Katzenturm Feldkirch, Fortified tower in Feldkirch, Austria

The Katzenturm is a round, eight-storey defensive tower of the Feldkirch town wall, built from 1491 to 1507 under Maximilian I. Its cylindrical shaft rises 40 m with a circumference of 38 m, topped by a bell chamber with a conical roof instead of the original battlements.

The round tower was built from 1491 to 1507 as part of Feldkirch's town walls, erected under King Maximilian I and the Habsburg bailiff Hans von Königsegg. Because of the Swabian War it was raised again around 1500, so work ran until 1507; it then consisted only of a cylindrical shaft topped with battlements. In the 17th century it was converted into a bell tower, the battlements removed and a bell chamber added; the great bell was hung in 1665. A town fire on 6 August 1697 destroyed it, and it was quickly rebuilt.

The tower stands among other medieval buildings in the old town and shows how important fortifications were for protecting the city. Visitors can see how residents of that time defended themselves against outside threats.

The tower is centrally located in the old town on Herrengasse and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes since the paths in the old town are narrow and sometimes uneven.

The bell inside, cast in 1665 by Theodosius Ernst of Lindau, weighs about 7,500 kg and is the largest in Vorarlberg and the second-largest historic bell in Austria. During World War I Bishop Sigismund Waitz persuaded Emperor Karl I to spare it from being melted down for armaments.