and place	description
more pictures	Zabershofer observation point Großenlüder 50 ° 36 ′ 34.2 ″ N , 9 ° 34 ′ 4 ″ E50.609497222222 9.5677888888889	The Zabersthofer Warte, also the Großenlüdersche Warte, is located on the Zabershof, a few hundred meters northeast of the core town of Großenlüder in the municipality of the same name. From the tower, which is privately owned, only a 6 m high tower stump remains, which was previously covered with a conical roof. Its inner diameter is 4.85 m with a wall thickness of 1.15 m. The road from Lauterbach via Salzschlirf and Großenlüder to Fulda was observed from the Zabersthofer Warte. A previous owner had installed a wind turbine on the tower to drive a flour mill. After this only worked poorly, the tower continued to deteriorate. It was largely forgotten before the local researcher Theodor Haas from Fulda rediscovered it in 1911. Today the tower has a power connection and built-in windows.
more pictures	Lüdermünder waiting Fulda - Lüdermünd 50 ° 36 ′ 41.1 ″ N , 9 ° 37 ′ 2.6 ″ E50.611422222222 9.6173861111111	The Lüdermünder Warte is located northwest of the Fulda district of Lüdermünd. The tower has a height of 12 m, an outside diameter of 5.5 m and a wall thickness of 1.25 m. There is a so-called “ Pitchwife ” on the tower . In addition to the original entrance at a height of a few meters, a ground-level entrance was added later, which is now bricked up again. For this reason, the structure, which cannot be used as a lookout tower, has some nesting boxes.
more pictures	Gemstorm Fulda - Kämmerzell 50 ° 35 ′ 39 ″ N , 9 ° 39 ′ 20.2 ″ E50.594163888889 9.6556	The Edelsturm, also called Kämmerzeller Warte, is located near the Fulda district of Kämmerzell. The tower is 10 m high with a diameter of 5 m. The tower was never rebuilt and is still in its original condition. The entry hole and the original observation platform can still be seen.
more pictures	Petersberg Control Center Petersberg 50 ° 34 ′ 13.3 " N , 9 ° 42 ′ 45.3" E50.570355555556 9.712575	The Petersberger Warte is located on the Rauschenberg in the core town of Petersberg in the municipality of the same name. The tower is located near a local recreation area at the foot of the Rauschenberg and, after the entrance was renewed after 2004, can be used as a lookout tower. At 421 m above sea level NN stands the Petersberger Warte on the highest point of all waiting towers around Fulda. Its height is now 9.60 m with an inner diameter of 3.90 m and a wall thickness of 0.85 m. In 1848 the lower entrance and the spiral staircase were converted into an observation tower. After the Second World War, the tower was added to with a 4.50 m high wooden structure, which has since been removed. From the Petersberger Warte one could see part of the trade route from Fulda to Geisa on one side and part of the old trade route from Frankfurt to Leipzig on the other. Today the "wonderful all-round view" described in old reports is impaired by the fact that apart from a small section towards the Rhön, the surrounding trees no longer allow a distant view.
more pictures	Thick tower Künzell - Dirlos 50 ° 31 ′ 49.4 ″ N , 9 ° 43 ′ 35.7 ″ E50.530388888889 9.7265805555556	The Big Tower, also called Dirloser Warte, is located in the Dirlos district of Künzell in the Dicker Turm residential area, which is approximately one kilometer away from the main town of Dirlos and borders the Bachrain district without a transition . There is a leisure facility around the tower. A notice board shows where a key for an inside ascent can be picked up. With a height of 14 m, the tower is the highest of the remaining waiting towers. It has an outside diameter of 5 m and a wall thickness of 1.2 m. In 1838, the remains of a window opening and corbels could still be seen on the upper edge of the tower, so that an original height of at least 15 m can be assumed. In 1929 the lower entrance door was broken into the masonry and the tower was converted into a lookout tower with a spiral staircase and a platform. The thick tower was used to monitor the road from Fulda to Wegfurt an der Brend in Lower Franconia. Since 1982 he has been owned by the Rhönklub branch club Florenberg.
more pictures	Eichenzeller Warte Eichenzell 50 ° 29 '45.9 " N , 9 ° 42' 54.1" O50.496072222222 9.7150222222222	The Eichenzeller Warte, also known colloquially as the “waiting tower”, is located a few hundred meters north of the core town of Eichenzell in the municipality of the same name. In terms of design, it is practically a twin of the thick tower with originally the same dimensions. The Eichenzeller Warte was originally owned by the State of Hesse, which transferred it to the Eichenzell municipality in 1966. This she handed over to the Rhönklub branch association Eichenzell for care and maintenance. In the following years it was expanded by the members as a lookout tower. A recreational area was created around the tower. From April to September, the building next to the tower is used as a restaurant on Sundays when the weather is good, and it is possible to walk through the tower. An inspection of the observation tower on other days can be arranged via a telephone number given on the notice next to the tower. The height of the Eichenzeller Warte is now 11.00 m with an inner diameter of 4.70 m and a wall thickness of 1.20 m. It was used to monitor the route from Gersfeld via Lütter to Fulda.
more pictures	Old tower Eichenzell - Rothemann 50 ° 28 ′ 38.6 ″ N , 9 ° 41 ′ 30.1 ″ E50.477388888889 9.6916944444444	The old tower, also known as Rothemanner Warte, is located one kilometer northwest of the Rothemann district of the Eichenzell community in the forest. As early as 1830, only a few fragments of it could be seen, as its stones had been used as building material by the surrounding population. Between 1974 and 1977 its foundation walls were exposed and rebuilt at a height of 1.50 m. From him the road from Hammelburg via Brückenau to Fulda was controlled. This road is the only one of the roads monitored by waiting towers, which, apart from small deviations, still runs as federal road 27 on the old route. Nearby are Bronze Age barrows , which Joseph Vonderau researched in 1928 .
	White Tower Fulda - Lehnerz	The White Tower, also called Lehnerzer Warte, was located in what is now the Fulda district of Lehnerz. No remains of it are recognizable.
	Watch tower on the Haimberg Fulda - Haimbach	The existence of another guard tower on the Haimberg is suspected.

Others

Field names with the designation "Alte Warte" in the district of Fulda:

Burghaun , municipality of Burghaun, district of Fulda: field name "Alte Warthe"
Flieden , Gem. Flieden, District of Fulda: field name "Alte Warte" (on the iron club )
Gotthards , Gem. Nüsttal, District of Fulda: "The old Warth"

Web links

Commons : waiting towers near Fulda - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Materials on local history lessons ( Memento from May 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), published by the Fulda district on medienzentrum-fulda.de (PDF; 1.4 MB)

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Wilhelm Helmer: The waiting towers around Fulda in "Buchenblätter - Supplement of the Fuldaer Zeitung für Heimatfreunde", 51st year number 15, August 12, 1978 (p. 57– 59 in the Fuldaer Zeitung)

^ Erwin Sturm : The architectural and art monuments of the Fuldaer country ; Volume 1: Der Altkreis Fulda , 2nd newly written edition 1989, ISBN 3-7900-0189-9 , p. 344

^ Photo of the information board on the tower, on commons.wikimedia.org

↑ Lüdermünd ( memento from July 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) on fulda.de, accessed on April 26, 2016

↑ Lüdermünder Warte on warttuerme.de, accessed on August 30, 2018

↑ Edelsturm on warttuerme.de, accessed on August 30, 2018

↑ Local recreation area Rauschenberg on petersberg.de, accessed on April 26, 2016

↑ Petersberger Warte on warttuerme.de, accessed on January 31, 2020

^ Erwin Sturm: The architectural and art monuments of the Fuldaer country ; Volume 1: Der Altkreis Fulda , 2nd revised edition 1989, ISBN 3-7900-0189-9 , p. 671

↑ own observation in April 2016

↑ Dirloser Warte on warttuerme.de, accessed on August 30, 2018

↑ ^a ^b Photo of the information board at the Dicken Turm, on commons.wikimedia.org

^ Erwin Sturm : The architectural and art monuments of the Fuldaer country ; Volume 1: Der Altkreis Fulda , 2nd newly written edition 1989, ISBN 3-7900-0189-9 , p. 131

↑ Eichenzell control tower on eichenzell.de, accessed on August 30, 2018

↑ Rhönklubhütte at the Eichenzeller watch tower on rhoenklub.de, accessed on April 26, 2016

^ Erwin Sturm: The architectural and art monuments of the Fuldaer country ; Volume 1: Der Altkreis Fulda , 2nd revised edition 1989, ISBN 3-7900-0189-9 , p. 208

↑ Old Tower on warttuerme.de, accessed on August 30, 2018

^ Erwin Sturm: The architectural and art monuments of the Fuldaer country ; Volume 1: Der Altkreis Fulda , 2nd revised edition 1989, ISBN 3-7900-0189-9 , pp. 740/741