Eber’s water towers 2010

The leading trade journal in Sweden, VA-tidskriften Cirkulation has since 1998 an article series under the heading Ebers vattentorn (Eber’s water towers), where Eber Ohlsson with text and photo presents interesting water towers in the world (except Scania and Sweden). Below is a free translation to English of these texts.


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 1/2009

A free translation to English:

Those who want to live a high life, have now the opportunity to do it in London. Here can you today buy a Victorian rebuilt water tower at the earlier Brook Hospital, south of Greenwich to a price of 15-20 millions of Swedish crowns. The high life is not cheaply. Then you get a house of 330 m², that except the water tower even include a ground-close extension building in two floors.

The remaining rooms are found in the ninth floors tower, one on each floor and with minimal windows. Fortunately is there a lift and a staircase, even if these take half of the area. On the top is there a room with prospect over the entire London. Is it maybe a priceless prospect?

Published 2009-02-11


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 2/2009

A free translation to English:

In the cathedral city Mikkeli, Finnish name on St Michel, in lake district of Finland, was there 1880 built a fire lookout tower on the Kvinnoberget [The Woman’s mountain]. At that time was there also added a café and a park. It is not less commendable to extinguish fires than to discover them, so 1911-12 was there on the same place built a water tower in reinforced concrete after drawings by Selim A. Lindqvist.

During the World War II was there a liaison central of the Anti-Aircraft Command in the interior of the Kvinnoberget. After the war, 1946 was the upper part of the tower rebuilt after drawings by Eero Jokilehto. From the new belvedere platform could the Finlander now again peaceful scout to the east.

Published 2009-03-18


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 3/2009

A free translation to English:

A water tower gives on distance a distinct signal. In the most cases when you approach a certain place. But the water tower in Hohenlockstedt north of Hamburg in Germany, built 1900-01, and in operation until 1980s, gave in former times a signal that could mean the difference between life and dead.

Here is in a pylon on the tower a raise ball that in former times show when there was live-cartridge practice in the nearby situated training ground of the Prussian army. Here is even a sign on the tower that in German and Finnish state that here have Finnish commandos been trained. Commandos in the battle of Finnish self-government, there later these became the essence of the Finnish army.

Published 2009-05-06


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 4/2009

A free translation to English:

Water towers in USA can in some cases be what we call stand pipes. The architectural shape is however normal so distinctive that they can be ranged in our series of water towers. The North Point Water Tower in the city of Milwaukee in the state of Wisconsin in USA is a such water tower.

It is drawn by architect Charles A. Gombert in Victorian Limestone Gothic. The 53 m high tower contain a fully 36 m high stand pipe with a diameter of 1.2 m. It stood ready 1874 and was first out of operation 1963. The water tower that stands close to the Lake Michigan has even served as a beacon. It is now an American Water Landmark.

Published 2009-06-10


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 5/2009

A free translation to English:

A grey water tower of concrete without windows was some years ago rebuilt to a luxurious conference centre with a tourist office, belvedere and at the top a revolving panorama restaurant with space for 200 guests. Could the change be so must greater?

The Mediterranean Lighthouse, as the tower now is named, is standing in the seaside resort Palavas-les-Flots on the French Mediterranean coast, a few kilometres south of the city Montpellier. When it gets dark the lighting of the tower shifts in all spectral colours, and at that time the restaurant probably serve colourful drinks, that not only contents water.

Published 2009-09-02


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 6/2009

A free translation to English:

There are water towers that fulfil its function, without to get any attention – so far they supply good water with an adequate pressure. Such a water tower is there in the Italian city Pisa, there however this water tower broke the anonymity by wearing the arms of the city.

In the same city is there an another tower that not supplies the citizens with water, and moreover leans because it is insufficiently piled in a ground consist of sand, clay, gravel and under that blue clay. In other words a tower that not has been as it was planned. But this tower got more attention. There is no gratitude in this world.

Published 2009-10-07


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 7/2009

A free translation to English:

6 years of uptime is not much of a water tower. It was between 1957 and 1963 which the 18.5 m high water tower in red sandstone in the village Utscheid-Buscht in the south Eifel Mountains in Germany was in operation. On the other hand, the reservoir volume was not impressive, only 30 m³.

In 1993 transformed the architecture professor Oswald Mathias Unger, the old water tower for their own holiday home in five floors, with a spiral staircase and modern facilities. The present owners, a Dutch couple, has in the tower also created a small concert hall, there the public sometimes is invited to evenings of classical music and poetry.

Published 2009-11-11


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 8/2009

A free translation to English:

It will easy happen when the future looks light; to spend more on a new building than what should have been done in a hard time. The new water tower shall perhaps shine a little more than the tower in the neighbouring town. When the Jutland town Kolding in the 1960s should built a new water tower in the east part of the town, was Denmark in such light period.

The new water tower of Kolding that stood ready 1967, got in spite of it was more expensive, an outside steel skeleton covered with light metal plates. It was architect Henning Noes-Pedersen that draw the 42 meter high tower with the volume 750 m³. It became a shining tower.

Published 2009-12-16


<<< Previous year (2008)

Following year (2010) >>>