Cologne - Bismarckturm

Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany - and one of the oldest. A Germanic tribe, the Ubii, had a settlement here, this was named by the Romans "Oppidum Ubiorum". In 50 AD, the Romans founded "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium", the city then became the provincial capital of "Germania Inferior".

The Bismarckturm (turm = tower) is a monument commemorating Otto von Bismarck, which was inaugurated in 1903.

The tower was built in 1902, largely financed by the Cologne chocolate producer Heinrich Stollwerck. The building reaches a total height of 27 meters. On the front, there is a tall, block-like Bismarck figure as Roland in armour with a high eagle shield. The shoulder width of the figure is five meters and it is 15 meters high from the feet to the top of the head.


After the Franco-Prussian War (1870/71) and the unification of Germany into the (Prussia-dominated) German Empire, numerous, private initiatives pursued the goal of building "Bismarck Towers". After his dismissal as Chancellor in 1890, veneration of Bismarck began, which increased after Bismarck´s death in 1898. Today 146 (formerly 184) still exist in Germany. The total number of these monuments of the Bismarck-cult is 173 (formerly 240). They could be found in France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Austria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Chile and even New Guinea.