Leaning Towers

If you like traveling, it’s impossible not to know the wonderful Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa), the campanile belonging to the Cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, also known as The Leaning Tower.

Dating back  to 1173 and even intially meant to be a perfectly vertical structure, the Tower of Pisa is today one curious attraction due to its high leaning at about 3.99 degrees. How this happened? As Wikipedia says: “The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the third floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-meter foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning.”  Now, the Tower of Pisa is a beautiful landmark in a continuous fight with its harsh environmental conditions. If you’re interested in finding more about it, I would recommend: A Brief History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Source:  WallpaperMe

The well known Italian tower, although one controversial building, as you’ll see, it’s not the only one of such kind… some other towers around the world stand almost like ready to fall – some intended to be like that, some not.

Leaning Tower of Suurhusen- The church in Suurhusen, a village in the German region of East Frisia, is a reminiscent of the old 15th century fortress churches and it’s tower is said to be the most lop-sided building in the world, beating the Tower of Pisa by 1.22 degrees.

Source:  Wikipedia
Leaning Tower of Bedum – the leaning church tower of Walfridus in the northern Dutch town of Bedum, also leaning more than the Tower of Pisa.

Copyright © Steve de Jong
Leaning Tower of South Cheshire- The leaning tower of the former church of St Chad, also known as the ‘Hanging Steeple of Wimberie’, is located in Wybunbury village, South Chesire, England.


Source:  Wikipedia
Algarrobo Costa Leaning Tower – One of the old watchtowers found along  Malaga’s coastline, Spain, known also as the Torre Ladeada.

Source:  2 daisies

Leaning Towers of Madrid, Spain -  Standing as two of the most impressive buildings, ’Gateway to Europe’ towers, are considered to be the world’s first leaning high-rise buildings (115 m tall each). Built in 1996 by Philip Johnson and John Burgee with an inclination of 15º.

Copyright © Carl Purcell
Leaning tower of Barceloneta- a little more modern tower-like building, made out of leaning cubes on Barceloneta beach - still Spain, this time in Barcelona…

Source:  Shutterbug’s Pictures

Leaning Tower in Torun, Poland – obviously smaller than the one in Pisa, the Tower of Torun is a simple Roman tower that started to lean immediately after its construction due to the instable ground on which it had been erected.

Copyright © Vassia Atanassova
Leaning Tower of Shiraz - Karimkhan Citadel of Shiraz, Iran – It was built during the Zand dynasty and is named after Karim Khan, and served as his living quarters. In shape, it resembles a medieval fortress.

Copyright © Erika Bird & Robin Searle
Leaning Towers of Ravenna, Italy – The first one  is a 12th-century leaning tower called the Torre del Pubblico and situated North of Piazza del Popolo.

Source:  4cousins
The second one, the 12th-century Campanile di San Giovanni Evangelista, even more inclined than the Torre Pubblico stands nearby along Viale Farini.

Source:  Wikimedia
Leaning Tower of Burano raising behind some old, colorful buildings.

Copyright © Banbury Michaels
China’s “Leaning Tower of Pisa”- Built under the Liao Dynasty, the leaning tower in Huludao, northeast China’s Liaonin province is almost 10 meters high and has an inclination of 12 degrees to northeast. The tower has undergone numerous earthquake- and flood-induced damages, but remained intact.

Source:  People’s Daily
Leaning Tower in Liuzhou – south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A leaned bell tower in a residential area in Liuzhou. The demolition of the tower earlier failed and made it leaned.

Source:  People’s Daily
Leaning Tower of Inwa, Myanmar, 90 feet tall – high masonry Watch Tower (Nan Myint) completely shattered in 1838 by an earthquake, the rest sitting today on a very precarious looking angle.

Source:  Elisa’s Journeys
Teluk Intan Leaning Tower – The main attraction of the Malaysian town of Teluk Intan is the leaning water tower erected in 1885 by a Chinese builder, Mr. Leong Choon Cheong. It started to tilt four years after its construction finished due to an underground stream. The tower had a clock at the top, and still rings every 15 minutes now. Today, it is seen and used only as a local tourist attraction, and no longer stores water.

Copyright © Ruzie on Flickr
Leaning Tower of Wanaka, New Zealand – Strangest tower of them all – pulled out of the ground and balanced on one corner at a 53 degree angle. Pretty funny. I wonder how they made it stay like that…

Source:  NZine