Crailsheim water tower

Railway water tower in Crailsheim, 2011

The Crailsheim water tower (also known as the Crailsheim railway water tower or Crailsheim railway water tower ) is a water storage tank built in 1912 for the Royal Württemberg State Railways according to plans by August Klönne . It served to supply the steam locomotives at Crailsheim station . Today it is an industrial monument and one of the last historical buildings of the former Crailsheim depot .

The tower is located on a slight hill at 415 m above sea level. NHN , south of the depot in Crailsheim's Altenmünster district . The Crailsheim – Heilbronn railway line runs past to the west and the Upper Jagst Railway to the east . The access is today via Horaffenstraße , house number 39.

He serves as the namesake of the nearby local road Am Wasserturm . Furthermore, it is one of the motifs for the Crailsheim information boards “Towers on the Jagst” , which are set up on the A 6 and A 7 federal motorways .

Structural matters

The tower is 23.7 meters high. Its base has a diameter of 9.78 meters and rests on a 2.2 meters deep foundation made of shell limestone . The base, made of red clinker brick, is around 12 m high, a good half a meter thick and tapers towards the top. The surface of the ball is also made of shell limestone. Its spherical container made of 6 mm thick sheet steel has a volume of 600 cubic meters . The opening of the filler pipe is at 18.5 meters.

The main entrance was - still clearly recognizable from the outside - on the side of the building facing the depot. This has now been walled up. Originally the interior was largely empty. A spiral staircase following the outer wall led up to a level. From there a vertical shaft with an internal ladder led up through the dome to a maintenance platform. The external, circumferential maintenance walkway can be reached via a movably mounted ladder, which could be swiveled around the entire tower.

Water supply

To fill the tower, water was pumped from the nearby Jagst . After a dispute with the Crailsheimer Herrenmühle , up to 25 liters per second were finally allowed to be withdrawn from the river. In 1944 almost 1900 cubic meters were used every day. Around 1960, at peak times, between 60 and 70 locomotives were being supplied with a total of 1200 to 1400 cubic meters of water a day.

When the tank was empty, the bottom of the ball was regularly freed of impurities such as lime, slag and other sediments. One freight car alone is said to have accumulated lime every week.

Extension and renovation in the 1980s

In the 1980s, the tower was rededicated gastronomically. For this purpose, a flat - roofed one - story extension with sanitary facilities, kitchen and the new main entrance was built. Inside, two false ceilings were drawn in; the first floor is designed as a gallery and allows a view of the bar. In addition, a heating and ventilation system was installed. The three floors are connected by spiral stairs.

history

Original use

View of the water tower; in the foreground the apron and remains of the former depot

The water tower was built in 1912 for the Württemberg State Railway based on plans by August Klönne.

In the course of the dismantling of the Crailsheim depot at the end of the 1970s, the water tower was initially to give way. With the decline of the steam locomotive era and the decommissioning of the last Crailsheim steam locomotive on May 30, 1976, it also lost its right to exist as a utility building. There were already plans for demolition. “At the last minute”, the responsible monument office placed the tower under protection in 1978.

Later use

From the beginning of the 1980s, the water tower was used for gastronomy purposes. First, here opened pub water tower along with art gallery, where former express train seats with their luggage storage special flair widespread.

After extensive renovations, the water tower has been run as a bistro - café - bar Wasserturm Crailsheim since the 2000s . Homemade pizza, snacks, drinks and cocktails are on offer. In summer, the spacious area around the water tower is used as a beer garden . Sports broadcasts and live music are also held here on special occasions.

A three-day anniversary celebration was held in summer 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary.

The privately owned water tower last changed hands in 2017 for more than 200,000 euros. The lease for the restaurant runs until 2020. How the tower will be used beyond that has not yet been announced.

Considerable repair work is required on the structure of the building, especially on the steel dome. The dome is heavily rusted and already has holes in parts. An appraisal commissioned by the city of Crailsheim comes to the conclusion that investments of € 230,000–250,000 will be required. An external renovation was initially announced for 2018, but has not yet started (as of July 2019). A more extensive renovation is to take place after the current lease expires in spring 2020.

Web links

Crailsheim water tower. In: Structurae
www.wasserturm-crailsheim.de Website of the bistro

literature

Jörg Schlaich , Matthias Schüller: Engineering manager Baden-Württemberg. Bauwerk Verlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 978-3934369016
Jochen Weidner, Folker Förtsch: 100 years of Crailsheim water tower. Baier-Verlag, Crailsheim 2012, ISBN 978-3942081238 .

Individual evidence

49.131734 10.063752Coordinates: 49 ° 7 '54.2 " N , 10 ° 3' 49.5" E

[1] ttps://www.swp.de/suedwesten/staedte/crailsheim/crailsheimer-wasserturm_-einer-der-letzen-21834945.html

[2] ttps://www.swp.de/suedwesten/staedte/crailsheim/zu-wenig-kohle-fuer-den-kauf-des-wasserturmes-23422429.html

[3] ttps://www.swp.de/suedwesten/staedte/crailsheim/der-zahn-der-zeit-beisst-sich-fest-23642883.html

[4] ttps://www.swp.de/suedwesten/staedte/crailsheim/sanierung-_dringend-erforderlich_-23446507.html