Water tower, Trier

The water tower on the Petrisberg in Trier is a 39-meter high former water tower, built in 1958 according to the plans of the Trier architect Herbert Montebaur.

With a capacity of 412,000 liters, it most recently served primarily to supply water to Olewig. It was built in particular to supply the barracks on the Petrisberg and the districts of Tarforst and Neu-Kürenz. Since 1988 it has been replaced by a larger elevated tank. Since 1998 it has been an official landmark of the city of Trier and is illuminated at night. The almost 39.06 m high tower can be climbed via a staircase with 144 steps.

At the time of its construction, the tower was given the adjectives "futuristic", "avant-garde", "filigree" and was considered an architecturally and structurally interesting structure. The strikingly slender structure of the elevated tank, made of reinforced concrete, is supported by four flat, slender concrete piers whose cross-section at the base is 0.45 meters by 4.30 meters. The piers were set up in such a way that there is space in the center for a 3.30 m wide stair shaft with clear width. To ensure stability, the load-bearing support piers rest on a strong base plate of twelve by twelve meters in area. The 32.5 m towering columns taper with a ratio of 1:30.

Due to the slim design - the average diameter of the reinforced concrete tank is only 8.50 m - a difference in water level of eight meters between empty and full tank has to be accepted. The resulting pressure differences when feeding the tank are eliminated by installing the water inlet at the very top of the tank. The double-walled tank is made entirely of concrete. A ten-centimeter thick insulating layer of heat-insulating plastic is embedded between the concrete walls to protect against cold and heat. This is necessary because the tank is exposed to both cold winds and the sun due to its location on a mountain ridge.

The piping is located in a 1.10 m diameter core, which is located in the 3.30 m diameter stair shaft. Around this core, a 1.10 m wide spiral staircase leads up to the almost completely glazed viewing pulpit, which can be reached from below the tank at a height of about 30 m. The staircase is made of special concrete honeycomb windows. The stair shaft was completely glazed with special concrete honeycomb windows.

The tower also carried the antenna for the radio intercom system of the Trier public utility company. The tower, which has been on the list of monuments since 1998, was completely scaffolded and renovated in 2004 on the occasion of the Trier 2004 State Garden Show.