Felixturm, Observation tower in Arnsdorf, Germany

Felixturm is an observation and communication tower in Arnsdorf that combines two functions in a single structure. From its height, it offers views across the surrounding landscape, where forests and residential areas spread out below.

The tower was built in 1824 by Radeberg master mason Tüllmann for Baron Johann Wilhelm von Gutschmid, and inaugurated in 1825 as a private observatory for his son Felix, born in 1815. In 1865 surveyors installed a 1.20-metre observation pillar on it as part of the Royal Saxon triangulation. A lightning strike in summer 1918 burned it out, and in 1930 the upper section was removed for fear of collapse.

The name recalls Felix von Gutschmid, born in 1815, for whom his father Johann Wilhelm had the tower built as a private observatory. From 1839 an inn stood by the tower, and from 1888 the Schutzhütte beside it became a popular excursion restaurant; the restaurant trade continued until 1965.

The tower stands on the Schafberg above the Hüttertal, about 300 m east of the source of the Schafbornbach stream. The Kohlsdorfweg, a promenade path laid out in 1905 by the Radeberg teacher Adolf Kohlsdorf, leads up to it. The Radeberger Planetenwanderweg, a roughly 2 km trail from Schloss Klippenstein, ends at the tower.

The tower stands on the Schafberg above the Hüttertal, which was used as pasture until the late 19th century, so the tower was visible from far across the region. About 300 m west of it, the Schafbornbach rises in a side valley of the Großen Röder; in 1905 the Radeberg teacher Adolf Kohlsdorf laid out a promenade path from the spring to the tower.