Wartbergturm - Alzey - Germany

The Wartberg Tower near the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Alzey in Germany is a 28.15-metre-high observation tower. It was first mentioned in a document in 1420 and was used as an observation post for military purposes.

The Wartberg Tower was probably built in the first half of the 12th century and was part of a medieval "early warning system". The tower was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War in 1620 and rebuilt in 1668. Renovation work took place in 1858 and 1890; during the latter, the tower was redesigned. In a photo from 1929, the tower was romantically transfigured with battlements.

Towards the end of the Second World War, on January 8, 1945, the Wartberg Tower was - according to legend - the town's savior. American bomber pilots mistakenly thought that the spire rising out of the fog was the steeple of St. Nicholas Church and dropped their bomb load. The only certainty is that the tower was destroyed and the city was largely spared from bombing raids.