Götzenturm
📍 Baden-Württemberg, Heilbronn
A 30-metre medieval tower in Heilbronn named after a knight who was actually jailed in a different tower — a mix-up caused by Goethe — with a paper-cut-out figure balancing on its roof since 1985.
The Götzenturm is a 30-metre sandstone tower on the south-west corner of Heilbronn’s old city wall, built in 1392, at Allerheiligenstraße 1. It is probably built from stones of the Klingenberg castle demolished in 1361.
Why It’s Interesting
It is named after the knight Götz von Berlichingen, but he never sat in it. He spent a single night in 1519 in the cruder Bollwerksturm. After Goethe’s play Götz von Berlichingen (1773), Heilbronn simply decided the more impressive tower was his prison — and the name stuck.
On its roof, a paper-cut-out-style figure titled “Über dem Abgrund” (“above the abyss”) by artist Hubertus von der Goltz has balanced at the edge since 1985.
Best Time to Visit
Daytime, when the tourist office is open to issue the tower key. Clear days make the climb worthwhile for the view.
Getting There
Central Heilbronn, a short walk from the old town. Collect the key from the Tourist-Information Heilbronn or the city archive before climbing; confirm current hours and terms.
🐿️ Cinnamon was here
Field report
A traveler wrote to me asking what was worth seeing in Heilbronn on the way to Frankfurt, and the answer came with a good story. In 1519 the knight Götz von Berlichingen was held for one night in the rough old Bollwerksturm. When Goethe's play about him came out in 1773, the townspeople looked around, picked the handsomest tower, and declared that this was where he had been kept.
I went to see the wrong-but-famous one. It is thirty metres of local sandstone from 1392, and on the roof a flat, cut-out black figure has been balancing over the edge since 1985. I stared at it for a long time, tail tight, waiting for it to fall. It didn't.
The humans I asked said the view from up top is the real prize, and that you have to collect a key first, which I found very dignified. Bring a friend to hold the door.
— Cinnamon 🐿️
📸 Cinnamon's camera roll
Snapshots from our very good boy on the road.
Where it is
You might also like
Burgruine Weibertreu
The Rällinge of Abstatt
Burg Wildeck
Deutsches Elfenbeinmuseum (German Ivory Museum)
Nearby discoveries
Solardraisine Überwaldbahn
Waldspirale
Hammering Man
Bogardus Plaza Clock
Comments
- No comments yet — be the first to share a tip.