Most of us know about the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, but it turns out that there are quite a few such leaning towers all over the world. We offer you to learn about the ten most famous of them.

1. Suurhusen Church, Germany.
In the northwest of Germany in the region of East Friesland is the medieval building Suurhusen. Until 2010, according to the Guinness Book of Records, this church was considered the most inclined tower in the world. Later, her record was broken by the new Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi. The inclination of the spire of Suurhusen is 1.22 degrees ahead of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

2. Big Ben, London, UK.
The clock tower, better known as Big Ben, is tilted to the northwest by 0.26 degrees, which is 43.5 cm, according to recently released documents. It is worth noting that since 2003 the slope has increased to 0.9 millimeters. The reason for this was the underground work of the London Underground.

3. Two towers of Bologna, Italy.
The city authorities of Bologna are unsuccessfully trying to prevent the fall of the two towers of Asinelli and Garisenda. Even though Asinelli is smaller than Garisenda, its deviation is much larger - 3.22 m.

4. Frankenhausen church tower, Germany.
The tower, located on the outskirts of the city, is constantly exposed to the winds. Engineers noted that each year the tower deviates by 6 cm. Accordingly, the turning point may come in the next decade. The local authorities have decided to allocate $1.5 million to an attempt to stabilize the tower.

5. Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy.
A fall leaning tower of pisa began a few years after the start of construction. The reason for this was the construction of the tower on soft clay. In 1350, the building was completed, and by this time the slope of the tower was about 4.5 feet. By 1990, the slope had increased by another 4 meters. To prevent the building from falling, the city spent almost 2 million pounds of lead on ingots, which were placed in the counterweight side of the tower.

6. Nevyansk Tower, Russia.
The construction of the tower in the center of Nevyansk was financed by Peter the Great himself. Built in the first half of the 18th century, its founder was the well-known Russian builder Akinfiy Demidov. The tower reaches 57.5 m in height. Recent measurements have shown that the slope of the tower is 2.20 m.

7. Tiger Hill Pagoda
The Tiger Hill Pagoda or Huqiu Tower is located in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The construction of the tower took place in the period of the Five Dynasties, and this is 907-960 AD. The height of the tower is 47 m. The building has seven floors and is erected with blue brick octagons. The forces of nature acted on the deviation of the tower. To date, the slope is 2.32 meters. And the whole building weighs about 7 million kilograms.

8. Burana Tower, Italy
On Venetian island Burana is located the Burana tower, or it is also called the Church of St. Martino. The construction was built in the 15th century, and it has not fallen so far only because it relies on a neighboring extension.

9. Church Oude Kerk, Netherlands.
Oude Kerk, which means "old church", is a Dutch Gothic Protestant church in the city center of Delft. Its height is 75 meters, and the deviation from the vertical is 1.98 cm.

10 Bedum Tower, The Netherlands
The Bedum Tower also beats the records of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. If the tower of Pisa reaches a height of 55.86 meters and deviates by about 4 meters, then the tower of Bedum, 35.7 meters high, deviates by 2.61 meters.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, perhaps, can be attributed to the sights not only of Italy, but also of the world. And who, besides numerous historians and thousands of tourists who visit Pisa every year, would be interested in this tower, if not for its “curvature” and it stood straight, like thousands of other towers in the world? The famous “leaning” tower is the bell tower of the cathedral in the city of Pisa, part of an architectural ensemble of rare beauty, which, in addition to the bell tower and the cathedral, also consists of a baptismal chapel and a cemetery. If the Leaning Tower of Pisa did not lean, but stood strictly vertically, like all the other towers in the world, its glory would probably be limited only to a narrow circle of architects and historians. Thanks to its constructive flaw, it is known all over the world.

Very often, this world-famous building is considered to be a kind of independent structure, standing somewhere on the outskirts and living its own independent life ... In fact, this is not so. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is part of the ensemble of the city's Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Pisa. The tower is the bell tower of the cathedral and adjoins its northeast corner. The famous cathedral ensemble in Pisa is a masterpiece of medieval Italian architecture.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is rightfully the symbol of the city. On August 9, 1174, on the outskirts of Pisa, on a green meadow, the building of the ensemble of the city cathedral was laid, which included a white marble five-nave cathedral, a bell tower and a baptistery-baptistery. So, on a square remote from the city center, one of the outstanding works of the Middle Ages was formed, which had a huge impact on the development of Italian culture. However, the foundation of the Leaning Tower of Pisa was unevenly laid. Construction was stopped and resumed only after 100 years. Only later did it become clear that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was “falling” leaning towards the south. Since continuous measurements of the tower began in 1911, it has been recorded that the top is tilting at 1.2 millimeters per year. Today, the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is 5.3 m off center.

The architects of the tower were Bonnano Pisano and Wilhelm von Innsbruck, but both of them were not destined to see the final completion of their plan. By the way, until the second half of the XIV century, the tower remained without a belfry crowning it.

It has been suggested that the curvature of the tower was originally conceived by the architects - for the sake of demonstrating their prowess and outstanding architectural skill. But this hypothesis is not very plausible. Something else is much more likely: the architects knew that they were building on an extremely unreliable foundation, and therefore laid the possibility of slight deviation in the building structure.

The “falling” tower has a cylindrical shape and rushes up with its eight tiers (including the belfry). Its six central floors are bordered by graceful decorative arcades, which may have been influenced by the Byzantine or Muslim architectural tradition. The question of possible Muslim influences is doubly interesting, since it is still not clear whether the idea of ​​a free-standing bell tower in Christian church architecture arose under the influence of Muslim minarets, or, on the contrary, these minarets themselves, from the height of which the muezzins called the faithful to prayer, trace their genealogy from Christian bell towers. The tower is decorated with colored marble ornaments (white and light grey). At the entrance there are bas-reliefs depicting fantastic animals, above - a lunette with a sculpture of the Madonna and Child by Andrea Guardi

The architecture of the ensemble had a great influence on the monumental art of Italy in the 12th-14th centuries.

Although the Leaning Tower of Pisa is tilted, the bell tower, built in the second half of the 14th century at the top of the tower, stands level.

In 1564, Galileo Galilei, the future famous scientist, was born in Pisa. Judging by his own stories, he used the Leaning Tower of Pisa for his experiments. From its upper floor, he threw various objects to prove that the speed of the fall does not depend on the weight of the falling body.

In the Pisa Cathedral there are several burial places of various historical figures, among which is the tomb of the German Emperor Henry VII.

Throughout the existence of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, efforts have been constantly made to make the tower more stable. For example, collapsing columns have been replaced repeatedly. Currently, underground work is being carried out to strengthen the foundation.

In 2008, scientists once again declared that the further fall of the Leaning Tower of Pisa had been stopped. Prior to this, despite numerous efforts to “freeze”, the tower continued to deviate from the vertical at a rate of 1mm per year.

Well, a few words about the Pisa Cathedral, which, like the tower, is part of the ensemble on the Pisa Square of Miracles

pisa cathedral- outstanding example architectural style, developed in Pisa and later decisive for dozens of Tuscan temples. It stands in the same place as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, on the Square of Miracles, which, one might say, is crammed with architectural masterpieces, So ancient city have something to be proud of.

The construction of the cathedral began in 1063; it was the first church building in Italy with a cruciform plan and a domed cross. the material was snow-white marble with gray-black stripes. Three portals are framed by columns and flat arches. The façade is crowned with smaller arcades arranged in several tiers one above the other, which gives the pediment plane an elegant swiftness. The interior is decorated with a gilded ceiling and a magnificent Gothic pulpit, the work of father and son Pisano. In the apse stands a colossal figure of the Savior. Pisan architects supplemented the Lombard style with Arabic elements, creating a peculiar language of Romanesque forms, the sophistication of which no one else was able to achieve.

In front of the five-aisled cathedral stands the baptistery (by the way, this is the world's largest baptismal font), which, together with the Pisa Cathedral and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, forms a single architectural ensemble that adorns the Square of Miracles, which is recognized as one of the main centers of medieval art on the planet.

This square is interesting in that the Pisa Cathedral is also slightly inclined - just like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and in the same way, by the way, as the baptistery

Often people mistakenly take Square of Miracles beyond the Field of Miracles, that legendary place where Pinocchio tried to grow a money tree, and wonder: is it really here? ..

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a wonderful architectural structure of medieval architects, which is on the list of "mandatory visits" for every traveler in Italy. It is surprising that this building has survived to this day, despite many difficulties and historical upheavals.

Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles) is located in the historical center of Pisa, where four monuments of Italian medieval architecture rise: a cathedral, a bell tower, a baptistery (a place for baptism) and a cemetery. The unique architectural ensemble is listed world heritage UNESCO.

The Italian sculptor Bonanno Pisano was the first architect to start building the Leaning Tower of Pisa in 1173. According to the project, it was supposed to be a bell tower near the cathedral. The architecture of the tower is an amazing combination of Byzantine and classical elements. The main material is white marble. Today, the height of the 8-tier structure is 56.7 meters.

The architects provided for everything, except for the "substrate" - on which the building will stand. As it turned out, the north side of the tower was built on solid ground, and the south side was built on soft, silty clay. This was enough to reveal a lean to the side when the third floor was completed.

The government was in a panic, believing that the building would collapse. But at that moment, another war began between the Italian states, and the tower was forgotten for a long time - almost for 100 years. During this time, the ground under it sat down a little and compacted.

In 1272, after the end of the war, the engineer Giovanni di Simone continued construction. Under his leadership, four more floors were erected. Di Simone tried to compensate for the slope by making one side of the upper floors taller than the other. However, the added weight of the new floors made the tower lean even more.

The second time construction was suspended during the naval battle of Meloria (1284), when the Pisans lost their entire fleet and many people as prisoners in the battle with Genoa.

Later, construction resumed again, and the last floor was completed in 1350. The eighth bell level was made in the Gothic style, in contrast to the Romanesque style of the rest of the building. Its walls were also erected of unequal height. Thus, if you look closely, the tower has a curved, banana shape.

Two spiral staircases were also built in the building, leading to rooms with bells. In total, seven of them were installed, the weight of the largest was 3600 kilograms.

For many years, the tower stood as part of an architectural ensemble on the Square of Miracles, deviating more and more from the vertical axis every year.

During World War II, when Allied forces landed in Italy, the Americans issued orders to destroy any large buildings for fear of saboteur snipers who used the tall buildings to sneak attack. But before the tower in Pisa was destroyed, the order was cancelled. But still, many monuments of Italian architecture were blown up.

In 1990, the tower was closed to tourists, and many engineers worked hard to save it. Soil was removed from under the building using a special technology and concrete was poured. They tried to stop the process of the tower's fall, to "balance" it by installing lead counterweights.

All the bells were removed from the bell tower at the top. After all, they could potentially aggravate the situation and lead to an increase in the slope.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was reopened to tourists in 2001. It was strengthened so qualitatively that, according to the calculations of scientists, it is possible not to interfere in its reconstruction for the next 200 years. And if the slope still increases, then this will only add interest to this most interesting architectural monument.

It turns out that in one of the Russian cities in the Urals.

Of course, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most extraordinary architectural objects with interesting history, but it is by no means the only one in its unreliable, unsteady balance. There are many such towers built according to erroneous calculations, or which have lost their correct position due to the adverse influence of the external environment, on our planet.

Most of these leaning buildings are of high historical and artistic value, and attract crowds of tourists every year. Some of them are even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. And today I will talk about the ten most interesting falling towers located in different parts of the world. Naturally, in fact, there are much more of them - but I tried to select the most original ones for you.

The church in Zuurhusen (Germany) according to the Guinness Book of Records is the highest falling tower in the world; and, although Capital Gate in Abu Dhabi intercepted the palm in 2010, today the Zuuhurzen Church remains the most “falling” building in the world - its angle of inclination is even greater than that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa: with a height of only 24.7 meters, the deviation angle vertically is more than 5 degrees.

London's Big Ben is also "falling": the clock tower deviates from the vertical axis by 0.26 degrees. Compared to other leaning towers, this is, of course, not much - but the slope of Big Ben is increasing every year by almost 0.9 mm. It was a consequence of the appearance of the subway; also, the roll of the tower is given by ongoing underground work.

The Frankenhausen Church, or rather, its tower, is constantly tested by the strongest winds: the building is located on the outskirts of the city, on the slope of a fairly high hill, and there is not a single barrier that can protect it from the wind. Now the tower is tilting at a tremendous rate - more than six centimeters a year. In order to stabilize the structure, the local authorities allocated $ 1.5 million. If the restoration process is in vain, then in the next decade the tower of the Frankenhausen church will reach a critical level and simply fall.

Huqiu Pagoda, also known as the Tiger Hill Tower, was built at the end of the first millennium of this century in the city of Suzhou (China). Its height is 47 meters, weight - seven thousand tons. The seven-story brick building gradually increases its tilt due to natural influences.

The name of the next "falling" building - Oude Kerk - translates as "Old Church". This Protestant temple was built in the Gothic style in the city of Delft (Netherlands). The height of the "Old Church" is almost 75 meters, and the angle of deviation from the vertical axis is almost two centimeters.

In the Netherlands, there is another leaning tower - Bedum: with a height of 35.7 meters, its angle of inclination is 2.61 meters. Every year the angle of inclination increases more and more, and if nothing is done, the inclination of the Bedum Tower will soon reach a critical point.

Another leaning tower is located in Italy, on the island of Burano. Since the time of construction, which was completed in the 15th century, the tower has been gaining more and more tilt due to the erosion of the base by underground waters. Today, the building is saved from falling only by the fact that it uses nearby buildings as supports.

And now let's turn to Russian landmarks: and we have several famous leaning towers. For example, the Tikhvin Church located in Kungur. It tilted immediately after the completion of construction (1880), and today it deviates from the vertical axis by 3.5 degrees at a height of 70 meters.

The Nevyansk Tower was built in the Middle Urals by order of Peter the Great. It was built by the famous architect and miner Akinfiy Demidov. Its height is 57.5 meters, and the deviation from the axis is 2.2 meters. The reason for this is unsteady ground, which year after year heels the tower more and more.

And finally, I left the building, which has one characteristic feature that distinguishes it from all the above leaning towers. This is Capital Gate, an architectural wonder located in Abu Dhabi.

The tower was specially designed with a large angle of inclination: its planned "roll" is no less than - as much as 18 degrees. Today, Capital Gate holds the Guinness World Record for the building with the largest slope.

You will be interested.

To the question "Where is the leaning tower?" People answer without hesitation "In Pisa". Indeed, her name has become a household name, and the tower itself has become a legend, which is sought from all over the Earth.

However, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is far from the only architectural oddity. The world has bowed them enough in different countries. Including domestic production. Of course, they do not collect such a huge number of tourists as their most famous Italian competitor, although the story of their falls is no less interesting and shrouded in myths and fairy tales.

1. Nevyansk tower

Nevyansk, Sverdlovsk region

The famous Leaning Tower of Nevyansk, the symbol of the city of Nevyansk, is perhaps known not only for its inclination, but also for its mysteries. Their number per square meter of area just rolls over. Take at least what is not known for certain who built it and when. It is now generally accepted that this was most likely the year 1725. Although some scholars argue that it could have been 1730 and 1722. However, first things first.

So, the legendary founder of the mining industry Akinfiy Demidov in the mid-20s ordered to build himself a stone manor house, a factory office and, next to the wooden Church of the Transfiguration that already existed on the territory of the factory, a tower bell tower. It was built from heel bricks. That is, the clay dough was kneaded with the heels, choosing the small pebbles that were crammed into it, which were perfectly felt in this way. Hence the name.

For a special fortress used egg white. But the main qualitative test of strength was ahead.

After the brick was made, it was thrown from a 12-meter wooden tower, and only if it remained safe and sound, it went into construction.

So it was not very easy for bricks to go down in history, frankly. By the way, according to one of the legends, the fate of the brick befell the architect himself, who, at the direction of Demidov, was thrown from the balcony of his own offspring. However, neither the name of the architect nor documentary evidence of this legend is available. But the practice as a whole is typical for that time.

The tower itself is a square base, on which three octagons are installed like a snowman: that is, each next one is smaller than the previous one. The tower is crowned with a cone with a flag-weather vane, which sways at the slightest breath of the breeze, despite all its weight. He is the main confirmation that the tower is not falling, but inclined, and, perhaps, it was intended that way.

Simply put, if the tower were to lean an arbitrary number of degrees, the weather vane would not be able to rotate. He, too, would squint and freeze forever.

At the base of the tower was Demidov's own office, a laboratory, an archive, and the so-called "auditory room" - a coveted curiosity for tourists. The fact is that due to the original shape of the ceiling, there is an auditory anomaly in the room: if two people stand at different corners of the room and begin to say something in a whisper, then each in his corner will hear the whisper of the other, while in the center of the room there is no nothing will be heard. Here, according to legend, Demidov brought his business partners, auditors and all sorts of enemies and hypocrites, and listened well to what they were whispering about in the corners.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the tower clock, or rather, the clockwork of the famous English chimes. 18 English melodies were programmed on their hour drum, and 10 bells played them methodically. By the way, the mechanism is alive and well, it still works, though it does not play the 18 melodies for which Demidov actually paid, but the supplemented in 1965 "Life for the Tsar".

Major versions of the tilt tower

There are several versions about the reasons for the inclination of the tower, but none of them has confirmation. Some say that the tower was originally designed and built obliquely in order to annoy foreigners with their Leaning Tower of Pisa, some put forward versions that during the construction of the base under the tower, the ground subsided heavily and the building leaned. The builders continued its construction, trying to straighten it as far as possible, which is why a very characteristic saber-shaped slope is visible there.

There is another version related directly to the activities of Demidov. Allegedly, in his laboratory on one of the floors, he minted counterfeit money, and the evidence for this is the remains of particles of silver and gold found in the furnace soot on the walls. When it became known that the auditor was going to these metas with a check, Demidov ordered to flood the laboratory and secret passages leading underground to the tower from his house. The building could not withstand such an amount of moisture, the foundation sank and a characteristic slope appeared. In general, there is still something to think about and something to think about for scientists, tapping thick walls and exploring cellars.

However, the last riddle of the tower is really baffling: since then, grounding has been connected to the steeple of the bell tower, that is, its lightning rod appeared on it a quarter before it was created by Benjamin Franklin. That's really obvious and incredible!

Currently, the main exposition of the Nevyansk Historical and Architectural Museum is located in the tower building and all floors are available for visiting.

Nevyansk Historical and Architectural Museum, Sverdlovsk Region, Nevyansk, Demidov Square, 3, www.museum-nev.ru

2. Solikamsk bell tower

Solikamsk, Perm Territory

The belfry of two cathedrals at once - the Holy Trinity and the Exaltation of the Cross in the center of the city of Solikamsk also became famous due to its almost two-meter deviation. The construction of the belfry began in 1713, however, it went on intermittently and so slowly that it seems that the tower itself got tired of it: under the influence of groundwater, it slightly squinted.

Falling is not the only feature of the Solikamsk bell tower. Its layout itself deserves special attention. It consists of a huge cube, a base and, in fact, the tower itself, made in the form of an octahedron. In order for the base to be able to withstand such a colossal load, its walls are unusually thick: the inner ones reach as much as 3 meters.

It is also interesting that the stone foundation of the tower was originally planned for various city needs.

Here, at different times, the magistrate, the court, and the city duma were located.

In the future, the first floor of the building was used for storerooms, and later, when the Solikamsk trade began to fade away, arrest cells. Immediately after the revolution, the bell tower was inhabited, making it a temporary hostel. But then it got even worse: in the late 1920s, the first two floors began to be used for keeping prisoners who were transferred to Vishera.

The premises inside the bell tower were finally destroyed in 1931, when people simply had nothing to heat the stoves with. Stairs, ceilings, floors and all the furniture left by that time were thrown into the fire. The tower was finally “finished off” by inaccurate removal of the bells - the decorative finish that glorified it was almost completely destroyed. Endless warehouses, printing houses, factories, which were located in the tower at different time intervals, methodically destroyed and ruined the building: the foundation was partially destroyed, huge cracks appeared on the walls, and the facades themselves were practically lost. However, the restoration reached here only in the 1950s, and in last years The bell tower has been almost completely restored.

By the way, this is one of those rare cases when modern restoration benefited the monument. At the moment, the tower houses the local history museum of the Solikamsk region, and the bell tower itself is used as an observation deck.

Solikamsk Museum of Local Lore, Solikamsk, st. Embankment, 93, www.skm.solkam.ru

3. Syuyumbike Tower

Kazan

Another leaning tower is located in the Kazan Kremlin - the heart of the Republic of Tatarstan. It was built exclusively as a watchdog and therefore is located at some distance from the fortress walls. It consists of seven different tiers: the three lower ones are square, then 4 octahedrons are placed on them according to the principle of reduction. The angle of deviation of the spire is almost 2 meters and is perfectly visible to the naked eye.

Unfortunately, so far it has not been possible to determine the exact year of its construction, as well as the name of the architect. There are many hypotheses and scientific discussions on this subject. Today, the building is officially attributed to the 17th century. This date is also indicated in all Kazan guidebooks. In general, where you do not poke - everything is a mystery. And who built it, and when, and how long ago did it even begin to lean. Even the reason for this name is not entirely clear. It remains only to remember the folk legends, which, perhaps, every resident of Kazan knows.

Who is it named after?

Once upon a time there was a queen Syuyuk, the ruler of the Kazan Khanate. The queen was so kind, beautiful and fair that the people called her Syuyumbike - "beloved lady."

Queen Syuyumbike

However, Ivan the Terrible heard about the beautiful ruler, who decided to marry again, and made her an offer of marriage. But Syuyumbike refused the groom, who was not to her liking. Then the formidable king himself came to the walls of Kazan with a huge army and invited Syuyumbika to think a second time on his proposals, and so that she would not refuse again, he promised to destroy the city to the ground. Kind Syuyumbike decided to save the inhabitants from a destructive future and agreed to marry Ivan the Terrible, and as a gift she asked to build a tower for her. According to legend, this tower was supposed to be built in 7 days, which was done. And after that - they threw a wedding feast. Before leaving, Syuyumbike climbed her tower to say goodbye to her beloved city, which she would never see again, and rushed down from the top.

It remains to be said that business card The city has gone through several restorations and cosmetic repairs. The largest one was carried out even before the revolution - then the lower tier was reinforced with a special steel bandage at the level of the heel of the vault, which significantly distorted the appearance of Syuyumbike, but implied additional reinforcement and supposedly prevented more rooting. After so many years, the bandage, of course, fell into disrepair, but so far no one has dared to remove it.

Currently, the tower is used as a minaret for reading the azan during the memorial prayer in honor of the victims of 1552. In this regard, its spire in 1993 was crowned with a gilded crescent.

State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve Kazan Kremlin, Kazan, www.kazan-kremlin.ru