The tower in the background is a so-called Bismarck tower and these were erected all over Germany to remember Bismarck. These were constructed as lookout-posts with a large fire dish on top and they could be used as signal posts. They were constructed more as memorial than anything else.
This tower still exists today in Burg at Magdeburg.
http://www.bismarcktuerme.de/website.../burgmagd.html