The Humberg Tower is an
observation tower
An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...
on the
Humberg hill, 425 metres (1,400 feet) high, to the south of the city of
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...
in southwest
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 ...
.
The idea of building a
tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
on the Humberg (already in those days a favourite hill among the citizens of Kaiserslautern, for its view) was taken up in 1896. For this purpose, inhabitants of the city founded the Humberg Association, with the aim of financing the building of an observation tower. Among the founding members were the well-known
sewing machine factory
A machine factory is a company, that produces machines. These companies traditionally belong to the heavy industry sector in comparison to a more consumer oriented and less capital intensive light industry. Today many companies make more sophistic ...
owner
Pfaff
PFAFF (german: PFAFF Industriesysteme und Maschinen AG, PFAFF Industrial) is a German manufacturer of sewing machines and is now owned by the SGSB Co. Ltd.
History
PFAFF was founded in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in 1862 by instrument maker Geo ...
, the mayor, Dr. Orth, distinguished businessmen, Pfeiffer and Karcher, and malt manufacturer, Gelbert.
The tower was built to plans by the
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, Ludwig Ritter von Stempel, who had already made a name for himself with some public buildings in the city.
The Humberg Tower is a monumental construction of
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
blocks, typical of the
Wilhelminian period. Building began in the spring of 1899. The building material was quarried on the spot from the stone plateau of the Humberg. The tower was ceremonially opened on 2 September 1900. The tower is 35.77 metres (119 feet) high and its observation platform is 28.16 metres (93 feet) above the ground. The
spiral staircase
Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...
inside has 130 steps; in addition, there are a further 33 steps in the outside stairs at the base.
In 1909, the existing Humberg Association was dissolved. The tower and the association's capital came into the possession of the city of Kaiserslautern. In 2001, the Humberg Tower Association of Kaiserslautern e.V. was founded with the aim of preserving the tower and its attractiveness as a goal for
hikers
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
.
Observation towers in Rhineland-Palatinate
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