Torun – Dovecote Tower

I liked the back story to this tower (Baszta Gołębnik w Toruniu in Polish), which was built as part of the city’s defensive fortifications during the early part of the fourteenth century. In the nineteenth century it was converted into use as a Prussian base for carrier pigeons, who transported messages across the region, as well as for residential use by humans. It was formerly called the Citizens’ Tower, only taking its current name after the pigeon arrangement was set up.

Anyway, carrier pigeons were used long ago to transport messages, but it was the Pigeon Post established in France in 1870 which brought the idea back into use. The Prussians started to use them extensively and they also started to train hawks to kill their rival’s pigeons. The French and Germans used their pigeons in the First World War, although the British had mostly abandoned their use by then. However, during the Second World War, the British used over 250,000 pigeons in the war effort….