Biehla water tower
The Biehla water tower is a monument in the small town of Elsterwerda in southern Brandenburg in the Elbe-Elster district . It has a capacity of 90 m³ and is 140 m above sea level. NN visible from afar on the Winterberg of the Elsterwerda district of Biehla . The building erected between 1913 and 1914, the facade of which was modeled on the Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal, was intended to serve both as a memorial and a landmark for the site in addition to its technical purpose.
History and architecture
With the advancing industrialization at the end of the 19th century and the associated population growth in Biehla, which is conveniently located in terms of transport, the need for water also increased. The population in the village grew from 500 to 1500 in just twenty years. Since the municipality of Biehla was forced to set up its own central water supply, plans began in August 1900 to record the headwaters on the Biehla Winterberg. The district meadow master builder of the Liebenwerda Balsam district was responsible for this project .
Finally a water tower was built on the Winterberg in 1913 and put into operation in 1914. But soon the 90 m³ capacity of the plant was no longer sufficient and an expansion followed between 1921 and 1922. Further springs were developed in the area, the water of which was led to a collection well. From there it reached the water tower via a hydraulic ram system . When further expansions were necessary later, a 200 cubic meter collecting tank at the Biehlaer Obermühle remedied the situation, the water of which was fed to the water tower from 1933 by means of a pumping station.
Its architecture owes the building of that patriotic attitude of his client Biehlaer which a silhouette similar to that designed by the Berlin architect Bruno Schmitz created and inaugurated on October 18, 1913 Battle Monument in Leipzig wanted to create.
Like its famous model in Leipzig, it was intended to be a reminder of the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig in 1813, the effects of which could also be felt in the vicinity of Biehla through huge troop movements during this time. On July 20, 1813, Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte and his entourage went through Elsterwerda for a troop inspection in Luckau and the Prussian Field Marshal Blücher , one of the most popular war heroes of the Wars of Liberation in Europe , camped a short time before the battle at the end of September 1813 his 30,000-strong corps in Elsterwerda and the surrounding area.
The facade of the building is shaped by a stone cross. The following inscription is above the entrance:
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WATER TOWER OF THE COMMUNITY OF BIEHLA BUILT |
Until 2005 there was a stone relief with the Biehla community seal on the staircase of the tower, which represented a white horse. There is a fountain at the foot of the water tower.
The water tower and the adjoining “Winterberg” inn were a popular excursion destination, as in good weather conditions you have an excellent view of the lowlands of the Schwarze Elster and Elbe up to the Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig, about 80 kilometers away. While the viewing platform of the restaurant, which was closed in 1990 and now used as a residential building after its sale, was still accessible until around 1995, visitors had been denied access to the platform of the water tower since 1963.
Until it was shut down in 2003, the technical water system covered around 10 percent of the city's drinking water supply. From 2002 the building could be visited on Whitsun. However, these annual openings had to be stopped again because of the poor condition of the water tower. A fundraising campaign is intended to raise the necessary funds for the restoration of the water tower owned by the city of Elsterwerda, which is otherwise threatened with demolition.
More water towers in the urban area of Elsterwerda
- Elsterwerda water tower , capacity: 250 m³
- Water tower at Biehla station , capacity: 50 m³
Similar structures
Footnotes and individual references
- ^ Historical municipality directory of the State of Brandenburg (online as a PDF file) .
- ↑ Die Schwarze Elster , free local history supplement to the Liebenwerdaer Kreisblatt , article: “Schloß Elsterwerda”, No. 122, March 17, 1910.
- ↑ For Biehla it is more than “just” the Lausitzer Rundschau water tower on December 14, 2013
- ↑ List of monuments of the state of Brandenburg: Elbe-Elster district (PDF) Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation and State Archaeological Museum.
- ↑ a b c Manfred Reuschel: The water supply of Biehla and Elsterwerda in past centuries. In: Home calendar for the old district of Bad Liebenwerda, the Mückenberger Ländchen, outskirts on Schraden and Uebigau-Falkenberg. Vol. 53, 2000, ZDB -ID 920368-0 , pp. 248-258.
- ↑ Elsterwerda City Administration (ed.): "Water tower Elsterwerda-Biehla-The landmark on the Winterberg" . (Information sheet).
- ↑ Elsterwerda City Administration (ed.): "Biehla-A district with a historical and industrial background" . ( Information sheet online as PDF file ).
Web links
- For Biehla it is more than "just" the water tower (Lausitzer Rundschau from December 14, 2013; contains photos from the inside of the building)
Coordinates: 51 ° 28 ′ 27.9 " N , 13 ° 30 ′ 23.7" E