Seelturm

The Seelturm is an architectural landmark in Ulm, originally built during the fourteenth century as part of the city fortifications. Its tower rises about twenty metres near the Seelengraben. The name Seelturm refers to the nearby Seelhaus, where nuns cared for sick and needy people. The eighteenth century gave the tower another name, Zundeltorturm. In the seventeenth century, Joseph Furttenbach transformed the defensive tower into a water tower for Ulm. He closed the side facing the city and connected the structure to its water supply system. Water from the Blau River filled a wooden tank lined with copper, about fifteen metres high. The system supplied Ulm until the late nineteenth century. The tower also continued providing water to the local slaughterhouse after the main system changed in 1874. A nearby fountain commemorates Griesbadmichel, a local figure associated with collecting worms for anglers. Together, the tower, river and fountain show how Ulm’s architecture served civic and practical needs.