Photos

This is the wedding tower of the
Matthildenhöhe (Artists' Colony)
The tower has 48 meter,the lamp about 2 meter.
Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Glasgow, Barcelona and ... Darmstadt! This Hessian city made a name for itself among the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) metropolises of Europe.
In 1899, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig founded the first artists' colony with seven artists, architects, painters and sculptors: J. M. Olbrich, P. Behrens, P. Huber, H. Christiansen, P. Bürck, L. Habich and R. Bosselt. Their first task was to design and build their own living and working quarters and present them to the public.
The first Mathildenhöhe exhibition took place in 1901, making Darmstadt known beyond State borders. For this event, Josef Maria Olbrich designed the Ernst-Ludwig-Haus, named after the royal head of state, as an atelier and exhibition building, together with a number of surrounding villas. These initial buildings are still termed the "Darmstadt style" in architectural histories.
One of the most prominent structures on the Mathildenhöhe is the Hochzeitsturm (wedding-tower), now an established symbol of the city. The city of Darmstadt had the tower built in memory of the marriage of the Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig to Princess Eleonore zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich on the 2nd of February, 1905.

The architect Josef Maria Olbrich, who joined the artists' colony at the Grand Duke's invitation in 1899, designed the 48-metre tower, which was completed in 1908.

The brick tower building comprises a symmetrical, multiple-level footing with an entrance portal, an upright main tower body with eccentric window bands extending around the corners and a unique five-spired top based on a concept from the Grand Duke himself and reminiscent of the outstretched fingers of a hand.

The tower interior has seven storeys, including an entrance hall, a book magazine, rooms for the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, the latter decorated with frescos by Philipp Otto Schäfer. The uppermost storey is the viewing platform.