KBC-Schornstein

KBC-Schornstein is an 85-meter industrial smokestack made of white concrete with black vertical lettering in the center of Lörrach. Three metal platforms encircle the tapering structure at different heights.

Koechlin, Baumgartner & Cie built the smokestack in 1921 as the first reinforced concrete chimney in Baden. The structure remained standing after the textile factory closed in the following decades.

The smokestack takes its name from the textile company that once ran the city's largest factory and employed hundreds of local families. Today the structure reminds residents of the time when textile manufacturing shaped daily life in Lörrach.

The smokestack lights up in the evening and helps visitors orient themselves in the city center. You can see the structure from several streets and use it as a reference to find the downtown area.

The concrete walls taper from base to summit, decreasing from 85 to 15 centimeters in thickness. The diameter shrinks from over 5 meters at the foot to just under 3 meters at the opening.