Short facts
- Dausenau
- historic sites
The Leaning Tower of Dausenau is part of the medieval town wall of Dausenau. With an inclination of 5.22 degrees, it is significantly more inclined than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which has an inclination of 3.97 degrees.
The construction of the town wall of Dausenau was probably completed in 1359. The tower was part of the town exit towards Nassau. The hexagonal tower made of quarry stone was originally 25 metres high with an entrance staircase on the north side.
The reason for the inclination is the different foundations on which it was built: On the mountain side on solid rock and on the lahn side on loamy ground. This was not a problem for centuries until the neighbouring and supporting town wall was demolished at the beginning of the 19th century. A few decades later, the Lahn was turned into a navigable waterway and the groundwater level rose. The clay soil beneath the tower became wetter. A road was also built, which caused vibrations due to the traffic. These factors caused the tower to lean further and further in the 19th and 20th centuries and begin to rotate. In 1950, an attempt was made to stop the movement and the tower was shortened by 7.50 metres.
