Bell Tower of Berlin Olympic Stadium

The Bell Tower of Berlin Olympic Stadium was a 77-metre-high observation tower that was built in 1934 after plans by Professor Werner March. The steel skeleton construction was faced with dressed limestone. The tower is located at the western end of the Olympiastadion.

After the Second World War Soviet troops accidentally set the tower's contents on fire and it was no longer stable. Therefore, the British engineers blew it up in 1947. The Olympic Bell – weighing 9.60 tons, which had survived the fire and remained in its place in the tower – fell 77 metres, cracked and has been unable to sound since then. In 1956 the bell was rescued, only in order to be used as a practice target using anti-tank ammunition. The old bell survives to this day and serves now as a memorial.