Oldehove is an unfinished church tower in the medieval centre of the Dutch city of Leeuwarden. It leans even more than the famous tower of Pisa.
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 Martini tower. In charge were Jacob van Aken and, after his death, Cornelis Frederiksz.
During construction, the tower began to sink unexpectedly into the soft soil, which the builders tried to compensate for by inserting several "kinks", but the project was stopped in 1532 or 1533. In 1595-'96, the then derelict church was demolished, but the tower remains. It consists mostly of brick, but the builders also used so-called Bentheim sandstone.
See also (Dutch): http://www.gemeentearchief.nl/oldehove/index.html
Coordinates: 53.203743°N / 5.790127°E #church #Leeuwarden #medieval #Netherlands #Oldehove #tower
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