Eber’s water towers 2012

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 1/2012

A free translation to English:

City Fires used to be a major threat in former times, paricularly in wooden cities, disasters that of course was tried to forestall. A solution was patrolling fireguards, as the Swedish speaking town Ekenäs in the southern Finland had after a big fire 1821. Another solution was to watch over the town from a tall building.

When Ekenäs built a new water tower in 1931, there were at the top of the tower’s two-story lantern room for a fire watcher. Room that however did not come to be used for its intended purpose. The 35 meter high tower, with a reservoir of 370 m³, was designed by architecht Ragnar Wessman. Tower operation was closed 1977th.

Published 2012-02-15


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 2/2012

In the famous Swedish novel series (four novels) “The Emigrants” by the author Vilhelm Moberg are the main characters Karl-Oskar and Kristina, Swedish emigrants moving to the USA (East Minnesota) in 19th century.

Lindström is a not uncommon Swedish last name. A wellknown Swedish dish is “Biff à la Lindström”. My Swedish original version of the English sentence “It’s in the bag” is a Swedish expression that can be linked to “Beef à la Lindström”.

A free translation to English:

In todays global electronic world is the domination of the English language evident, and the letters that this language use standardizing. It means that even closely related language as the Swedish, sometimes got problem with the letters that the English not have. Å, Ä och Ö will not seldom be A, A and O, which sometimes got comic results.

When the little Swedish town Lindstrom in eastern Minnesota in USA, the new home district of Karl-Oskar and Kristina, got a new water tower, it was painted in yellow and blue. To put icing on the cake, recounted one name with the old language dots over o:et. It’s in the bag.

Published 2012-03-21


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 3/2012

In the translation is the Swedish word “enastående” translated to “remarkable” but can also mean “stands alone”.

A free translation to English:

A small house on the top of a Eifel tower one might characterize the water tower in the town Groitzsch south of Leipzig in the German federal state of Saxony. It is remarkable, because the other two towers built in the style now is scrapped. Dortmund firm August Klönne designed the 45 meter high water tower, which has a reservoir of 300 m³.

The tower, that was in service 1904, was damaged by bombers in World War II, but was repaired and is still in operation. The public has the opportunity to get onto the observation deck during the City Festival and Doors Open Days, and then it’s obviously a queue.

Published 2012-05-03


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 4/2012

The Swedish word “lik” can mean both “like” and “corpse”.

A free translation to English:

Water is considered a precondition to the origin of the life. The form of the water tower in the French village of Croix, just west of the Swiss city Basel, suggests, however the end of the life. The explanation of the form is likely that the architect wanted to allude to the village’s name, which translated means Cross.

There will be no less remarkable in that the tower stands next to the village’s cementary. Like a water tower or not, the tower’s form is fascinating even if you do not have a morbid disposition. Water towers that illustrates name of a village must be very rare, if ever there are any other such towers.

Published 2012-06-07


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 5/2012

A free translation to English:

Water as water, was perhaps the thought when one canal company in England 1811 founded a water company, Grand Junction Waterworks Company, at a time when water supply in London was run by private companies. 1883 they built a pumping station in western London, Kew Bridge Pumping Station.

With the help of steam engines water was pumped from Thames to a slow sand filter and then out on the net. It was built in 1867 a 61 meter high standpipe. These are in the Anglo-Saxon world sometimes called water towers. Pump station operation was closed down in 1944, and since 1973 is here a museum, with steam operation every weekend.

Published 2012-08-29


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 6/2012

Gnesta is a town and Malmö is a city in Sweden. Both with water towers that can compete with Ypsilanti.

A free translation to English:

East of the neighbouring university town Ann Arbor and some miles west of the Motor City, Detroit, State of Michigan in the USA is the town of Ypsilanti, the name of a Greek freedom hero in 1800s. At the highest point in town, standing since 1890 a 46 meter high water tower with a reservoir of 950 m³.

The tower in limestone, which is designed by William R. Coats, was declared as an American Water Landmark in 1975 and restored in 1976. In a poll organized by a magazine was the tower chosen as the most phallic building in the world. The question is if whether they had knowledge of the water towers in Gnesta and Södervärn in Malmö.

Published 2012-10-03


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 7/2012

The Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus died on the foggy battlefield Lützen November 6th 1632. November 6th in the Julian calendar, is in today’s Gregorian calendar November 16th. Scania was 1632 not a part of Sweden.

A free translation to English:

Lützen is for many people connected with water-saturated air in November, a conception that especially history books have built up. The air in this German city in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt and the famous battlefield in the northeast, towards Saxony’s largest city Leipzig, however, is not always water-saturated.

The sun is successful here, as everywhere else, many times evaporate the humidity, which is good when the city’s water tower shall be photographed. By that perhaps this month’s issue of Cirkulation, now 380 years later after the most famous Lützen fog, can be successful to show a different and more sunnier side of the city.

Published 2012-11-07


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 8/2012

A free translation to English:

The Nobel Prize Winner Nils Bohr was one of those who were behind the founding of the Research Center Risø, north of the Danish city of Roskilde, where research of a peaceful use of nuclear power would take place. In order to cool down the reactors require water and this water shall have safe and quick access with one of the laws of physics, the law of gravity.

Therefore, it was built 1959 a 45 meter high water tower on the ground above the Risø, with a cooling reservoir of 300 m³. The tower was designed by Preben Hansen and Paul Niepoort. Since the last reactor at Risø was closed a few years ago, the tower ceased operation.

Published 2012-12-12


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