The fairy tale-like Flatowturm (Flatow Tower) rises above a plateau in Babelsberg Park. Reaching a height of 46 meters, the structure was built between 1853 and 1856 in a romantic-historicist neo-Gothic style that was popular at the time. The Flatow Tower and its fortified battlements fits into the overall medieval concept of Babelsberg Park, including the English Tudor Gothic-inspired palace, the neo-Gothic Matrosenhaus (Sailors’ House) and the thirteenth century Gerichtslaube that was originally located in Berlin. The park and its buildings are a striking contrast to the Baroque nature of more geometric Sanssouci Park and its straight lines.
Future Swifter entrepreneurial ambition and increasing industrialization existed in the 19th century parallel to a glorification of the past, in the Romantic in poetry and painting as well which was reflected as here in Prussian Potsdam, in the design of the park and the summer palace of the second-eldest son of Friedrich Wilhelm III , and later monarchs Wilhelm I.
The Flatow Tower was built by the architect Johann Heinrich Strack, who was also responsible for the completion of the Babelsberg Palace, the Sailors House and the Gerichtslaube within the park. Strack was inspired by the architecture of the medieval Eschenheimer Gate Tower in Frankfurt am Main. The ornate arched gate in the front of the tower was also based on original artworks from the sixteenth century. The tower is named in honour of West Prussian Krongut Flatow (Złotów in Polish), who helped finance the project.
The tower stands in the middle of a water reservoir and served as a lookout point and a guest apartment. William I and his wife Augusta also used the space also for storing artefacts and other items in their personal collection – both were enthusiastic collectors of art and historical artefacts. When originally completed, the tower also featured a working drawbridge, entrance flanking stills of mercenaries and guns captured in Rastatt during the Baden Revolution in 1849.
Flatow Tower was heavily damaged at the end of World War II, while looting and vandalism after 1945 did further damage to the landmark. For many years, the tower survived as a walled ruin. In 1986, restoration work on the tower was completed and it is now open to the public. The tower houses original spaces like the former pump-room and study. Visitors who climb up the tower can see glimpses of beautiful Babelsberg Park. Flatow Tower also offers a unique panoramic view of the parks and palaces of Potsdam and beyond to Wannsee, including the Belvedere on the Pfingstberg and the dome of the Marble Palace in the New Garden.
Events in Potsdam
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Music Festival in PotsdamThe Music Festival in Potsdam will be held again in June. This year's theme "Music and gardens" ubiquitous. So even on the opening day in June. Interesting and unique you can take guided tours and visits to many different places. For those interested there is an Opera Workshop.
TICKETSDetails about the Music Festival in Potsdam can be found here.
The concert on the eve and Night of the Palaces in PotsdamThe Park of Sanssouci and Sanssouci Palace with its terraced vineyards and the New Palace are undisputedly the most important monuments in Potsdam, therefore provides the Night of the Palaces as an excellent temporal orientation, to learn more about the state capital of Brandenburg.
TICKETSDetails about the Night of the Palaces can be found here.