The ''Wartturm'' ("watchtower") is an observation tower in the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long f ...

on the

Wurzelbrink The Wurzelbrink is a hill south of Lübbecke which, at , is the second highest peak in the Wiehen Hills in north Germany. Immediately to the south is the no less majestic Kniebrink (315 m). There is an old and rather small watchtower, the '' ...

, a wooded hill that, at 319 metres, is the second highest in this hill range. The tower stands on the territory of the town of

Lübbecke Lübbecke (; ) is a town in northeast North Rhine-Westphalia in north Germany. This former county town lies on the northern slopes of the Wiehen Hills (''Wiehengebirge'') and has around 26,000 inhabitants. The town is part of district of Minden- ...

. The stone tower was built in 1857 by the barons (''Freiherrn'') of Bussche-Münch from Benkhausen and was completely renovated in 1996. The tower was erected in response to the increasing gymnastics and hiking movement in Germany at that time. During the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the tower acted for a time as a training area for the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

as well as an observation point, for which purpose it had been increased in height by the addition of a wooden superstructure. In 1986 a radio competition took place at the ''Wartturm''. In the early to mid-1980s a very high transmission mast stood next to the tower, that was significantly higher than the tower itself and, unlike the ''Wartturm'', could be clearly seen from Lübbecke. The uninformed often say that the tower is linked to the medieval castle of Reineberg because of its castle-like appearance but are then often surprised to find that it is a product of the

Modern Age The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

.The terms ''Wartturm'', ''Warte'', ''Warth'' or ''Burgwarte'' refer to an isolated watchtower surrounded by ramparts and ditches. They were erected in the Late Middle Ages, for example, on trading routes as toll stations or outside of towns, in order to give early warning of the approach of enemy troops using flag or light signals. This helps to explain why people sometimes mistake when the Lübbecke ''Wartturm'' was built. The ''Wartturm'' has since become the landmark of the traditional Wartturm Run (''Wartturmlauf''). This fun run takes place annually in June, beginning in the centre Lübbecke, is 13.9 kilometres long and climbs a total height of 346 metres.

External links

''Ein Aussichtsturm wie viele andere''.
In: ''Neue Umschau''
Route of the Wartturm Run

Height profile of the Wartturm Run

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wartturm, Lubbecke Towers completed in 1857 Observation towers in North Rhine-Westphalia Lübbecke Wiehen Hills 1857 establishments in Prussia Watchtowers in Germany