Water tower on the castle hill (Erlangen)

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Water tower on the castle hill
Water tower on the castle hill
South and east facade of the water tower, 2006
Data
Year of construction / construction time: 1904/05
Architect: Franz Kreuter
Draft: Hugo Sieber
Tower height: 32 m
Usable height: 25.4 m
Container height: 21.3 m
Container type: Intze 1 container
Scheme: Scheme
Container volume: 100 m³
Operating condition: In operation
Monument protection: monument

The water tower on the Burgberg is a water tower located on the Burgberg in the Middle Franconian city ​​of Erlangen . The Erlanger Stadtwerke (ESTW) owns the listed building, which has been in operation since 1905 . The spire, visible from afar, is one of the city's landmarks .

History and description

In the course of industrialization , water consumption in Erlangen rose rapidly during the 19th century. At the same time, the water quality of the numerous wells that existed at the time deteriorated. The city's first central water network finally went into operation on November 30, 1891, for which a waterworks in the western Regnitz valley and a high reservoir on the slope of the castle hill had been built.

The water supply of the properties on the castle hill, which until then consisted almost exclusively of gardens and quarries , was initially secured by springs and wells. In the 1890s, residential buildings began to be built on the mountain. In the area around Burgbergstrasse ( Auf dem Berg until 1898 ), numerous villas were built by wealthy citizens. In order to be able to supply the rapidly growing population of the “upper part of the city” with running water, the city council decided at the beginning of the 20th century to build a water tower.

The 32 meter high tower was built in 1904 and 1905 according to plans by the city building councilor Franz Kreuter and designs by the Munich building assistant Hugo Sieber. The comparatively slim tower shaft with a rounded core and right-angled corner frames stands on a high, two-tiered base. The 100 cubic meter water tank is located in the head section, which is visible from afar and is partly clad in wood. The façade of the building, which was built from concrete inside , was designed in a historical style, in keeping with the taste of the Wilhelmine era . With its square plan, ashlar blocks, bay windows , arches , to such loopholes acting windows and tile-roofed pyramidal roof , the exterior is reminiscent of a medieval castle keep , for which he is often held by non-local visitors to the city. Last but not least, its location on the Burgberg contributes to this impression, although there is no evidence of any fortifications that gave it its name. The tower was initially open to the public for a fee. Due to its exposed location, it offered a wide view of Nuremberg, Fürth and Forchheim.

The water tower, which initially served exclusively to supply the properties on the castle hill, was only later connected to the entire city network. For this purpose, the elevated tank located directly to the east of the tower was built in 1956 with a storage volume of 4,000 cubic meters. 60 years later, this reservoir was too small to guarantee the water supply for a steadily growing population. It was expanded by an additional elevated tank of 12,000 cubic meters, which was built in 2015-2017 at the same height but in the nearby Erlanger Meilwald on the Rathsberg .

Picture gallery

  • Entrance portal, 2013

  • South facade, 2013

  • West facade, 2013

  • East facade, 2013

  • Elevated tank, 2015

  • Tower and elevated tank, 2015

  • Historical view of the western castle hill with the water tower, 1913

Web links

Commons : Wasserturm Burgbergstraße (Erlangen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Martina Bauernfeind: water supply .
  2. ^ Andreas Jakob : Burgbergstrasse .
  3. ^ Andreas Jakob : Water tower Burgbergstr. 90 .
  4. ^ Till Fichtner: Castle Hill .
  • Other sources
  1. ↑ List of monuments for Erlangen (PDF) at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation
  2. ↑ a b c The water reservoirs on Burgberg. (No longer available online.) Erlanger Stadtwerke , archived from the original on January 15, 2012 ; Retrieved February 16, 2013 .
  3. ^ A b Sylvia Ostertag-Henning: Bergkirchweih & Platenhäuschen . A tour of the Erlanger Burgberg. Sandberg Verlag, Nuremberg 2004, ISBN 3-930699-39-7 , p. 30-31 .
  4. ↑ Heinz Martius: The Erlanger Burgberg in the course of time . Palm & Enke, Erlangen 1988, ISBN 3-7896-0082-2 , pp. 65-66 .
  5. ^ Ludwig Göhring: Guide through Erlangen and its surroundings, Th. Blaesings Universitäts-Buchhandlung (Paul Winkler), Erlangen 1913
  6. ↑ Article up to date in the Bayerische Staatszeitung from September 26, 2017, website bayerische-staatszeitung.de , accessed on October 12, 2018

Coordinates: 49 ° 36 ′ 33.5 ″  N , 11 ° 0 ′ 18.2 ″  E