Bismarck Tower (Ballenstedt)

It stands on the Stahlsberg, a wooded hill ridge on the northeastern flank of the Harz Mountains in central Germany.

The Stahlsberg rises immediately south of Opperode through which the Sauerbach stream flows.

On the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig in 1913, Ballenstedt's lord mayor, Wendt, proposed the erection of a Bismarck tower.

The tower committee that was formed to take this forward, selected the Stahlsberg hill near Opperode as the location and Professor Wilhelm Kreis as the architect.

From 1930 to early 1931[1] the tower was finished under the direction of the Ballenstedt branch of the Harz Club who went for a simpler shape.