Perched atop the Hutungsberg, the highest point in Neugersdorf at 474 metres above sea level, this 19.5-metre-tall observation tower has been a landmark for over a century. Built to honour Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, it stands as one of the many Bismarck towers erected across Germany in the early 1900s, but with a story shaped by its position right on the German-Czech border.

Constructed from weather-resistant sandstone quarried nearby in Waltersdorf, with a solid basalt foundation, the tower's four-tiered structure - a square base, square shaft, round upper section, and a small exit house topped with a fire bowl - gives it a distinctive silhouette against the wooded hillside. The surrounding forest creates a peaceful atmosphere in every season, and the borderland scenery unfolds around the platform, with sightlines that stretch across the hills separating Germany and the Czech Republic.

How to get to the viewpoint

• Neugersdorf town centre - hiking trail up Hutungsberg, difficulty: easy to moderate
• Accessible from paths near the German-Czech border, just a short distance from the tower

Practical information

• The tower has been closed since the 2013 season and only opens on special occasions
• Inside is a Swedish granite memorial plaque dedicated to the tower's benefactor, Julius Hoffmann
• A Bismarck medallion is mounted above the entrance, restored in the 1990s after the original went missing

Interesting fact: after the First World War, the tower was renamed the 'Border Tower' due to its proximity to the Czech frontier, and after the Second World War it briefly became the 'Tower of Youth' before its historic name was restored.