Maribor Stories: An Extraordinary Lift tells how the Water Tower in Lent, a Renaissance fortification built in 1555, was saved from rising water. Construction of the Zlatoličje hydroelectric plant in the 1960s changed the Drava's water level, threatening historic buildings along the river. Several were demolished, including the former Benetke defensive bastion.
The solution was designed by Jože Požauko. Workers cut horizontally through the base of the roughly 1,500-tonne tower and used 14 hydraulic jacks to raise it by 2.6 metres. They lifted it a few millimetres at a time, inserting oak sleepers and concrete blocks to support the masonry. The work took place between December 1967 and July 1968.
The operation preserved a significant piece of Maribor's defensive heritage. The Water Tower still stands beside the Drava, though higher than when it was built. It now houses a wine shop, while the story of its rescue shows how engineering and heritage protection changed the fate of a familiar Lent landmark.