Malakoffturm

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Malakoffturm (Malakoff Tower)
Am Leystapel
Cologne, September 2024

“The Malakoff Tower is a relic of the Prussian Rhine bank fortifications built between 1848 and 1858 at the Holzmarkt in Cologne. After the chain of forts on the left bank of the Rhine in front of the city of Cologne had been consolidated and strengthened in the 1840s, the expansion of the city fortifications on the Rhine side began in 1848. This included the construction of a new security harbor in front of the southern old town, the construction of a new valley wall and the construction of a gate tower at the northern tip of the harbor basin, including an iron swing bridge. Work on the tower and swing bridge took place from 1852 to 1855. The exterior of the tower and its ancillary buildings were already completed in 1854, while the interior work was not completed until 1855. The complex at the northern tip of the ‘Rheinau’ was designed as an open battery with a vaulted gun turret in addition to the actual gate tower. The engineer colonel vom Platz, Carl Schnitzler, was responsible for the drafts, while the construction management was in the hands of the city architect Bernhard Harperath.” (Malakoffturm, Wikipedia)