The Water Castle, a real symbol of Drobeta Turnu Severin, became not only the landmark for a tourist spot of the Danube bank city, but also one of the most important attractions for foreigners. Together with Traian bridge pillar and the Severin fortress ruins, the Water castle became the city’s landmark building.
The tower was founded in 1910 when at the time it would supply Turnu Severin with water.
The Water castle project in Drobeta was approved by the Communal Counsil on June 10th 1910, following the plans of engineer Elie Radu. The castle was going to be placed on the highest point in town, at 104 m height for an advantageous distribution across all areas of the city.
The castle was ready 1913 and inagurated a year later, when the entire water supply system of the city was initiated. Ministers Ion I.C.Brătianu, Al. Constantinescu and V.Gh. Mortun, bishop Ghenadie of Râmnicului- Noului Severin and local authorities attended the opening. The water castle is 27m high and it is the tallest building in Drobeta. It was built in medieval style. The building was paid with a credit taken on by city hall from the Communal and County Credit house.
The entire system had a catchment station up hill in the city, the water plant that did the decant, filtrating and sterilizing and the water castle, foreseen to carry out the distribution. It was designed so that it be raised from loaded concrete and organized inside with two bunk tanks. Their capacity was of 1025 cubic meters.
This construction, paradoxically, went through two world wars with no consequences on the building. During WWI, the castle was used by the German army as an observation point, being the tallest construction at the time.
And during WWI in the upper cupola there were people keeping in touch with the escadrille commander over Severin and directed the places to be bombarded. With time, the town continued its development, the decant tanks in the castle became insufficient and there was a third tank considered. It is done in 1964 and is placed in the bridge space over the last concrete floor of the building.
It worked with this role until 1980, when the tanks were emptied and the tower building was used for offices and workshops of the company that administered the water supply and sewage at the time. In December 2010, the Drobeta Turnu Severin city hall managed to obtain non refundable funds to restore the Water castle.
The Water castle is structured on various levels that house exhibit spaces, an art gallery and tourist information point. Tourists have two ways to get to the top of the tower, either the short one, with an elevator or by climbing a few hundred steps, an effort that is worth everything.
Each floor is unique in its way. Tourists can find out about the history of the tower through the art work that are here from the time when the entire town was supplied with water. Paintings, inscriptions and many sculptures, they all tell a story and sort of bring you back to the old days. After climbing the nearly 400 stairs you reach the top of the tower.
