Wasserturm Zwischenbrücken 3

The Wasserturm stands in Steyr, a town in Upper Austria. Built between 1572 and 1574 by Michael Aidn, it once supplied water to the town’s central fountains. A pump driven by a wheel in the Steyr River filled its tank, which fed the Neptune and Poseidon fountains on the Stadtplatz. In 1824 Dominik Staffelmayr replaced the old pump with a simpler design. A new metal roof was added in 1864, and Ludwig Werndl bought the tower and its adjoining buildings in 1875. The building narrowly escaped demolition twice. In 1909 the arms factory wanted to tear it down, but the central monument commission saved it. By then the tower leaned 32 centimetres and was shortened by eight metres. The pump worked until 1948, and in the 1960s plans to clear the whole site were dropped. Instead, the tower and two nearby houses were restored in 1974–75. Visitors see a sturdy stone tower with a steep roof and a small adjoining house. On the south wall hangs the Eiserne Panther, a 1915 iron shield made by nailing thousands of donations into a wooden model by Leo Zimpel. Below it a plaque reads a verse about the war effort. The tower stands beside the Steyr River, close to the historic bridges and the old town centre.