Description of the Round Tower in Andernach from Dr. Klaus Schaefer Ever since the legendary Tower of Babel was built, buildings towering steeply into the sky have emanated a fascination that hardly any observer can resist - regardless of whether it is the skyscraper of the 20th century, the Eiffel Tower or the Round Tower in Andernach of the mightiest late medieval defense towers in Germany. Towers are and always have been symbols of strength and power. This can also be seen in the Round Tower, the most imposing element of the medieval city fortifications. The 56 m high tower on the north-west corner of the ring wall, directly on the Rhine, Europe's main traffic artery, was deliberately erected. It is no coincidence that the tower was obviously built solely with city funds, despite the difficult financial situation, and not from the electoral coffers of the sovereign. The self-confident municipality created its own landmark, which towers over both the towers of the parish church and the keep of the Electoral Cologne Castle. The city coat of arms attached high up on the tower underlines the political aspect of this building. The Round Tower consists of two main components, two towers placed one on top of the other. The 33 m high base tower - a round tower - has a wall up to 4 m thick, which is largely built of slate stones. Some layers of the slightly reddish tuff from the quarry at Lake Lascher were also used. This massive base tower with an outer diameter of 15 m finds its upper end in a projecting battlement with a guard house and is only decorated with a cloverleaf-shaped arched frieze made of tuff on long rod consoles at the transition to the battlement. The second main component is the 23 m high part of the tower with an octagonal floor plan. The tower is crowned by eight triangular gables above an arched frieze, a tent-shaped stone helmet and basalt ridge flowers. Inside, the base tower has a basement and two more floors, each with 5 shot niches for all-round defense. The upper part of the tower is divided into two more floors. The individual floors can be reached via stone spiral staircases. We do not know the exact construction time. What is certain is that the tower was completed in November 1453. It is not possible to determine exactly when construction began.