Eber’s water towers 2014

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 1/2014

The Swedish word “rörelse” can mean both “business” and “motion”.
The Swedish expression about the business, “den gick inte runt” mean both “it did not run so good” and “it did not turn around”.

A free translation to English:

In Charlemagne’s capital of Aachen, near the triponts for Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, there is a water tower on the hill Lousberg named Belvedere, the French word for observation tower. The tower, which was built in 1956-58, got offices on the lower plans and in 1970 on the top a revolving restaurant with a viewing platform.

The restaurant closed down in the early 1990’s because the business not run so good. The attempt in 2005 with café ended in 2011, it was not even now spin on the business. The function as a water tower ceased in 1988 and the tower is since 1990 a historical building and an example of the 1950s style.

Published 2014-02-12


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 2/2014

A free translation to English:

The village of Poziéres in Northern France was in the middle of one of the great battles in World War I, the Battle of the Somme 1916th. Here fought Entente which consisted of France, Britain and its Commonwealth. The Australian troops, who were part of the Entente, suffered heavy losses here in the village.

Today stands north of the village a water tower with a facade dedicated to the Australians. The tower is painted with a Victory Cross, Britain’s highest military award, and a poppy flower, which is the symbol of the World War I on the western front. There are also names of decorated soldiers. In addition, there is a road sign warning of koalas.

Published 2014-03-19


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 3/2014

A free translation to English:

North of the Latvian city Liepaja built the Russian Tsarist Empire 1890-1906 a war-harbor, which is now called Karosta. It was an independent society with its own water supply, which in 1905 built a 37 meter high water tower in gothic style with its belonging steam engine driven pumps.

During the Soviet occupation of Latvia became Karosta a Soviet naval base, with at most 40 000 inhabitants, but prohibited for all civilians. Nowadays, visitors can see the difference between the Tsarist empire relatively well preserved red brick buildings and the miserable quality of the Soviet concrete buildings.

Published 2014-04-30


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 4/2014

In Swedish, the word “bi” means both “secondary” and “bee”.

A free translation to English:

A water tower in the town Visselhövede in Lower Saxony in Germany had during one year a secondary/bee function. The tower, which was completed in 1899, had a height of 25 meters and a reservoir of 20 m³. It belonged to the honey factory “Sonnentau” and supplied the plant with clean water and good pressure in the production of honey. A function that it only had for one year.

When the factory in year 1900 became connected to the public water supply, became the tower solely fire reserve until 1950. The tower was reconstructed in 2002 and is now an art gallery with a registrar’s office on the balcony floor. Probably for smaller weddings.

Published 2014-06-04


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 5/2014

A free translation to English:

Ketchup Effect, it might be called, when motorists stop on route 159 in the town of Collinsville, Illinois, in the United States, to photograph the special water tower. They are then only 20 km east of the Mississippi River and the city of St. Louis.

The water tower, with the volume of 380 m³, was completed in 1949 and is 52 m high, of which 21 m is bottle. Brooks catsup, catsup is another name for ketchup, was manufactured here until the 1960s. When the tower was in danger of disappearing, formed a conservation association, who got the tower repainted in 1995, and listed in the register of historic buildings in the United States. A water tower with its own web site.

Published 2014-08-20


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 6/2014

A free translation to English:

In the Netherlands they built water towers in the lake. Yes, first they dike a water area, then pumps out the water, and they got a polder. The Northeast polder is such area with plenty of farmland, but also with the medium-sized city of Emmeloord.

The city held a design competition for a new water tower, which was won by architect H. van Gent. Together with the architect J. W. H. C. Pot he later designed it 65.5 meter high tower, with reservoirs of 1 850 m³. The tower was built 1957-59. There is also a carillon with 48 bells. There is now in the tower tourist office, meeting rooms and restaurant.

Published 2014-09-24


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 7/2014

A free translation to English:

In the district Ravensberg in the northern German city of Kiel was built in 1886 an elevated storage reservoir of 2 500 m³ as a large earth reservoir. Then something happened that has happened in other cities, the water pressure was not sufficient when higher grounds in the city was built and the houses in the town became higher, it needed a new water tower.

On the top of the earth reservoir got Kiel 1898 a 34 m high brick water tower, designed by Rudolph Schmidt. The reservoir volume was 1 500 m³ with 15 m higher highest water level than the highest water level of the earth reservoir. The tower became a listed building in 1976 and was decommissioned in 1990, and privatized 10 years later. Now is the tower under reconstruction and get 33 unique apartments.

Published 2014-10-29


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 8/2014

In Swedish, the word “svampen” means “the mushroom”. The first water tower in the world with prestressed concrete that got mushroom shape was built in the city of Örebro in Sweden. It is now called “Svampen”.

A free translation to English:

If you say mushroom water towers, will most of the people see at their inner eye a water tower like “Svampen” in Örebro, or its many imitators. These towers also have an ideal shape, volume on top for even pressure and small volume at the bottom where water turnover may be less. A shape that became possible to build when prestressed concrete became part of the construction.

In the Danish Hovedgård, a small community between Horsens and Århus, stand a different mushroom water tower. A simple small water tower from the 1930s that has mushrooms of all kinds painted on the facade. A mushroom place that it is easy to find.

Published 2014-12-10


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