TKE Test Tower: the Skyscraper in the Middle of Nowhere

A surprising feat of architecture for the advancement of the elevator industry lies on the eastern edge of Germany’s Black Forest. Opened in 2017 right outside of the town of Rottweil, Germany, the TK Elevator Testturm stands tall above the forest at a whopping height of 807 ft. The tower is one of the country’s tallest buildings and seems to make even the Black Forest feel small in comparison. With no windows, the 12 shafts of the tower are used to test new elevator models.

The Rottweil tower was built with a fiberglass exterior to give it an opaque look and protect the building from wind and solar radiation. With one-of-a-kind views of the famous Black Forest of the Grimm Tales, the TKE test tower has become a tourist destination. The observation deck offers a breathtaking view of the German countryside, and luckily, guests can take a speedy elevator ride to the top. However, the tower hosts an annual “stair run” as well, which usually brings more than 1,000 runners to the tower. TKE also has test towers in Atlanta, near the Braves’ baseball stadium, and an even taller tower in Zhongshan, China, which stands at 813 ft. Images courtesy of Werner Sobek.