The Grunewald Tower or is a historical tower in the

Grunewald forest Grunewald () is a German forest located in the western side of Berlin on the east side of the Havel, mainly in the Grunewald locality. At it is the largest green area in the city of Berlin. Geography The forest occupies, on the western side, 3/ ...

of southwestern

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, built in 1897-99 according to plans designed by

Franz Heinrich Schwechten Franz Heinrich Schwechten (12 August 1841 – 11 August 1924) was one of the most famous German architects of the Wilhelmine era, and contributed to the development of historicist architecture. Life Schwechten was born in Cologne, the son of a d ...

. The

viewing platform An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed ...

offers a view over the

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...

at a height of .

Overview

In 1897

Teltow Teltow [] is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Teltow is part of the agglomeration of Berlin. The distance to the Berlin city centre is , while the distance to Potsdam is . The Teltow Canal links the ...

, a rural district of the

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg (german: Provinz Brandenburg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg ...

, mandated the construction of a memorial tower to mark the 100th birthday of the German Emperor Wilhelm I (d. 1888).Reschke, Manfred (2014).
Die Havel: Natur und Kultur zwischen Müritz und Havelberg
'. 2nd ed. Berlin: Trescher Verlag. p. 174. On June 9, 1899 the landmark was opened to the public as "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm" ( en, Emperor William Tower), though the inscription on the eastern facade reads "Koenig Wilhelm I zum Gedaechtniss" (to

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

William I, in memory), as he was also king of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. A second inscription, on the western facade, facing the Havel river, reads: "Der Kreis Teltow baute mich 1897" (The district of Teltow built me in 1897).

Elizabeth of Wied Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied (29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage to then- ...

, queen consort of Romania, visited the top of the tower in March 1916, during World War I. She was elderly and it took her over two and a half hours to make it to the top, from which she waved at a crowd of about 350 people below. Elizabeth, who was an accomplished writer and translator, died the following day. In 1948, following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the tower was renamed Grunewaldturm, after the surrounding forest, near the

River. A comprehensive renovation of the tower then took place in 1953. It was later closed in October 2007 due to significant structural damage to the staircase. The necessary renovation cost 1.5 million euros and lasted until Easter 2011, reopening on April 22. Since the 1990s, the tower has also doubled as a cell tower.

Architecture

The tower, built in

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

Revival style and designed by

Franz Schwechten Franz Heinrich Schwechten (12 August 1841 – 11 August 1924) was one of the most famous Germany, German architects of the Wilhelminism, Wilhelmine era, and contributed to the development of historicism (art), historicist architecture. Life Schw ...

, stands high and is located on the high Karlsberg hill of the

Teltow plateau Teltow [] is both a geological plateau and also a historical region in the German states of Brandenburg and Berlin. As an historical region, the Teltow was one of the eight territories out of which the March of Brandenburg was formed in the 12th and ...

on the eastern shore of the

. The building contains a domed memorial hall with a marble statue of Wilhelm I by sculptor

Ludwig Manzel Karl Ludwig Manzel (3 June 1858, Neu Kosenow – 20 June 1936, Berlin) was a German sculptor, painter and graphic artist. Life His father was a tailor and his mother was a midwife. The family moved twice, first to Boldekow then, in 1867, to An ...

, and four iron reliefs depicting Albrecht von Roon, Helmuth von Moltke,

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

and

Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. The

neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthod ...

ceiling mosaics in the hall are early works by the church painter and mosaic artist August Oetken, executed by the company Puhl & Wagner. A decorative band, wraps around the tower. Inscriptions are on the east and west sides, with two coats of arms located above them. The coat of arms on the side facing the river shows the red

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

eagle, while the one facing the forest has the black Prussian eagle.''Der Kaiserthurm auf dem Karlsberge im Grunewald bei Berlin''. Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung, 19. Jg., Nr. 21 (18. März 1899), S. 122/123 204 steps lead to a platform offering a panoramic view over the

Havelland Geographically, the Havelland is the region around which the River Havel flows in a U-shape between Oranienburg to the northeast and Rhinow to the northwest. The northern boundary of the Havelland is formed by the River Rhin and the Rhin Canal. ...

region and the Grunewald forest. The building has a restaurant and a

beer garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

Overview

Architecture

References

See also