Woman Lives Rent Free at 196 feet in an 800-Year-Old Tower—Here’s How She Does It

Living in an 800-year-old tower for the past 28 years, Blanca Knodel has had the most interesting view of the imperial town of Bad Wimpfen in southern Germany. Though the duties of the tower keeper have changed drastically since medieval times, Ms. Knodel, who’s in her 70s, has kept plenty busy as she lives out her dream in the Blue Tower, or “Blauer Turm,” that watches over her native town and the river Neckar. So, how did she get this unique job and a home 196 feet above her beloved town? The Blue Tower of Bad Wimpfen was built between 1160 and 1170. (Courtesy of Eigentum der Kultur- und Tourist-Information Bad Wimpfen) A view of the imperial town, the Neckar River, and the Blue Tower. (Courtesy of Eigentum der Kultur- und Tourist-Information Bad Wimpfen) “I belong to one of the oldest families in Baden-Württemberg (Bad Wimpfen),” Ms. Knodel said, in an interview with Ann Marie Ackermann, an American who lives in Germany....