Water Tower, Maribor, Late-Renaissance fortified tower in Maribor, Slovenia

The Water Tower (Vodni stolp) is a pentagonal late-Renaissance tower on Usnjarska ulica, built of massive stone blocks with embrasures and abutting the Drava. Its ground floor holds a wine shop; the top floor has a large round hall with a high ceiling used for wine tastings.

Around 1555, Italian master builders extended Maribor's walls to the Drava, replacing the round Gunpowder Tower (mentioned in 1529) with the pentagonal Water Tower. In 1966–67 the nearby Benetke Tower and riverside houses were demolished for the Zlatoličje reservoir; the Water Tower was instead raised 2.6 metres by builder Jože Požauk between 1967 and 1968.

The tower's name comes from its position beside the Drava. Its ground floor now holds a wine shop specialising in top-quality Slovenian wines, and the top-floor round hall with a high ceiling is used for wine tasting. A few hundred metres away stands the world's oldest grapevine, on the side of a building.

The wine shop occupies the ground floor, so it can be reached without climbing stairs; the tasting hall is on the top floor. The tower stands on Usnjarska ulica directly beside the Drava, a few hundred metres from the building with the old grapevine. Check current opening times before setting out.

The tower was saved by builder Jože Požauk (1908–1995), who directed a project to raise the 1500-tonne stone structure by 2.6 metres over seven months in 1967 and 1968. The pentagonal tower was originally slated for demolition because it would have obstructed navigation on the new reservoir.