The necessary money was to be collected by fund-raising activities to which the mayor, Peter Stern, not only contributed but was one of the driving forces of the action group.

The project was not without opponents: the Viersen pastor, Lorenz Richen, in the name of all Roman Catholic priests, gave a passionate speech against the idea of honouring Bismarck of all people.

Due to this speech encouraging Roman Catholics to protest, Richen lost his job as school inspector.

It ended in a huge iron brazier on top of the building in order to light a beacon visible for miles on special occasions.

In the base, built from three ever smaller growing pedestals, there are 12 steps leading up to an iron door.

As decoration for the iron door on the western side the Düsseldorf architect Josef Kleesattel designed a coloured coat of arms of the Bismarck family as well as their motto "In trinitate robur" (in trinity, there is power) and the Berlin sculptor Arnold Künne created a bronze relief of the chancellor for the eastern front of tower.

Among other things the crumbling cement mortar lining of the joints was changed to a more modern material to avoid efflorescence.