Five and a half meters tall it stands. That’s the Barkhäuser Turm. A modest height perhaps but this little tower holds centuries of history. It’s all that remains of a much larger complex. Imagine a bustling farmstead a thriving community. This was once the heart of Barkhausen a village now vanished.
The Barkhäuser Turm was part of a defensive ring. Sixteen towers once guarded Erfurt. Only a few remain. The Barkhäuser Turm stands as a silent witness. It whispers tales of monks and farmers of courts and celebrations.
Originally it belonged to a monastery. The Zisterzienserkloster Georgental held sway. Documents mention Barkhausen as early as 1189. For centuries Cistercian monks tilled the land. They lived and worked around the Barkhäuser Turm.
Then the monks left. Landgraf Friedrich II gave permission to dismantle the monastery. Local farmers seized the opportunity. They formed a cooperative. They called themselves “die Gewerke zu Barkhausen”. They continued to use the tower.
The Barkhäuser Turm became more than a defensive structure. It served as the location for a special court. The court met every Whitsun Tuesday. They enforced rules and regulations for the cooperative. It met for centuries. Its last session was in 1873. After that it became a place of celebration.
Storms and vandalism threatened the Barkhäuser Turm. A zinc roof was added to protect it. But nature and human carelessness took their toll. The tower needed repairs. The tower was reconstructed in 1998. Now carefully restored it stands as a reminder. It’s a reminder of the past of a cooperative and of a village now only existing in memories.
Today you can visit the Barkhäuser Turm. It’s free to enter. You can climb and explore this humble tower. It’s a remarkable piece of history. A relic of a past life. A testament to the resilience of a community. It’s a small but significant landmark. It’s a reminder of the ever-changing landscape of Thuringia. The Barkhäuser Turm. A place of stories. A place of history.