Austria Seeks Use For Flak Towers

[Annelie]

Vienna officials are looking for ways to use the flak towers throughout the city.One, which houses an aquarium, is used as a recreational climbing wall.

Sixty years later six concrete flak towers are looking for new uses for the massive structures. Although there have been many suggestions Klaus Steiner an engineer at the municipal planning department in charge of studying alternatives uses says, "these buildings were not built to fulfill anything beyond their military purpose. Interesting site

http://www.reichruins.simonides.org/vienna.htm

(asssociated press)

[Raf]

Link doesn't work

[Don Bensted]

Try this link

http://www.reichinruins.simonides.org/reichruins.htm

[Marcus]

Welcome to the forum.

/Marcus

[Ken Jasper]

If any member has a chance to visit Vienna, check out those flak towers, they are impressive, particularly the one in the Augarten.

[Erich]

visited Wien in 1980 but never got across river. What actually is now housed in the Augarten facility......shops and restaurants correct ?

E

[Ken Jasper]

Erich,

I was last there in 1989. Nothing was in the tower then. It was fenced off, but you could still get quite close to it. It was pockmarked with shell holes apparently from the fighting in Vienna during the last days of the war.

[MadJim]

When I visited there one was fairly close to the hotel - it was simply huge. I was told that they were so well constructed that blowing them up would require destroying much of the buildings in the surrounding area. I took some pictures- they are around here somewhere - rustle, rustle...

[Ken Jasper]

What you were told about destroying the towers is correct. Other fortifications from the war are also still in Austria. Next time you pass through Linz on the train look for the pillboxes in the marshalling yards. You can't get to them. of course, but they are still visable,,

[Pumpkin]

What is a flak tower? Why would anyone put AA guns in huge towers? (Was it for fighting strifing airplanes rather than high altutude bombers?)

[Marcus]

(click the cover)

A book on the topic: "The Flak Towers in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna" by Michael Foedrowitz.

/Marcus

[Ken Jasper]

Marcus,

That is a great book, I have it in my library along with dozens of photos I took myself.

Pumpkin,

The towers were primarily for use against high altitude bombers. They enabled the Germans to concentrate a large number of guns in built-up urban areas.

[Erich]

The Wien Flak Tor were essentially a thorn in the flesh of the B-17/B-24 formations of the 15th Air Force. Pick this book up as it will give you a good overall and (cheap) reference of the Flak towers in Wien, Berlin and Hamburg.
There are at least two other expensive volumes in existance.......
A couple of sites that I think still work are:

http://www.geheimprojeckte.at check the other links at this site......

http://www.flaktuerme.de

http://webinsel.lion.cc/spitzbergen/180 ... tuerme.htm

what is unique about these big towers is that they housed in their final armament versions the big twin 128mm's. And as far as Vienna is concerned I do believe that all the towers still remain intact.

E

[Erich]

Please omit the first link I gave and use the following......

http://www.geheimprojekte.at/

at the front page go to Luftwaffe. Check the box and you will find a nice map of Austria and it's flak zones. You can check each ring and find some basic info on the manned Flak units as well as the larger cities losses. Example......greater part of Vienna attacked 53 times by the 15 th Air Force, etc.
Also on the front page check the Literature box as there are some excellent titles listed.

8) E

[Erich]

A couple more publications I found for you all !

Flaktürme by Hans Sakkers, Verlag Fortress Books 112 pages with photos, and great book from what I have been told.
ISBN # 90-7639601-9
at http://www.fortress-books.com/ Dutch publication 35 to 45 E

Bunker, Luftschutz und Luftschutzbau in Hamburg 2001 from Christian Schmidt Verlag Hamburg
144 pages, large format
ISBN # 3-7672-1385-0 German publication 15 E

another link:

http://www.lostplaces.de covers Gefechtsturm VI

E