Wewelsburg - Kreismuseum The North Tower of Wewelsburg Castle   View on the secured North Tower (1932/33) The History of the North Tower (Nordturm) up to 1933 Between 1603 and 1609 Wewelsburg Castle was built in its present form to serve as the second residence of the Paderborn Prince Bishops. In those days, the North Tower contained a chapel. In 1802, owner-ship of Wewelsburg Castle passed into the hands of the Prussian State. The North Tower was completely gutted by fire in 1815. All that subsequently remained were the outer walls. After it took over Wewelsburg Castle, the district of Büren planned to convert the castle into a cultural centre. In 1925 a youth hostel, a local museum, a banqueting hall with adjoining rooms and a restaurant were opened in the castle. At the end of the Twenties, attention was devoted to the problem of securing the North Tower. In 1931/32 the tower was secured by means of a peripheral tie beam to prevent it from collapsing. The History of the North Tower between 1933 and 1945 When the SS took over the castle in 1934, this represented a significant break in both the history and function of the North Tower. Himmler and his senior architect, Bartels, planned the construction of a gigantic new castle on the area of Wewelsburg village, with the North Tower forming the central axis. . The cellar of the North Tower was to be converted into a "crypt", whilst the former Prince Bishop’s chapel on the ground floor was to become the "Hall of Supreme Leaders" (Obergruppenführersaal). Drawing by the S.S. architects of the planned North Tower (1941) The ground in the former cellar of the North Tower was lowered by 4.80 metres and the foundations of the tower secured with concrete. New elements were installed inside: the concrete dome of the "crypt", on top of which a prestressed concrete false ceiling, clad with marble slabs, was laid. The former chapel was also provided with a stucco prestressed concrete ceiling. Columns and arcades were placed between the two ceilings. The Gothic-style windows were bricked up and new, longitudinal window apertures were hewn into the walls. Finally, the tower, which had been secured in 1932, was lowered to the level of the roof of the present marble hall. Plans to construct yet another hall – on top of the "Hall of the Supreme SS-Leaders" – with a gigantic dome were never realised. On the Planned Function of the Rooms in the North Tower In the final plans of 1944, the function of the North Tower was to be its central role as a pseudo-religious cult centre. From 1939 on, meetings of SS-Group Leaders were planned to take place in Wewelsburg Castle at so-called spring conferences. Furthermore, those Group Leaders who had not yet been sworn in were to undergo this ceremony at Wewelsburg Castle. It is likely that a number of talks were held at Wewelsburg Castle, although evidence tells us of only one such talk which took place in June 1941. The name, as well as the modelling of the "crypt" on the architecture of the Greek beehive tomb, suggest that plans existed to honour the dead here. However, the rooms in the North Tower were neither finally completed nor used by the end of the war. Model of the planned "Centre of the World", 1941 Alemannian fibula from the 7th century The North Tower – "The Centre of the World" From 1941 on, SS architects talked of developing the Wewelsburg Castle complex into the "Centre of the World" within twenty years. The extended and enlarged North Tower was to be situated in the middle of a circular complex. Ring roads and radial roads, buildings and ring works were constructed taking the North Tower as their reference point. The idea of making the tower into the "central axis" was initially adopted in the two almost completed rooms. In the centre of the floor of the "Hall of the Supreme SS-Leaders" there is an ornament consisting of three rings with twelve spokes, which could be interpreted as sig-runes. This ornament is a sun-wheel. The countless bronze decorative fibulas worn on belts by Frankish and Alemannian women from the 3rd century on probably served as the model for this work. The Germans became acquainted with these fibulas on coming into contact with the Romans and subsequently developed them further. This special ornament, a variation of a Roman swastika-fibula, arose in the 7th century at a time when the majority of the Alemannians and Franks had already been converted to Christianity. The North Tower after 1945 Acting on the command of Heinrich Himmler, a special SS squad blew up Wewelsburg Castle on 31st March 1945. It was gutted by fire as a result. The rooms in the North Tower as well as the outer walls remained largely intact, however. At the end of the Forties, the District of Büren decided to restore Wewelsburg Castle. On 29th June 1950 the ceremonial reopening of the District local museum and the youth hostel took place. Between 1973 and 1975, the North Tower was also restored to its original height. back Contact details | Webmaster | Imprint | References