Quistorp Tower

Quistorp Tower is the ruin of a former viewing tower on Arkona Hill in Arkonka Forest in Szczecin, built in 1900-1904. Since the end of the Second World War only fragments of it have remained, partly buried in earth and overgrown. The tower no longer exists, and it cannot be climbed.

Where the tower came from

It was built by Martin Quistorp as a tribute to his father Johannes, a Szczecin manufacturer and philanthropist, the founder of many city investments.

The design was made by the Berlin architect Franz Schwechten, the creator among others of the Imperial Castle in Poznań. It was approved on 1 January 1900, and the opening took place on 14 May 1904. The tower was 45 metres high (52 with the mast) and had nine storeys. On the first there was a summer café with open arcades, and above it a viewing terrace with two allegorical sculptures, of Trade and Industry, by Ludwig Manzel. It used to be a place for Sunday walks for the people of Szczecin.

What happened to it

The circumstances of its demolition are not entirely clear: according to one version the tower was destroyed in 1944 in an Allied air raid, according to the other it was blown up by the Germans in 1945 during the fighting for the city.

In 1914 it was struck by lightning, and in 1942 a radar station and an anti-aircraft observation post were set up at the top. Today, next to the remains, is an entrance to an underground area, where an approximately 30-metre concrete corridor runs, changing into a wooden one. In the 1980s it was possible to walk through it; later heaps of earth blocked the exit.

The ruin today

The ruins are entered in the heritage register, and since 2008 they have lain on the educational trail “In the Footsteps of the Quistorps”, which also leads through Jasne Błonia and Kasprowicz Park.

In 2009 conceptual work began on rebuilding the tower as a viewpoint, and in 2011 the structure was secured at the city's expense and fragments of the original floor were uncovered. A scene for the film “Młode wilki” (Young Wolves) was shot on the hill.

Practical information

• Location: Arkona Hill in Arkonka Forest, Szczecin (Osów). Stone steps led to the tower from the Arkońska Street side.
• The site is a ruin. Do not enter the overgrown parts or the underground area, and ask the city office about the current rules of access.
• In the area there is also the Rose Garden (Różanka).