Dec 16, 2013

De Oldehove | Leeuwarden



De Oldehove is an unfinished church tower in the medieval centre of the Dutch city of Leeuwarden. It leans more than the tower of Pisa in Italy.

Oldehove is also the name of an artificial mound ("terp" in Dutch) on which in the late 9th century a (Catholic) church dedicated to Saint Vitus was built.


Construction of the adjoining Late Gothic tower began in 1529, after the citizens of Leeuwarden demanded a tower taller than the one in the city of Groningen, the Martinitoren.

During construction, the tower began to sag, which the builders tried to compensate for by inserting several "kinks", but the project was stopped in 1532.