High Points of Europe: A Tour of Towers

We are in the northwest of Spain, at the harbour of the town of A Coruña, looking at evidence of the power of the Roman Empire. The Romans built this lighthouse, which they called the Farum Brigantium, in the late 1st century A.D.

It is still a working lighthouse, as well as UNESCO World Heritage site. The tower has been a landmark for travelers since the 9th century. It appears in many legends and travelers’ tales.

The Tower of Hercules stands on a rock that is 57 metres (187 feet) high. The square, Roman-built walls of the lighthouse rise to 34 metres (111 feet). An additional 21 metres (69 feet) of octagonal walls were added in the 18th century. 

In Roman times, the town of A Coruña was called Brigantium, and its harbour was a departure point for the Roman colonies in Gaul (France) and Britannium (Britain). Roman mariners must surely have wondered about even more distant shores.

In the early 9th century, the bones of St. James were discovered in Santiago de Compostela, a city near A Coruña. Since then, the port of A Coruña has welcomed millions of pilgrims arriving and departing from St. James’s shrine.

In 1588, the Spanish Armada sailed from A Coruña in a futile attempt to invade England. In 1589, Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norris raided the harbour, burned the Spanish fleet, and sacked the lower part of the town.

We’ve come to the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa, Italy, to get a look at the town’s cathedral, a symmetrical building with a bell tower that can’t stand up straight. One side has been sinking since shortly after construction began in 1173.

The tower is 56.67 metres (186 feet) high on the high side and 55.86 (183 feet) metres high on the low side. During the 1990s, engineers removed earth from under one side and decreased the lean, stabilizing the structure.

Pisa’s cathedral is a stunning example of Romanesque architecture. Work on the cathedral began in 1063. The building is made of white marble decorated with strips of black. It is filled with magnificent works of art.

The white marble baptistery is a round structure, fancifully surrounded by arches and colonnades. Construction began in 1172 and lasted into the 14th century. The baptistery and leaning tower were started and completed at about the same times.

It is surrounded by medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque buildings and is still in use as both a market and a popular gathering place.

The Town Hall Tower is 70 metres (230 feet) tall and dates from the end of the 13th century. Its Baroque roof dates from 1686. A dungeon lay under the tower. It now houses the City of Krakow Historical Museum.

The red church across the square is St. Mary’s. A beloved Polish legend tells of a watchman who saved the city from invasion by sounding his trumpet from the higher tower. A daily trumpet call still honours the legend.

St. Adalbert brought the Christian faith to Poland. According to legend, he consecrated this Church of St. Adalbert in 997 A.D., but archaeologists have found that the walls of the Romanesque church date from the 11th and 12th centuries. The dome is Baroque.

We are visiting Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland, a structure that was extensively rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1684. Most of the present castle dates from the 18th century.

We’re standing in the upper castle yard, or great courtyard, looking at Castle Hall and its Bedford Tower. The tower, which was completed in 1761, was a symbol of British rule. The tower and castle were officially turned over to the Irish Republic in 1922.

Bedford Tower replaced an early Norman tower that was shaped like a D, with narrow windows for archers in its rounded outer wall. During the Easter Rising of 1916, British snipers were stationed around the eight sides of the newer tower.

At the western end of the great courtyard lies the former guardhouse, which housed British troops. Irish nationalists briefly captured this block during the Easter Rising. Today the guardhouse is part of a modern conference centre.

We are visiting London, England, and have come to the Houses of Parliament (Westminster Palace) to examine the Elizabeth Tower. The tower was renamed in 2012, in honour of the 60th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth Tower is 12 metres (39 feet) square and 97.5 (320 feet) metres high. The clocks and Big Ben were installed in 1859. The tower has 11 floors and 399 steps from the ground floor to the Ayrton Light at the top.

Westminster Palace contains chambers for the Upper and Lower Houses of the British Parliament. Although there have been palaces on this site for centuries, the present building was completed in 1860. Its many towers express its Gothic style.

The towers in this view are the spires of two cathedrals. St. Margaret’s Cathedral is in the foreground, and Westminster Abbey is behind it and to the left. St. Margaret’s is the official church of the House of Commons.

We are in Paris, France, standing before the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of the city. The tower was built in 1889, to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. Its engineer, Gustave Eiffel, also built bridges, and the tower is evidence of his mastery of ironworking.

The structure is a milestone in technological, industrial, and architectural history. Millions of tourists visit the Eiffel Tower every year, taking the elevators to the top for spectacular views of Paris.

The Eiffel Tower is 324 metres (1,063 feet) high, including its antenna. The tower is built of iron, but its open latticework makes it both strong and lightweight. The elevators to the observation deck move through the curving legs of the tower.

The Champs du Mars (Field of Mars) is a huge public green space in front of the Eiffel Tower. Facing away from the tower, we can see the École Militaire, or Military Academy, in the distance.

We’ve come to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, to look at the unique Tower Park Praha, also called the Zizkov Tower. This television transmission tower soars 216 metres (709 feet) above Zizkov, a historic neighbourhood. 

At the time the tower was built between 1985 and 1992, some local residents objected to its non-traditional look, but now it is a popular tourist attraction and a symbol of modern Prague.

The tower consists of three cylinders with modular “cabins” suspended between them. The top cluster of cabins is for broadcast technology. The middle cluster contains an observation deck, and the lowest cluster houses a restaurant and meeting rooms.

Prague’s Zizkov neighborhood is known for its wide streets lined with elegant houses from the early 20th century. The neighborhood has many restaurants, galleries, parks and other amenities that tourists as well as residents enjoy.

Josip Plečnik, the architect, used Romanesque churches as his inspiration for this modern church, built between 1928 and 1932. The church’s flat tower is 42 metres (138 feet) tall. Its glass clock has a diameter of 7.6 (25 feet) metres.