Jahrtausendturm, Wooden exhibition tower in Elbauenpark, Magdeburg, Germany

The Jahrtausendturm is a wooden exhibition tower in Magdeburg's Elbauenpark with six floors displaying different scientific and technological themes. Inside, numerous hands-on stations allow visitors to experiment and learn by directly engaging with the displays.

The Jahrtausendturm was built for the Bundesgartenschau 1999 in Magdeburg's Elbauenpark, designed by the Swiss painter and builder Johannes Peter Staub. It was originally planned only for the duration of the garden show; later it was decided to keep the tower and its exhibition permanently. Rain penetrated the foil cladding from the start, and in 2015 and 2016 the tower and its closed ramp were repaired for about 2 million euros.

The tower serves as a space where visitors experience how human knowledge has developed across different fields of science and technology. The displays show the progress people have made in understanding nature and improving their lives through discovery.

The lower level is accessible for wheelchair users, while the upper levels require climbing stairs to reach them. Visitors should be aware that ascending to the top involves some physical effort.

The tower was meant to stand only for the 1999 Federal Garden Show, and its permanent use was decided later. Rain penetrated the foil cladding from the start, and repairs to the tower and the closed ramp in 2015 and 2016 cost about 2 million euros. The exterior ramp is 450 metres long and climbs at more than 6 percent, so wheelchairs are barred from it.