Türmer von Freiburg

Imagine Red Baron standing inside the shelter (©Theater Freiburg)

The project "Die Türmer von Freiburg" (The Freiburg Vigil) by choreographer Joanne Leighton is designed to invite Freiburg's citizens to leave their everyday life behind and gain a new perspective: From the 20th of June 2015 onwards, a shelter made out of wood and glass will be placed atop Theater Freiburg's roof for 365 days. Every day at sunrise and sunset, this shelter turns into a safe keep and lookout for a single visitor for exactly one hour. This hour is called "the vigil." Hovering above the city, one's perspective broadens either towards the east over downtown Freiburg and the Black Forest or towards the west over Freiburg's rooftops and the Upper Rhine Plain towards the Vosges. "Die Tümer von Freiburg" (literally translated "The watchers of Freiburg") are leaving everyday occurrences behind while watching over the city and asking themselves: Who am I in this city, and what room do I claim to be mine?

This is how Joanne Leighton's art project is introduced on the website Die Türmer von Freiburg. Originally a tower watchman or warder guarded a town from high above day and night. In case he (in those days, it was a man's job) detected fire or saw enemy troops approaching, he rang the church bells when on a church tower or blew horn signals to alarm his fellow citizens.

When Red Baron learned about Joanne Leighton's art project, he was looking for a vigil during the summer morning hours, but all days were already booked until November 2015. Getting up in the dark on a cold November morning is not to my taste, so I switched from sunrise to sunset.

Generally, there are more female than male tower warders, but the ratio was extreme during "my" week, counting 10 to 4. The day before yesterday, November 23, was my day. I became a Freiburg Türmer from 15h45 to 16h45.

Approaching the site. The shelter for the tower warder on the theater roof is clearly visible.
Left the new university library. In the foreground is the construction site for Freiburg's new boulevard.

I arrived at the theater half an hour earlier and received an escort. She reminded me to leave my watch and my iPhone behind. A tower warder must not be distracted. When my time arrived, the lady guided me up to the shelter with its two-sided view and locked me in.

My intention was to trace Freiburg's Vauban fortifications during the vigil. Freiburg's theater is actually built on the former Bastion Dauphin. My first impression: Disappointment, for it was impossible to see the Colombischlösschen to my left constructed on the mount of the Bastion Saint Louis. In addition, in front, the massive Kollegiengebäude II barred my view of the old city. To my right, I barely made out the University Mensa (cafeteria) built on the site of the former Bastion de la Reyne. My position on the roof was just too low!

Thus looking east, I concentrated on Freiburg's towers and steeples along the line of Mayor Otto Winterer's maxim: A village has roofs, a town sports steeples: the two-spired Johannis Church, University tower, St. Martin's Gate, Schlossberg tower, the scaffolded steeple of the Münster Church, Jesuit Church, St. Martin's steeple. However, with the sunset approaching, I moved to the west window of the shelter. Before the sun disappeared behind the horizon, a bank of clouds moved in front but looking more closely, I discovered a gap between the cloud bank and the earth's surface. 

As the sun descended further, its lower edge appeared in the gap, painting the clouds' rim in a vibrant orange. I was lucky. After a few minutes, the glowing circle filled precisely the space between the cloud and the horizon. The ball of fire continued to descend first slowly, then faster and suddenly disappeared.

In the meantime, the moon had risen in the east above the Schlossberg. What a spectacle and no photos are allowed!

My escort arrived, but it was not over yet. Tower warders are asked to write down their sensations. I sat down and noted my impression on two pages. Are those lost? I posed the pertinent question in a preparatory meeting for the art project. Joanne Leighton and her co-workers had yet to make up their minds.

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