Eber’s water towers – Estonia

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 6/2022

A free translation to English:

120 years ago, Hapsal (Haapsalu) was a spa town in Estonia for the Russian aristocracy and tsarist family. To get there quickly and conveniently from St. Petersburg, it was a train that mattered and therefore a railway was built from Tallinn to Hapsal. The steam locomotive required water and this meant that three similar water towers were built on this line, in Riisipere, Risti and Haapsalu.

The water tower in Risti, built in 1905, is 18 m high with a reservoir of 63 m3. It was later bought and restored by a water tower friend. The original equipment such as a cast iron staircase and an oven for heating the water remain.

Published 2022-10-05


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 4/2017

A free translation to English:

In the old Estonian town Karksi-Nuia, near the border with Latvia, standing since 1994, 35-meter high water tower with four tanks, each holding 30 m³ giving a total volume of 120 m³. It is a Latvian company that constructed these standard water towers, with varying numbers of tanks.

In Latvia can be found water towers with both two, three, four tanks arranged in the same manner as in Karksi-Nuia. In the tiny town of Ape in northeastern Latvia standing next to each other, three water towers, each with three tanks, for a total of nine tanks. The question is whether it is the optimal solution?

Published 2017-06-08


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 7/2007

A free translation to English:

It is not quite unusual that older water towers that not longer are in duty get a new task as belvedere. As a rule will in that case pipes and reservoirs be remain intact, either it happens because of the expense or by building antiquarian reasons. Unusual is it however that the whole upper part of the tower is lifting away and replaced with a copy.

That happens nevertheless in year 2001 in the Estonian town Viljandi, when its 30 meter high water tower, built 1911 and out of duty 1960, through a collection of the Rotary Club in the town, get a new octagonal three storey upper part. You can now here see both the view and historic pictures of the town.

Published 2007-11-07