Old Church

The Old Church (or: Old Jan) dating from 1246 is the oldest church in Delft. Characteristic of the Old Church is the tilted tower. Because there was actually no space to build the tower before the existing church, it is likely that the water of the Old Delft was redirected to create space. The tower was then built half on a sand ridge and half on the filled-in canal. Due to the subsidence of the ground at the location of the filled-in canal, the tower began to tilt during construction. There is also a bend visible in the tower; because the tower was already leaning during construction, they continued to build straight on a slanted base. Over the centuries, the leaning tower has unsettled many townspeople. In 1843, the 'Council of the city of Delft' decided that the tower - out of fear of collapse - should be demolished up to the roof of the church. Local contractors were then able to prevent this decision from being implemented. The 75-meter-high tower currently leans 1.96 meters out of plumb.

Dromos