mothwing | Flak tower VI in Wilhelmsburg and ice

If you're a member of

abandonedplaces, you've already seen this. The below is a Flak tower around the corner from my school - right across from the bus station, in fact. I'd love to see it from the inside, but that seems to be impossible. Up until a few years ago there was a guy who did illegal guided tours, but he seems to be retired now, and as the apparently mostly wooden interior was heavily damaged in 1947 when the L-tower was demolished, that's probably a good thing.

niaseath remains convinced that we should just take matters into our own hands, climb the fence and look for unguarded entrances, but given that those I did see didn't even have any sort of lock or doorknobs that'll probably be futile.

It's a shame that they don't use this thing. Well, they do, as a mobile phone tower, but that is not quite what I had in mind. The other Flak tower in Hamburg is now the home to several clubs and dancing venues. Surely, there must be some use for such a great big building? Restoring the thing is probably too expensive if the damage really was that great, but having a nearly sound-proof nine-storey youth club in the area might be a good idea, too. I know my students would love to have that thing as a hangout - I'm sure I would.

Incongruously, there is an adventure playground on the Southern side of the tower. Access to the walls and doors of the tower is prevented by several high fences and warning signs to prevent people from getting too adventurous.

For some reason I didn't take a picture of it, but there is a beverage shop (...liquor store? A shop for non-alcoholic beverages, anyway) in front of it, in a little shed-y building that seems to be built right into the wall.

The net is supposed to keep the curious with long ladders off the windows in the upper storeys, I suppose. I can't blame them, I was tempted.

The doors don't even have handles or door knobs. That and the fact that there are signs every couple of meters saying that it's forbidden to enter the premises make it clear that they really, really don't want anyone to go there.

There is a laddery thing leading up to the roof which is probably used by the people of the mobile phone companies using the tower. Pity it's not closer to those windows. Not that I would attempt to climb in at that height.

A map of the interior, courtesy of Wiki: