Water Tower (Hanover)

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Water tower in Hanover in the Brink-Hafen district

The water tower Hanover is a 62 m high and listed former water tower in Hanover , which is located in the Brink-Hafen district. When it was completed in 1911, it was considered the largest water tower in Europe.

history

To expand the water supply, on November 12, 1908, the colleges of the city of Hanover unanimously decided to build the Elze groundwater works . A total of 395,000 marks were approved for the construction of the water extraction and pump systems, the pipeline to the city and a separate high reservoir  . It was also decided to hold an architecture competition for the special design of the high reservoir to be built in the city area. The expansion was to be carried out for a capacity of 24,000  m³ per day, but all components that could be easily enlarged if required should initially only be designed for 12,000 m³. The cheapest offer from a Berlin company was submitted to the tender.

Building history

Entrance to the tower

With the decision to build a flood reservoir in the north of the city of Hanover, it was determined that the location of the planned water tower and its architectural design are of the greatest importance for the aesthetic image of the city. The mayor therefore demanded a considerable say in a decision. City director Heinrich Tramm agreed, and the planned construction cost of 415,000 marks was approved.

Only architects from Hanover were admitted to the architectural competition for the design of the tower, which was announced on February 1, 1909. The following technical data were specified:

  • Execution of the tower in concrete
  • Installation of a wrought iron container with a volume of 4100 m³ and an empty weight of 160  tons
  • The highest water level should be 41 m above the terrain.

On March 24th, the jury in the old town hall selected the designs. Later, it was not the design that won first prize, but the second-placed design entitled “Heideturm”, submitted by the architect Hermann Schaedtler, that was executed . On April 24th, the municipal colleges decided that this draft was technically preferable. In addition, it was cheaper than the winning design, which would have exceeded the approved construction costs by more than 150,000 marks. Thereupon construction of the tower began on Stader Chaussee (today Vahrenwalder Straße ).

The construction, like the construction work for the waterworks in Elze, did not go smoothly. On April 15, 1910, the company commissioned with the construction work announced that the workers would be locked out due to a labor dispute and that construction work would have to be stopped. The company asked to check whether the contract on force majeure would apply and thus a deadline extension could be granted.

The company commissioned with the production of the iron container made an additional claim to the city of Hanover for the delay in delivery, for which the construction company in turn wanted to make the construction company liable. As of July 16, the construction company asked the city administration for understanding and described the labor dispute as a struggle of the construction industry against social democracy .

Despite the delays, the waterworks went into operation in early summer 1911. The water tower was completed in mid-1911 and could handle a daily volume of 17,400 m³. The water flowed to the water tower on Stader Chaussee through a cast-iron pressure pipe approximately 21 km long and 70 cm in diameter. A cable for an electric water level indicator and a telephone system ran parallel to the line.

  • Water tower

  • Coat of arms on the tower

  • Head start in the style of a military man

  • Balcony ledge in the style of a machicolation

  • Stone plateau

The water tower with the water tower tram stop in Hanover's municipal area was the last building on the city limits of Langenhagen . To the north-west of it stretched the then Langenhagener commercial and industrial area Wiesenau with the immediately adjacent wire and cable works Hackethal .

Construction details

The water tower is designed as a round tower and externally has the character of a medieval defense tower . The windows look like loopholes and the upper floor is designed like battlements . The facing consists of blue-gray, irregular humpback masonry made of sand-lime brick , which comes from quarries near Ochsenfurt am Main .

According to a publication from 1911, the water tower in Hanover had the largest usable volume of a water tower in Europe. The water chamber ( Intze container ) made of riveted steel sheets had a diameter of 20 m and a height of 16 m. It held 4,100 tons of water. The water tank rested on more than 140 cast steel supports on a concrete cylinder. The foundation of the concrete cylinder was built on 132 concrete piles. Each one had to be able to carry around 48,000  kg of load. The inlet pipe was designed as a vertically movable float pipe (minimum height above the bottom 4 m) to ensure that the water flows in at the respective water play height. The drain pipe was on the sole. The chamber was covered airtight with an iron sheet ceiling. Nothing is known about the necessary ventilation. There was no overflow line. The container with its substructure is enclosed by an architecturally designed, massive reconstruction of 24 m width and 46 m height, which is based on the design of the architect Hermann Schaedtler.

The container fulfilled its task without any problems until 1930. In this year the Berkhof waterworks went into operation, which could feed into the network with higher pressure. In order to be able to use the container at least for pressure fluctuations, the inlet was extended upwards. During the Second World War the container was left full for fire extinguishing purposes. During the air raids on Hanover in 1944, a bomb hit damaged the roof and the container, so that the water content spilled into the area. After the war, the water tower was poorly repaired and used as a standpipe for the Elzer line. In the mid-1950s, the tower, including the roof, was completely renovated and repaired.

use

In 1963 the water tower was finally shut down. After the buildings had not been used for many years, they were offered for sale in 2009 for 990,000 euros. After the sale, a usage concept for the new user in the form of Wasserturm Event GmbH became known in early 2011 . In close cooperation with the monument protection, a concept was created that preserves the historical building fabric and the industrial character of the over 100 year old building. A tour of the water tower should also be possible.

The tower has been used by the Wasserturm Event GmbH as a culture and event center since 2011:

  • Level 1: In the lower area, the former industrial hall of the water tower can be used for trade fairs, exhibitions and various events in the field of culture and leisure with up to 2,200 people.
  • Level 2: An area for up to 500 people is provided via a newly installed spiral staircase in the inner core, which leads from the basement to the lounge area. The room should have an 18 m high ceiling and red brick walls.
  • Level 3: On a stone plateau of around 1,800 m² around the tower, a beer garden with almost 800 seats is open in summer.
  • Office floor with office space for the backstage area, a publishing company, staff and lounge.
  • Open space: Below the tower on the ground there is around 3,200 m² of open space for concerts, outdoor events, children's parties, parking spaces, etc.
  • April 2017 Liquidation of the Wasserturm Event GmbH

MOIA Operations Germany GmbH and the headquarters of the MOIA depot in Hanover have been located in the water tower since May 2020

literature

Web links

Commons : Wasserturm Brink-Hafen (Hannover)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 24 '55.2 "  N , 9 ° 43' 57.3"  E