Book
»Das Geheimnis des Spanischen Turms. Vom Gartenhaus zur Galerie«

For decades, the Spanish Tower on the edge of Rosenhöhe stood empty and fell into disrepair. It had fallen into oblivion and no one knew exactly when it was built, by whom and for what purpose. In 2019, the BS Kulturstiftung took over the tower on a leasehold, had it renovated, landscaped the area and has been using it as a sculpture garden ever since.

Extensive research was carried out on the enigmatic tower in the run-up to the renovation, both in archives and directly on the building. The result: Prince Karl von Hessen und bei Rhein, who had owned the Rosenhöhe park since 1836, was inspired by a garden cottage standing there to build a »castle in the air« - »Château d'Espagne« - and had the cottage extended and converted into the Spanish Tower by master builder Balthasar Harres in 1852. His »castle in the air« served the princely family as an excursion and retreat in the following years, but fell into disrepair after Charles' death (1977) and was forgotten.

The book from the series »Denkmalschutz in Darmstadt« by the monument protection authority of the City of Science Darmstadt was sponsored by the BS Kulturstiftung, which has been running the Spanish Tower Sculpture Garden since 2020, and brings together eight articles on the history and restoration of the Spanish Tower.