Oude Jan, Scheve Jan, just some of the (nick)names of the Old Church in Delft. A characteristic feature of the Oude Kerk from 1246 is the tower, which has been leaning over the centuries. The Oude Kerk was built between the old and new Delft canals, where the space was too small to build a church with a tower. The solution was found in diverting the oldest canal the Oude Delft slightly so that the tower could be built on the newly formed land.
Even during construction, the tower began to subside on the slumping sand ridge. As resourceful as they were in the 13th century, they simply continued building straight on, creating a kink in the tower. For centuries, the tower, standing almost 2 metres out of plumb, unnerved the population and in 1843 the Council of the city of Delft decided that the tower should be demolished. Fortunately, local contractors were able to prevent that from happening, so today we can still enjoy this piece of medieval times in the city of Delft.
Photography has been my passion since 1975. Whereas in the past I often photographed people, I now mainly focus on photographing landscapes, nature and animals... Read more…