Author: Jens U. Schmidt

Elevated water tanks, as important structures in a modern water supply system, not only balance fluctuations in demand but also ensure a defined and largely constant water pressure at the taps in the supply area. Where the topography of the terrain precludes the construction of a water tank at a high elevation, water towers take over this function.

Water towers are the passion of our member Jens U. Schmidt, who, together with his co-author Günther Bosch, is publishing a book series about water towers in Germany.

There were at least 140 water towers in Schleswig-Holstein. In the flat countryside, they were the technically most efficient solution for ensuring consistent water pressure at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. They were used to supply water to municipalities and agricultural properties, railways, gasworks, hospitals, barracks, and industry.

Many of the architecturally imaginative buildings have disappeared, but 75 still stand. Only a few of them continue to serve as water supplies. The others have been given a new function. They are landmarks of their communities and a delight for lovers of industrial architecture.

The book series “Water Towers in Germany” has so far published documentation from the following federal states and regions: Bavaria, Bremen and Hamburg, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Northwestern Germany, and Schleswig-Holstein. Documentation for Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland is in preparation. Further details can be found on the website of the German Water Tower Archive.