Bismarcksäule
In Dresden, the Bismarcksäule rises twenty-three metres above its surroundings as a tower of Posta sandstone. Wilhelm Kreis designed the structure in 1906. It emerged from a German Student Union competition for monuments on historically significant heights. At first, the tower served as a fire column.
Its wrought-iron fire bowl was intended to send a beacon between surrounding towers on special occasions. An imperial eagle and serpent of discord mark the shaft. Students and Dresden citizens attended its inauguration on 23 June 1906, during the summer solstice. The first lighting warped the bowl after use. During the GDR era, the tower became Friedensturm, while monument protection stopped a demolition attempt.
After restoration supported by Dresden, an association, and other supporters, the tower reopened in August 2008. Today, 158 steps lead inside to its viewing platform. From above, you can see the Elbe Valley, Saxon Switzerland, and the Eastern Ore Mountains. Night-time guided stargazing also looks across Dresden.
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The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.
Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Dresden. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
What is myTuur?
myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.