The citizens of the city were called upon to donate; "building blocks" were issued from the "Bismarck Tower Building Fund" for the construction of the twelve-metre-high iron structure.
The response and the interest were great, donations were received from all over northern Germany; 800 people are said to have attended the inauguration ceremony on August 12, 1900. A two-metre-high "victory trophy" with a picture of Bismarck was erected in the entrance area and remained there until 1965.
Renovation work was carried out from March to August 2002 (cost 33,000 euros), including sealing the masonry, coating the concrete floor, repairing the stairs and installing new exterior lighting. After the work was completed, the tower was reopened on September 13, 2002. The Bismarck Tower is still a popular excursion destination today.
The first platform of the iron construction is reached via 24 stone steps. From there, you can reach the top of the four platforms via 57 wooden steps. The Bismarck Tower in Salzgitter is one of three metal Bismarck Towers, but not a "pure" metal tower like the ones in Bielefeld and Hasselfelde-Trautenstein.
The cross of light
The cross of light was erected at the Bismarck Tower in 1950 by the "Verband der Heimkehrer e. V.". During the dark winter months, this cross was intended to symbolically show those returning home from captivity the way.
Later, a boulder with the inscription "We will not forget you" and a large granite cross with the warning "Against all wars" were added at the foot of the Bismarck Tower to remind hikers and day-trippers of the fallen, missing and victims of the wars.
However, the "Verband der Heimkehrer e. V." had to be dissolved in December 2003 for reasons of age.
In the same year, the association was founded under the name "Lichtkreuz am Bismarckturm e. V." in order to maintain the light cross, which has since become a landmark of Salzgitter-Bad. Thanks to a grant and donations, it was modernized to LED technology in 2014.