Schänzel Tower

The Schänzel Tower was erected in 1874 a result of Germany's nationalistic fervour after her victory in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71.

[1] In 1894 it was dedicated to the Prussian soldiers who suffered a defeat at this location during the Battle of Trippstadt on 13 July 1794, a hundred years earlier, including the death of the Prussian commander, General Theodor Philipp von Pfau [de]: "...in memory of the brave Prussian warriors who died a hero's death here for the German Fatherland fighting the French invasion army on 13 July 1794" (Dem Andenken der tapferen preußischen Krieger, welche im Kampfe gegen das französische Invasionsheer am 13.

Juli 1794 hier den Heldentod für das deutsche Vaterland starben).

[3]When French Revolutionary troops conquered that part of Electoral Palatine on the left bank of the Rhine, a contingent of Prussian soldiers opposed them without success on the slopes of the Steigerkopf.

[4] Because the Prussians had built a small fieldwork (Schanze) on the mountainside, the Steigerkopf became known locally as the Schänzel; whence the name of the tower.