The Belvedere Tower, also known as the Strutzberg Tower because of its location, is an observation tower on the Strutzberg, a 198 m above sea level. NN high mountain in the Deister near Bad Nenndorf in the Lower Saxony district of Schaumburg.
The fountain director in Nenndorf, Freiherr von Hanstein-Knorr, had the lookout tower built at his own expense between 1850 and 1852 on the Strutzberg, the most north-western elevation of the Deister. A number of wealthy spa guests supported the construction. The Hanstein-Knorr family coat of arms with the year 1852 is attached to the outer wall of the octagonal stone tower. The Idaturm in Harrl and the Wilhelmsturm in the Rehburg mountains, which were built in 1847 in the neighboring Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, probably served as inspiration for the Chamberlain of Schaumburg.
The Belvedere tower (Italian bel vedere "beautiful view") called the observation tower, as a landmark visible from afar, had a function in the national survey and served as a destination for the spa guests in Nenndorf and the residents of surrounding towns. A network of hiking trails in the Deister was created in the vicinity of the tower. The European long-distance hiking trail E1 leads past the Belvedere Tower.
Due to lack of maintenance, damage during the Second World War and vandalism in the years that followed, the tower fell into disrepair. The stairs inside had collapsed, stones broken out.
The tower was repaired in 1987 with funds from the state of Lower Saxony, the municipality of Bad Nenndorf and the district of Schaumburg and an additional steel structure was added. For a few years, this made it possible to see from the tower, which is almost 130 steps high. Around 2017, the view was limited by the tall trees surrounding the tower on all sides. In the meantime (09/2019) the disturbing trees are no longer there, either due to wind damage or felling due to bark beetle infestation.
Source: Wikipedia