Svaneke got water from a municipal waterworks very late in history, although the citizens had running water in their taps, but they got it from their own well, where an electric pump was installed.
At a city council meeting in April 1950, it was decided that a waterworks should be built, but they didn’t quite agree on the appearance of the waterworks, should it be an ordinary square building or a water tower, but the mayor Emil Andersen (Svaneke’s last mayor) decided that it should be a water tower and that it should be designed by an architect and be a little untraditional.
The consortium that had been awarded the contract was told to find an architect and make some proposals for the design of the waterworks. The choice fell on the almost unknown 33-year-old architect Jørn Utzon. He sent 4-5 different drawings to the mayor of Svaneke, who chose the 30 meter high water tower that looked like a boat (a sea mark).
Before construction could begin, engineers had to make changes to the tower. It was to be built in reinforced concrete, but the iron had to be imported and the Ministry of Commerce had to give permission, but they thought that too much iron would be used and it would be too expensive.
A little later in the build, another change was made.
Originally, the tower was to be clad with eternit panels, but there were concerns about the durability of the panels. Jørn Utzon suggested using Danish spruce cladding instead, which was cheaper and easier to repair when necessary.
However, in the early 1960s, new water wells had to be drilled and connected to the tower because it only had a water capacity of 120,000 liters of water, which meant that the water tank periodically ran out of water.
The water tower was inaugurated in 1952 and closed in 1988. In 1990, the tower was protected as the building was considered to be an important Danish cultural heritage.
Sources:
https://www.svanekesvenner.dk/Utzons%20vandtaarn/Svaneke%20Venner%20Utzon.html
