Did you know that Germany has its own leaning tower?
And it’s taller and more crooked than the one in Pisa
At 56 metres high, a church belfry in Bad Frankenhausen stands taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and what’s more impressive it leans even further than its more famous Italian counterpart. Yet, it’s likely that you have never heard of it until now. The local government of this small German city, located in the state of Thuringia, wants to change that.
In times when many destinations are suffering under the burden of overtourism, Bad Frankenhausen realized that it may be sitting on a potential golden magnet for visitors that only locals have gotten to enjoy for hundreds of years now.
That’s why there are plans to stabilize the spire and create a modern visitor centre fit to receive the throngs of enthusiasts willing to be photographed pretending to be supporting the structure from falling. It never gets old, right?
Development as a tourism attraction
With a slant of 4.93 degrees, the Gothic spire of the Oberkirche church leans even more precariously than the Pisan tower (3.97 degrees).
The reason for the slant of the structure is the instability of the soil beneath owing to salt washing of the gypsum sublayer. Although the church and the tower date back to the 14th century, the first recording of the lean was documented in 1640. It wasn’t until the 20th century, however, that engineering advances were good enough to provide a solution to secure the spire from toppling.
The roof of the church itself had to be removed in 1962 due to mold infestation leaving the building under the tower in a state of picturesque ruin.
To turn the ensemble into a proper tourist attraction, however, the local authorities have decided to consult with and learn from Pisa.
The plan is to make the tower accessible to visitors by 2025. This will include turning the nave of the former church into a visitor center, starting with the placement of a prefabricated roof.
Bad Frankenhausen’s tourism director Katja Rudoph told MDR THÜRINGEN that they expected thousands of new visitors to flock in to see the site, which is why there are plans to build two new hotels with 375 bed capacity.
Hurry up and see it before it becomes a tiring staple on the Instagram feeds of your friends.