Wilhelmswarte

The Wilhelms-Warte is a ten-metre stone lookout tower on the 675-metre summit of the Hochaninger, the highest point of the Anninger range in Gaaden, part of the Vienna Woods. The protected building also serves as a geodetic fixed point. In the 19th century the local ‘Verein der Naturfreunde’ built several wooden and stone towers across the region. The first wooden platform on the Hochaninger was named after Archduke Wilhelm and opened in July 1878 but had to be replaced within a decade. The present stone tower was designed by master builder Martin Breyer and resembles a small keep with a round plan and pointed entrance arch. Inside, an iron spiral staircase of 31 steps rises to the viewing platform eight metres above ground. Eight stone steps on the slope outside lead to the doorway. Beside the tower stand four concrete bases from a wartime radio mast whose square footprint still marks the site. From the platform the view stretches north to the Kahlenberg and Exelberg transmitters and the tall buildings north of the Danube in Vienna. To the east and south the eye follows the line of Gumpoldskirchen, Traiskirchen, Baden and Bad Vöslau, with the Sonnwendstein, Schneeberg and Hohe Wand rising beyond. The clearing around the summit, restored in 2011, keeps the tower free of obstructions and restores the open outlook it had when first built.