Leaning Tower of Suurhusen
| Suurhusen Church | |
|---|---|
 Side view of the Suurhusen Church | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Evangelical Reformed Church |
| District | Aurich |
| Year consecrated | 14th century |
| Location | |
| Location | Suurhusen, Germany |
| Geographic coordinates | 53°24′48″N 7°13′24″E / 53.41347°N 7.22333°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Church |
| Style | Gothic (Brick Gothic) |
| Completed | 1450 (tower) |
| Specifications | |
| Height (max) | 27.37 metres (89.8 ft) |
| Materials | Brick |
| Website | |
| www.kirche-suurhusen.de | |
The Leaning Tower of Suurhusen (German: Schiefer Turm von Suurhusen) is a late medieval steeple in Suurhusen, a village in the East Frisian region of northwestern Germany. According to the Guinness World Records it was at one time the most tilted tower in the world, although intentionally inclined towers such as the Montreal Tower far surpass it. The Suurhusen steeple as of 2007[update] claimed to be the unintentionally tilted tower with the greatest angle of lean in the world, 1.22° more than Leaning Tower of Pisa.[1][2]
History[edit]
The Brick Gothic church in Suurhusen is reminiscent of the old fortress churches. Originally, it was 32 m (105 ft) long and 9.35 m (30.7 ft) wide. In 1450 the church was shortened by about a quarter and the tower was built in the space. The tower leans at an angle of 5.19° (5° 11′), compared with 3.97° (3° 58′) for the Pisa tower after its stabilisation.[3]
According to local historian Tjabbo van Lessen, the church was built in the Middle Ages in marshy land on foundations of oak tree trunks which were preserved by groundwater. When the land was drained in the 19th century, the wood rotted, causing the tower to tilt. The steeple was closed to the public in 1975 for safety reasons, and re-opened 10 years later after it was stabilised. (However, The Leaning Tower of Gau-Weinheim was leaning at 5.4277° on 15 July 2022.[4])
Data[edit]
- Area: 121 square metres (1,300 sq ft), 11 m × 11 m (36 ft × 36 ft)
- Height: 27.37 metres (89.8 ft)
- Overhang: 2.47 metres (8.1 ft)
- Foundation: 2-metre-thick (6.6 ft) masonry, resting on oak piles
- Total weight: 2,116 t (2,332 short tons)
Gallery[edit]
-
Side view -
Side view -
Entrance to tower -
View from the east -
-
Rear view with cemetery
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "German steeple beats Leaning Tower of Pisa into Guinness book". The Raw Story. 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04.
- ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Weltrekord in Ostfriesland. Der schiefste Turm der Welt (in German)
- ^ "Leaning Tower of Suurhusen - East Frisia - Regions - Destinations - Visit Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony)". www.niedersachsen-tourism.com. 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ Gottschlich, Erwin. "Der Schiefer Turm von Gau-Weinheim". www.Gau-Weinheim.de (in German). Retrieved 11 September 2022.
External links[edit]
Media related to Leaning Tower of Suurhusen at Wikimedia Commons- Homepage of the church
