Maiengrünturm, Observation tower in Hägglingen, Switzerland
The Maiengrünturm is a steel observation tower on the Maiengrün ridge in Hägglingen, built in 1929 and raised by 8 metres to 35 metres in 1936. More than 170 steps lead to the top platform, which gives a 270° view from the Heitersberg to the Staffelegg. The Gilde-Restaurant Maiengrüen stands beside the tower.
The site belonged to Muri Abbey, and boundary stones from that period still lie in the woods. In 1892 Johann Huber of Hägglingen, later Gemeindeammann and Grossrat, bought several plots and combined them as "Hochwacht"; in 1913 he built a 13-metre wooden tower. In 1929 he replaced it with the present steel structure, raised by 8 metres to 35 metres in 1936. From 1939 the army closed the tower as an aircraft observation post.
The tower takes its name from the Maiengrün ridge, and the restaurant beside it began in 1930 as a small summer inn before being enlarged over the years. Boundary stones from the time when the land belonged to Muri Abbey can still be found in the surrounding woods.
The top platform is reached only by climbing more than 170 stairs, so the tower is not step-free. The steel structure was fully renovated in 2020. The Gilde-Restaurant Maiengrüen stands right beside the tower, giving visitors a place to stop before or after the climb.
The tower was taken over by the Swiss Army shortly after mobilisation in 1939 and closed to the public as an aircraft observation post. Twelve men served there at any time, and a small hut on the platform was permanently staffed by three soldiers until the war ended.
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