Neuwerk Tower, Insel Neuwerk, Germany

The Great Tower Neuwerk is the most significant building of the Neuwerk island, belonging to Hamburg. This former beacon, watchtower and lighthouse is also the oldest building in Hamburg and oldest secular building on the German coast.

The construction was started in 1300. It was completed after ten years in 1310. The style matches the common norman tower type of the time. Contrary to some literature, the tower was built in this form from the beginning. The fire in the 1360s destroyed most of the wooden elements and it had to undergo major reconstruction.

The original roof was made of lead, and was replaced by copper in 1474. This was again replaced in 1558 by a tiled roof and by a new copper roof following that. The copper was then used for military purposes in 1916 reconstructed later.

The original purpose was to host troops to defend the ships entering and leaving the Elbe from sea and beach pirates. The tower was also refuge for the farmers on the island during storm surges and survivors of shipwrecks over the centuries.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Insel Neuwerk 1, Insel Neuwerk, Germany

See all sites in Insel Neuwerk

Details

Founded: 1300-1310
Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)

More Information

www.hamburg-travel.com
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Bederkesa Castle (39,4 km)

User Reviews

Stuart Bratton (2 years ago)
Amazing lighthouse with a lot of history. Highly recommend visiting. Note that if you are taller that coming down the stairs is an issue and you should watch your head.

Norman Paykert (3 years ago)
The lighthouse is very beautiful and the oldest building in Hamburg. The island of Neuwerk is the northernmost part of Hamburg and has 35 inhabitants. Unfortunately, the tower will probably not be open to the public until 2026 due to construction work. We took the Wattwagen to the island which was lovely. Unfortunately, all Wattwagen tours only have a 1-hour stay on the island. So there's not much to look at. It is still worth a trip and was very idyllic.

Alexandra Mara (3 years ago)
Lovely experience.

Mettberg Jörn (4 years ago)
Nice

Sebastián Cárdenas (6 years ago)
Amazing and simple life

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Neuwerk Tower