Martinsturm (Bregenz)

The Martinsturm stands in the upper town of Bregenz, a former grain store turned tower that crowns the north-east corner of the medieval city walls. Its curved onion dome and lantern rise above the skyline, marking one of the city’s best-known landmarks. The tower was raised by three storeys in 1601 and fitted with an open loggia of three round arches on each side. The building’s history is written in its frescoes and stonework. A small chapel occupied the upper floor as early as the 14th century, its walls painted with scenes from the life of Christ. In 1648 the paintings were whitewashed on orders of the town mayor, only to be uncovered again between 1910 and 1914 by Florus Scheel. The tower also served as a watch post after the great fire of 1581, when a keeper called the ‘Türmer’ scanned the town from the onion dome. Visitors climb inside the tower to the top floor, where a 360-degree view opens over Bregenz and Lake Constance. The adjoining Martinskapelle still holds its fresco cycles, including a giant Saint Christopher carrying the Christ-child through water on the north wall. Fragments of the Passion story appear around the windows, while the east wall shows the journey of the Magi beneath a painted star. The chapel’s long nave, added in the 18th century, leads back to the tower’s ground floor, completing a loop through seven centuries of art and architecture.