Volkmarsberg Tower

The Volkmarsberg rises west of Oberkochen in the Albuch, a part of the Swabian Alb. Its summit reaches over 743 metres and is crowned by a 23-metre observation tower built of reinforced concrete. The surrounding plateau is a protected juniper heath, once used for sheep grazing, where scattered old beeches, oaks and limes now stand.

The tower was completed in 1930 after earlier wooden structures had failed. It has five floors, eleven staircases and 104 steps, and weighs 390 tonnes. The Schwäbischer Albverein laid out the zigzag path to the summit in 1903, an 810-metre climb with gradients between seven and ten per cent. The Albverein also maintains a small unmanned shelter beside the tower.

Visitors follow the winding path through juniper heath and woodland to the tower’s viewing platform. The Schwäbische-Alb-Nordrand-Weg and a section of the Jakobsweg both pass the summit. A six-kilometre planetary path from Oberkochen ends at the foot of the tower, its twelfth station marking the Kuiper belt and Pluto.