The Leaning Tower of Toruń: Medieval Mystery, Myth and History in Poland

In the thirteenth century, what is now the Polish city of Toruń was controlled by the Teutonic Order, a German-speaking Catholic religious order founded a century before in Acre which by the 1200s had evolved into a military power in the Baltic region.  Crusades were conducted against pagan peoples in Prussia and Lithuania, and a powerful territorial state governed directly by the Order had been established.  To defend the town against Prussian tribes, Lithuanian raids and even potential threats from local Polish and Pomeranian rulers (note – these threats did not present simultaneously), the Order built and maintained walls and a series of towers around Toruń.  There was just one problem... Image

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Two of the towers leaned. Although only one remains, it still somehow manages to stand. Historians believe the other was demolished sometime in the second half of the 19th century, when many sections of Toruń's medieval fortifications were removed as they were no longer needed for defence and the city expanded – and not because it leaned too far one day.  If built today, rather than Prussian tribes, they would no doubt be surrounded by an army of health and safety inspectors demanding their removal.  Back in the thirteenth century, it was considered expeditious to keep one’s fingers crossed and hope for the best. Medieval engineers, although highly skilled, had failed to realise how much the loamy ground would settle after construction. They had little choice but to accept the lean, keep a wary eye on it and hope the tower stayed upright.