Eugen-Richter-Turm, Hagen

The Eugen Richter Tower is a lookout tower in the Westphalian town of Hagen, above the district of Wehringhausen.

It commemorates the important liberal politician Eugen Richter, who represented the Hagen-Schwelm constituency in the Reichstag between 1874 and 1906 and in the Prussian House of Representatives from 1869 to 1906. The location on a higher ridge opposite Hagen's Bismarck Tower underscores the liberal politician's esteem as an influential opponent of the conservative Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

The Eugen Richter Tower is made of rubble stone; the octagonal main structure rises above the rectangular base floor, which is flanked by two stair towers with a square cross-section. The hall of honor on the base level originally contained busts of Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein, Adolph Diesterweg, Bernhard Christoph Ludwig Natorp and Friedrich Harkort.

The tower was built in 1911, stands at a height of 285 m and measures 23 m in total. It is part of the 6 km long Hagen "Three Towers Trail" with Eugen Richter Tower, Bismarck Tower and Kaiser Friedrich Tower. The ascent to the viewing platform on the octagonal tower is via a spiral staircase with 84 steps, which was retrofitted in place of an earlier staircase. In 1999, the tower was extensively renovated and has been accessible again since 2004. From the top, there is a good view of Hagen and the surrounding area. The tower association plans to install a coin telescope and orientation boards.

In the immediate vicinity of the Eugen Richter Tower is the Volkssternwarte Hagen, during whose opening hours the tower can also be climbed.

The tower was the site of the amateur radio propagation beacon DB0QQ until 2020.