Bismarck tower, Monument tower in Constance, Germany
Bismarck Tower in Constance is a 22.8-metre concrete tower on the Raiteberg. Its rounded rectangular shaft has narrow vertical windows and a domed, ribbed top ringed by small openings, crowned by a finial. At the base, a projecting porch on four thick cylindrical columns carries a pale inscription above the columns.
The tower became part of a nationwide movement in the late 1800s when approximately 240 similar structures were built to commemorate Otto von Bismarck. Georg Wickop was the designer of Constance's version of the Bismarck monument.
The tower bears the name of the former Reich Chancellor and was built during a time when such monuments were popular across Germany. Visitors can see today how this type of structure fits into the local landscape and what role it plays for the city.
The tower and its viewing platform open on Sundays from 13:00 to 17:00 between April and October; exact dates are posted by the Narrengesellschaft Seehasen Konstanz. From the entrance hall, 106 steps lead to the top platform on the fifth floor, reached from the fourth floor by a spiral staircase. The site is not wheelchair accessible.
The tower's fire bowls were fed by a pressurised oil tank in the basement, with carbon dioxide gas pushing the oil upward and cooling water supplied by a hand pump. From 1913 until 1944/45, flames burned on 1 April and at the summer solstice on 21 June. Between 1997 and 2007 the Bodensee branch of the German Amateur Radio Club ran a packet-radio network node and mailbox inside.
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