Weisser Turm Castle

The White Tower is an old customs and residential tower in Weißenthurm (Rhineland-Palatinate).

The White Tower is first documented in 1550, but according to building history findings, it was already erected in the early 15th century, probably under the Trier Archbishop and Elector Werner von Falkenstein (1388–1418). It marked the border between Electoral Trier and Electoral Cologne, which ran slightly northwest of the tower from 1335 to 1803.

The sides of the square building, situated on a flat slate rock, point exactly to the cardinal directions. The four-story tower has a height of 28.5 m; the outer walls on the ground floor are 2.2 m thick. The masonry consists of rubble stone. The light plaster gave the tower its name and thus also the name for the later settlement. The tower initially stood freely; around 1650, settlement began in the surrounding area. People lived from the transit traffic at the border. The town of Weißenthurm received market rights in 1663 from the Trier Archbishop and Elector Karl Kaspar von der Leyen.

The White Tower also functioned as a customs tower. At its foot, the trade route from Mainz via Koblenz and Bonn to Cologne passed by. A ditch ran from the tower to the Rhine, thus blocking the way. The ditch could only be crossed via a bridge equipped with a barrier. Land customs were collected for Electoral Trier. As a defensible residential tower that also allowed the use of firearms, the White Tower was part of the Electoral Trier Landwehr (defensive line) established by Werner von Falkenstein, which extended from here via Wernerseck Castle to Mayen.

Today, the White Tower houses the local history museum of the city of Weißenthurm. In 2009, the tower and the surrounding area underwent extensive renovation for 740,000 Euros.