Marktturm Fischamend

The Marktturm stands in the heart of Fischamend, a town in Lower Austria. Built in the Middle Ages, it was once a border and watchtower under Emperor Henry III around 1050. After a fire in 1834, it was restored and now serves as the town’s local museum. The tower also functioned as a municipal office and night watchman’s lodging until 1927. Its most striking feature is the octagonal Baroque upper section added in the 17th century. A later alteration in 1728 turned it into a gate tower by creating a round-arched passage for the road to Hungary. The tower’s design reflects its layered history. The lower three floors are built from rough-hewn stone with corner quoins and string courses. Above them rise the two Baroque octagonal levels, topped by a domed roof crowned with a bronze fish. The passage through the tower, created in 1728, is vaulted and arched, allowing the road to pass beneath. Large keyhole-shaped gun slits and round-arched windows punctuate the upper levels. Obelisks mark the corners of the third floor, adding to its imposing silhouette. Visitors find a five-storey structure that narrows as it rises, with a mix of medieval and Baroque styles. Inside, the Heimatmuseum occupies the upper floors, displaying local history and artefacts. The ground floor passage still carries faint echoes of its role as a gateway. From outside, the tower dominates the town square, its bronze fish gleaming above the rooftops. The surrounding streets curve around it, as the main road now bypasses the old route.