Rohrbühl tower

The war memorial on top of the Rohrbühl hill is used as an observation tower which is closed during the winter. 

Since 1977 at the summer solstice the county young people of Plösen celebrate a summer festival with a St John’s fire at the Rohrbühl tower  (photo on the right).

Since the middle of the 20th century there have been efforts in Münchberg to erect a memorial the fallen of the First World War.  In 1929 the round tower was provided as a location for a monument in the form of a tower.  Erich Holzner from Münchberg and Konrad Kühlnlein from Selb were entrusted with the planning of the 23 meters high tower.  After a serious cost quote from the architect Holzner, 45,500 marks were provided for the building of the tower.  The Münchberg construction firm of Flügel was awarded the contract with the instructions that only Reinersreuther granite would be used, of which 2,500 tons were finally used.  The construction began in April 1935.  For the sculpture work, models by the artist Karl Himmelstoß, who had worked for a long time for Rosenthal, were used.  On November 7, 1937 the solemn inauguration took place with district leaders and other National Socialist leaders.  In the spring of 1938 the walking paths and gardens came into being, following plans of the architect Lilienfein.  The total costs amounted to 52,483.94 marks, in the course of which the outside staircase and the garden facilities had an impact of 7, 374.19 marks.  The base of the tower forms a 26.2 x 26.45 meters terrace out of irregularly hewn granite blocks.  On the side facing the city was a 1.70 meters tall Imperial eagle with a wingspan of 3.80 meters as the National Socialistic sovereign symbol.  A stone sarcophagus in the memorial chapel inside the tower was decorated with a laurel wreath and a sword.  A two thousand pound ring bowl on the top pedestal was provided for ceremonial fire.

Rohrbühl tower envelopedAfter the end of the Second World War numerous major events took place there, such as a rally of the displaced in 1950, at which 4,000 people appeared.  In 1971 the tablets with the names of the fallen were taken down.  The planned relocation in the honor grave has not taken place as of today.  The plaques are found in the Münchberg city archives.  In 1988 the Schödel firm constructed the terrace.  On July 15, 2004 the tower was decorated with fabric webbing on the occasion of the Münchberg Textile School Jubilee (photo on the left).

On the video below is the view of the round tower from 23 meters high.  The panorama over the Münchberg mass (geologically famous gneiss) can be admired after climbing the 121 steps.  With good visibility one can recognize the mountain ranges of the Fichtelgebirge and the Frankenwald as well as the Elster- and Erzgebirge.

In winter the Rohrbühl observation tower is closed and cannot be climbed.

 


View from the Rohrbühl observation tower


Video: Aerial view of the Rohrbühl tower

Copywriters, authors, photographers, rights holders or sources
Rainer Fritsch, Sandy Schroeder, Adrian Roßner
HMW station: O3 Rohrbühl tower - Address: Dr.-Martin-Luther-Straße 27