Anyone with some knowledge of village life will no doubt be familiar with the stereotypical curtain twitcher, those living security cameras keeping a watchful eye on whoever is walking along the street.
It’s difficult to imagine that one of Veszprém’s most distinctive buildings, the Fire Tower at the entrance of the castle, was used for just this purpose for many years. Of course, it was much more targeted than that, and it wasn’t just curiosity driving the tower guard, rather he was looking out for a threat that was far more dangerous than a stranger walking by.
But let’s start from even earlier in the history of the Fire Tower! It was built sometime in the 13th century, during the reign of King Béla IV and was one of the castle’s watchtowers. At that time, it was mainly used to spy on the movements of the Ottoman armies. Fortunately, the tower survived the Turkish occupation, but shortly afterwards, in 1703, it had to be saved from the threat of destruction again. Emperor Lipót I ordered that fortifications in Hungary be demolished, including the tower in Veszprém. However, the Fire Tower escaped, as the almost 50 metre-high building was no longer used for military purposes, but rather for practical ones. It was used for fire safety purposes, as the top of the tower afforded a perfect view of all Veszprém’s houses and their courtyards.
This increased the risk that fires would suddenly break out, as all it needed was a strong gust of wind and the hot embers rising from the chimney could easily set the entire roof of the house ablaze. If the inhabitants noticed this too late, disaster was a certainty. However, while the flames were still only smouldering, there was a chance of preventing the fire from spreading. This is precisely how the Fire Tower played an important role: practically the entire city could be seen from here and when small fires started, they could easily be spotted and action could be taken in time. In practice, it was an early version of an emergency services telephone line. It’s no wonder that the Fire Brigade House, the Veszprém fire brigade headquarters, was built under the tower in 1824. The Fire Tower has also witnessed a great deal during the 20th century. The top of the building sported a red star during socialism, and a Hungarian flag with a hole in it in 1956; the original national coat of arms returned to its place after the end of socialism in 1989.
Moreover, a clock tower and a music player have been added, which plays the music of Veszprém’s famous composer Antal Csermák every hour. Nowadays, the tower’s former purpose is reflected only in its name.
However, if you spot smoke in the background of a selfie taken at the top, then it’s still a good idea to call 112.
