ALLAN HALL
A LOPSIDED church in Germany has knocked the Leaning Tower of Pisa out of the Guinness World Records as the building with the biggest tilt on the planet.
The landmark in the village of Suurhusen in northern Germany applied for the title in June and has now been told that its curious angle beats that of the famous Italian tourist attraction.
It will be entered into the next edition of the book in 2008, Olaf Kuchenbecker, of Guinness World Records' German office in Hamburg, said.
Officials measured the steeple bending over at a 5.19 degree angle, compared with the meagre 3.97 degrees managed by the tower of Pisa.
Mr Kuchenbecker confirmed: "It is a world record."
The church was built in middle of the 13th century, but a 90ft tower was added in 1450. It was built on wooden foundations, and the combination of the oak foundations and wet soil has caused the tower to slowly lean to one side over the years. Several attempts to stop it from leaning over any further have been made since 1982, and it was eventually stabilised in 1996.
The church is still in use and it also offers guided tours. Officials are appealing for donations to help maintain the lopsided building.
Because of the danger of it falling over, church services are held only on occasions such as Christmas or Easter. "It is still generally considered safe, but you cannot help worrying whether it is going to land on your head," Bärbl Köller, the head of the association to save the church, said.
Suurhusen councillors hope that fame will bring in more tourists to the area, but it is doubtful: the community numbers only about 1,200 and the village lies on flat land with little in the way of natural beauty or amenities.
"I don't see it ever getting the trade that Pisa does," Ulrich Menge, a local historian, said.
"Of course it has its own beauty, and now, thanks to its lopsidedness, its own individuality. But you can't call it a gem of medieval beauty like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
"Of course it has its own beauty, and now, thanks to its lopsidedness, its own individuality. But you can't call it a gem of medieval beauty like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
"Still, people around here are very proud."
BUT ITALY'S PRIDE STILL TOWERS ABOVE ALL THE REST
EUROPE has the highest number of officially "leaning" structures, with 24 - four in Britain alone.
Asia has six - but the Iron Tower of Yuquan Temple in Hubei, China was actually designed with a tilt.
Even the United States has one - a replica of Pisa's famous structure, in Niles, Illinois.
The worldwide fame of the Italian tower comes as much from its place in history as from its architectural beauty. Construction work began on 9 August, 1173. It began to sink as the third floor was put in place in 1178. The seventh floor was completed in 1319 and the bell-chamber, the final touch, was not added until 1372.
The worldwide fame of the Italian tower comes as much from its place in history as from its architectural beauty. Construction work began on 9 August, 1173. It began to sink as the third floor was put in place in 1178. The seventh floor was completed in 1319 and the bell-chamber, the final touch, was not added until 1372.
Galileo Galilei is said to have dropped two cannon balls of different masses from the tower to demonstrate that their descending speed was independent of their mass. This is considered an apocryphal tale, and the only source for it comes from Galileo's secretary.
In 1934, the Italian leader Benito Mussolini - in his quest for perfection - ordered that the tower be returned to a vertical position, so concrete was poured into its foundation. However, the tower actually sank further into the soil.
During the Second World War, the Allies discovered that the Nazis were using it as an observation post. A humble American army sergeant was briefly entrusted with the fate of the tower. His decision not to call in an artillery strike to take out the Germans saved the edifice.
From: Scotsman.com
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