Synchronised fires
Lit on the towers' tops on national occasions so they could be seen across the country.
X-Weinzar — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bybbisch94 — CC BY 4.0 · Stefan Kühn — CC0 · Stefan Kühn — CC0
Otto von Bismarck, minister-president of Prussia and then the first chancellor of the German Empire, who unified Germany in 1871 through three successive wars. He is remembered for the policy of blood and iron and for the intricate alliance system by which he managed Europe, and also for founding the world's first social and health insurance system — from a motive of undercutting the socialist movement rather than social conviction.
Not as a destination in itself. The tower is usually closed and the view around it is good rather than exceptional. But the area holds woodland and pleasant walking paths, and if you are staying in Dresden and want a short outing beyond the centre it is a reasonable choice. On a short visit, the historic centre deserves all your time.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.
A stone tower in the Räcknitz district south of Dresden, built in 1906 as part of a curious German phenomenon: the Bismarck towers. The phenomenon deserves explaining. After Chancellor Otto von Bismarck died in 1898, a campaign spread across Germany to build memorial towers to him, most of them to a single design called Twilight of the Gods that had won an architectural competition. The towers were funded by local subscription and fires were lit on their tops on set national occasions, so that they could be seen from one tower to the next across the country. More than two hundred and forty were built, and around a hundred and seventy still stand. This warrants a critical reading: the towers were a collective nationalist project of the imperial era, and the synchronised fires were a political ritual rather than a neutral celebration. The Dresden tower is granite, surrounded by woodland and walking paths, with a view over the city and valley. The tower is closed to climbing most of the time and opens on occasions — the surroundings and the woods are what is visited in practice.
Lit on the towers' tops on national occasions so they could be seen across the country.
Most towers were built to one design that had won an architectural competition.
A nationalist project of the imperial era rather than a neutral memorial.
The Räcknitz district, southern Dresden