Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren

Amersfoort, Netherlands

The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwetoren ('The Tower of Our Lady') is a Late Gothic church tower which is 98.33 metres tall and reaches high above the inner city. It's one of the most eye-catching monuments in town and the third highest church tower in the Netherlands. The church that belonged to the tower was destroyed by a gunpowder explosion in the 18th century.

The first chapel on site was constructed on this site in the 14th century. In the 15th century the chapel was replaced by new church with three aisles. When the tower was built is not exactly known. Construction started around 1444 and was finished around 1470. The official documents of the construction were destroyed by the Protestants in 1579 during the reformation and the ensuing iconoclasm. The church and tower were taken over by the Protestants and no longer belonged to the Catholics.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1444
Category: Religious sites in Netherlands

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Natalia Li (3 years ago)
Impressi e tower with a pretty houses nearby which added up to a great walk. Currently closed but worth a visit when it reopens. It chimed every few minutes when we were there, that was also pleasant
Max (4 years ago)
The tour guide was nice
Tim Rottier (4 years ago)
Really nice church
John Kariuki (4 years ago)
The tour guide was really nice. The 1 hour at 12:30 is well timed so that by the time you get to the top, you hear the 1PM bells and another one at 1:15PM to start taking the stairs down. I don't speak Dutch (yet) so I did understand most of the tour guide's words but it's still an amazing experience.
Magdalena Ćwioro (4 years ago)
Nice viewpoint
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.