The tower is a landmark of the historical landscape of the former Liepāja Fortress Naval Town 'Moрской город’ of the Russian Tsar Alexander III. An exact year of construction remains unknown. According to written sources, it might be between 1903 and 1905. The author of the design remains unknown; however, according to literature it might be Stephan Galenzovsky, an architect from St. Petersburg. The water tower was built to serve as a technical structure within the Naval Port (Karosta), whose primary function was to supply the naval port residents with drinking water.
Until 1920, the water tower belongs to the Russian Ministry of Warfare, and from 1925 to 1940 – to the Ministry of Warfare of the Republic of Latvia. After World War II, the tower was taken over by the USSR Ministry of Defense. With the Soviet army leaving, the water tower was transferred to be managed by the local public utilities company “SIA Liepājas ūdens”.
The tower is no longer used for its original purpose since 1989. The water tower was driven by a steam power unit featuring two coal boilers, one of which served for back-up function. A transmission operated four pumps, two of which fulfilled the back-up function. Water was pumped from four boreholes up to its fifth floor, to the tank.
industrialheritage.travel