The Tower of Vision

In the Tower of Vision the poet (text spoken by the German actor Mario Adorf) looks back on the eventful origins of the Nibelung legend. He tells us his story of the Nibelungs and takes a critical look at what others have made out of his version of the Nibelungen myth over the centuries.

In the middle of the tower hangs a monumental golden sceptre, also called the “Rütelin”, which serves to remind us of the “cursed” treasure of the Nibelungs. It is illustrated with many copies of paintings, engravings, propaganda posters and photographs of operatic productions. As we pass, the poet conjures up the immense power of these images and symbols and recounts their driving force in the unstoppable “machinery of myth production”.

The work that used and shaped this machinery of the Nibelung myth more profoundly than any other with its images, symbols and music is Richard Wagner’s operatic cycle “The Ring of the Nibelung”. The Nibelungen Museum has therefore devoted a separate tour to this work, and this tour with the powerful impact of its pictures and music begins in the Tower of Vision.

From the Tower of Vision, visitors can reach the Audio Tower via the battlement walkway along the ancient city wall.