This historic Wrocław water tower is situated in Borek, the district of Krzyki

Krzyki

Krzyki : is one of the five administrative boroughs of Wrocław, Poland. It is located in the south of the city.Krzyki is also the name of one of the settlements within this borough.-Subdivision:...

 that is the southern borough of Wrocław, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

.

Construction

The water tower

Water tower

A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....

 at Sudecka Street in Wrocław was designed by Karl Klimm, a reputed local architect. Famed at the beginning of the 20th century, Klimm also designed the impressive building of the High School of Construction Engineering and Machinery (the today’s Faculty of Architecture of the Wrocław University of Technology) and the Zwierzyniecki Bridge

Zwierzyniecki Bridge

Zwierzyniecki Bridge is located in the eastern part of the Wrocław, Poland. The bridge spans the Oder River and is in the immediate vicinity of Wrocław Zoo and the exhibition grounds about Centennial Hall....

 (formerly known as the Pass Bridge).

Built 1904-1905 beside Wiśniowa Avenue and Sudecka Street junction, the tower supplied water to the residents of the southern districts of Wrocław for many years. The tower is 63 meters high. It was equipped with an electric lift from the very beginning. From June 1906 the lift allowed people to reach an observation deck situated at a height of 42 meters (the ticket cost 10 pfennig), from which one could admire the vista of Wrocław, its surroundings and Mount Ślęża

Mount Sleza

Ślęża is a mountain in the Sudetes foothills in Lower Silesia, from Wrocław, southern Poland. This natural reserve built mostly of granite is 718 m high and covered with forests....

. Two years later a red flag used to be hung at the top to inform people about very good viewing of the Sudety Mountains on a given day.

Two sculptors, Taschner and Bednorz, decorated the lower part of the building with bas-reliefs in sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

, representing fantastic creatures reminiscent of medieval bestiaries

Bestiary

A bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson...

. From a fountain situated on the north-eastern façade

Facade

A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....

 flowed crystal clear water that had its source in the tower’s vault. The fountain once depicted a nymph

Nymph

A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...

 mounting Triton

Triton (mythology)

Triton is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the big sea. He is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Amphitrite, goddess of the sea, whose herald he is...

.

This giant brick construction was modelled on medieval castles. The tower was placed on solid foundations, which housed flats for company employees operating the water supply system.

History

During the Battle of Festung Breslau

Battle of Breslau (1945)

The Battle of Breslau, also known as the Siege of Breslau, was a three month long siege of the city of Breslau in Lower Silesia, Germany , lasting to the end of World War II in Europe. From 13 February-6 May 1945, German troops in Breslau were besieged by the Soviet forces which encircled the city...

 in 1945 the tower served as a command point. The surrounding area was heavily bombed and damaged in raging combat, yet the tower remained almost intact during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. However, the war and the following years saw the tower suffer greatly from neglect. Until the mid eighties the tower served as a reservoir, equalizing water pressure for the southern districts.

In 1995 the tower was purchased from the city by the Stephan Elektronik Investment Company. The building was rejuvenated and started its new life as a stylish restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

 complex, called Wieża Cisnień (the Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

name for "water tower").

External links

• Wratislaviae amici: old postcards
• Restaurant (PL, EN, DE)