Church tower in Holland tilts further than Leaning Tower of Pisa
Church tower in Holland tilts further than Leaning Tower of Pisa
A church in Holland now tilts more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Italian engineers straightened Pisa's famous tower and the church tower in Bedum now claims to have taken the title of Europe's wonkiest building.
The 12th century church tower of Walfridus in the town of
Bedum in the
Netherlands leans 8 feet 6 inches to one side, according to The Telegraph, and a Dutch expert is claiming that the church in Holland now tilts further than the
Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Jacob van Dijk insists that
Bedum's church tower has a greater lean than
Pisa's famous tower, which at 188 feet tall tilts by about 13 feet. Van Dijk claims that if both towers were the same height, Bedum's example would lean two inches further.
"In
Italy they're happy with the result [of straightening works], but here in Bedum we are much more happy, because the tower of Pisa is now leaning less than the tower of Bedum," he is reported as saying.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa was also built in the 12th century and is famed for its tilt. However, an engineering survey revealed that the degree of the tilt was increasing and the Italian government decided major restoration works were needed to stop it falling over.
Following the engineering works, the lean was reduced by roughly 18 inches, leading authorities to declare it safe from collapse for another 300 years.
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