Together with the parish church of St. Johannes, the town hall, the district court and the historic market place, the buildings still to come form the structural core of the city.
The "Hochsimmerturm" is an 18 m high observation tower on the mountain of the same name "Hochsimmer", which rises near the municipality of Ettringen. The "Hochsimmerturm" was built between 1909 and 1911 by the "Eifelverein Mayen" and stands on the eastern tip (583.3 m above sea level) of the "Hochsimmer".