Storchenturm

The city wall was first mentioned in 1265 and its several watchtowers served to monitor the city entrances. Only the Storchenturm (the Stork Tower), also called the white tower, has been preserved. The Stork Tower takes its name from a Merian engraving of 1619, which shows it with a stork’s nest. Its three lower floors were originally open to the city The Tower was rebuilt in 1788, since the roof was in danger of collapsing an later was it partly demolished to city wall height. During the Hambach Festival in 1832, the lawyer and landowner Johann Jakob Schoppmann hosted opposition members in the tower. At the End of the 19th century the building was converted into a telegraph tower. It was raised by two storeys and the former embrasures were replaced by windows. According to historian Paul Habermehl, the city bought the tower in 1988 to make the platform accessible, which unfortunatly never happened. The renovation that was carried out in 1999 and 2000 was mainly related to the exterior facade. The flat roof was replaced by a pointed roof. The city invested 200,000 marks at the time for the modifications.