Flakturm VII G-tower - Vienna, Austria
N 48° 13.535 E 016° 22.372
33U E 601961 N 5342284
The Flakturm VII G-tower is a World War II flak tower that was built by the Luftwaffe in Augarten Park in Vienna, Austria.
Waymark Code: WMMKP4
Location: Wien, Austria
Date Posted: 10/04/2014
Views: 16
"Flak towers (German: Flaktürme) were 8 complexes of large, above-ground, anti-aircraft gun blockhouse towers constructed in the cities of Berlin (3), Hamburg (2), and Vienna (3) from 1940 onwards. Other cities that used flak towers included Stuttgart and Frankfurt.
They were used by the Luftwaffe to defend against Allied air raids on these cities during World War II. They also served as air-raid shelters for tens of thousands of people and to coordinate air defence.
Flakturm VII – Augarten, Vienna
Augarten (3rd Generation)
G-Tower remains empty. The entire north-east and half of the east 20 mm gun platforms have been removed during 2007 including the connecting walkways due to deterioration. The tower itself has been reinforced with steel cables encircling the entire structure, 12 cables are located above the gun nests, 6 just below, and an additional 4 midway up the tower. The tower is home to thousands of pigeons which nest on every platform and opening. The tower suffered an internal explosion, and several floors near the top are missing on one side. The west side of the structure is also used as a cellular communications tower."
--Wikipedia (
visit link)
"During the Second World War, military authorities chose the Augarten as one of several places to erect massive buildings for anti-aircraft defence (flak towers) to protect the inner city from Allied bombing. During summer 1944 the construction of a 55 metre (180 feet) high tower with platforms for anti-aircraft guns and nearby also a 51 metre high control tower was begun but not finished, Their remains are still visible as an eyesore in the middle of the park. Moreover during the war hundreds of cubic metres of rubbish were dumped on the site whilst armoured vehicles criss-crossed the garden and - as it is supposed - common graves were dug for hundreds of war victims.
Today with the deplorable exception of the virtually indestructible flak towers and the bunker (in which a restaurant is housed) nothing from this dark period remains."
--Wikipedia (
visit link)