The White Water Tower
The Best View in Town
The White Water Tower in Fredericia is a former water reservoir located centrally on the ramparts of Fredericia. Today the water tower is used as a lookout point and offers the best view over Fredericia and the Little Belt.
Experience Fredericia from the top
Via the internal spiral staircase you can get up to the water tower’s roof terrace where you are 44 meters above sea level. On the roof terrace there are tables and benches where you can enjoy your own food or a well-earned break. At the foot of the water tower there are also tables and benches for free use.
You will find the White Water Tower on Prince George’s Bastion (Prins Georgs Bastion), one of many bastions on the ramparts of Fredericia. Read more about the impressive fortification here!
Visit the White Water Tower
The White Water Tower can be experienced from the outside, but is basically locked. If you want to go up the tower, you can rent a key at Fredericia Bibliotek. Renting a key costs 50 DDK + 100 DDK in deposit. Key rental takes place during the library’s staffed opening hours. If you want to be sure that there is an available key, this can be reserved in advance by contacting the library.
Find information about key rental here!
You can experience the White Water Tower from the outside at all hours. Visit the tower on your way around the ramparts or plan a nice picnic on the grassy area at the foot of the tower. It is also recommended to experience the White Water Tower after dark where light spots make the large white tower stand out clearly in the otherwise dark rampart area.
Below the water tower is The Brave Soldier Square where you can see The Brave Soldier, one of Fredericia’s other landmarks.
The History of the Tower
Because the White Water Tower is located on the ramparts of Fredericia, many believe that the tower is part of the original fortification. However, this is not the case!
The White Water Tower was inaugurated on 2 January 1909 as a replacement for a high reservoir from 1889 located at the King’s Bastion (Kongens Bastion) where the White Water Tower is now located. The new tall building was a peculiar sight in Fredericia, because Fredericia’s status as an active military fortress meant that it was not allowed to build higher than the level of the ramparts in the town centre. Buildings or church towers that could be seen outside the ramparts would be potential targets for enemy forces. However, it was planned that the military function of the fortress would be closed down during 1909 and the area taken over by Fredericia Kommune in 1914, and a dispensation was therefore granted to build the 16 meter high municipal water tower on the fortification.
The tower could accommodate approx. 445.000 liters of water and was actively used as a water tower until 1994.
The location of the White Water Tower meant that there was a particular focus on the appearance of the tower blending into the historical and military surroundings. A good example is the top of the tower, the edge of which is designed as a series of loopholes.
The tower was designed by Oscar Gundlach-Pedersen who also designed Nørreport and Danmarks Port, two of Fredericia’s town gates.
The tower also has an interior decoration. This was done by Søren Hausgaard Kjær and symbolizes the water’s path from ground water to the consumer.